Men Who Strike and Men Who Submit: Hegemonic and Marginalized Masculinities in Mixed Martial Arts

Abstract

While the recent conceptualization of hegemonic masculinity allows for the emergence of multiple masculinities, a significant ambiguity remains in theorizing the relationships between hegemonic and ''alternative'' forms of masculinity. In the relatively newly institutionalized sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), the relationship between the two polarized, competing technical styles-striking and submissionappears to demonstrate the competition between hegemonic and marginalized masculinities. This article argues that the distinction is predicated on the process of maintaining and negotiating a specific form of hegemonic masculinity that interacts with East Asian masculinities that are often feminized, yet selectively authorized by their white American counterpart. This article provides a theoretical discussion of marginalized masculinities identified in MMA and challenges the perceived characteristics of hegemonic masculinity-particularly its singularity and impenetrability-by suggesting a more relational, antiessentialist approach.

Masculinities and sport: the emphasis on hegemonic masculinity in Portuguese physical education classes

“…Hegemonic or dominant masculinity has been an object of study in sport and in PE, especially since the 1990s (e.g., Connell 1990Connell , 1995Hickey and Fitzclarence 1999;Hirose and Pih 2009;Light 2008;Messner and Sabo 1990;Pringle 2008;Swain 2006;Wright 1997). The complicity with the productive and reproductive standards of this hegemonic masculinity characterizes a form of masculine identity of teaching which makes it easier, in PE and in sport, for the reproduction of that masculinity and of a patriarchal ideology (Brown 1999).…”

“It Is What It Is”: Masculinity, Homosexuality, and Inclusive Discourse in Mixed Martial Arts

“…The use of imagery and narrative which emphasised the excessive and dangerous violence of 'cage fighting' (Brent & Kraska, 2013;Downey, 2007), the 'realness' of the fights as stressed by the apparent lack of rules (Sánchez García & Malcolm, 2010;van Bottenburg & Heilbron, 2006), and the resonance which these struck with idealised visions of gritty, 'working-class' (American) masculinity (Hirose & Pih, 2010), were undoubtedly important elements in the original appeal of the UFC (Wertheim, 2010). Eventually, the excessively 'violent' nature of the UFC's brand of MMA attracted a notoriety which earned fierce criticism as much as audience interest, and as political pressure forced the UFC to seek a more acceptable, mainstream image (Mayeda & Ching, 2008), the violence of its contests was de-emphasised (Sánchez García & Malcolm, 2010).…”

Exploring embodiment through martial arts and combat sports: a review of empirical research

“…Downey has explored the creation 81 and the philosophical differences on violent masculinities between American and Asian audiences. 82 These have made an important contribution in order to consider the connections between the embodied practice of an art with its mediation and the consumers/viewers that sustain its social field, which invites further investigation of the disparity between cultural representations of 'violence' in combat sports, with practitioners' perspectives on the meanings and significance of their combative exploits.…”