Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan
Book cover

Boxing, the Gym, and Men

The Mark of the Fist

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Jérôme Beauchez

    1. Centre Max Weber, Université de Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Examines why boxers risk serious bodily injury in the ring
  • Applies the concepts of 'social revenge' and violence
  • Includes fascinating ethnographic vignettes
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Cultural Sociology (CULTSOC)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxvi
    Download chapter PDF

  3. Facing the Other: Trials of the Self

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 97-97
      Download chapter PDF

    2. Counting the Blows: The Mark(s) of Exile

      • Jérôme Beauchez
      Pages 99-126

    3. “Like a Man”: Facing Adversity

      • Jérôme Beauchez
      Pages 127-150

    4. Boxing vs. the “Poor Life”

      • Jérôme Beauchez
      Pages 151-186

    5. The Clash of the Strongmen: Fighting in Public

      • Jérôme Beauchez
      Pages 187-208

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 209-240
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This book explores the lived experiences of boxers in a French banlieue, largely populated by people from working-class and immigrant backgrounds. Jérôme Beauchez, who joined in the men’s daily workouts for many years, analyzes the act of boxing as a high-stakes confrontation that extends well beyond the walls of the gym. Exploring the physical and existential realities of combat, the author provides a multifaceted “thick description” of this world and shows that the violence faced by the gym’s members is not so much to be found in the ring as in the adversity of everyday racism and social exclusion. Boxing can therefore be understood as an act of resistance that is about more than simply fighting an opponent and that reflects all the existential struggles facing these men who are both stigmatized and socially dominated by race and class.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Centre Max Weber, Université de Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France

    Jérôme Beauchez

About the author

Jérôme Beauchez is Associate Professor of sociology and anthropology at the Université de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, France, and a researcher at the Centre Max Weber and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research on Social Issues. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Boxing, the Gym, and Men

  • Book Subtitle: The Mark of the Fist

  • Authors: Jérôme Beauchez

  • Series Title: Cultural Sociology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56029-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-56028-1Published: 28 September 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-85807-4Published: 10 August 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-56029-8Published: 19 September 2017

  • Series ISSN: 2946-3572

  • Series E-ISSN: 2946-3580

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVI, 240

  • Topics: Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Sport and Leisure, Ethnography

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation