Sida vid sida i Tjejmilen – analytisk autoetnografi av motionslopp för kvinnor

Abstract

In this article, we use autoethnographical material alongside written and oral narratives of other race participants in women only sports races. We analyse embodied and mental aspects of the participation of a specific race, Tjejmilen, from start to finish, in relation to discursive conditions of women’s exercising. The title of the article, ’side by side’ implies two things: on the one hand, that we empirically explore what happens when women do sports side by side in a race like this. On the other hand, and in line with analytical autoethnography (Anderson 2006), we use our own experiences of the race participation side by side with the experiences of other participants, and analyse the entire empirical material with the same methods, theories, and concepts. We conclude that the autoethnography enables us to discover the embodied experiences of strength and empowerment in contrast to diminishing discourses of women’s activities and assumed capabilities.