What Is The Performative Theory Of Gender In Hockey

Society has gendered everything from deodorant to sports themselves. Hockey is gendered as a traditionally masculine and male dominated sport, thus creating challenge for the sport to be inclusive to everyone. This paper will examine the performative theory of gender embedded within hockey. This idea is supported through explanation of Judith Butler’s performative gender theory, and the application of the theory to my own personal experience and current controversy in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Performative Theory of Gender:
Imagine you are given a script, put on stage and being told to perform. Every single day each of us puts on the best performance of our lives, without even knowing it. The script is subconscious, the behaviour

Challenging the boundaries of gender can be seen as threating to the status quo and to those who view gender in a very two-dimensional way. However, gender should be a social choice not entirely based on biology; many people work to battle against the constraints of fixed gender molds they were placed in at birth (Fausto-Sterling, 2008). There should be freedom to define our own gender and one should not have to conform to the strong masculine and feminine boundaries and molds (Fausto-Sterling,

Certain sports are gendered as masculine or feminine thus creating increased difficulty for those outside of the ‘ideal’ category to participate, as they will face added implications. From my personal experience, I grew up playing hockey. There is still no better feeling in the world than scoring a nice goal, setting up a nice play and being pulled into an embrace with your teammates after a big win. However, the traditionally masculine, male dominated sport, came with added repercussions participating as a girl. From a young age, I had coaches and other parents explaining to me the amount of potential and talent I had, “for a little girl”. The sexism I faced growing up playing hockey definitely impacted my sense of self. I would internalize the comments and ideas that I did not belong in the game as much as the boys. This would reinforce narratives that hockey was a masculine sport and suggested I may be less woman for playing. I felt I was ‘incorrectly’ performing my gender through the mixed messages I received from adults about being a little girl navigating a male dominated