Abstract
What has eight wheels and stops for nothing? A roller derby girl. Make no mistake about it, the sport is physical, punishing, and yes, even brutal. Roller derby girls sport lipstick and bruises, attitude and injuries. They are athletes like no other, competing in a woman-only sport, not a male sport that has been modified and changed to allow for women’s participation. So sit back, relax, and welcome to Portland, Oregon, and the 2004 revival of roller derby leagues.
Brutal Beauty gives us a peek into the world of roller derby through the lives of more than a dozen of the “derby girls” in the Rose City Roller League. Interviews with Rose City Rollers founder “Rocket Mean” and early derby girls “Blood Clottia,” “Marollin Monroe,” and “Madame Bumpsalot” give us a look at the motivations for joining roller derby teams, which include, among others, seeking a sense of community, blowing off steam, and dealing with serious family illness. Whatever the motivation, the derby girls share a love of the sport and their community. Roller derby not only gives women a sense of camaraderie and community, it is also more inclusive than most other team sports. Women of all shapes and sizes contribute to the game of roller derby; from the pivots, to the blockers, to the jammers, there is room for all.
From local bouts to regional competition, Brutal Beauty allows viewers to follow derby players, including “White Flight,” “Scratcher in the Eye,” “Blood Clottia,” “Cadillac,” “Angry Wrench,” “Madame Bumpsalot,” and “Rhea Derange,” as they compete against regional teams, including the Bay Area Derby Girls, and aspire to the national championships. Along the way, viewers experience the successes and challenges team members face, including the serious risk of injury associated with the roller derby.
The overall message of the documentary is this: Roller derby is empowering to women, offers them a sense of community, and allows them opportunities for self-expression in ways they may not experience in other aspects of their lives. In addition to these thematic insights, the documentary also provides a straightforward, nuts-and-bolts introduction to roller derby for viewers who are unfamiliar with the sport.
So how does Brutal Beauty fit into a sociology class? While most documentaries are framed from larger social and political perspectives, Brutal Beauty presents a straightforward, nontheoretical look at the sport of roller derby through the personal lives, interpersonal relationships, and communal ties of its participants. At the same time, as a documentary about both sports and gender, the film offers little academic framework for critiquing sports, gender, or the relationships between sports and gender. This provides both challenges and opportunities for classroom use. While Brutal Beauty could be used in either an undergraduate gender or sports class, it would be necessary for the instructor to add the larger academic contexts and perspectives for students.
With a little creativity and supplemental readings, the instructor could make the theoretical connections clearer. There are many great articles on gender performativity, emphasized femininity, and gender resistance that could help viewers think more deeply about the gender contradictions and negotiations they see in the roller derby players—from their stage names “Smack Ya Sideways” and “Scratcher in the Eye,” to their clothing (mini-skirts, mini-dresses, ripped fishnet and colorful stockings), to the gender contradictions present with women participating in such an aggressive and physically punishing sport. (See Carlson [2010] and Finley [2010] for recent articles on roller derby girls.)
Brutal Beauty could also be used in a sociology of sport class to help students think about the larger issues related to gender and sports today, such as, for example, why male sports receive so much more visibility and pay. Why do roller derby girls continue to participate in an unpaid sport? In what ways are men’s sports generally modified to “allow” for women’s participation? Supplementing the film, such a comparison of men’s and women’s sports and teams could go a long way to helping students understand the ways in which roller derby fits into the larger world of sports and gender.
In a classroom setting, the instructor could introduce a number of questions for discussion. For example, how do the roller derby teams compare to professional (i.e., paid) sports teams? In what ways is the sport of roller derby gendered? (Here, the instructor could encourage students to examine the names of players, the issue of low/no pay, and friendship and group dynamics among players.) In highlighting issues of gender, instructors can ask students to reflect on the ways in which derby girls negotiate or challenge gender norms, such as their selection of names, clothing, makeup, and other aspects related to their presentation of self.