Assessing the sociology of sport: on lifestyle sport and gender

Abstract

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and the IRSS, an influential Norwegian scholar in understanding sporting cultures, Mari Kristin Sisjord, considers the trajectory, challenges, and future opportunities for sociological inquiry about lifestyle sport and gender. It is noted that the emergence of lifestyle sport research was built on interpretive inquiry, the rise of the cooperative new leisure movement, and subculture research stimulated by cultural studies. Driven by diverse theoretical influences, including Bourdieu and Foucault, questions of power relations, voluntary risk-taking, commercialization, mediation, identity development, and community-building have been key topics. A central challenge has been to untangle the complexities of gender in the often high risk context of lifestyle sports perceived as masculine; here, understanding how women negotiate their identities presents important questions. In considering future research, Sisjord follows Thorpe’s counsel in recognizing the need to put female participation and leadership in lifestyle sport into historical and cultural contexts as the exercise of power and organizational engagement are redefined.