Bodies, bruises, and blisters, and the struggle for/of the feminine/muscular body: the ways in which women CrossFitters transgress gendered boundaries

Abstract

Gender is a fundamental element of social life but is premised on the notions of socially and culturally constructed differences which are almost always hierarchical in nature, imbued with power(lessness), and reinforced by binary thinking. Sport is one domain where gendered hierarchies, power struggles, and binaries have been most notable. CrossFit is a relatively new sport which is said to offer women a space for alternative gender performances. This article draws on autophotographical and photo-elicitation interview data generated with 13 women CrossFitters. Informed by feminist poststructuralism and using reflexive thematic analysis, the researchers generated two paradoxical themes which illustrate the ways in which women CrossFitters can transgress but also inadvertently reinforce gendered boundaries. We present and interrogate the themes of bodies, bruises, and blisters, and the struggle for/of the feminine/muscular body as paradoxical processes for women CrossFitters. These paradoxical processes permit women CrossFitters to experiment with performances of both femininity and masculinity that could be transformational and non-gendered and allow these women to transgress normative bodily ideals and gendered norms.