Alternative Toughness: Reimagining Athleticism, Femininity, and Empowerment in Tanya Boteju’s Roller Derby Novel Bruised

Although representation of female athletes in YA literature has grown significantly, scholars frequently question the possibility of achieving female empowerment through sports. They caution that empowerment often operates within narrow boundaries that fail to challenge gender hegemony in sports. Yet, it should be noted that most sports under examination are traditionally male-dominated organized ones, inherently promoting masculine norms. In contrast, so-called “alternative sports”, characterized by participant control, community-based structures, and a reduced emphasis on competition, may offer a more promising direction. In this paper, I analyze the representation of women’s flat track roller derby in Tanya Boteju’s Bruised (2021) to explore how this alternative sport is framed as a space that enables a new reimagining of the female athlete. I argue that Boteju constructs roller derby as a disidentificatory departure from traditional organized sports that often celebrate a rigidly masculine understanding of toughness characterized by self-sufficiency and emotional restraint. Roller derby in the narrative celebrates toughness while also embracing softness through its emphasis on social connection and playfulness inherent in sports participation.