| In this dissertation, I examine women in sport by exploring the case of Danica Patrick as a driver in the National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing (NASCAR). The broad perspective of socialization undergirds my study as sport is an important area in which individuals are socialized into their gender. From that broad perspective, I address three areas of contemporary understandings: (1) gender and sport in terms of hegemonic masculinity, (2) female athletes as bodies, and (3) sporting heroines as revered role models.;To explore the three areas, I adopt a broad case studies approach to bind this unruly real-world phenomenon as well as to offer analysis that is not limited, but guided by and connected with previous examinations and relevant theoretical perspectives. From my analyses of collected data (participant observation and media reports), I offer three key findings and interpretations: (1) Patrick illustrates how hegemonic masculinity may shift and accommodate change, and also how it reasserts itself to justify male domination, (2) she addresses the limitations and tensions embodied by female athletes in terms of intelligible and unintelligible performances, and (3) she demonstrates how sporting heroines, as important role models, simultaneously challenge and uphold gender ideals that limit women. I conclude by asking if women's performances, as erotic heroines and by embodying aspects of physical feminism, may help to challenge what is intelligible and unintelligible. |
