The boxing gym as masculine space

ABSTRACT

This paper is divided into five parts. Parts I and II place the discussion in the context of anthropological spaces and more specifically sports spaces, including discussion of the extent to which these may be gendered. Part III focuses on the question of the nature of masculinity, while Part IV investigates the status of boxing as expression of masculine identity. Part V looks further into boxing and the spaces of boxing as an expression of modern masculinity, with part VI considering women’s recent appropriation of pugilism. The paper finishes with a brief reflection leading to the conclusion that although the boxing gym remains a masculine space it is no longer an exclusively male preserve.