Writing Resistance in Roller Derby

As an emerging researcher working in the field of leisure studies, I explore auto/ethnographic writing as a valuable methodological approach. Focusing on contemporary roller derby in the Australian context I grapple with the complexities of “resistance” within this women-centred sport, privileging affect as surfaced through the research process and writing. This article explores the possibilities inherent in research that makes visible the paradoxes and ambiguities of resistance in leisure. Shame and hurt—although uncomfortable for the researcher and perhaps for the reader—are important affects to incorporate into feminist analyses if we are to continue to explore new questions, and identify ways to theorise the complexity of gender power relations as they are embodied in leisure.