Narratives about Young Men and Masculinities in Organised Sport in Norway

Abstract

Sport has been likened to a holy sanctuary for boys and men where their physical superiority and difference can be celebrated. In recent years, however, strains in the sport/masculinity relation have been documented which suggest that participation in sport may be far from a positive masculinising experience for men. The 'crisis of masculinity', which has resulted from feminist challenges to the patriarchal order raising fundamental questions concerning how we understand men and gender, is being acknowledged within sport. This paper explores the way in which young men in Norway are experiencing the so-called 'crisis', in a country where the traditional gender order is certainly being challenged with the help of a broad legislative policy of gender equality. Drawing upon data from focus groups and in-depth qualitative interviews, it asks whether narratives about male bodies in sport challenge or confirm traditional stereotypes about what it means to be male. Paradigmatic analysis reveals, in fact, the persistence of traditional male stereotypes, which appear to provide the young men with a script in a society where gender is increasingly without roles.