%0 Journal Article
%T Exploring the complexities of community attitudes towards women¡¯s rugby: Multiplicity, continuity and change in Fiji¡¯s hegemonic rugby discourse
%A James Johnson
%A Yoko Kanemasu
%J International Review for the Sociology of Sport
%@ 1461-7218
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1012690217707332
%X Negative societal pressures against women¡¯s participation in traditionally male-dominated sports like rugby are widely acknowledged, but little empirical research has investigated community attitudes associated with such participation, especially in non-Western contexts. This article presents exploratory insights into community attitudes towards women¡¯s rugby in Fiji with a focus on athletic young women, who do not play rugby but are physically active, and their ¡®gatekeepers¡¯ or those in positions of influence over athletic young women¡¯s sport-related decision-making. Based on a questionnaire survey (n = 160) and focus groups, the article identifies significant diversity, possible change, and persisting disapproval in community perceptions of women¡¯s participation in rugby. From these findings, the article also draws some insights into the changing dynamics of women¡¯s rugby as a site of hegemonic struggle
%K athletic young women
%K community attitudes
%K Fiji
%K gatekeepers
%K hegemonic struggle
%K women¡¯s rugby
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1012690217707332