Checking In

Despite the growing popularity of women's ice hockey in North America, players continue to face limitations because of the prohibition of body checking. In this paper, we argue from a liberal feminist philosophical perspective that this prohibition reinforces existing traditional stereotypes of female athletes. Because the women's game does not incorporate checking, female ice hockey players are not afforded the same opportunity to flourish as men and experience bodily agency, which results in continued male domination of the game, therefore, indirectly reinforcing a gender hierarchy in hockey and society.

Key words:

• femininity
• masculinity
• physical sports
• stereotypes

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charlene Weaving

Please address correspondence concerning this article to Charlene Weaving, Human Kinetics Dept., St. Francis Xavier University, P.O. Box 5000, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada B2G 2W5