Vol. 57 No. 3 (2009)
Research Article

Women Who Fight

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  • Ernest L Abel
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/175622709X436387

Published 2009-09-01

Keywords

  • GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES,
  • ZULU PLACENAMES,
  • SAN PLACENAMES,
  • KHOISAN INFLUENCE ON ZULU PLACENAMES

Copyright (c) 2009 Maney Publishing

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Abstract

Although only recently legalized in many countries, women's boxing is gaining increasing worldwide popularity. However, participation of women in this hypermasculinized sport is inconsistent with long-standing cultural expectations of femininity. This survey catalogs the nicknames given to women boxers, obtained from two online data bases (Women's Boxing Archive Network; Boxing Encyclopedia) and contends that many of these nicknames are intended to reassure the boxing audience, and often the boxers themselves, that despite their aggressiveness, these women are still inherently female.

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