Deborah Ann Butler Achieving Against The Odds Summary

Deborah Ann Butler’s “Achieving Against the Odds: Gender, Chance and Contradiction in the Horseracing Industry”, an article featured in The Sociology of Sport Journal, analyzes the gender inequality along with class and race in the horse racing industry. Butler considers the difference in difficulty between woman and men when it comes to achieving success through interviews, statistical support, and Bourdieu’s concept of “thinking tools”. When it comes to sports, men have shown more dominance in achieving success and have become the models for the industry. In most sportsmen and woman are separated when it comes to competing. When dealing with interspecies sports like horse racing, wherein both the horses and jockeys participate, women

Butler talks of a study done in 2009 which included the British Racing School, where it is recorded that there are eight female flat jockeys compared to 109 males and in jump racing there is one professional female jockey compared to 88 male jockeys. This goes against the gender balance of trainee’s enrollment that is included in the training courses given to people who work in the racing industry. This is all associated with the male-dominant racing field dealing with inequality in class, gender, and race, which Butler explores in her article. Butler introduces the theory that the sports industry is a social organization that promotes male dominance giving woman significant challenges to face in become successful in the horse racing industry. To understand these social practices, Butler uses Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, habitus, and field. Butler says that field acts as a system of forces arranged by gender, class, and power. This field of power is an

Anne spoke of some of her experiences and in them most of the women included were all aspiring to be professional jockeys and illustrated how difficult it is for females to break through the gender barriers in the industry but Anne’s story was different. Anne went through situations where instead of being celebrated for any of her achievements was made a joke of and accused of not being able to actually accomplish anything so she must be sleeping with her boss. She was also given situations in which were meant to make her fail, though Anne was able to overcome these things and create something good. For example, Anne was given a horse that was known as being a little wild. No one was able to keep this horse still and she would usually tear off. Anne says,’ I started off at the back and ended up at the front, and then did a couple of circuits. Anyway I thought that was it, I’m gonna get sacked ... but anyway, Bob Henbury [the trainer] came up laughing and said “that’s the best she’s ever gone” and then every work day they used to put me on her and of course I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and I was actually trying to hold her and she was running off with me and of course she was actually doing a bit of work.” From then on Anne was the only “lad” able to handle that horse, showing her trainer just how valuable she was. Anne was eventually excepted as a woman in a “man’s” world