Macho men in a girls’ game: masculinities and the Otago men’s netball team

Abstract

This article examines the experiences of seven men who play for the Otago men’s netball team (in Dunedin, New Zealand). Despite playing a sport that was initially invented as women’s basketball and in an association that has historically had a strong gay and trans* presence, they subscribe to rather hegemonic definitions of masculinity. All the players are both heterosexual and consider homosexuality incompatible with hegemonic masculinity. However, they also characterize homophobia as vulnerability and therefore a failure of masculine power. This suggests that there may be some shifts in definitions of hegemonic masculinity within this context. The traditional southern ‘hard man’ is therefore relegated to second-tier status: it is the man who tells his rugby mates that he likes netball that must ‘have a bit of bloody strength’.