The Basics Series

Men On the Edge

Taking Risks and Doing Gender Among BASE Jumpers

by Caitlin Forsey  

In the arena of extreme sports, BASE jumping is among the most dangerous. BASE jumpers leap from fixed objects such as bridges, skyscrapers and cliffs, and freefall for several seconds before parachuting back to earth. Men On The Edge offers a wide-ranging sociological analysis of gender and voluntary risk taking as it unfolds in the context of BASE jumping. This book challenges highly individualistic accounts of voluntary risk taking and extends early attempts to explain the gendered participation in the sport by drawing on wider debates about modernization, individualization, community formation, gender relations and the sociology of the everyday.

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  • September 2012
  • ISBN: 9781552665220
  • 128 pages
  • $21.00
  • For sale worldwide

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About the book

In the arena of extreme sports, BASE jumping is among the most dangerous. BASE jumpers leap from fixed objects such as bridges, skyscrapers and cliffs, and freefall for several seconds before parachuting back to earth. Men On The Edge offers a wide-ranging sociological analysis of gender and voluntary risk taking as it unfolds in the context of BASE jumping. This book challenges highly individualistic accounts of voluntary risk taking and extends early attempts to explain the gendered participation in the sport by drawing on wider debates about modernization, individualization, community formation, gender relations and the sociology of the everyday.

Feminism, Gender & Sexuality

Author

Caitlin Forsey

CAITLIN FORSEY is a doctoral student in sociology at the University of British Columbia.

Contents

  • Introduction
  • Base Jumping 101
  • Inbound Trajectories and Mentor/Apprentice Relationships
  • Negotiating the Edge: Intersections of Gender and Risk
  • The Productive Power of BASE Jumping
  • The Will to Live versus The Threat of Dying
  • Conclusion
  • Appendices
  • References

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