The price of entry: how capital shapes the experiences of racialized women in curling

This article explores the experiences of racialized women curlers in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on interviews with eleven women, and Pierre Bourdieu’s work on class hierarchy, our findings identify three mechanisms through which social and cultural capital are unevenly transmitted and distributed, shaping the ability of racialized women to enter and stay in the sport: (1) social networks and affinities through which people are introduced to curling and build relationships that keep them in the sport; (2) cliques and exclusions that limit opportunities to play, the transmission of strategic and technical knowledge, and pleasure and comfort in the curling space; and (3) alcohol rituals that serve as vectors of both belonging and alienation. Our research contributes to the growing body of critical work on curling by emphasizing how race and gender are integral to the reproduction of capital, generating unique barriers and occasional facilitators for racialized women’s advancement and success.