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%T On the ground and off %A Heiskanen, Benita %J European Journal of Cultural Studies %N 4 %P 481-496 %V 9 %D 2006 %K identity formations; place; professional boxing; space; the body; US Latinos; %= 2011-03-01T05:30:00Z %~ http://www.peerproject.eu/ %> https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-227001 %X In the United States, prizefighting carries deep-seated meanings as an ethnically and racially delineated, class-based and gendered practice. At present, the sport is characterized by its ongoing ‘latinization’ corresponding to Latinos’ integration endeavors in urban USA. This article examines boxing as a locus for identity formations. Based on four years of ethnographic fieldwork with a community of Latino prizefighters in Austin, TX between 2000 and 2004, the research draws on life-story interviews conducted with the boxers, while their experiences are situated within a theoretical framework of the body in space and place. The fieldwork brings the research ‘onto the ground’ to the actual sites-such as the boxing gym, the weigh-in and the competition venue-where the athletes conduct their occupation on a daily basis. As professional boxing determines these worker-athletes’ physical prowess, it also shapes their identities, day-to-day survival and their very mode of being in the world. %G en %9 journal article %W GESIS - http://www.gesis.org %~ SSOAR - http://www.ssoar.info