“Finally girls hitting a celly:” Emotions and Gender Embodiment in Competitive Swimmers’ Post-Race Celebrations

In athletic competitions, the moment of achievement is often extremely cathartic and results in a visible celebration. In competitive swimming, these reactions to success are isolated to the end of a race, completely individual, and often feature interaction with one’s surroundings, such as the water or lane lines. These moments are also highly visible and usually well-photographed, and the visibility of these actions contributes to a growing culture in the sport around post-race celebrations. The exposure of the body in competitive swimming additionally contributes to its visibility, further complicating behaviors and norms around celebrating race outcomes. This research aims to investigate how social processes that construct ideas around gender and the body influence swimmers’ celebrations, and in what ways swimmers reinforce or complicate ideas about gender through their celebrations. Using both surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews, I examine the ways in which gender is created, maintained, and performed in the context of competitive swimming. I investigate how the expression of emotions in these contexts reflects desired gender expressions and mediates a relationship with an audience. Additionally, I explore how gendered and athletic conceptions of the body influence the self-concept of competitive swimmers, especially in high-visibility situations. In examining reactions to athletic achievements, I give scholarly attention to a relatively unexplored aspect of sporting culture and contribute to conversations on the intersections of gender, the body, and sports in society.