ABSTRACT
Since the foundation of organized sport in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century within the Western world, sport has traditionally served as a masculine preserve. It has maintained the purpose of turning young boys toward a hegemonic perspective of male heterosexuality, one distanced from femininity and homosexuality. The construction of a dominating form of heterosexual masculinity was accomplished through multiple mechanisms, including socializing boys into the physical violence, sexism and homophobia indicative of organized, competitive sport (Anderson 2009a). Adams, Anderson and McCormack (2010) add that to construct an esteemed and “acceptable” masculine identity, it is not just necessary to display one’s heterosexuality, but also to “police” the gendered behaviors of one’s peers. Policing is conducted through specific discourses used to question men’s heteromasculinity. Epithets such as “fags,” “sissies” and “poofs” are often used to emasculate and feminize those who do not comply with supposed traditional hetero-masculine norms.
