ABSTRACT
This chapter approaches the issue of invisible bodies in physical cultural studies debates by considering Muslim women’s experiences of sport. A number of feminist scholars have identified the invisibility of Muslim women in wider discussions about women’s participation in sport and exercise and have sought to illuminate the plurality of Muslim women as a social category as well as the socio-cultural, political and geographic contexts that shape Muslim women’s embodied experiences of physical activity (Benn, Pfister and Jawad, 2011; Hargreaves, 2007; Kay, 2006; Pfister, 2003; Walseth, 2006a, 2006b). Existing literature primarily perceives and responds to barriers and enablers to Muslim women’s participation as players of sport, with less emphasis placed on leisure and recreational expressions of active embodiment (for instance, sports fandom). The current orientation of studies concerning Muslim women’s active participation in organized sport and fitness largely conforms to social inclusion paradigms, where marginalized groups and individuals are incorporated into mainstream culture as players of, or active participants in, organized sport (Walseth and Fasting, 2004).
