Take Down the Patriarchy: An Ethnographic Study of Women’s Athleticism as Performance of Masculinity in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Kickboxing

Abstract

This research investigates the gender dynamics of martial arts, particularly Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. The study posits that, due to patriarchal stigmatization of women’s abilities in martial arts and other sports, female Brazilian jiu-jitsu players and kickboxers emulate the masculinity of their male peers in the dojo to attain athletic rapport. A five-day ethnographic study constitutes this analysis, which produced a detailed observational report supplemented by post-ethnography questions, categorical codes, and rating scales, chronicled in this senior thesis as a narrative of martial arts training sessions. Its results support the initial claim of women’s adaptation of masculine behaviors to fully evoke athletic excellence, thus confirming the larger exclusion of women and their femininity from martial arts, and thereby pointing to the need to stimulate proactive dialogue and action to revolutionize gender stereotypes in combat sports and the greater field of athletics.