The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports

Bartoluci, Sunčica; Škerbić, Matija Mato

doi:10.21464/fi46107

Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 46 No. 1, 2026.

Original scientific paper

The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports

Sunčica Bartoluci ; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Kineziološki fakultet, Horvaćanski zavoj 15, HR–10000 Zagreb *
Matija Mato Škerbić ; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Fakultet hrvatskih studija, Borongajska cesta 83d, HR–10000 Zagreb

* Corresponding author.

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APA 6th Edition

Bartoluci, S. & Škerbić, M.M. (2026). The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports. Filozofska istraživanja, 46 (1), 131-131. https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46107

MLA 8th Edition

Bartoluci, Sunčica and Matija Mato Škerbić. "The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports." Filozofska istraživanja, vol. 46, no. 1, 2026, pp. 131-131. https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46107. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Chicago 17th Edition

Bartoluci, Sunčica and Matija Mato Škerbić. "The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports." Filozofska istraživanja 46, no. 1 (2026): 131-131. https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46107

Harvard

Bartoluci, S., and Škerbić, M.M. (2026). 'The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports', Filozofska istraživanja, 46(1), pp. 131-131. https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46107

Vancouver

Bartoluci S, Škerbić MM. The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports. Filozofska istraživanja [Internet]. 2026 [cited 2026 September 29];46(1):131-131. https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46107

IEEE

S. Bartoluci and M.M. Škerbić, "The Ambivalence of Strength – Women, Gender, and Power in Combat Sports", Filozofska istraživanja, vol.46, no. 1, pp. 131-131, 2026. [Online]. https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46107

Abstract

Drawing on the concept of hegemonic masculinity, this article analyses the experiences of women in traditionally 'male' combat sports, wrestling and judo, focusing on bodily practices, sporting performances, and strategies of belonging within gender-hierarchised sporting spaces. Based on in-depth interviews with elite Croatian female wrestlers and judokas, the study demonstrates how sportswomen simultaneously challenge and reproduce the gender order of sport: on the one hand, by normalising the female body, strength and competitive competence, and on the other, by adapting to the norms of hegemonic masculinity and emphasising socially acceptable forms of femininity. The article concludes that sport functions as an ambivalent gendered field in which women act as agents of change, albeit within structural constraints that continuously shape and limit their scope for action.