Subverting the Gendered Narratives: Defiance in Mary Kom’s Unbreakable: An Autobiography

Sport studies often examine the association between sports and society, education, gender, nation, and class. Among these, gender is deeply ingrained in sports, highlighting both biological and physical processes as well as representing the gendered cultural norms of society. Sports that emphasize strength, endurance, and risk are perceived by society as more masculine, whereas sports that require aesthetics are seen as feminine. This is a result of “gender typing”, which is a process in the social practice of gender that influences the segregation of sports. In this regard, women are considered unsuitable for sports that require muscular strength. Sport contributes to the establishment and maintenance of a masculine hegemonic order in society, where men hold positions of authority and masculinity is valued more than femininity (Dworkin & Messner, 2002). Social ostracism faced by women who play sports such as boxing, wrestling, football, and bullfighting is formidable. Indian women are no exception to this and have to resist socially constructed barriers such as familial pressure, societal norms, religious myths, cultural practices, and so on. Dissonance between the body, culture, and identity is continuously and distinctly observed in sport, a traditionally masculinist and gender-bifurcated arena. The study intends to investigate the defiance shown by female athletes to the aforementioned hegemonic masculine culture prevailing in Indian society through the autobiography of Mary Kom, one of the most prominent figures of Indian sports, and her defiance as resistance against her family, society, culture, and the masculine aura attached with boxing as a sport.