This paper uses autoethnography to analyze theories and issues pertaining to gender and sport in an attempt to understand the first author’s experiences in both a conventionally feminine sport (rhythmic gymnastics) as well as a conventionally masculine sport (ice hockey). This analysis highlights the dissonance between her personal experiences and what theory says she should have experienced. In particular, Foucault’s concept of constraints as both inhibiting and enabling is applied to analyze the higher value that is apparently placed on masculine skills and the assumption of a standard male-sport experience.
Sara Dorken and Audrey Giles School of Human Kinetics 125 University St. University of Ottawa E-mail: sdork077@uottawa.ca Phone: (613) 562-5800 ext. 2988 Fax: (613) 562-5497