Group dynamics, gender, and field : an ethnographic study of the yo-yoing sport subculture In Hong Kong

This research explores the yo-yoing sport subculture in Hong Kong, tracing its evolution from a popular pastime to a recognized sport with a global competition structure led by the International Yo-Yo Federation. By situating yo-yoing within lifestyle sports literature, this study offers a sociological understanding of yo-yo players’ experiences and challenges in Hong Kong. Yo-yoing is an interesting case to study because of its prevailing label as a toy hobby, thus players are generally positive to mainstreaming which differs from many lifestyle sports participants’ reluctant attitude. The central question of this study is: How does a subculture gain legitimation as a sport? Data is drawn from five months of participant observation and 21 in-depth interviews with players to collect their experiences in the sport. Second-hand data, including contests archives and media exposures, were collected to supplement the ethnographic data. The central argument presents that the legitimation of yo-yoing as a competitive sport is shaped by internal sport construction mechanisms, gender ideologies, and external recognition efforts. While players emphasize competition-centric institutions, identity, and practices, their progress is hindered by a hegemonic male homosocial culture and the challenge of maintaining their subcultural identity amidst the push for mainstream recognition. The findings are divided into three substantive chapters. The first chapter explores the mechanisms deployed by players to construct yo-yoing as a sport, focusing on the aspects of institution, identity, and practices. The identification process of becoming a yo-yo player is also examined in detail. The second chapter investigates how yo-yoing offers alternative spaces for transforming nerdiness, a subordinate masculinity, into a celebrated masculine quality within the yo-yo community. However, the construction of such hegemonic masculinity also structured yo-yoing as a male-dominated sport in which gendered boundaries are reproduced through the yo-yoing institution and in-group interactions among players. The third chapter analyses how yo-yo players struggle to legitimize yo-yoing, which situates at a marginal position within the broader sports field, through the accumulation and conversion of different forms of capital. During this process, players grapple with the dilemma of institutionalization and the potential loss of the intrinsic spirit of yo-yoing, particularly in group settings. Theoretically, this study contributes to the lifestyle sports literature by first recognizing the fluidity in defining sport, in which sport should be understood as a process influenced by changes. Secondly, it is found that gender relations are reconfigured among male players, but the reproduction of such relations is a reciprocal process shaped by both female and male players. By mapping the process of legitimation alongside the experiences of players, this study offers a nuanced understanding of the yo-yoing subculture's quest for recognition as a legitimate sport.