ABSTRACT
The chapter explores two pleasure-related themes pertinent to sport and it aims to offer a particular view of the feminist study of sport and pleasure, albeit merely a slice of the fuller picture. With the aim of furthering the feminist analysis of femininity and pleasure in physical activity contexts, the chapter turns to three areas in which women participants claim enjoyment via the feminine. These are Burlesque, Roller Derby and the figure of the Lesbian Femme. It again turns to the French feminists Helene Cixous, Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva to offer a new way to consider sport and the social significance of pleasure, the emphasis is on women and Western practices of beautification. It explains sport, femininity and pleasure and explores the concept of jouissance, to refer joyousness, enjoyment, deep pleasure and sexual orgasm. Pleasure is a complicated political issue for feminists, and the chapter has sidestepped the contentious topic of sexuality, pleasure and pornography.
