わが国における体育界とジェンダーに関する研究 : 女性体育教師のアイデンティティ・ポリティクスを中心に

Abstract

The present study was carried out in order to examine critically, from a feminist perspective, the identity politics of female physical education (PE) teachers and its limitations. The points discussed include how female PE teachers have acquired their own territory in the cultural field of PE, the basis of the identity politics they face, and why the Japan Association of Physical Education for Women (JAPEW) has placed such high emphasis on dance-education. The present study was based on articles written by PE teachers in some PE journals. As pointed out by a number of researchers, there has been widespread and strong gender bias in the field of sport and PE in Japan. In this situation, female PE teachers have had to be politically active in establishing their own value and territory in the field of PE. Members of the JAPEW have considered dance-education to be an affirmative aspect of the organization, and have used it as a strategy to avoid being buried in the male-oriented field of PE. An important facet of this political view has been the concept of “the special character of the female”. However, the gender politics of female PE teachers have created a number of problems: First, female PE teachers have been placed in a very narrow category, dance-education. Second, this has led to the exclusion of female PE teachers who are not proficient in dance-teaching. Thus, a “center/periphery” hierarchy of female PE teachers has been created, and this has limited the identity politics of female teachers in the field of PE.