Values, Rugby, and Masculinity
“A Field Study Proposal”
In a field study in East London, South Africa, I intend to study how values are taught in rugby, and how those values influence the masculinity constructs of young rugby players. I will be researching what rugby coaches consider the values of rugby to be as well as how values are taught. I will also be looking at how the boys who play rugby conceive their own masculinity through the values they are taught in rugby. I will focus on answering the questions: what are the values that rugby coaches teach their players? How do those values affect the creation of masculinity among said rugby players? I anticipate that such a study will help me to better understand the culture of sport in South Africa, which is pervasive throughout South Africa’s colonial history up to the present.
I hope that learning about the culture of sport in South Africa will enable me to gain a better understanding of South African people. From my previous travel experience, I know learning about other cultures and peoples will help me to both expand my world and help me to understand myself better. I will also be using this research project to further my academic career. I will publish this research in the BYU Inquiry Journal and present it at the BYU Inquiry Conference. I hope by doing these things that I will be able to get into a graduate program and eventually earn a Ph.D.
Literature Review/Background
Context
Rugby is a major sport in South Africa, and has been played in South Africa since the British colonial period in South Africa. When rugby was first played in colonial South Africa, white males primarily played, with people of other races prohibited from competition with white clubs (Nauright et al, 1996). During the apartheid years, it became illegal for people of different races to compete in the sport together and white rugby held great political and social significance (Black and Nauright 1998). Since the end of the apartheid era, rugby has still been significant in the political and social arena. It has been characterized as a unifying, as well as a divisive, factor among the Republic of South Africa. Rugby has also been characterized as a sport that creates hegemonic masculinity (Chandler and Nauright 1999).
My field study will be conducted in East London, South Africa. East London is a city with many primary schools that have rugby programs. Such a location will be an excellent place to conduct my research as it has the appropriate rugby teams, and many people in the community have a love of rugby. However, there will be some challenges to completing this project in East London. I am American, female, and a non-rugby player, and thus may be seen as an outsider to the community.
Theoretical Concepts
Gender is a part of everyone’s life experience, and no matter what you consider your gender to be, it is something you face every day. In the past 100 years academia has come up with many ways to explain gender, one of which includes the idea masculinity. In the last 10 years, research on men and masculinity has become an increasingly popular subject. One of the most popular ideas in the study of men and masculinities has been the idea of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is the most honored kind of masculinity that a man can have, and in some instances it can be made manifest in violent and heated ways. In many cultures and societies hegemonic masculinity is best portrayed in sports heroes (Connell 2000). If hegemonic masculinity has the potential to be destructive to certain members of society, it is important that we understand how masculinities are created. A better understanding of how masculinities are created can lead to better understanding hegemonic masculinities, which may help us in correcting destructive hegemonic masculinities. One of the accepted ways of studying and understanding masculinity is through the study of daily social interaction (Connell, 1995).
Throughout the history of organized sport, men have been the main participants (Nauright and Chandler, 1996). Many have argued that sports are the battleground upon which masculinity is created (Messner, 1992). In our culture, contact sports have been often idealized as the manliest sports (Messner, 1992). Hegemonic masculinity has been portrayed in contact team-sports, which are almost mandatory for young boys to participate in (Messner and Sabo, 1990). Rugby is a contact team-sport that is both played and supported around the world. In certain areas of the world, rugby is used to instill a certain type of masculinity into its players, and in some cases, it has been mandatory for all boys to participate in certain schools (Light and Kirk, 2000)(Schatch, 1996). According to Schatch (1996), rugby is a misogynistic sport, which is created and reified through its coaches and players.
A large part of the social interaction of adolescence is through sports. A study conducted by FIFA shows that in 2006 there were 3,907,065 youth soccer players in the United States, the most registered youth soccer players, of one country, in the world. Worldwide there were 21,548,000 registered youth soccer players (FIFA, 2006). Of the 264,552,000 soccer players in the world, 238, 557,000 of them are male (FIFA, 2006). These numbers show that sport is a large part of adolescent life, and that is using just one sport as an example. Throughout the (sometimes) daily interaction of sports for adolescent males, boys are learning just what it means to be boys. These interactions consist of boys with their teammates, boys with their families, boys with the spectators of sport, and boys with their coaches (Messner, 1992).
Coaches have a lot of influence over their adolescent players (Theberge, 1993)(Denison, 2007). Coaches are often the main teachers of their players and they have a lot of control over the daily interactions of their players (Theberge, 1993). According to McCallister, Blinde, and Weiss (2000), coaches also have certain values that they deem to be important which they try to teach to their players. This study also found that coaches, when initially asked about the values and life-skills they try to promote, were gender specific to some extent. Another finding of this study noted that occasionally coaches would claim to espouse coaching philosophies that were contradicted in their behaviors and actions in their coaching capacities.
If coaches have such influence in the lives of their adolescent players, and they control much of the daily interactions between players, it stands to reason that they have much control over the creation of their players’ masculinity ideologies. My questions are: what are the values that rugby coaches teach their players? How do those values affect the creation of masculinity among said rugby players?
Methodology
I will arrive in East London, South Africa and reorient myself to the city for at least a week before I start to conduct my project, after which I will be going to schools and talking to administrators or relevant personnel who would be gate keepers to the schools with rugby programs. Once I have obtained their permission, I hope to have them introduce me to coaches on teams, so that I may explain my project and receive permission from them to conduct my research. Once I have permission from coaches, I will get the permission from parents for their children to participate in the study.
My research participants will be coaches from 1-3 U9-U12 rugby teams, as well as players on those teams. I anticipate that participants will be from primary schools in the middle to upper class, because such schools have strong rugby traditions. I want schools from strong rugby traditions because they are going to be the most invested in rugby, with good coaches and committed teams.
Before I leave for South Africa, and after I return, I will be conducting library research to contextualize my project in the correct disciplines. I will be using domain analysis, informal and semi-structured interview, observation, and focus groups in the field.
I will use domain analysis methods in order to define the values that rugby coaches are trying to teach their players. I will obtain this information through free-listing activities in semi-structured interviews. Free-listing is an activity that has research participants list things according to a researchers specifications. The lists can then be analyzed in many different ways. I will use semi-structured interviews with coaches to determine how they feel they are teaching the values they defined. Semi-structured interviews will be audio recorded to ensure accuracy.
I also anticipate using observation to see what my participants do in their natural setting. I will observe the interactions between players, and between players and their coaches. I will be looking for ways in which interaction creates meaning for the players, and how this meaning translates into masculinity formation.
Another method I will employ is focus group interviewing with the teams and conduct domain analysis methods of pile-sorting and free-listing. Pile-sorting is an activity where each participant is given a pile of cards or pictures and told to sort them according to specifications set by the researcher. These cards can be resorted in many different ways, and the piles can be analyzed in different ways. These pile-sorting and free listing activities will hopefully keep the attention of the group, but will also give me information on how masculinity is constructed. Focus groups will also be audio recorded to ensure accuracy.
Data analysis will be coded for patterns within my interview transcriptions and field notes. I will code for patterns that suggest how meaning is created through daily social interaction, as well as for definitions of values.
I have chosen to use these methods for many reasons. Conducting a domain analyses will enable my participants to define what is being studied. This is important because they know more about their lives than I do, and so they should be able to help me guide my research into something that is relevant to them. This will also help eliminate some of the biases I may have going into the field. I have chosen to conduct semi-structured interviews with coaches, as they will enable me to get the thoughts of the coaches, which are things I cannot observe. This method will hopefully also let my participants define what is being studied. Observation, on the other hand, will help to see the similarities and differences between what is said and what is done. It will give me an opportunity to see the daily social interaction and make conclusions from it. Finally, I have included focus groups with teammates so that I cannot only include adult perspectives, but adolescent perspectives as well. Focus groups will afford me the opportunity, again, to let my participants define what is being studied, but also to get thoughts put into language where I can analyze them, and also to observe social interaction.
Ethics
I will obtain permission from Brigham Young University’s Internal Review Board before I proceed to conduct my infield research. I will ensure that all participants and gatekeepers sign and receive a copy of an informed consent document where necessary so that they will know any and all risks associated with participating.
While I am in the field, all of my field notes, transcriptions, and recorded interviews will be kept on a pass-word protected computer in a locked suitcase in my apartment. No one will have access to data other than my faculty mentor and myself. All identifiers will be kept in a separate location to ensure confidentiality.
I will store my data indefinitely on a password-protected computer, or in paper files in a locked filing cabinet.
While risks are minimal to participants, and I am not intentionally searching for anything of a sensitive nature, should any uncomfortable or sensitive subjects arise, I will refer my subjects to appropriate services.
I intend to practice appropriate reciprocity towards my participants while I am working with them in the field. I anticipate serving and filling a role with my participants and in the field.
Post-field plans
After I return from the field, I hope that I will continue to be involved with Field Studies. I will tell friends and acquaintances alike about my experience, and hope that I might help them to understand more about South African culture, or at least the importance of understanding other cultures.
I will also be using the data I collect from this project to write and publish articles. I will also use any written product as a potential writing sample for graduate school applications. Furthermore, I will be presenting my findings at the Kennedy Center Inquiry Conference at Brigham Young University.
Qualifications
I am a senior in Sociology, and I have taken and done well in many methodological and theory classes, such as Sociology 300: Methods of Research in Sociology, Sociology 301: Applied Social Research Methods, Sociology 404: Qualitative Research Methods, Sociology 310: Foundations of Social Inquiry, Sociology 311: Contemporary Social Theory, and Sociology 367: The Sociology of Gender. These courses have prepared me to conduct research projects and to write about and understand theoretical concepts. As a part of these courses, I have had to practice my research methods with people similar to my population for this project. Furthermore, I have taken the Field Studies Preparation Course twice now. This class has prepared me to interact in cultures different from my own. I have also completed an ethnographic field study in East London, South Africa before. As such, I am acquainted with the area and with the people there, and I have had experience conducting interviews and observations in the location.
Though I have experience, my experience in limited. I have not had extensive research experience or extensive experience with sports sociology. I will mitigate these limitations by learning from and being in contact with my faculty mentor.
My faculty mentor is Dr. Mikaela Dufur of the Sociology department. She has published research on both sports and gender in the past using both qualitative and quantitative methods. She also teaches the Sociology of Sport and Adolescent Development in Family and in Society. I have taken two classes from her: Sociology of Work and Occupations, and Understanding Modern Societies. I have written project proposals as a part of these classes, and she has helped me develop my ideas as a part of both.
As a part of my study, Dr. Dufur will oversee a directed research course with me. I will be in contact with her while in the field, and I will write a final research paper as a result of my course.
I will also be taking courses with Dr. Carol Ward and Dr. Dave Shuler. Dr. Ward is an associate professor at BYU. She has extensive research experience in Africa as well as with the Northern Cheyenne. She will be overseeing a Race and Minority Group Relations course with me over the course of my study. This course will help me to understand the intricacies of race relations, and will also facilitate me participating in the community as I talk to community members about race relations.
Dr. Shuler is overseeing a Cultural Proofs course emphasizing the Afrikaans language. This course will help me to understand the language that many South Africans speak, and as such I will gain a better understanding of the culture. Language is a large part of culture in South Africa, and it is a significant part of life in South Africa. By trying to learn the language I hope to show the people that I am committed to learning about them and their culture.
Schedule
In Field
| Week | Activity |
| Week 1 | Arrive in East London, reorient self to the city. |
| Week 2 | Start meeting with administrators and coaches. |
| Week 3 | Continue to meeting with administrators, coaches, players, and parents in order to gain consent. |
| Week 4 | Continue consent process if necessary, start observations. |
| Week 5 | Continue consent process if necessary, continue observations, start interviewing coaches as a part of domain analysis. |
| Week 6 | Continue observations and domain analysis interviews. |
| Week 7 | Continue observations and domain analysis interviews, start semi-structured interviews. |
| Week 8 | Continue observations and semi-structured interviews. |
| Week 9 | Continue observations and semi-structured interviews, begin focus groups. |
| Week 10 | Continue observations, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. |
| Week 11 | Continue observations and focus groups. |
| Week 12 | Wrap up project and go home. |
Post-field
| Coursework | Due Date |
| Cultural Proofs | September 15, 2011 |
| IAS 201R | September 20, 2011 |
| Race and Minority Group Relations | October 3, 2011 |
| Directed Research in Sociology | October 24, 2011 |
Budget
| Item | Cost (Total) |
| Travel | Flight: $1,680.00 Daily: $150.00 |
| Tuition | $2,140.00 |
| Rent | $800.00 |
| Food | $225.00 |
| Communication | $120.00 |
| Books | $100.00 |
| Miscellaneous | $100.00 |
| Total | $5,315.00 |
References
Black, David R., John Nauright. 1998. Rugby and the South African Nation. New York, New York.
Chandler, Timothy J.L., John Nauright. 1999. Making the Rugby World: Race, Gender, Commerce. Portland, Oregon.
Connell, R.W. 2000. The Men and the Boys. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.
Connell, R.W. 1995. Masculinities: Knowledge, Power and Social Change. Cornwall, Great Britain.
Denison, Jim. 2007. "Social Theory for Coaches: A Foucouldian Reading of One Athlete's Poor Performance." International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching 2(4):369-82.
Federation Internationale de Football Association. 2006. “Big Count Summary Report.”
Light, Richard, David Kirk. 2000. "High School Rugby, the Body and the Reproduction of Hegemonic Masculinity." Sport, Education and Society. 5(2):163-76.
Messner, Michael A. 1990. “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 18:416-44.
Messner, Michael A. 1992. Power at Play: Sports and the Problem of Masculinity. Beacon Press: Boston, Massechusettes.
McCallister, Sarah G., Elaine M. Blinde, Windee M. Weiss. 2000. "Teaching Values and Implementing Philosophies: Dilemmas of The Youth Sport Coach."The Physical Educator 57(1):35-46.
Nauright, John, Timothy J. L. Chandler. 1996. Making Men: Rugby and Masculine Identity. Midsomer Norton, Avon: Frank Cass & Co. LTD.
Schacht, Steven P. 1996. “Misogyny on and off the ‘Pitch’: The Gendered World of Male Rugby Players.” Gender and Society 10(5):550-565.
Theberge, Nancy. 1993. "The Construction of Gender in Sport: Women, Coaching, and the Naturalization of Difference." Social Problems 40(3):301-13.
Appendix E
Application for the Use of Human Subjects
Part A Application Information (Only typed applications will be reviewed; submit 2, unstapled copies to ORCA in A-285 ASB)
| 1. Title of the Study: Values, Rugby, and Masculinity | |||
| 2. Principal Investigator: Heather Williams | 3. Contact Person: (if different from PI): | ||
| Title: Undergraduate Student : | Dept: Sociology | Title: | Dept: |
| Address (+ ZIP): 965 W. 1700 N. Mapleton, UT 84664 | Address (+ Zip): | ||
| Phone: (801)368-5733 | Email: heather.marne@gmail.com | Phone: | Email: |
| 4. Co-Investigator(s): Mikaela Dufur, Sociology Department | |||
| 5. Research Originated By: (Check One) ~ Faculty X Student ~ Staff | |||
| 6. Research Purpose(Check All that Apply): ~ Grant ~ Dissertation ~ Thesis ~ ORCA Scholarship ~ Honors Thesis X Course Project: Soc 497R | |||
| 7. Correspondence Request: ~ Mail X Call for Pick- | |||
Part B Research Study Synopsis
| 1. Brief Study Description (Include Purpose of the Research): In a field study in East London, South Africa, I intend to study how values are taught in rugby, and how those values influence the masculinity constructs of young rugby players. I will be researching what rugby coaches consider the values of rugby to be, as well as how said values are taught. I will also be looking at how the boys who play rugby picture their own masculinity through the values they are taught in rugby. |
| 2. Study Length What is the duration of the study? (05/11 to 08/11 data collection) (08/11 to 04/12 analysis) |
| 3. Location of Research a. Where will the research take place? Easton London, Eastern Cape, South Africa b. Will the PI be conducting and/or supervising research activity off-campus? X Yes ~ No If Yes, please list sites: 1-3 Schools in East London |
| 4. Subject Information: a. Number of Subjects: 16-48 b. Gender of Subjects: male c. Ages of Subjects: 8-13, and 18 and older |
| 5. Potentially Vulnerable Populations: (Check All that Apply) X Children ~ Pregnant Women ~ Cognitively Impaired ~ Prisoners ~ Institutionalized ~ Faculty’s Own Students ~ Other. Please describe: |
Appendix C
Methodological Tools: Interview Guide
I will ask coaches such questions as:
· List all the values that you think rugby teaches it players.
· List the most important traits for a rugby player to have.
· What are the benefits to participating in rugby?
· What values do you as a coach try to teach your players?
o How do you teach these values?
· What is a typical practice or game like?
o What kinds of things do you say to your players?
· What was your experience playing rugby?
o What were your coaches like?
· What was the most important lesson you ever learned from a rugby coach?
· How are you similar to your coaches?
o How are you different?
· What is your opinion on using sport as a means to end intergroup conflict?
· How can rugby be used to help society?
· What issues in rugby translate out to the real world?
· How can rugby help players in non-sports settings?
For rugby players aged 8-11:
· What is the best part of playing rugby?
· Can you sort these cards [cards with a different ‘value’ on each card] into piles of boy traits and girl traits?
· Can you sort these cards [same cards] into piles of traits for rugby and for netball?
· Can girls play rugby?/What do you think about girls who play rugby?
· How are boys and girls the same? How are boys and girls different?
· Someday you might coach rugby, what do you think you would try to teach your players?
These questions are subject to change depending on cultural context. The essence of what the questions are asking will not be changed, but if research participants have difficulty in understanding the questions, words may be changed to facilitate understanding.
Appendix D
My blog:
Research and Creative Activities
heathermarneresearch.blogspot.com
Proposal 1st Draft 2/16/2011
Values, Rugby, and Masculinity
In a field study in East London, South Africa, I intend to study how values are taught in rugby, and how those values influence the masculinity constructs of young rugby players. I anticipate that such a study will help me to better understand the culture of sport in South Africa, which is pervasive throughout South Africa’s colonial history up to the present.
I will be researching what rugby coaches consider the values of rugby are, as well as how said values are taught. I will also be looking at how the boys who play rugby conceive of their own masculinity by the values they are taught in rugby.
Literature Review/Background
Masculinity, how masculinity is conceived and created. Theory part.
Values. How masculinity is created through values.
Coaching. How coaches and sports teach values. The relationship between coaches and adolescents.
Explain how pervasive rugby is in South African culture, in East London. History will explain hegemonic masculinity in South Africa.
Explain the societal ideas that sports teaches children how to be good adults, like in Forever Strong, Remember the Titans, etc. I am studying this to see if this is true, false, or a combination of both. Perhaps this research will help us to reinforce good things and change bad things.
Methodology
I will be conducting a case study. I will enter the community by first reorienting myself to the city. Then I will be going to schools and talking to administrators or relevant personnel who would be gate keepers to the school. Once I have obtained their permission, I hope to have them introduce me to coaches on teams, so that I may explain my project. Once I have permission from coaches, I will get the permission from parents for their children to participate in the study.
My research participants will be coaches of U12 and below rugby teams, as well as players on those teams. I anticipate that participants will be from primary schools in the upper class—middle class, because such schools have stronger rugby traditions. I want schools from strong rugby traditions because I feel like they are going to be the most invested in rugby, with good coaches and committed teams.
Before I leave for South Africa, and after I return, I will be conducting library research to contextualize my project in the correct disciplines. I will be using domain analysis, informal and semi-structured interview, observation, and focus groups in the field. I will use domain analysis in order to define the values that rugby coaches are trying to teach their players. I will use interviews with coaches to determine how they feel they are teaching the values they defined. I will use observation to see what my participants do in their natural setting. I will do focus groups with the teams and do pile-sorting and free-listing activities. These pile-sorting and free listing activities will hopefully keep the attention of the group, but will also give me information on how masculinity is constructed.
I will analyze my data by searching for patterns within my interview transcriptions and field notes.
Ethics
I will keep everything confidential, not breach sensitive subjects, if touchy topics come up I will refer them to professionals, etc etc etc.
Post-field plans
Write up an article, publish, use it as a writing sample for grad school applications.
Qualifications
Senior is sociology, have taken three methods classes and two theory classes. Well versed in literature, conducted an ethnographic study in South Africa before.
Faculty advisor has written articles on sociology of sport before. She also teaches sociology of sport.
Schedule
Budget
The Question as of 1/26/2011
What are the values that rugby coaches teach their players, and how do those values affect the masculinity ideology of said rugby players?
Purpose Statement
I am going to travel to East London, South Africa studying rugby and masculinity. I intend to study how coaches define the values that rugby teaches, what values rugby players learn while at training, as well as in games, and how those values shape rugby players' masculinity. In order to study this topic, I will attend training sessions and games of 1-3 U12 rugby teams attached to schools with strong rugby traditions. I will interview rugby coaches, players, and the players' parents, as well as observe training sessions and games. Through these methods I will determine the values that coaches teach their players, what values rugby players are learning, and I hope to observe how these values affect masculinity.
