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Judith Butler, Feminism, and the Sociology of Sport

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The Palgrave Handbook of Feminism and Sport, Leisure and Physical Education

Abstract

Judith Butler, a feminist philosopher and the leading cultural theorist of gender, has had a significant influence on the field of sport studies. The concepts and theoretical frameworks she has provided us include an examination of the discursive creation and maintenance of gender as a category, the performativity of gender and sexuality, the signification of the sexed body, and the complex ‘grid of cultural intelligibility’ (2006: 208) that the heterosexual matrix illuminates. This chapter gives an overview of the ways in which Butler’s theories have been taken up and used among scholars of sport. Specific to the literature, Butler’s theories have been most often used to more fully understand the experiences of female athletes, men and masculinity, lesbian athletes, and transgender and intersex athletes.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is exactly opposite of J. L. Austin (1975) who asserts that when it is discovered that something exists, it is then that a word is created to bring it forth.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. St Mary’s College of Maryland, St Marys City, MD, USA

    Kristi Tredway

Authors
  1. Kristi Tredway
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Brunel University, London, United Kingdom

    Louise Mansfield

  2. Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom

    Jayne Caudwell

  3. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Belinda Wheaton

  4. Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Beccy Watson

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© 2018 The Author(s)

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Tredway, K. (2018). Judith Butler, Feminism, and the Sociology of Sport. In: Mansfield, L., Caudwell, J., Wheaton, B., Watson, B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Feminism and Sport, Leisure and Physical Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53318-0_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53318-0_26

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-53317-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53318-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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