ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that it might be helpful to conceptualise boys' performances of gender in Physical Education (PE) by interpreting discursive practices related to fitness, health and sport not only as constrained and disciplined but also as engendering boys' agency/freedom and pleasure. It suggests that less pleasure can be productive both in terms of learning outcomes and in the construction of alternative/more diverse masculinities in PE. The book discusses the boys' so-called 'failure' in education and some boys' turning away from physical education. It focuses on the pleasures of participation in physical education, it is also concerned with understanding why some boys are not actually participating in and finding enjoyment from PE. The book discusses how, by means of the study of discourses of gender in PE.
