On the “other” in Sport Gender Studies

From the View Point of “Identity Politics”

Abstract

This paper aims to consider “the other” in sport gender studies, analyzing earlier studies on differences among women in sport, and examining the discourse of explanation about sexual commodification by female athletes. In sport gender studies, the number of discussion on differences among women as well as differences women and men in sport has been increasing. The discussion on differences among women makes clear that in fact women have diverse sport experiences, which have been generalized by Western centrism, through disclosing the existence of “women” with negative and collective identities. On the other hand, if we always assumed “women” as a collective identity to critique the Western centrism in sport, sport gender studies, claims the hegemonic sport culture which unifies women’s experiences in sport, would come up against a dilemma of essentialism on a collective identity. In the discourse of explanation on sexual commodification, sport gender studies ties sexual representations by female athletes with an economical reason. This assumes “‘the poor women’ sell their sex” based on the category of “the other.” I call this assumption “the appropriation of the other” by sport gender studies. I consider the theoretical framework of sport gender studies, referring to the discussion on “identity politics” by Judith Butler and Kazuko Takemura. In addition, I propose the range of sport gender studies.