If you are professional boxer and a woman,what confliting role expectation might that involved?

Question

If you are professional boxer and a woman,what confliting role expectation might that involved?

Answer 1

A female professional boxer would be confronted with conflicting roles of woman and athlete (in male dominated arena). The two roles here are the one of the athlete and the one of the woman. Society tells us that women should be "submissive, fragile, and the weaker of the sexes." Men are understood as the "stronger, braver and more powerful" of the two. Boxing is a sport which is the perfect way for men to flaunt their masculinity and assert their status as "alpha male" -- the winner, the toughest of all.

In the case of a women boxing professionally, she would have to assume the roles of men to be taken seriously in the ring. She would have to dismiss her femininity as in this arena it would be seen as something shameful and silly, because masculinity is perceived as power, and femininity as weakness by society.

This can be conflicting because it is expected for women to live up to this ideal image that is the complete opposite of what professional boxers do. Physical 'fighting' is not very "lady-like" behaviour and masculinizes the women which some female boxers may feel uncomfortable with, feeling that it makes them feel less attractive or less "womanly" -- so they may feel the need to or be told to feminine their appearance by their wardrobe and or accessories.

At the end of the day, a female professional boxer would have to be able to find a balance between these two roles she has been given, and try not to allow the gendered notion of society influence her into submitting in her professional life.