여성 격투가의 '몸―체험'과 여성 주체성에 대한 연구

Abstract

본 연구는 격투 훈련을 하는 여성들이 자신의 몸을 ‘여성적’ 규범에서 벗어나는 것으로서 체험하고 있다는 점에 주목하여, 훈련을 통해 변화한 몸이 수행하고 있는 여성 주체성을 살펴보고자 하였다. 이는 ‘몸’이 여성 주체성과 행위성을 드러내는 매개로서 갖는 가능성에 주목하여, 몸을 성별 질서에 도전․협상하는 매개로 의미화하고자 한 시도이다. 이에 본 연구는 여성 격투가들을 심층 면접하였으며 참여 관찰을 동반하였다. 연구의 내용과 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 많은 ‘여성적’ 여가 스포츠가 있음에도 불구하고 여성들이 격투를 여가 스포츠로 선택하는 이유는 여성 몸에 기억된 강한 몸에 대한 선망과 격렬한 몸 움직임에 대한 쾌락 때문이다. 성별화된 규범은 약한 몸이 매력적이라는 규범적 여성의 몸을 내면화하게 하지만 그 규범과 모순되는 개인 몸의 기억은 체현되어, 이후 격투 수행의 기회를 여성들이 적극 활용하게 한다. 둘째, 여성적 몸보다 격투 실력자로서의 몸이라는 규범이 우선적으로 존재하는 ‘도장’이라는 공간은 여성들에게 새로운 몸의 경험을 반복, 누적할 수 있는 가능성을 제공한다. 도장의 위계 내에서 실력자로서 인정받으면서 이들은 자신의 몸을 ‘여성’으로서의 한계를 넘어서는 것으로 경험한다. 이와 동시에 남성의 몸을 기준으로 구성된 운동 체계는 남녀 수련자의 차이를 ‘위계’의 구도로 환원하여 몸 능력을 성별화된 영역 내로 제한한다. 성별 체계를 위반하는 몸의 행동과 습관은 도장 내의 성별화된 기제와 충돌하면서 불연속적으로 개인의 몸 안에 존재한다. 셋째, 도장에서 반복, 누적되는 훈련을 통해 여성들은 과거와 다른 자기 몸의 특성에 대해 알게 된다. 새로운 동작과 기술을 습득하는 과정을 통해 앎과 몸적 수행을 일치시켜나가게 되며 몸이 가진 능력과 그 능력의 범위에 대해 인식하게 된다. 이러한 과정을 통해 여성들은 자신의 ‘의지’대로 몸의 움직임을 생산할 수 있게 된다. 동시에 상대의 공간을 장악하는 훈련인 겨루기를 통해 여성들은 자기 몸의 경계를 강하게 인식하는 상태에서 상대방의 공간을 파악할 수 있는 능력을 갖게 된다. 겨루기를 통한 승부의 쾌락을 즐기게 되면서 여성들은 새로운 몸-공간의 감각을 체현한다. 이는 이후 이들의 일상에서 느끼는 몸-공간을 변화시킬 가능성을 만들어낸다. 넷째, 격투 훈련을 통해 변화한 여성의 몸은 여성들로 하여금 자신의 일상적 공간을 ‘파악 가능’하고 ‘통제 가능’한 것으로 인식하게 한다. 자기 몸의 능력과 힘에 대한 자신감을 통해 이들의 일상을 구성하는 감수성은 변화한다. 여성들은 자신의 몸 능력이 가진 힘과 그 힘이 갖는 파급력에 대해 인식하게 되면서 성별 질서를 지식화한다. 이를 통해 여성들은 각자의 공간에서 성별 질서와 적극 협상, 도전하며 이전보다 자율적이고 독립적인 여성 주체성을 구성해나간다. 여성들이 격투를 통해서 얻게 되는 것은 강한 몸일 뿐 아니라, 접근 가능한 세상의 영역이 넓어지며 그 세상을 깊고 다양하게 체험할 몸을 갖게 되었다는 것을 의미한다. 본 연구는 늘 변화하며 세계와 상호작용하는 몸의 특징으로 인해 주체는 성별 체계에 완전히 포획되지 않으며, 이들이 경험하는 성별 정체성의 내용 역시 모두 다르다는 것을 드러내었다. 이와 함께 여성의 격투 훈련 경험을 몸 능력의 확대와 몸-공간의 ‘확장’으로 의미화하면서, 몸의 ‘확장’ 체험이 성별 질서에서 요구하는 규범적 몸과 갈등하고 그것에 도전하는 방식을 살펴보았다. 이를 통해 ‘확장’된 몸이 성별 질서와 함께 살아가는 여성들에게 힘과 지식을 갖게 할 구체적 아젠더로서 제시될 수 있는 가능성을 넓히고자 하였다.;In this paper, I focused on the lived body of female martial artists and explored their female subjectivities, paying attention to the possibilities of feminist studies on lived body. In recent feminist politics, 'Body' has been theorized as an active media of women's subjectivities and agencies. This trend has been motivated from the criticism on the analytic category of sex/gender distinction. Gender, which is distinct from female body, has been considered as a key element for constituting female identity. However this kind of distinction has been questioned by many feminists because 'gender' is not an enough category any more for theorizing female agency and subjectivities. I also focus on the possibility of 'body' as an analytic category to show female subjectivities better. Recently in Korea, more and more women are practicing martial arts in public places. This is due to nowaday's trend that sports is suggested as the best way to manage oneself in modernized life style. Meanwhile, martial arts are becoming as an easily accessible sports for anyone with commercialization and popularization of martial arts. Meanwhile, the images and discourses of female martial arts are arising. Many martial arts gymnastics promotes themselves, giving an emphasis on the feminine effect of martial arts like slim fit and feminine appearance. The image of female martial arts is accepted in public only in the way their practices are not conflicting with their idealized femininities. My focus is, however, that the lived experiences of female martial artists are extremely different from that of the idealized 'female fighters' represented in mass media. While practicing, they get accustomed to the new ways of moving and feeling their own bodies. Many female learners get to have some strong feeling that their bodies are transgressing gender norm in the process of their practice for martial arts. Repeated and accumulated lived body of martial arts makes women rediscover the ability and agency of their own bodies. Learning new skill and getting used to the new way of moving for martial arts are the processes during the 'idea' about performing body should be correspondent with the real bodily movement. With this kind of practices, they get to know the range of their bodies' own strength and movement in a detailed way. Enhancing and articulating bodily ability, they get to understand the logic of bodily movement. 'Kyeoru-ki(rivalry match of martial art)' has the main characteristic point on martial arts. During every Kyeoru-ki, martial artists try to hold the power of the space where she and the rival belong. They strain their sense of bodies as strong as they can and they get to have the ability to grasp the other's space. They embody new sense of space. Repeated Kyeoru-ki makes women embody new sense of body-space and leaves possibility to change their everyday body-space, later on. In general, physical contact with strangers and strong eye contacts are tabooed for women, but these kind of actions are actively suggested and empowered in gymnasium for martial art. Women get to know that their everyday practice in gymnasium doesn't have anything in common with the idealized images of 'women fighters'. That's why many female newcomers can't get used to practices and leave gymnasium in their early times. This kind of experience could be possible within the new standard for body in new space. In gymnasium for martial art, women are required not feminine body but martial art master's body. That is, skilled body for martial art is the superior standard to gendered body in gymnasium. This new standard of bodily discipline and the specific hierarchy of the gymnasium make women develop their bodily ability beyond gendered norms. Meanwhile, developed female body in gymnasium sometimes makes conflicts with the male-oriented system of martial arts because the standard body in general is male's one. This kind of conflicts coexist with the possibility of lived bodies' potential knowledge. This reveals that feminine ways of movement and feminine bodily behavior don't have its origin in female body. Martial arts training might also give the common experiences for male trainees, but this kind of felt experiences in every 'body' would have a very different effect according to gender, because every 'body' is always required to be gendered ones in this gendered society. Female martial artists get to have not only the strong bodies but also wider world to feel through their transformed bodies. Since martial arts for women has been tabooed, wider world which could be felt through strong bodies has been deprived of for women for a long time. After transformation, they get to perceive their everyday space more graspable and more controllable, which would break gender norms. The sensibility about their ordinary lives are changed through their renewed confidence of their strength and ability of their own bodies. Through this process, women get to 'KNOW' the gender system they live in. Their lived bodies obtain a powerful knowledge to negotiate with gender system. Experiencing bodily transformation, women constitute subjectivities with strength and confidence in themselves and they get to challenge and negotiate with gendered society in their own place. Women's strong body and its lived bodies also make possibilities to perceive the world differently and to be stronger and more autonomous. Enlarged embodied body could be suggested as a way for criticizing and challenging gender norm. and could be proposed as a feminist bodily agenda for challenging gender norms. Gender ideology is not internalized by all women equally, but embodied differently for every individual. Gender identity is always conflicting and empowering with individual lived body. Not all female bodies are completely entrapped in gender system. Human beings as organic bodies are constantly changing from time of birth until dying. Also, They are always being socialized, leaving possibility for changes along with surroundings around them. However, female body of strong figure and ability to fight for oneself is represented in mass media as ridiculous and laughable. This kind of strong women's images are shown in mass media only for setting the idealized femininity off. It is necessary for feminists to interpret strong, health and enlarged female body as a new agenda for empowering women themselves. To stop gender performance's repetition, diverse female bodies which are challenging, breaking and going beyond gender norms are necessary to be visible in public and theorized in feminist academic field.