Resistant formations of alternative femininities within skateboarding — an exploration of gender at a time of feminist transformation

Abstract

Based on semi-structured interviews with 8 female skateboarders, this paper offers an in-depth analysis into the physical and aesthetic practices of alternative femininities amongst women in a skateboarding community. Skateboarding sites are prominent carriers of alternative femininity because they allow women to reclaim traditionally masculine traits such as physical strength, resilience and assertiveness (Pavlidis and Fullagar, 2013) and in turn experiment with their gender performance by integrating these elements of masculinity within their gender identities. As a result, female skateboarders actively challenge sexist 'assumptions as to what their bodies can do' (Pavlidis and Fullagar, 2015: 10) and confront misleading stereotypes of physical fragility and mental weakness.This research will therefore provide an informative account into the ways in which skateboarding practices facilitate collective gender performance and with it resistance against male hegemony amongst women.

Keywords

• Female masculinities
• gender performance
• resistance
• feminism
• skateboarding

Feminist Dönüşüm Zamanlarında bir Toplumsal Cinsiyet İncelemesi: Alternatif Dişilliklerin Kaykay Etrafında Dirençli Oluşumu

Abstract

8 kadın kaykaycı ile yürütülen yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmelere dayanan bu araştırma, kaykay camiasındaki kadınlar arasındaki eril dişilliklerin fiziksel ve estetik pratiklerinin derinlemesine bir analizini sunmaktadır. Kaykay mekanları dişil erilliğin önde gelen taşıyıcılarındandır; zira, kadınların fiziksel güç, dayanıklılık, rekabetçi dürtüler ve girişkenlik gibi (Pavlidis and Fullagar, 2013) geleneksel eril özelliklere sahip çıkmalarına olanak tanırlar. Bu tip sporlardaki kadınlar, aktif olarak ‘vücutlarının neyi yapabileceği konusundaki varsayımlara’ meydan okurlar (Pavlidis and Fullagar, 2015: 10) ve fiziksel kırılganlık ile mental zayıflık gibi yanlış stereotipleştirmelerin karşısına çıkarlar. Dolayısıyla bu araştırma, kaykay pratiklerinin kolektif toplumsal cinsiyet performansını ve böylece eril hegemoni karşısında kadınların direncini kolaylaştırmasının bilgilendirici bir izahatini verecektir.

Keywords

• Dişil erkeklikler
• toplumsal cinsiyet
• direnç
• feminizm
• kaykay

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