Alex Channon

This presentation will consider several theoretical interpretations of the phenomenon of female athlete sexualisation in combat sports. It will pose critical questions surrounding the assumed quality content of Western ideals of femininity, as well as differing forms of feminist praxis that are articulated around the sexualisation of women and girls. Several contemporary examples will illustrate the complex interplay between the embodiment of gender, athleticism, and power; the problems of career viability within a largely unregulated, promotional athletic labour market; and the entanglement of agency and structure in online identity construction. More specifically, the following questions will animate the discussion: how are female combat athletes constructing femininity through sexualised presentations of self? How important are these performances for generating career capital? In what ways do such performances draw on wider, traditional structures of gender and its intersections with other aspects of identity? And lastly, what do the examples of female fighters signify regarding possible framings of femininity, sexuality, and gender power relations in broader contemporary media landscapes? Although largely theoretical in scope, the presentation will propose various avenues for empirical research to better flesh out and/or resolve these and other questions pertinent to the matter of athletes’ sexualisation.