Reflexive BrAsian Family Practices: Boxers' Understanding of Parental Influence

This PhD examines how British South Asian Muslim (BrAsian) boxers have perceived and understood the ways in which their parents have influenced their engagement within the sport of boxing. The research employs the theoretical framework of family practices and the concept of family displays to comprehend how parental decisions converge/ diverge with religious, cultural and gendered norms on how to ‘do’ and ‘display’ family. Data was generated from BrAsian boxers located in West Yorkshire (England), through a qualitative multiple methods approach of interviews and ethnography. The findings highlight how parents either enabled or constrained their child(ren)s personal projects. Based on the boxers’ accounts, it is argued that parents engaged in reflexive deliberation, which allowed them to evaluate their child(ren)s personal projects, with reference to objective structural and cultural powers, and what they (the parents) cared about the most, before concluding on whether they should promote or prevent their child(ren)s involvement in boxing. Interpretations of ‘good’ and responsible parenting, aspirations for their child(ren), household circumstances, personal motivations and the norms, values and expectations of living amongst the biradari (community) were all issues that intersected and were recognised by the boxers as the most influential factors underpinning the levels of parental support that they experienced. The boxers lay claim how their parents were mostly acting in the best interests of their children, although their practices and approaches appeared to be, at times, ambiguous, unclear, contradictory and contested. Family relationships and dynamics often endured fraught moments as deliberations were undertaken against the backdrop of ideas around how family ought to be ‘done’ and ‘displayed’. These were inseparably infused by religious, cultured, gendered and classed beliefs, values, attitudes and dispositions. This thesis contributes towards enriching the debates on family practices and displays whilst also offering an alternative reading to the hegemonic narratives that purportedly construct stereotypical accounts of knowledge about BrAsians.