Policing the edge: risk and social control in skydiving

Laurendeau, Jason; Van Brunschot, Erin G.

Policing the edge: risk and social control in skydiving

dc.contributor.author	Laurendeau, Jason
dc.contributor.author	Van Brunschot, Erin G.
dc.date.accessioned	2012-10-02T21:09:24Z
dc.date.available	2012-10-02T21:09:24Z
dc.date.issued	2006
dc.description	Accepted author manuscript.	en_US
dc.description.abstract	In this article, we draw on participant observation and interview data to explore risk and social control in skydiving. We explore Lyng’s (1990) concept of edgework, and argue that too little attention has been paid to the ways edgeworkers may be enabled or constrained by various actors both outside and inside the edgework setting. We suggest that, while skydiving evokes notions of freedom and creativity, participants, and to a lesser extent outsiders, constrain individual freedoms in skydiving through various formal and informal attempts at policing. In particular, experienced skydivers monitor how other jumpers go about negotiating the edge, often subtly and sometimes conspicuously encouraging them to perform edgework in an acceptable manner. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for the conceptualization of the edgework model.	en_US
dc.description.peer-review	Yes	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Laurendeau, J. and E. Gibbs Van Brunschot. (2006). Policing the edge: Risk and social control in skydiving. Deviant Behavior, 27(2), 173-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639620500468535	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10133/3143
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.publisher	Taylor & Francis	en_US
dc.publisher.department	Sociology Department	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts and Science	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Lethbridge	en_US
dc.publisher.url	https://doi.org/10.1080/01639620500468535
dc.subject	Edgework	en_US
dc.subject	Social control	en_US
dc.subject	Skydiving--Risk	en_US
dc.title	Policing the edge: risk and social control in skydiving	en_US
dc.type	Article	en_US