Fuzzy, argot-driven tract on men and sport. Messner
(Sociology/Univ. of Southern California) introduces his
feminist-inspired analysis with the premise that neither sports nor
masculinity are biological in essence but are social creations. For
his study, Messner selected 30 male former athletes who, he says,
based their identity on athletic roles and "therefore...had
'athletic careers'" (although a dozen did not play past high
school). Using self-proclaimed "feminist" methodology ("both
interviewer and interviewee should benefit"), Messner asked his
subjects to talk about their sports experiences. Although he
worried he was getting a better deal than his subjects ("The
intimate information...would help me complete my Ph.D. degree,
write a book, and launch my career as a sociologist"), he decided
that the interviewees were receiving a "learning experience." With
his small sample - unhindered by standard research methodologies of
random selection, structured interviews, etc. - Messner buttresses
his conception of "feminist psychoanalytic theory." Taking snippets
from the interviews, he discusses topics such as: "Playing Hurt"
(athletes have an "alienated" relationship with their bodies);
"Recreational Drugs" ("Alcohol...can give men permission to 'open
up'"); "Sexuality and Sexual Identity" ("the erotic bond between
men is neutralized through overt homophobia and [by using] women as
objects of sexual talk and practice"); and "The Challenge of Female
Athleticism" ("its challenge to sport's construction of hegemonic
masculinity has been largely defused"). Not surprisingly, the
conclusion of Messner's "research" is that, for sport to be
"humanized," boys and girls must be nurtured equally with the work
shared by both parents, and "all our social institutions"
reorganized to maximize equality. An ideological document
masquerading as a research study, focused solely on the downside of
sports and ignoring its benefits. (Kirkus Reviews)
Why is the American male's sense of self so closely intertwined with his success, or failure, as an athlete? What are the physical and emotional costs, to individual men and society at large, of engaging in organized athletics? Are sports good for men and boys? Michael Messner addresses these questions and more in his fascinating new study of masculinity and sports. Using interviews with thirty male former athletes, Messner argues that sports, so central to the lives of millions of boys and men, play a key role in shaping our society's definition of what it means to be a man. Messner shows us that lifelong relationships with colleagues, friends, lovers, wives, and children are affected by the barriers to intimacy constructed through sports. America's jock culture equates true manhood with athletic success, driving men to view the world in terms of status, power, and privilege. The Lombardian ethic that "winning isn't everything; it's the only thing" pushes America's athletes to continue to play even when hurt, to take drugs, and to treat women and others as mere objects. Sexism, homophobia, and racism pervade the world of sports, and Messner's conversations with male athletes of different races, classes, and sexual orientations reveal their struggles to reconcile the world of sports with the reality of their private lives. America's boys and men, as well as its girls and women, can find camaraderie and pleasure on the playing field, but the rules of the game must change first. The rules will only shift, Messner convinces us, when we begin to change our definitions of what it is to be men and women.
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