Historicizing Machoism in Swedish Ice Hockey

Abstract

Male ice hockey has long been regarded as a hyper-masculine sport. More importantly, the so-called machoism has been institutionalized in the ice hockey culture and, due to its comprehensive legitimacy and complexity, it has been impossible to problematize, challenge and ultimately change from within. Identifying ice hockey’s cultural promises, guidelines, psyche, and societal contributions, the controlling of changes is illuminated, which, taken together, help to deepen the understanding of machoism’s stability in sport. Although the journal Hockey is the main historical source, interviews, the media, and biographies have also been used. As Sweden is located between what was then the Soviet Union and North America, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association was inspired by these dominating ice hockey models. The professional and, mostly, Canadian hockey style gradually gained ground. In short, the appreciated masculine ideals interlinked with commercial forces and the tactical strategies of the game. By showing the culture’s stability and complexity, previous research on masculine domination in ice hockey is nuanced and complemented.