Bodies matter but bodies are also troubling. Are we our bodies? Are bodies the sites of social inscription or do the bodies we have shape who we are? This book uses the global phenomenon and lived experience of sport in order to provide critical analysis of bodies and embodiment, drawing upon feminist and cultural critiques to propose a theory of bodies as assemblages. The book focuses on body practices and on the embodied selves who are part of what makes sport, including participants, fans, followers and commentators. It addresses the problem of social exclusion and the bodies on the margins in the field of sport, in order to explore the links between material bodies and discursive regimes; the bodies that are regulated and the regulating bodies of sports organizations, the state and the media.

Introduction: Regulating Bodies; Regulatory Bodies
Body Matters
Sport Bodies at Play
Equalities and Inequalities
Embodied Selves Situated Bodies, Bodies as Situations
Beyond Text: Spectacles, Sensations and Affects
Beyond Bodies
Conclusion
Bibliography

KATH WOODWARD is Professor of Sociology at the Open University, UK. Her research focuses on the development of feminist theoretical perspectives on gendered, racialised identities. Her publications include Boxing, Identity and Masculinity: The 'I' of the Tiger; Social Sciences: The Big Issues; Questions of Identity and Understanding Identity.