To Örebro University

The aim of this dissertation is to study the conditions of and changes in sociative democracy processes at club level. One sports club is studied, Örebro Sportklubb (ÖSK), from its foundation in 1908 up to 1989. The main sources are club minutes, member magazines and annual reports. Democracy, and its twofolded relation to sport and economy processes, is the main problem area of the study. The specific question is how aspirations for economic effectiveness and sporting success influenced the democracy processes in ÖSK between 1908 and 1989.

The Swedish sports movement has been described as a democratic movement. But the same movement has also been portrayed as an undemocratic movement made of men, for men. The study is based on a broad understanding of the democracy concept where issues of representativeness, influence, participation and knowledge are prominent. At a club level, the study is analysing the contents of the Swedish sports movement's democracy and its change during the 1900s. The thesis also illustrates how the pursuit of economic efficiency affected the associative democracy. These efficiencies were visible already in the 1920s, but was deepened during the 1970s. In short, the democratic range decreased, and successful sections became less and less motivated to finance the deficits of other sections.

But the increased market orientation did not only represent a threat to the associative democracy. Marketisation and commercialization also preconditioned the democracy. At the club arena (Eyravallen), the members met in the clubhouse and café which, in turn, deepened the social capital and friendships within the club.

Introduction and aim When designing our identities we are inclined to use images of our selves, as well as pictures of ’the others’. Images are interwoven with our culture and society, as well as with definitions of history and truth. The overall aim of this study is to analyse, by using a visual method, masculinizing and de-masculizing processes. More specific, the objective is to study how a dominant masculinity manifested itself in associative visuals (and texts), and how these images of domination changed during from 1908 to 1989. Theory and method Drawing inspiration from Bourdieu (2001) and Connell (1995), the theoretical perspective is based on the production and reproduction of a dominant and hegemonic masculinity manuscript at a associative level. Results from their work reveal that images and expectations about men and women make us asymmetrically associated with e. g. sexuality or age. This means that the norms of masculinity dictate how athletics are visualised or objectified. In turn, the norms and actions of masculinity are hierarchical, i.e. men see themselves in relation to a dominant masculinity or an alternative femininity. (This process always includes several other potential power perceptions.) From this perspective ideals and identities can vary both between men and within the same man, when, for example, the context changes. The method is a textual and visual analysis of how the hegemonic manuscript conditions and permeates the images and texts, e. g. in what is being captured or why, how a photograph is taken, how the athlete is portrayed and so on. More specific, the numerical representations of men and women respectively are counted along with more qualitative characteristics of how men and women were portrayed. Results and discussion The photography of a man always contains a potential to construct and categorise differences of gender. The ambition of the study is to say something universal about the mechanisms of the (re)production of male dominance in an organisation. The overall conclusion shows the difference in being objectified or portrayed, visually and textually, with and without respectively, a preserved subject position and status. Although, there are arguments for a changeable masculinity, sometimes the ideal masculine identity shows little variance. The changing aspects are particularly interesting as the study object grasps over an 80- year period. The discussion will focus on what power mechanisms are being used to reproduce a dominant, masculine order in the association. References Bourdieu, Pierre. (2001). Masculine domination. Cambridge: Polity. Connell, Raewyn. (1995). Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Research questions How is the 'problem' of gender equity described, perceived and experienced by female and male board members in Swedish sport today? What key dilemmas can be identified in the realisation of a gender equitable sport management? Research methods The article builds on research conducted on three Swedish ball sport federations during 2020-2021 and is based on a total number of 27 (12 males, 15 females) structured interviews with top leaders. The methodology employs Fraser's concept of gender justice and the need to pay attention to cultural and economic dimensions in transformative interventions. Results and Findings Three dilemmas relating to the realisation of gender equity are analysed: between quotas and stigmatisation, overcoming gender equity as a side-project and how the democratic infrastructure of Swedish sport enables men's continued dominance. The findings indicate that one-dimensional (affirmative) interventions dominate, which in turn explain why achieving gender equity in Swedish sport is difficult, i.e. cultural interventions only limit the chances of achieving gender equity. Implications To implement transformative interventions, cultural and economic resources need to be equally recognised and redistributed so that the organisations' gender order is deconstructed and participation on equally recognised terms secured.

Sport is often described as a field containing competitive and hierarchy shaping activities. However, in Sweden and elsewhere, this field is also permeated by democratic principles where, for example, everybody has the right to participate in children’s and youth sports regardless of gender, ethnicity or physical ability. In Sweden, there are distinct objectives for gender equality, where women/girls and men/boys should ideally be treated and recognised equally. The aim of this paper is twofold: to examine how gender is enacted in the textbooks used in Swedish sports coaching and educational programmes and to identify whether any of the enactments reflect a hegemonic masculinity. The textbooks used in two of the most extensive courses arranged by the Swedish Sports Confederation, ‘The Platform’ [Plattformen] and ‘Basic Coach Education’ [Grundtränarutbildning] are in focus. The theoretical framework and methodological approach are inspired by research on sport, gender and the hegemonic masculinity thesis. In the process of analysis, the hegemonic perspective is central. During the analysis, four themes are identified as expressions of a hegemonic masculinity and, thus, as obstacles to gender equality. Firstly, the binary sex norm poses a real challenge for the implementation of gender equality because it helps to shape a hierarchy that privileges men and masculinities. Secondly and thirdly, the themes ‘puberty’ and ‘the coach’ appear to be important, in that they support and contest a gendered hierarchy. Finally, there are examples of men, like sport coaches, appearing as genderless, which is interpreted as a hegemonic acceptance of the category of men (as universal and genderless subjects). By critically illuminating these themes, the paper adds to the wider research field of sport, coaching and education programmes and the complexity of gender mainstreaming in sport.

The tradition of Swedish ice hockey as a masculine-dominated territory that encourages characteristics like roughness, aggressiveness, and to some extent violence has been hotly debated. Using historical articles from the Swedish Hockey magazine, and with a perspective combining hegemony with the social-ecological model of violence prevention, this study develops an interpretation of how masculinity traits and violence in Swedish ice hockey interconnect. The historical case provides findings for this interconnection, with meanings of masculinity and a competitive commitment as permeating threads. Triggered by individuals, but also connected to coaches' encouragements, organizations' endeavours, societal, and financial forces, the negotiations around playing styles and allowance levels have been permeated by ideals of masculinity; ideals that enforce the current hegemonic gender order. Ultimately, the article contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of sport violence as an issue that not only impacts or can be utilized by sport organizations and players/practitioners but also its broader societal implications.

Introduktion: Trots att svensk idrott länge har haft ett övergripande jämställdhetsmål där kvinnor och män, pojkar och flickor ska ha samma villkor (RF, 1989, 2005, 2011) så går förändringsarbetet trögt. Detta förklaras ofta av att många idrottsgrenar bär en tradition där män dominerat med följden att normer och handlingar som förknippas med ”kvinnliga” egenskaper värderas lägre (se t ex Fundberg, 2003; Messner, 1992). Ett viktigt incitament för förändring är utbildning och inom idrottens (SISU:s) ledar-skapsutbildningar finns två ”grundutbildningar”: Plattformen och grundtränarutbildningen. Men möjliggör eller förhindrar innehållet i dessa utbildningar förändringar mot en mer jämställd idrott?

Syfte & teoretisk ram: I detta paper studeras hur kön/genus represente-ras i litteraturen i dessa utbildningar med fokus på att synliggöra komplexiteter/motsägelsefullheter. Syftet är att utreda om och i så fall hur litteraturens innehåll utmanar eller bekräftar en traditionell, ste-reotypisk föreställning om mäns och manligheters dominans över kvinnor och kvinnligheter och om innehållet således bidrar till eller hindrar möjligheterna för en mer jämställd idrott. Teoretiskt bildar forskning om hegemoniska maskuliniteter (Connell 1983, 1996) och mäns hegemonier (Hearn, 2004) ramverk för analysen.

Metod: Genom textanalys och ett diskursivt perspektiv studeras fyra böcker inom de ovan nämnda natio-nella utbildningarna. Dessutom används i viss utsträckning även kursernas powerpoint-presentatio-ner som underlag för analysen.

Resultat: De preliminära resultaten visar att män skildras både stereotypiskt och som normbrytare genom att till exempel trösta och hålla om barn. Samtidigt reproducerar texterna ett binärt könssystem som tenderar att underordna kvinnor och kvinnlighet. Kvinnans kropp beskrivs som mindre kapabel och sämre utrustad för fysisk ansträngning. Detta gör också att attityden till kvinnor som kunskapsbärande och kunskapsproducerande subjekt påverkas.

Diskussion: Diskussionen fokuserar på hur innehållet i denna litteratur tenderar att både reproducera och i viss mån utmana mäns och manligheters dominans inom idrotten. Samtidigt finns det något motsägelsefullt i att män bryter mot en traditionellt manlig norm eftersom detta snarare tenderar att omskapa en ny form av hegemoni (Connell 1983, 1996). Detta kan förklara trögföränderligheten hos hegemoniska mas-kuliniteter och ger således ny kunskap om jämställdhetsarbetets utmaningar.

Male ice hockey has long been regarded as a hyper-masculine sport. More importantly, the so-called machoism has been institutionalized in the ice hockey culture and, due to its comprehensive legitimacy and complexity, it has been impossible to problematize, challenge and ultimately change from within. Identifying ice hockey’s cultural promises, guidelines, psyche, and societal contributions, the controlling of changes is illuminated, which, taken together, help to deepen the understanding of machoism’s stability in sport. Although the journal Hockey is the main historical source, interviews, the media, and biographies have also been used. As Sweden is located between what was then the Soviet Union and North America, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association was inspired by these dominating ice hockey models. The professional and, mostly, Canadian hockey style gradually gained ground. In short, the appreciated masculine ideals interlinked with commercial forces and the tactical strategies of the game. By showing the culture’s stability and complexity, previous research on masculine domination in ice hockey is nuanced and complemented. 

During the first half of the 20^th century the Swedish Sports Confederation became the dominant sports organisation in Sweden. In short, the organisation adapted a representative democratic principle and argued that it fostered its members to democratic citizens. In turn, this legitimised annual state grants but did not prevent long-time male domination within Swedish sports. This paper deals with the contradictive contents of sports masculinity (e. g. being similarly democratic and exclusionary) and, more specific, it focuses the long-time duration of masculine domination in a Swedish, voluntary sports club and how different visual and textual strategies were used to strengthen the masculine hegemony in the organisation.

   The method draws inspiration from the concept of hegemonic masculinity, understood as something restraining and contradictive, and Wetherell & Edley's (1999) more fine-grained analytical tool called “imaginary positions”. The source materials are texts and photos in members reviews of Örebro Sports Club and the chronological period is two-folded divided from the foundation of the club in 1908 to 1933 and from 1967 up until 1989 when the club was dissolved into different juridical persons.

   The results show that masculine positions were not only about winning and expressing a successful, active and struggling masculinity. The hegemonic (and heroic) position offered a range of possibilities to express and visualize masculinity but the very same position, on the other hand, contained plain borders towards deviant sexuality, functionality, ethnicity and gender. The discussion involves an approach to understand the results in relation to the difficulties of challenging patriarchy and male domination in sports.

Aim and Research Questions: Against a background of identified masculinity ideals and how they relate to norms of violence in Swedish ice hockey, the overall purpose of this paper is to identify preventive suggestions that can challenge violence-supportive masculinity ideals and norms. The specific research aim is to identify and discuss preventive measures from an individual (coach or player) perspective (i.e. a micro level), club or community perspective (a meso level) and a structural (e.g. rules) perspective (a macro level). The two research questions are: Which ideals have been appreciated in Swedish male ice hockey and what kinds of attitudes to violence in general can be identified? What, more specifically, can be considered as necessary to change in Swedish ice hockey in order to prevent violence and violent behaviour?

Theoretical Background and Literature Review: By combining research on sport, masculinities (or gender), violence/aggression and prevention, a theoretical discussion is conducted about the link between masculinity and aggressiveness/violence in sport and how this affects and is associated with more general expressions of men’s violence in society and the adequacy of prevention. The point of departure is a ‘broad’ understanding of violence that includes physical, psychological, verbal and other non-physical aspects (Connell, 2005; Flood, 2019). Ice hockey has a long history of violence (Lorenz, 2016)and researchers have examined this culture from several perspectives. Rockerbie (2015)estimates the effect of ice hockey fights on attendance in the NHL and finds that although fighting perhaps was more popular in the early years of the NHL, there is no absolute association between average attendance and fights per game. Other research has shown that male team sports can nurture aggressive and sexist attitudes and behaviour (Messner and Sabo, 1994; Pappas, 2012). Flood’s (2019) work focuses on men and boys and violence prevention and helps us to understand such attitudes and behaviors as an initial step that could, if it escalates, result in men’s violence against women. Although there are strong arguments for male dominated team sports’ objectification of women and femininity and the social problems associated with this, there is a risk of simplification by only attributing such attitudes to participation in ice hockey or a team sport. Alcohol consumption, socialization in a sport, society at large and other factors also need to be taken into account.

Research Design, Methodology and Data Analysis: Part of a larger project on masculinity ideals and violence norms in Swedish ice hockey from 1965 up until today, the presentation is primarily based on interviews with five Swedish ice hockey coaches. (The project also gathers data from interviews with players, observations from ice hockey games, excerpts from media, examination of the magazine Hockey and (auto)biographies). Taken together, all the coaches had experiences of playing ice hockey themselves from amateur to professional level in Sweden and abroad. The analytical process can be summarized in three steps. Firstly, a thematic analysis was carried out in which different ‘meaning units’ were transformed into ‘condensed meaning units’ and finally collected to ‘codes’. Secondly, the codes or ideals were placed within the theoretical frame and interpreted in terms of an eventual hegemonic, masculine and/or violence-supportive ideal. Lastly, given that some meaning units include norms related to aggression and violence, the discussion section is constructed around preventative suggestions emanating from the findings.

Results/Findings and Discussion: The main result shows that some of the ice hockey milieu’s positive effects (e.g. community, loyalty, the sense of comfort) to some extent also form the basis as risk factors in developing violent behaviour, (e.g. sexist and derogative attitudes/language, exaggerated hard playing style, collective norms that trigger fights and alcohol consumption). One coach gave an example of the coaches of a junior team he played with (in the early 1990s) who drank alcohol and watched pornographic films in the bus home from away matches. The informant reflected that such behaviour affected the players’ values, their talk about and views of women and their attitudes towards alcohol. Another aspect, highlighted by another informant, is that violence (in a wide sense) can become part of the tactics in certain situations during a game, especially if players are encouraged to ‘provoke and get provoked!’ ie the same qualities that might make someone a successful player could also foster them in violent-supportive attitudes.

Conclusion, Contribution and Implication: The paper shows how ice hockey, as a male team sport, can nurture and even encourage sexist and violent attitudes but the sport also has a huge preventative potential. The conclusion that can be drawn is that a successful, violence prevention programme in ice hockey (and perhaps also other male dominated team sports) should pay specific attention to such individual behaviour with the aim of minimizing the risk of players developing negative attitudes that in the end nurture patriarchy and enhance the inequalities between men and women.

In this article, the focus is on a theoretical discussion about how to analyse masculinities and power in historical research based on imagery and visual sources from a material-discursive point of departure. The argument is that analysing photographs in sport and the material-discursive representation of men/masculinities could contribute to a broader understanding of men’s hegemony. The article adds to the field of visual literacy and connects research on visual materials, sports history and critical gender studies. The past of Swedish ice hockey constitutes the case, while the understanding of men/masculinities departs from research by Jeff Hearn, Raewyn Connell and other scholars within the critical studies on men and masculinities field. Using four specific photographs from the Swedish magazine Hockey, the analysis exemplifies how their materiality and discursivity relate to a broader cultural context of the hegemony of men and masculinities. For example, cultural dominance strategies, visual techniques that ‘activate’ a photographed (or objectified) male subject and entitlement are discussed, and how these include discursive and material meanings of masculinity, status, and domination and how such embodiments interconnect with a contextual configuration of the dominant hegemony of men.

From both a quantitative and qualitative perspective, research shows that men and masculinities have dominated the Swedish sports movement for a long time and that sport as a so-called ‘democratic people’s movement’ has been criticised for being a male movement. Given the self-made claims of the Swedish Sports Confederation’s fostering of inclusivity and democratisation, this study encompasses a critical and historical perspective on the inclusive and exclusive dimensions of sport. The study object is a Swedish sports club and the specific aim is to analyse the prevailing norms and ideals and how they eventually helped to reproduce men’s domination in a local sports club. Chronologically, the paper uses a historical comparative approach studying the club’s 1910s–1920s and 1970s–1980s. The research questions put are: What characterised the norms of the ideal member and collective membership in terms of gender and did these change over time? Is it possible to find specific examples of inclusion and exclusion techniques by studying the club’s photographs and stories? The main result shows subtle and explicit power techniques that reproduced (some) men’s superior position at the club level.

Through an increased knowledge of the causes of violence, violence prevention can be more effective. Such knowledge thus generates profits for society at large. The sports movement is often perceived as a health supporting arena. However, critical researchhas shown the opposite: For example there is a connection between (male athletes’) sexist and homophobic jargon and the inclination to practice violence against other men and women outside the sports environment. The purpose of this ongoing project is to examine how two traditionally male dominated, Swedish sports (ice hockey and football) can be understood as arenas for political socialization. By interviewing sports men and identifying their attitudes to violence (in a wide sense) a more qualified knowledge can be created about the potential of sports as a violent aggravating arena. Is there a homophobic, sexist and in other ways discriminating discourse in these team sports, and, if so, how can we use this knowledge to create a more adequate basis for preventative actions? Theoretically, inspiration is drawn from critical studies on men and masculinities (e.g. works by Connell, Hearn, Messner) and methodologically the study employs a discursive approach inspired by works from Wetherell and Edley. The discussion will focus on the complex constructions of ‘men’ and ‘masculinities’ and the somewhat contradictive links to violence in these constructions.

Generally, men have dominated the field of modern sports. Consequently, many sports carry associations where traditional ‘male’ characteristics and qualities are valued and traditional ‘female’ characteristics and qualities are devalued (see eg Messner, 1992). More precisely, many sports ‘create’ men and ideals of masculinities. In this paper combat sports (MMA, boxing, karate, Japanese jujitsu etcetera) are studied as examples of sports that shape gender and body ideals. Combat sports express at least two typical ideals of masculinity: muscle strength and (sanctioned) control of violence (Brace-Govan , 2004; Gill, 2007). Women who have exercised these sports have thus been challenging men’s ‘monopoly’ of being strong, big, violent and powerful and other traditionally ‘male’ norms. The aim of this paper is to study, from a gender perspective, how Swedish combat sports have changed since the 1990s. The main question is: How is the increased number of women in combat sports to be understood? Is it a sign of a (feminist) emancipation or has the inclusion of women been on exclusive terms - that is, do men’s domination find new ways to exercise its powers? In the end, this paper also raises questions of the changing contents of violence and muscularity. In so far, the material consists of focus group interviews and individual interviews with combat sports women, from the elite to the recreational level. Magazines will be analysed during 2016-2017. Theoretically, the paper draws on theories of hegemony and gender (Connell, 1983, 2005, Hearn, 2015). The preliminary results show that women, on one hand, portray active subjects that challenge male (sporting) traditions and male norms. Combat sports, some women tell, are increasing ones self-esteem and self-confidence. On the other hand, the female versions of combat sports are not taken as seriously as the male version, which becomes obvious by lower compensation and less media attention. Women are also expected to act as feminine subjects and are thereby ‘forced’ to relate their bodies, clothes etcetera to social and more general understandings of feminine ideals (cf. Clasen, 2001).

Research question: Research has shown that male team sports can nurture aggressive and sexist attitudes and behaviour. Against a background of identified sports and ice hockey masculinities and how they relate to violence norms, the aim of this article is to identify masculinity ideals in need of interventions.

Research method: As part of a larger project on masculinity ideals and violence norms in Swedish ice hockey, this case study is based on a thematic analysis of interviews with five Swedish ice hockey coaches. Theoretically, the analysis is inspired by work on hegemonic masculinity and violence prevention.

Results and Findings: The findings derived from the interviews are discussed under three thematic headings: ‘The dual functions of sexism and group dynamics’, ‘Aggression and violence as problematic and progressive’ and ‘The stabilising and transformative role of a competitive environment’. In these, core values of the construction of hegemonic masculinity are identified and discussed.

Implications: The article contributes knowledge about risk factors in team sports and how attitudes and behaviour in a team or club can be both progressive and destructive at the same time. Based on the study's findings, work on violence prevention and the results of previous research, three preventive actions are suggested: 1. To erase sexist and derogative attitudes and actions so that they do not escalate, 2. Zero tolerance of alcohol consumption and drugs and 3. Change the rules in order to eliminate hard and reckless play.

Forskning indikerar en relation mellan idrottsliga och patriarkala ideal somhos vissa individer riskerar att ta sig uttryck i våld mot kvinnor och andramän. Syftet i denna artikel är att utifrån tidigare forskningsresultat undersökarelationen mellan maskulinitetsideal, våld och idrott samt möjligheterna tillförändring. Teoretiskt tas avstamp i begreppet ”den dominerande hegemoninsmaskulinitetsideal”. Argumentationen kretsar kring behovet av att utvecklaförståelsen av våld inom lagidrott med kroppskontakt genom att placerabetydelser av genus och patriarkala ideal i centrum av en sådan förståelseoch i förebyggande insatser. Med fokus på framtiden, avslutas artikeln meden färdriktning genom att diskutera ett utkast till en genusmedveten, våldspreventivmodell för idrottsrörelsen baserad på tidigare forskning och praktisktarbete inom idrottsrörelsen.

Denna artikel undersöker argumentet att det våld och den hårda fysiska kontakten som vissa idrotter innehåller, samt de ideal som hyllas i dessa, bidrar till en normalisering av mäns våldsanvändning mot andra människor även utanför själva idrottsarenan. Sportvåldet tolkas med inspiration från den kritiska forskningen om män och maskuliniteter och ses som ett led i upprätthållandet av en hierarkisk, patriarkal maktordning. I artikeln förs en diskussion kring vissa idrotters normalisering av våld som problemlösande metod och huruvida sådana idrotter skapar mer våldsbenägna män. Slutsatsen är att det i vissa idrotter kan finnas en riskfaktor för somliga män.

Previous research has identified sports-related risk factors that can cause acts of violence outside the sporting milieu. The purpose of this case study is to examine the ideals, language and social status of male ice hockey players and determine whether and how they affect their views of sexuality, aggressiveness and actions outside the ice hockey milieu. The method and material are based on a qualitative content analysis of interviews with six senior ice hockey players in Sweden. Research on masculinity and violence theoretically inspires the study. The findings show that expectations and norms can create increased status in a team and at the same time can also make it difficult for players to fully follow their own values and inner guides. In other words, players can be themselves, yet sometimes have to toe the line and follow the group (even if they do not always want to). Another finding is the dilemma of silence and the difficulties that players face in setting limits for team-mates who, for example, joke in a diminishing and inappropriate way. The article ends with a discussion about the challenges that these results entail regarding progressive (violence-preventative) work within ice hockey at the individual and structural levels.

In this chapter we expand the analysis of sports, organizations, and masculinity to include behaviour often hidden in private communications by broadening the definition of the ‘locker room’ to include social media and other online spaces. Drawing upon high-profile events, research on male-dominated sports, and arguments on sports and hegemonic masculinities, we illustrate how strongmen create locker room spaces to embody narratives of hegemonic masculinities that disparage and mock certain groups. Demonstrating their values and ideas on whiteness, masculinity, and domination, the strongmen’s misogynist, homophobic, and racist language constructs women, LGBTQ + individuals, and ethnic minorities as inferior. In particular, the weaponization of misogyny and homophobia serves as a warning not only to women and gay men, but also to ‘non-feminized’ heterosexual men whose behaviour or ideas fall outside dominant ‘normative’ constructions of masculinity. By focussing on hidden (or not intended to be public) communication between men in sports organizations, our analysis illustrates that demeaning behaviour is, on the part of some white men, a response to their fear of social change – prompting an examination of the fragility of hegemonic masculinity.

The Swedish upper secondary school and its physical education (PE) should, according to the Lgy11 (the 2011 curriculum of upper secondary school in Sweden), raise aware- ness about and challenge stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. Previous research, however, has concluded that there is an upholding of traditional, hegemonic masculinity ideals through PE. The purpose of this article is to highlight how gender and power influence the outcome of a just education. Theoretical inspiration is taken from Irish Marion Young’s and Raewyn Connell’s work on gender and hegemonic masculinity, and the method involves interviews with PE teachers and observations of PE classes. Dance, ball games, competition, socializing violence, performance of heterosexual norms are identified as key points, which are discussed in terms of norms and power linked to men and masculinity ideals. The results show that the making of masculinity is constantly oc- curring in PE, both in active elements but also during “inactive” breaks. Although strong ideals linked to men and masculinity were identified, there were usually also alternative representations. In other words, the educational gender practices were not identified as unambiguous, but rather as ambiguous and contradictory. However, most respondents showed decided views on how boys and girls naturally “are” in certain ways, which con- ditions a counter-stereotypical approach to education. 

Ice hockey has traditionally been a male-dominated culture that has both promoted and legitimised masculine dominance and gender inequality. The question is, how might ice hockey games, or other male-dominated sports, be organised differently and thus become more gender equal? Our ambition in this article is to initiate a discussion about how the construction of gender in ice hockey events operationalises or opposes the dominance of men and the marginalisation of women. The specific purpose is to identify techniques that configure men/masculinities as dominant in the ice hockey culture. Taking critical studies of men and masculinities as the point of departure, with a specific focus on the situational aspects of gender construction, this case study makes use of participatory observations of eight qualification games in Swedish semi-professional ice hockey. Our results show that men and certain types of masculinity dominate in the events framing the game and how this links the ice hockey players and the club with the local body-worker culture and its industrial, economic and historical context. Identification with these men is ideally created amongst male spectators, given that children and women do not have the same obvious place in the event’s narrative. Some clubs seek to include women and children in their matches, which affects both the atmosphere and the situation. By focusing on the events’ introductions and general narratives, and how they make use of a (masculine) version of the place’s past in the present, we discuss how the ice hockey culture contributes to the current hegemony of men and masculinities.

The purpose of this article is to challenge the image of Swedish sports as an amateuristic, unified and democratic people’s movement. With references to Pierre Bourdieu, Swedish sports is analysed in terms of field, capitals and poles. The article shows how the strive towards a successful (male) senior football team in Örebro Sportklubb (ÖSK) and the administration of the sports centre (Eyravallen) resulted in an increased engagement of coaches, and thus an increased prioritisation of economic and academic capital at the expense of ideological capital. The source materials consist of club material and with the chronological focus on the 1920s and 1930s the article argues, in contrast to former research, that the processes of professionalisation, commercialisation and the enhanced focus on winning started long before the decision to overturn the amateur regulations in 1967.

The purpose of this article is to investigate women’s participation in mixed martial arts in the Nordic countries. The study is based on a qualitative and quantitative methodological approach consisting of individual interviews and focus group interviews with Swedish female mixed martial arts fighters and data from a Norwegian survey of participants in Norwegian mixed martial arts clubs. A total of 12 female fighters were interviewed, while 484 respondents participated in the survey. The results show that women exercising mixed martial arts contain a potential to act as feminist role models through their counter-hegemonic renegotiation of norms and views on femininity and, more specifically, the perception of femininity as something fragile and passive. Despite this progressive potential, the informants unanimously affirm that combat sports in general and in different ways are dominated by males. The data indicates that women still represent a small and marginalised group among mixed martial arts participants in the Nordic countries. Furthermore, women participating in mixed martial arts compete less and are less motivated by performance enhancement (developing as fighters, winning fights/tournaments/titles) compared to the male participants. However, both male and female participants value health and fun as the most important reasons for their participation in mixed martial arts training groups.

Introduction: An overall ambition with the gender equality objectives of Swedish sports is that gender mainstreaming should permeate every decision, in all activities, and at every level of the sports movement. Despite the fact that modern sports, to a large extent, have privileged (some) men and (some) masculinities, increasing female participation has, since the 1970s, also characterized Swedish modern sports. However, in the county of Örebro, male participation in associative sports, among 7- to 25-year-olds, is approximately 67 per cent according to LOK-statistics (Lokalt aktivitetsstöd – Local Activity Support). This unequal representation has initiated a work of that includes structural as well as individual factors.

Aim and Theoretical Frames: This paper presents an ongoing gender equality project enacting a double-focus on, firstly, recruiting and empowering women/girls in sports and secondly, making visible privileges for men and masculinities in sports and educating participative clubs (i.e. coaches, leaders and board members) in issues concerning gender, norms and masculine domination.

Theoretically the project is inspired from critical perspectives on gender, men and masculinities and the hegemonic masculinity thesis (HMT).

Method: Methodologically this project draws on mixed governing methods which explores the dilemma of implementing a policy in a self-autonomous, voluntary culture. More precisely, participating clubs has applied for economical backing (from Idrottslyftet) for one-year, financing gender equality projects aiming to, on one hand, empower or recruit a disadvantaged social group or, on the other hand, to raise awareness of the existing norms in club’s culture (e.g. masculinity or heterosexual norms). The clubs’ specific projects vary greatly depending on sport genre, number of members/volunteers in the club and other conditions regarding work efforts and access to sport facilities etcetera. Diverse cooperation with local governments in the county of Örebro has also been employed involving financial support and other “structural” target areas. Since knowledge of gender equality and gender awareness is vital for a change management, the participating clubs must partake in educational meetings and, at the end of the year, also give a presentation for all participative clubs at joint forum about their project and its concrete results. Beside these strategical efforts, interviews and observations have also been utilized.

Findings: Changing a rigid structure, such as sports, is a challenge and must, as a suggestion, involve several institutions as well as motivated agents. One central finding is the importance of raising awareness about budgets, facilities and investments from a gender perspective. In some cases, these kind of questions have not been raised before. In other words, the motivation among politicians and club members vary, which causes a reproductive potential of the gender gap. In the work, we have also found different techniques for reproducing men’s power advantage through, for example, the planning and placing of training sessions, the non-encouragement for girls to become “professional” athletes but also how women, themselves, support structures that discriminate themselves.

Discussion: Tentatively, the discussion focuses on dilemmas and the complexities of measuring and managing sports’ gender equality. Several issues for discussion return throughout the project, such as: what should be measured and how and why? Identifying such essential factors leads to the issue of how to manage a change of these factors. What institutions should be involved? What demands could, on one hand, be placed on a local club (with a right of self-determination) and, on the other hand, the governing sports bodies (that should implement government policies)?

In the late 19th century, football entered Sweden's coastal cities, such as Malmö, Halmstad and Gothenburg. The sport grew quickly, and the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) was founded in 1904. In the following decades, the popularity of football increased and in the 1950s it was perceived as the national sport of Sweden. However, at that time the sport was non-professional and in practice only for men. In order to keep up with hardening international competition, SvFF overturned the amateur regulations in 1967. Professionalisation was slow due to the lack of revenue but accelerated for male players after the Bosman ruling in 1995. Women's football developed gradually from the 1960s and in 1972 a national league organised by SvFF was formed. Youth football also grew substantially. Despite the differences in resources football became well-established amongst both men and women. However, the tensions between idealism, voluntarism and inclusion on the one hand, and commercialism, professionalism and selection, on the other hand, remain. This is best exemplified by the 51% rule, which states that clubs must be majority-owned by the members. This is hailed by some as a guarantee for democratic football, while others argue that it restricts clubs’ financial development.

Men’s elite ice hockey is one of the most commercialised, popular and patriarchal sports in the global north. With reference to the scarce corpus of ice hockey research from non-American countries, in this article we examine the online portrayals of men who play professional ice hockey in 2 clubs in Norway and Sweden. We pose two research questions and theoretically informed hypothetical assumptions associated with them that we evaluate with the overall aim of broadening the empirical scope of critical studies on men and masculinities in ice hockey. Using a quantitative content analysis, we compare and cross-analyse the online representations of men and masculinities by investigating the Instagram posts of 21 players from Frölunda HC and Vålerenga Hockey. The results demonstrate the importance of a situational and contextual understanding of hegemonic masculinity and broaden the scope of the ‘ice hockey playing man’ that is often perceived as a narrow stereotype.