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Invisible (women’s) bodies
Citation
Toffoletti, K and Palmer, C, Invisible (women's) bodies, Routledge Handbook of Physical Cultural Studies, Routledge, M Silk, D Andrews and, H Thorpe (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 286-294. ISBN 9781138817210 (2017) [Research Book Chapter]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2017 Michael L. Silk, David L. Andrews and Holly Thorpe
Official URL: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Ph...
Abstract
This chapter approaches the issue of invisible bodies in physical cultural studies debates by considering Muslim women's experiences of sport. A number of feminist scholars have identified the invisibility of Muslim women in wider discussions about women's participation in sport and exercise and have sought to illuminate the plurality of Muslim women as a social category as well as the socio-cultural, political and geographic contexts that shape Muslim women's embodied experiences of physical activity (Benn, Pfister and Jawad, 2011; Hargreaves, 2007; Kay, 2006; Pfister, 2003; Walseth, 2006a, 2006b). Existing literature primarily perceives and responds to barriers and enablers to Muslim women's participation as players of sport, with less emphasis placed on leisure and recreational expressions of active embodiment (for instance, sports fandom). The current orientation of studies concerning Muslim women's active participation in organized sport and fitness largely conforms to social inclusion paradigms, where marginalized groups and individuals are incorporated into mainstream culture as players of, or active participants in, organized sport (Walseth and Fasting, 2004).
In this chapter we offer an alternative approach to Muslim women's experiences of physical activity and leisure beyond the commonplace deficit model of participation (Knez, Macdonald and Abbott, 2012: 109). Central to our discussion is an interrogation of the dynamics of power that frame Muslim women through a deficit lens, and advocates for more research that is attentive to the complex tensions, pleasures and contradictions that shape Muslim women's encounters with various domains of physical culture. We suggest that a PCS approach, by extending the parameters of how we conceive active embodiment, can bring Muslim women into view (beyond the dominant, yet limited, framing of them in terms of sport participation) to encompass the varied ways they experience their own bodies in motion and other active bodies they encounter across a range of sites. At the conclusion of this chapter we reflect on our own research on media representations, active experiences and fan practices to illustrate this point.
Item Details
Item Type: | Research Book Chapter |
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Keywords: | Muslim women, sport participation, social inclusion |
Research Division: | Human Society |
Research Group: | Gender studies |
Research Field: | Gender relations |
Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
Objective Group: | Community services |
Objective Field: | Gender and sexualities |
UTAS Author: | Palmer, C (Professor Catherine Palmer) |
ID Code: | 112057 |
Year Published: | 2017 |
Deposited By: | Office of the School of Social Sciences |
Deposited On: | 2016-10-25 |
Last Modified: | 2018-04-12 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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