SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF FEMALE JUDO IN THE CROATIAN SOCIETY

Sport prožima sve aspekte društvenog života, zato ga promatramo u društvenom kontekstu. Žene su kroz povijest manje zastupljene u većini sportova, pogotovo u takozvanim „muškim“ sportovima, poput nogometa i borilačkih sportova. Iako se društveni položaj žena promijenio, pa tako i njihov doprinos sportu, predrasude i dalje postoje. Ženski judo je u počecima kaskao za muškim, većina ženskih judo natjecanja počinje godinama nakon muških svjetskih natjecanja. Danas, iako formalno ravnopravni u vidu zajedničkih održavanja svih velikih prvenstava, broj žena uključenih u judo puno je manji u usporedbi sa brojem muškaraca. U Hrvatskoj judašice, iako u manjem broju, ostvaruju većinu zapaženih međunarodnih rezultata, no još uvijek se susreću s mnogim preprekama i predrasudama. Cilj ovog rada je analiza stavova i mišljenja reprezentativki o stanju hrvatskog sporta, položaju ženskog juda i juda općenito. Detaljnije, provedeno je devet intervjua sa članicama juniorske i seniorske judo reprezentacije. Postavljana su im pitanja o sportu u Hrvatskoj, početku njihove sportske karijere, razlozima bavljenja, odnosima u obitelji, obrazovanju, te preprekama na koje su nailazile. Sve u pokušaju razumijevanja fenomena ženskog juda u Hrvatskoj, te kao nit vodilja u budućim istraživanjima s ciljem unapređenja ženskog juda i ženskog sporta općenito.Sport spans through all aspects of social life, so we look at it in the social context. Women are, in history, less represented in most sports, especially in so-called "male" sports such as soccer and martial arts. Although the social position of women has changed, and thus their contribution to sport, prejudice still exists. Female judo started later in comparison to male judo, most female judo competitions began years after the men's international competitions. Today, though formally equal in the form of joint participation in all major championships, the number of women involved in judo is much smaller compared to the number of men. In Croatia, female judokas, though in a smaller number, accomplish most international results, but still face many obstacles and prejudices. The aim of this paper is to analyze views and opinions of national team members about the status of Croatian sport, the position of female judo and judo in general. More specifically, nine interviews were conducted with members of the junior and senior judo team. They were asked about sport in Croatia, the beginning of their sports career, their reasons for training, family relationships, education, and the obstacles they encountered. All in an attempt to understand the phenomenon of female judo in Croatia, and as a guideline for future research aimed at advancing female judo and female sport in general