Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.18193/sah.v7i1.208
Exports for your reference manager
Female Surfers Riding the Crest of a 'New Wave' of Irish National Identity
[journal article]
Abstract With surfing debuting at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (postponed from summer 2020 due to the COVID 19 global pandemic) it is timely to consider surfing and the national identifications women in Ireland may have with this sport. As Lee Bush states, 'with so little scholarship on surfing women, descriptive... view more
With surfing debuting at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (postponed from summer 2020 due to the COVID 19 global pandemic) it is timely to consider surfing and the national identifications women in Ireland may have with this sport. As Lee Bush states, 'with so little scholarship on surfing women, descriptive studies are needed as a foundation for launching future interpretive and critical studies.' Twelve women who surf in Ireland spoke about the links their surfing may or may not have with their national identity. Previous academic inquiry on links between national identity and sport on the island of Ireland has almost exclusively focused on men's experiences of team sports and issues of 'Irishness'. 'Irishness' is globally recognised and stereotypically linked to traditional and indigenous Irish sports such as Gaelic football and a range of other cultural activities. Research into women's sport participation has largely been restricted to the study of soccer in the Republic of Ireland, and gendered evaluations of various
lifestyle and health surveys. Katie Liston, a key researcher in sport and gender relations in Ireland, highlights that 'there seems to be an increasing diversity in the kinds of activities in which people participate in', and that there is a shift towards 'lifestyle' activities for adults as diversity increases in young people's participation in sports and leisure activities. Against the backdrop of Liston's work, this article delves deeper into data collected as part of a wider research project, discussing whether or not women who surf in Ireland do so as part of a process designed to construct and reflect their national identities related to this arguably 'postmodern' 'lifestyle sport', in which Ireland will be represented on the Olympic stage for the first time in 2021.... view less
Keywords
Ireland; watersports; life style; gender relations; woman; national identity; gender-specific factors
Classification
Leisure Research
Women's Studies, Feminist Studies, Gender Studies
Free Keywords
Gender; Ireland; Lifestyle sport; Surfing
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 190-207
Journal
Studies in Arts and Humanities, 7 (2021) 1
ISSN
2009-8278
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0