The Rites of Men : Manhood, Politics, and the Culture of Sport

Sport gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today, yet it is widely regarded as being outside the dominant political and social systems. Varda Burstyn challenges this view, showing not only that sport generates an elitist, masculinist account of power and social order, but that it is central to the constitution of political power in contemporary life. Burstyn begins by describing the emergence of sport as a masculinist secular religion by the close of the nineteenth century. Today, she argues, masculine dominance continues to be constructed and promoted by the multibillion-dollar nexus that has harnessed sport as the consummate sales agent. She goes on to show that the super-aggressive ideal of manhood, as practised, modelled, and animated through the culture of sport, has profound social and political consequences. Combining some of the best insights of feminist theory with the perspectives of history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, and cultural criticism, this book brings a new dimension to sport as a subject for serious As much as The Rites of Men is a critique of our dominant forms of masculinity and the institutionalized world of sport, one of the great strengths of this book is that Burstyn writes with tremendous compassion about men, and with enormous empathy for athletes themselves. After all, she says, much of institutionalized sport represents the brutalization of boys and men in the service of the corporate and political interests at the heart of the sport nexus. Woven through the book is an outstanding account of the links between sport, manhood, and gender systems, in which she draws on a rich legacy of studies of sport and gender, as well as on her own experience as a writer, policy adviser, and former therapist. Embedded in this is a deep understanding of the place of sexuality and homoeroticism present in men's sport in spite of everyone's denials. For those interested in how sport, economics, and gender interact, the book addresses the corporate embrace of sport that has created an ever-more-astounding manipulation of the male media audience. A multi-billion-dollar sportsmedia nexus uses masculinist ideals to sell products (both sport itself and other commodities) and, in turn, plays a strong role in constructing those ideals anew. However, the problem isn't simply one of ideals, as we see when Burstyn turns to the now-commercialized -and always politicized -Olympics, where we witness with horror the biotechnologization of the human body, and to the rampant anorexia in women athletes. Perhaps the most disturbing questions arise when she traces the ways that sport re-creates and amplifies strong emotional links between manhood, violence, war, and socioeconomic inequality. Sport becomes an anchor to neoliberal economics and neoconservative politics through its strong beliefs in inequality and the ideal that heroic masculinity is based on inequality. Central to this world, says Burstyn, is an institutional emphasis on increasingly large, violent male athletes. The commercial elevation of the masculine warrior to hero is a central feature of the development of sport culture. By creating this hero in sport culture, Burstyn argues, sport has been central, in our era, to the celebration of force, violence, and coercion as ideals of manhood. In this way sport has acted as a political reservoir of anti-democratic and elitist values that coexist with, and have often overwhelmed, egalitarian, cooperative, and democratic values. If this is true -and her argument is cogent -all of us, not just those working in sport, should take sport seriously. Burstyn's sweeping analysis does not end until she identifies some of the possible mechanisms of change: change in sport culture, and in the gender arrangements and masculine ideals that promote sport and, in turn, are promoted through sport. Hers is not a saccharine optimism. Rather, she makes an Foreword xiii impassioned and intelligent plea to radically alter the culture of sport and its place in society. Varda Burstyn's The Rites of Men is an important and exciting contribution to that goal. It gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today, yet sport is widely regarded as being outside dominant political and social systems. Varda Burstyn challenges this view, showing not only that sport generates an elitist, masculinist account of power and social order, but that it is central to the constitution of political power in contemporary life. Burstyn begins by describing the emergence of sport as a masculinist secular religion by the close of the last century. Today, she argues, masculine dominance continues to be constructed and promoted by the multibillion-dollar nexus that has harnessed sport as the consummate sales agent. She goes on to show that the super-aggressive ideal of manhood, as practised, modelled, and animated through the culture of sport, has profound social and political consequences. Combining some of the best insights of feminist theory with the perspectives of history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, and cultural criticism, this book brings a new dimension to sport as a subject for serious scholarship. Varda Burstyn is a political writer, cultural critic, and public policy consultant.

It gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today, yet sport is widely regarded as being outside dominant political and social systems. Varda Burstyn challenges this view, showing not only that sport generates an elitist, masculinist account of power and social order, but that it is central to the constitution of political power in contemporary life.

Burstyn begins by describing the emergence of sport as a masculinist secular religion by the close of the last century. Today, she argues, masculine dominance continues to be constructed and promoted by the multibillion-dollar nexus that has harnessed sport as the consummate sales agent. She goes on to show that the super-aggressive ideal of manhood, as practised, modelled, and animated through the culture of sport, has profound social and political consequences.

Combining some of the best insights of feminist theory with the perspectives of history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, and cultural criticism, this book brings a new dimension to sport as a subject for serious scholarship.

Contents 7 Foreword 11 Acknowledgments 15 Introduction 19 1. Societies, Bodies, and Ideologies: Terms and Approaches 29 2. To Raise the Wolf in a Man's Heart' Sport and Men's Culture in the Nineteenth Century 61 3. Taming the Beast': Sport, Masculinity, and Sexuality in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 92 4. Delivering the Male: Sport Culture, the Mass Media, and the Masculinity Market 119 5. Spectacle, Commerce, and Bodies: Three Facets of Hypergender in the Sport Nexus 148 6. 'Hit, Crunch, and Burn': Organized Violence and Men's Sport 179 7. 'Hooligans, Studs, and Queers': Three Studies in the Reproduction of Hypermasculinity 208 8. High Performance: Drugs, Politics, and Profit in Sport 237 9. Re-creating Recreation: Sport and Social Change 268 Notes 293 Bibliography 355 Index 395 It gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today, yet sport is widely regarded as being outside dominant political and social systems. Varda Burstyn challenges this view, showing not only that sport generates an elitist, masculinist account of power and social order, but that it is central to the constitution of political power in contemporary life.Combining some of the best insights of feminist theory with the perspectives of history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, and cultural criticism, this book brings together an impressive mix of theoretical perspectives. Too rarely made a subject for serious scholarship, sport takes on a significant new dimension in this penetrating study. "Sport gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today, yet it is widely regarded as being outside the dominant political and social systems. Varda Burstyn challenges this view, showing not only that sport generates an elitist, masculinist account of power and social order, but that it is central to the constitution of political power in contemporary life." "Combining some of the best insights of feminist theory with the perspectives of history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, and cultural criticism, this book brings a new dimension to sport as a subject for serious scholarship."--Résumé de l'éditeur It gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today. More than just a game, sport has profound political and social consequences, promoting a super-aggressive ideal of manhood and political culture.