Throwing your hat in the ring: Women volunteers in boxing

Abstract

This paper focuses on part of a research project that considers women's sports volunteering experiences. Specifically, we draw on interview data with four women boxing volunteers. Research focusing on boxing and gender has largely been preoccupied with the politics of women's inclusion in competitive boxing, media coverage, and women boxers' gendered identities. Less attention is given to women who volunteer within boxing clubs. Theoretically we use feminist-queer thinking, which challenges structural constraints whilst incorporating post-structural and queer deconstructive approaches towards understanding the gendered body. To re-present the women's accounts we offer a story, 'The boxing gym: A women's volunteering story' , and discuss three themes: women as an exception in boxing; women having to prove themselves; and women's sense of belonging within their boxing community. Our closing remarks highlight the precarious position of women volunteers in boxing and reiterate their role as pivotal constituents in sustaining the future of boxing communities.

The gender of bruising: A critical literature review on gender in boxing

“…This restructuring of the boxing environments posed challenges to formerly male spaces. These challenges are addressed by the recent studies on boxing that focus on the regulations of diversity in boxing gyms (Dortants & Knoppers, 2013, 2016), the investment of coaches to the training of women (Cove & Young, 2007), the troubles of gendering of coaching (Tjønndal & Hovden, 2021) the gendered volunteering in boxing (Fitzgerald, Drury and Stride, 2021) or the ways boxers negotiate their gender identities (McNaughton, 2012; Channon and Phipps, 2017; Nash, 2017; Oualhaci, 2022; Rabii, 2021) among others. What is currently missing is the exploration of gender in boxing refereeing and the ways it might influence referees' behaviour, their decision‐making processes and practices.…”

“…The recent work of Fitzgerald et al. (2022) addresses this gap. In their study, they analysed stories of 4 women boxing volunteers, three in their mid‐30 to mid‐50, one under 20 in the context of the UK.…”

“…The group of organisational infrastructure that has been under-researched in boxing from the gender perspective is volunteers. The recent work of Fitzgerald et al (2022) addresses this gap. In their study, they analysed stories of 4 women boxing volunteers, three in their mid-30 to mid-50, one under 20 in the context of the UK.…”

“…In their study, they analysed stories of 4 women boxing volunteers, three in their mid-30 to mid-50, one under 20 in the context of the UK. They focused on "women as an exception in boxing; women having to prove themselves; and women's sense of belonging within their boxing community" (Fitzgerald et al, 2022(Fitzgerald et al, , p. 1831. Their research shows that women volunteers are perhaps under even bigger scrutiny than their competitive counterparts.…”

“…Nonetheless their work concludes that women volunteers are important for sustaining boxing infrastructure. They are "the life-blood of many boxing gyms" (Fitzgerald et al, 2022(Fitzgerald et al, , p. 1843.…”