Sociological Perspective On Boxing

1377 Words6 Pages
“Boxing is for men, and is about men, and is men” (Carol Joyce Oates). Boxing is among the most visceral and male dominated combat sports of all time. It’s no coincidence that on my patriarchal side my grandfather was an Olympic gold medalist welterweight boxer and my father also engaged in it. The bruising and bloody confrontations of boxing are perhaps what enticed me to become a boxer and take up my patriarchal tradition after my father physically abused my mother for years. My father’s side continuously told me that I would never be able to fight back, as fighting was only for men and men only. After my mother split with my father, I decided to learn to box and swing like him in order to protect myself from ever being the victim in an…show more content…
Upon entrance of our boxing club, there are huge murals of boxers, and advertisements for the club and yet not one female was pictured. Coaches even snickered at women who joined the club and tried to thwart our memberships by subliminally telling us we were incapable of it. Through usage of the sociological imagination I can come to realize that my choice to become a boxer was not solely the product of discouragement from my father’s side, it was the result of my rebellion to the general doubt in women’s physical fighting abilities that society has. Women should not be oppressed for trying to extend the boundaries of our social norms and roles by exploring sports. Such an exploration should be embraced, especially in boxing, as it should be seen as liberation from our illusive constraints on what we can and cannot do. Women are beginning to understand that gender norms, roles and stereotypes are purely social constructs and this understanding is reflective in the increasing number of female boxers. It is as if the very presence of a female threatens the masculine spell that frames a fighter’s consciousness; men try to maintain the patriarchy in boxing because they are afraid to accept the fact that women are able to fight
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