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Historically, sport has been so closely identified with men that sport has become one of the key signifiers of masculinity in many Western societies. Traditional institutionalized sports cultures in these societies have been a central site for the creation and reaffirmation of masculine identities and for the exclusion and/or control of women. Since the 1970s, women have permeated many sporting spheres; thus, exploring the role sport plays in the reproduction and/or transformation of contemporary relations between and within the sexes is a prime concern. This article explores how gender relations and identities in a less institutionalized, “new sport” culture are constructed. Ethnographic research focused on a windsurfing community in England and examined men's (and women's) sporting experiences within this community. The ethnographic data suggests that while competing masculinities are negotiated in the windsurfing culture, this individualized new sport broadens the recognized boundaries of sporting masculinities.
Belinda Wheaton (Sat,) studied this question.