Film

I watched Drew Barrymore's "Whip It" again last night for my ethnography - it was very interesting to compare and contrast my first and second viewing of this film. With my research question in mind, I noticed a few more things this second time around and I felt that I was able to examine and critique it in a different way. I think I'll definitely be able to discuss a few elements of this movie in my ethnography. Is anyone else using film as a source for their paper?

Another update: my qualitative online survey is getting some great responses! I used surveymonkey to post my interview questions to the league to see what their thoughts were and people have been very receptive and amazing. They're even posting it to the larger WFTDA (Women's Flat-Track Derby Association) message board and to the professional and junior derby league here in Austin. So I'll definitely have some more great quotes to include (without any more transcribing...)

Getting it together.

So this is finally all going to work out;; I hope. I feel like I've put so much of my time and self into this work and I'm sort of having problems making everything come together. I'm sure it's just part of the process--writing and rewriting--I'm just caught up on all the details. It's awkward with the emotions involved, too. I know their relevant, however it's weird (for me) writing an academic paper with self-reflection.

Well;; just sharing. Back to work! Hope all is well and looking forward to having a solid draft finished Monday!

Krystina

Ethnographic overview

Hey everybody - I had to leave early for a lecture the day we went over our paper overviews in class, so I wanted to post my bird's eye view of my ethnography and see if anyone had any additional suggestions! I hope everybody's drafts are going well - I'm hoping mine isn't going to be too much of a train wreck on Monday...

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From my personal experience with the readings this semester, I have particularly appreciated the writings that have very engaging introductions. Therefore, I will strive to start my ethnography off in a similar fashion, hopefully intriguing my readers and sustaining their interest. I would like to begin my paper with a personal account of my initial experiences and introduction to roller derby, along with a brief history and run-down of this sport – what is it exactly? How is the sport played? How did it start? How has it evolved and where is it now? From there I plan on utilizing my field-notes, interviews, and participant observation, to discuss the relationship between contemporary American feminism and roller derby. How do skaters perceive this dynamic? How do those outside the derby world interpret it? How has derby impacted the lives of these women skaters and their personal identities, self-esteem, and confidence? Through weaving in feminist theories and literature, I hope to connect my localized, personal experiences, observations, and interviews with larger, nation-wide issues of female identity and empowerment.

Finally, I intend on concluding my paper with a conversation regarding the potential and future of roller derby. For example, with the recent creation and expansion of “Derby Brats,” an Austin league for 8-17 year old skaters, how might this sport continue to influence future female generations? What can roller derby tell us about the future and direction of feminism? How does derby interact with contemporary American feminism? What spaces of possibility does this sport open up for women? How is roller derby growing and progressing from its original origins? Furthermore, how do I see my relationship with roller derby evolving and continuing? What reflections and conclusions have I personally drawn throughout my relationship with this recreational league?

Analysis stage

Seeing no readings, I completely forgot to post!

So here is what's up with my project. I have re-read my field notes, my interview notes, and all emails sent back and forth with the interviewees. I am keeping track of my analytical notes by using the comment feature on word. Is that bad? What are the ramifications of using such a digital way of making notes?

I finished another transcription (though the first is still painfully long and in the works). I developed a method of typing insanely quickly and sloppily but intelligibly to try to make the process faster. Afterwards, I was able to line-by-line edit as well as analyze.

I have a preliminary outline established, though it is quite weak on its knees. I see some common threads forming, though; I just do not know how I will weave them all together. So far, identity construction and community construction intersect less than I expected. People do not self-identify as healthcare workers as much as I would expect. They do not wave the "health" banner on a high horse. Most seem more focused on getting through the day and dealing with normal social aspects of life. Some common ideas, though, I have found in my field notes and my interviews include the team or family nature of the clinical staff, the use of food to bring people together even at the work setting, the dependence on take-out and junk food, the easy and unintentional co-mingling of Spanish and English, and the use of the bureaucratic and hierarchal structure to deal with problems. Contrasting conceptions of stress and health have also emerged to some degree.

I am still perplexed about the structure of the final paper. Any suggestions??

Also, what kind of literature have people been able to drum up? Most articles I find are only tangentially related...I will try to weave them in with the aforementioned fraying threads as well.

Good to luck everyone. :)

questionnaire

i think i am going to make a questionnaire and give it out to non-feminists in order to get more data. I feel a little lacking in substantial non-feminist data, so it seems like a good idea to do. I think it will be quickly analyzed after this week, but make the study more substantial.Good luck to everyone else.

Musing on feminism + roller derby

Throughout American history, I feel that definitions of "femininity" have limited the athleticism of women. Not very long ago, it was not commonly considered "proper" or attractive for most women to be so physical or "sporty." There are substantially more outlets nowadays but I still wonder how much the legacy of these definitions impact the minds of contemporary women.

Even today, I don't feel that most women's sports get nearly as much attention as men's sports. For example, a friend asked me the other day - "How many women basketball players do you know off the top of your head?" I honestly couldn't think of any - while I'm not the biggest basketball watcher, I definitely know quite a lot about the men's teams because I hear much more about them without even trying. So that's one of the unique things about derby - it's predominately an all women's sport and it's still drawing in an increasing amount of attention. There are men's leagues popping up again around the nation but I have a feeling that the original women's teams will maintain their popularity.

• Something I find very intriguing about roller derby - I believe that this sport pushes you to be a strong, powerful athlete as well as an an active participant in your personal definition of femininity. I think it's interesting that to a lot of outside viewers, roller derby has a very "butch" connotation attached to it. Roller derby girls definitely an encompass a wide range of sexualities, however I think this is intriguing because I feel that a lot of people consider it "butch" in a somewhat derisive way. As in, if these girls are so physical and athletic, they must be not "normal" women. I think this is connected to a lot of stereotypes about homosexuality as well but I'm not sure...this is an area that I'm interested in exploring some more.

I don't think that women can deny the power of outside influences - our definitions of our sexuality or our femininity are not built in a vacuum. However, by introducing to me to such a diverse, eclectic, and smart group of women, I think that derby has helped me become more aware of these external forces and how they currently shape and manipulate me.

Fieldnotes

I'm still playing catch-up a little with my entries! So here we go:

4/4/10

We had our last practice today before our end-of-season game. I was getting kind of snarky and frustrated - our team was short today and mostly comprised of new girls. We weren't really playing well - derby is definitely a team sport and teamwork is really vital to scoring points, no matter how great the jammer is. So I was getting pretty antsy and my competitive side was really coming out that practice. "Build a wall! Hold the inside line!" *the other team's jammer breezes right by them* "Or not..."

Needless to say, I wasn't being the most supportive team player. I reprimanded myself however and apologized. (I like to think the extreme heat that day was a contributing factor - we like to call it "Bikram derby" in the hotter months.) That practice really made me think of how I felt when I started out playing derby - I was definitely a pretty shaky skater and I didn't really have a clue as to what I was doing. From my observation and participation, derby is not a sport that you can usually just jump into right away. There were definitely times when I became disheartened - I felt like I had plateaued and that I wasn't getting any better. (I still hate turn-around stops so much.) Plus, derby is a lot more fun when you're not getting the wind knocked out of you every jam. It's taken me a while to really feel more solid on my skates but the process has been worth it. Through conversations with my fellow skaters, being able to chart our progress and development is one of the really empowering things about derby, and athletics in general. It's a really great feeling when you realize that you can skate a lot harder and faster than you ever did before. (A lot of us remember when we felt like we were going to die after an hour and a half of practice - now we wish they went on so much longer.) It's great to be able to take a solid hit from someone much bigger than you and still stay on your skates. This sport helps our balance and agility - our core muscles definitely get a work-out. It's also a great brainteaser - derby is definitely a cerebral sport full of strategy and quick-thinking.

All in all, derby definitely takes time and commitment - I'm very grateful for how supportive, encouraging, and *patient* the other more experienced skaters have been during this learning process. Therefore, I want to make sure that I am emulating their positive influence as well for our newer skaters. This season is helping me to curb the snarkier side of my competitiveness - I definitely do like to win but when it comes down to it, it's much more important for me to build relationships and friendships rather than rack up points. *cheese*