Negotiating sexuality and masculinity in school sport: An autoethnography

This autoethnography explores challenging and ethically sensitive issues around sexual orientation, sexual identity and masculinity in the context of school sport. Through storytelling, I aim to show how sometimes ambiguous encounters with heterosexism, homophobia and hegemonic masculinity through sport problematise identity development for young same-sex attracted males. By foregrounding personal embodied experience, I respond to an absence of stories of gay and bisexual experiences among males in physical education and school sport, in an effort to reduce a continuing sense of Otherness and difference regarding same-sex attracted males. I rely on the story itself to express the embodied forms of knowing that inhabit the experiences I describe, and resist a finalising interpretation of the story. Instead, I offer personal reflections on particular theoretical and methodological issues which relate to both the form and content of the story

(Dis)ability by design: Narratives of bodily perfectionism

Much academic research into disability sport has been accused of reinforcing ableist attitudes, treating disability as a homogenous construct, suffers from theoretical impoverishment, and has failed to listen to the voices of disabled people themselves in providing critical insight (e.g. Brittain, 2004; Moola and Norman, 2012). Excluding a few notable exceptions (Huang and Brittain, 2006; Berger, 2009; Lindemann, 2010; LeClair, 2011; Peers, 2012) there is still a dearth of empirically based research in understanding how disabled athletes construct and negotiate senses of embodied identity. Taking this into consideration, we draw on data generated from a four year ethnographic study into wheelchair sport in England to examine the ways in which disabled athletes engage in self-reflexive “body projects” (Shilling, 1993) in making strong personal statements about their identity amongst contemporary somatic cultures that idealise and “relentlessly promote the body beautiful” (Thomas, 2007: 132). A structural narrative analysis of the ‘big’ and ‘small’ stories (Bamberg, 2006) told by the disabled athletes in the field revealed three dominant ‘body projects’ in action: 1) in developing malleable bodies participants either altered the comportment of their bodies conservatively by building muscle and losing body fat in attempting to become ‘perfectly disabled’ in relation to able-bodied ideologies of body perfectionism, or more radically through desiring amputation of impaired body parts in ways that contest these dominant beliefs 2) in engaging in tattooing and piercing practices that transform the appearance of the skin, participants artfully constructed modified bodies, affording them a sense of control and expression over their identities in a number of ways and 3) cyborg bodies were imagined where participants played with the possibilities of evolving technologies on their senses of corporeality. Taking an inter-disciplinary approach to interpretation, findings suggest that additional significance is held amongst participants living these bodies than exclusively as forming part of a ‘body project’ alone. Indeed, the identities that disabled athletes embodied and performed should not be thought of as singular, homogeneous, passive, and static but should be better seen as plural, heterogeneous, active, and evolving. We provide reflections that question if identity construction in disability sport is policed by medicalising and ableist discourses with the expectation that disabled athletes should reject their own ‘flawed’ bodies and align themselves to the carnal norms of non-disabled people (Hughes and Paterson, 1999), or if wheelchair athletes are able to demonstrate agency in relation to these norms and express empowering and proud senses of disabled identity that subvert the “non-disabled gaze” (Hughes, 1999) offering a challenge to contemporary tyrannies of bodily perfectionism

(Dis)abled athletes as the “Ambassadors of transhumanism”

Drawing on data generated from a four year ethnographic study into wheelchair sport in England we examine how (dis)abled athletes come to understand themselves as a “complex hybridisation” between (Wo)Man and machine (Haraway, 1991). A structural narrative analysis of the ‘big’ and ‘small’ stories (Bamberg, 2006) told by the (dis)abled athletes in the field revealed three ideal types in action. Techno-survival stories and techno-rehabilitation stories were entrenched in, and sanctioned by the medical discourses of restoration and normalisation that informed the way participants made sense of their bodies and constructed their identities over time. In contrast, using cyborg embodiment stories some participants demonstrated a sense of agency in creating new ways of relating to technology which allowed them to challenge and reject various dualisms (e.g., able/disabled, normal/abnormal), and instead construct ‘proud’ (dis)abled identities that imagine different kinds of humanity in relation to various technological fields. Some reflections are offered on the ways in which these cyborg embodiment stories transgress established dualisms and offer what Haraway (1991) calls “dangerous possibilities” for the empowerment of (dis)abled athletes. In this process we suggest that in the future (dis)abled athletes have the potential to become “ambassadors of transhumanism” as described by Miah (2003)

Analysis of the pressure requirements for silk spinning reveals a pultrusion dominated process.

Silks are remarkable materials with desirable mechanical properties, yet the fine details of natural production remain elusive and subsequently inaccessible to biomimetic strategies. Improved knowledge of the natural processes could therefore unlock development of a host of bio inspired fibre spinning systems. Here, we use the Chinese silkworm Bombyx mori to review the pressure requirements for natural spinning and discuss the limits of a biological extrusion domain. This provides a target for finite element analysis of the flow of silk proteins, with the aim of bringing the simulated and natural domains into closer alignment. Supported by two parallel routes of experimental validation, our results indicate that natural spinning is achieved, not by extruding the feedstock, but by the pulling of nascent silk fibres. This helps unravel the oft-debated question of whether silk is pushed or pulled from the animal, and provides impetus to the development of pultrusion-based biomimetic spinning devices.The natural production of silks remains elusive and subsequently inaccessible to biomimetic strategies. Here the authors show that silks cannot be spun by pushing alone, and that natural spinning is dominated by pultrusion, which provides design guidelines for future biomimetic spinning systems

Disabled sporting bodies as sexual beings: Reflections and challenges

In general, disabled people’s sexualities have been ignored, controlled, denied and treated (Shakespeare et al, 1996). Disabled bodies have been conceptualised as asexual, unruly, monstrous and unattractive to such an extent that such bodies constitute a sexually challenging idea (Goodley, 2011). According to Shuttleworth and Grove (2008),where sexuality and disability have been focused upon the tendency has been to over-emphasise psychosexual (mal) functioning; explore men’s sexuality rather than women’s; place a lot of store on medical rehabilitation and therapeutic interventions; and implicitly assume heterosexual encounters. Shildrick (2007: 27) notes, however, that in recent years , disability studies, particularly those working with queer and feminist theory, “have increasingly problematized the conventional parameters of sexuality, in order to explore non-normative constructions of sexual identities, pleasures and agency that more adequately encompass multifarious forms of embodied difference.” Set against this backdrop, in this chapter we explore the complex dynamics of disability, sexuality, and gender in sport by providing vignettes of individual narratives in wheelchair sport. These are used to illustrate (1) how the experiences of each are framed by heteronormativity, compulsory heterosexuality and able-bodiness, and (2) how the very ‘queerness’ of their bodies provides a corporeal resource for subverting disabled sexualities in sport. Finally, some reflections are offered regarding future research in terms an embodied sociology that draws on Disability Studies, Feminist Theory, and Queer Theory

Reflections on a degree initiative: the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers enter the University of Birmingham

This paper provides an opportunity to share experiences and perceptions of the first 5 years of a degree programme for professional dancers. A partnership developed in the mid-1990s between the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet and the University of Birmingham, Westhill (now School of Education), to provide a part-time, post-experience, flexible study programme for full-time Company dancers. This is the first 'company customised' higher education programme to dovetail studies around rehearsal, performance and touring schedules. Methodology is based on a narrative by the author, informed by ongoing internal and external evaluations, in-depth interviews with dancers and Company managers, documentation and secondary sources. Outcomes indicate that the programme has made a positive difference to the Company, to the dancers and to the wider education and dance/arts world

Stories of success: Cultural narratives and personal stories of elite and professional athletes

Using a narrative methodology to explore the stories Olympic and elite athletes tell about success, we identified three alternatives to the dominant conception of success as the achievement of performance outcomes. In these alternatives, success is storied as: (1) ‘I did the best that I could’ – a controllable and sustainable story of effort and application; (2) ‘It’s the closest thing you can get to flying’ – a story where success relates to embodied experience and discovery; (3) ‘People I made the journey with’ – which prioritises relationships and connection between people. We reflect on three key insights: (1) success is a multidimensional concept, broader than the singular conception encapsulated within the dominant performance narrative; (2) through various narrative strategies, experienced athletes resist cultural pressures towards a singular conception of success; (3) for long-term performance and well-being, it is necessary to work towards multiple forms of success over time and across contexts

Abrir las puertas de la cárcel. La negociación del acceso en una etnografía

Este texto se presentó como comunicación al II Congreso Internacional de Etnografía y Educación: Migraciones y Ciudadanías. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, 5-8 Septiembre 2008.El encierro, como forma de castigo, ha existido siempre, aunque ha ido matizando sus formas a lo largo de la historia. Sin embargo, las cárceles no han dejado de ser recintos especialmente herméticos. Aunque actualmente se rijan por leyes explícitamente implicadas en la reinserción y reeducación de las personas presas, la entrada en la prisión, sin delinquir, no es fácil. En nuestro caso, la realización de una investigación etnográfica con la pretensión de interpretar los significados que la actividad física tenía entre los diferentes grupos que conviven en una prisión de máxima seguridad, exigió un largo proceso de negociación del acceso. En definitiva, el acceso permite la entrada a recintos y la aproximación a las personas que nos van a proporcionar los datos para la posterior interpretación. En primer término, el acceso formal se relaciona con el oficial y, para nosotros, la clave estuvo en vender la investigación como interesante, a parte de ofrecer contraprestaciones a la institución. En este caso, el investigador tuvo la condición de personal voluntario y debió colaborar con la ONG a través de la que se gestionó la entrada. En segundo término, el acceso informal se relaciona con el rapport y depende en gran medida de las habilidades sociales del investigador/a. En el caso que nos ocupa, el contexto carcelario dificultó sobremanera la aproximación y, sobre todo, la equidistancia entre los colectivos de presos y funcionarios, tradicionalmente enfrentados. Básicamente, el acceso a las personas entrevistadas u observadas se consiguió en base a una medida equidistancia, no juzgar lo que se veía u oía, la condición de voluntario del investigador, las contraprestaciones ofrecidas, tanto a la institución como a las personas, un cambiante rol que iba desde la observación total hasta la participación total en actividades tan variopintas como el squash o el almuerzo en algún patio, y manteniendo, como constante, un comportamiento marcadamente ético, representado, sobre todo, por el cumplimiento de todos los compromisos adquiridos. La negociación comenzó a finales de 1998 y el acceso real se consiguió el 5 de Febrero de 2001, prolongándose el trabajo de campo hasta el verano de 2003. Con ello, demostramos que ninguna puerta, por anquilosada que esté, se debe ni puede resistir a la sinceridad etnográfica

Narrative, identity, and recovery from serious mental illness: A life history of a runner

In recent years, researchers have investigated the psychological effects of exercise for people with mental health problems, often by focusing on how exercise may alleviate symptoms of mental illness. In this article I take a different tack to explore the ways in which exercise contributed a sense of meaning, purpose, and identity to the life of one individual named Ben, a runner diagnosed with schizophrenia. Drawing on life history data, I conducted an analysis of narrative to explore the narrative types that underlie Ben's stories of mental illness and exercise. For Ben, serious mental illness profoundly disrupted a pre-existing athletic identity removing agency, continuity, and coherence from his life story. By returning to exercise several years later, Ben reclaimed his athletic identity and reinstated some degree of narrative agency, continuity, and coherence. While the relationships between narrative, identity, and mental health are undoubtedly complex, Ben's story suggests that exercise can contribute to recovery by being a personally meaningful activity which reinforces identity and sense of self