The Logic of Misogyny in Sport

Feminist analyses of sport in philosophy have focused primarily on how women’s movement is stunted by objectification. Simply put, women’s exclusion from sport has been chalked up to the humanist thesis. The humanist thesis is the claim that misogyny, and other mistreatment of human peoples, stems from a failure to recognize their shared humanity. However, many contemporary cases don’t fit this mold. Misogyny in sport persists even when women are included and their humanity is recognized. In this article, I’ll begin a philosophical feminist theory of sport that runs off the logic of misogyny, rather than the humanist thesis, which can accommodate these kinds of cases. To do so, I expand upon Iris Marion Young’s analysis in “Throwing like a Girl” using Kate Manne’s entitlements framework from Down Girl and Entitled. This framework allows us to address not just how women are initially excluded from sport but how misogyny escalates when women do participate. Using misogyny in climbing as a case study, I develop a model of misogynistic escalation. Each step of escalated policing corresponds to a particular perceived moral-social trespass.