I probably shouldnt say this, should i… but…”: Mischievous masculinities as a way for men to convey reflexivity and make choices in sporting sites

Abstract

This chapter draws upon data from a three-year ethnographic study of a Northern Rugby Union club in the United Kingdom, including observations, 32 individual interviews, and 94 group interviews. The chapter explores how men experience and negotiate the gendered structures underpinning such sporting sites. Moving beyond current conceptions of 'the rugby lad', it offers a nuanced way of theorizing the relationship between masculinity and sport through the idea of 'mischievous masculinities'. In the chapter, the men's stories are utilized to critically examine dominant theorizing such as Connell's (Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995) hegemonic masculinity and to explore the interactional practices which have become synonymous with sporting lads such as banter. The term 'banter' refers to a specific type of jocular interaction that is playful in nature, but characterized by its often impolite, offensive, and abusive tone (Hay, 1994; Plester & Sayers, "Taking the piss": Functions of Banter in the IT industry. Humor, 20(2), 157-187, 2007). An interactive practice that permeates many spheres of the social world, it is particularly prevalent within male-dominated sporting arenas and positioned as a central feature of mischievous masculinities. The analysis offered in this chapter reveals how banter is used within contemporary sporting communities to show resistance to dominant gendered behaviors and to display more diverse forms of masculinity. This chapter argues that through engaging with men's interactional practices in sporting sites we can begin to more productively account for, and problematize, the resistance, choice, and transgression that characterizes lived experiences of dominant gender structures. Further to this, through introducing 'mischievous masculinities', this chapter outlines a new conceptual approach to address ruptures between traditional and contemporary sporting masculinities.