Gender on the Golf Course

Chapter 6 uses the concept of hegemonic masculinity to explain why women golfers occupy a position subordinate to their male peers. The analysis first examines how female club members enjoy a higher-class position and white(r) racial identity, granting them a dominant position relative to lower-class women and men. Despite their advantaged position, the class-based hegemonic masculinity prevailing in these clubs produces a wide range of mechanisms that keep women in a secondary place. The gender distribution of playing time and the exclusion of women from the bar are two examples that illustrate how hegemonic masculinity dominates women golfers inside these clubs. The chapter ends by showing how some women possess enough privilege to subvert this form of gender subordination. Ironically, however, the possibility of creating a more gender-inclusive space has been hindered by the class and racial benefits that initially gave these women a privileged position in society.