Woman's participation in the legitimised violence of boxing

Abstract

Following its recent inclusion in The Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, the profile of female boxing has risen. Female boxing matches have been broadcast on mainstream television and the growing presence of females in the sport has been brought to the attention of the public. This has raised the issue of society’s attitude to women and violence. Historically, women who embrace violence have been viewed by society as violating the social gender norms. Previous criminological literature has focused on the extent to which such women construct such violence as a gendered practice: as an expression of masculinity and/or rejection of femininity. This study is an exploration of women’s participation in the legitimised violence of boxing. Utilising qualitative, semi-structured interviews, the experiences and perspectives of six female boxers, two professionals and four amateurs, currently training in Scotland, are explored. Building on previous literature, this study addresses, in particular, the attraction of the sport to the participants, the meaning and significance of violence for those participating in the sport and the ways in which gender is experienced and made sense of in the context of the male-dominated world of boxing. It shows that, in the opinion of the female boxers interviewed, violence has very little to do with female boxing, and, indeed, that such a misconception arises through ignorance of the sport, which is portrayed as more about control, discipline and respect than violence and aggression. As regards the experience of gender, these female boxers are not participating in a sport in a male dominated world with the intention of being seen as masculine: they wish to be viewed as equals, as boxers, but always as women.