Puck bunny

A puck bunny is a female ice hockey fan whose interest in the sport is primarily motivated by sexual attraction to the players rather than enjoyment of the game itself.[1] Primarily a Canadian term, it gained popular currency in the 21st century, and in 2004 was added to the second edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary which defines it as follows:[2]

Puck bunny: a young female hockey fan, especially one motivated more by a desire to meet the players than by an interest in hockey.[3]

Puck bunny

The term is somewhat analogous to the term groupie as it relates to rock and roll musicians. Sociological studies of the phenomenon in minor league hockey indicate that self-proclaimed "puck bunnies" are "'proud as punch' to have sex with the [players]", as it confers social status on them. However, these transitory relationships are often contrasted with those of girlfriends, with whom players have more stable, long-term relationships.[4]

Background

"Puck bunnies" are defined by the sociologists Garry Crawford and Victoria K. Gosling as:

The term 'puck bunny', which is applied almost exclusively to female ice hockey fans, implies that these supporters are 'inauthentic', not 'dedicated' in their support, and are more interested in the sexual attractiveness of the players rather than the sport itself.[5]

However, their study suggests that female fans at games are often just as knowledgeable as the male fans, and that the physical attractiveness of players does not necessarily play a significant role in attracting females to the sport.[5] Consequently, many female fans object to the term, as they are often viewed and described as puck bunnies simply by their presence at a game, regardless of their true intentions or motivations. Other female fans embrace the use of the term as a way of making a distinction between a puck bunny and a "true" female fan of the sport.

Often, the fans come up with suggestive signs[6] that say things like, "I want my headboard to give you a concussion,[7]" "Show me a hat trick and I'll show you a sex trick,[8]" "Meet us behind the Zamboni[9]," "Can I hold your stick"[10] or "you can put it through my five-hole."[11]

In similar terminology, a male or female fan who hangs around rodeo cowboys is called a "buckle bunny", in reference to large belt-buckles given as awards.

Further reading
  • Gill, Alexandra (December 19, 2007). "A journalist's account of Hockey Night in Canada". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.

See also

References
  1. Nallainathan, Maurika (November 16, 2006). "Puck Bunnies". The Vancouver Observer. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
  2. "5,000 new words". CBC News. July 24, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  3. Barber, Katherine (January 20, 2005). Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-541816-3.
  4. Messner, Michael A. (2002). Taking the Field: Women, Men, Bobby Jones and Sports. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 45. ISBN 978-0-8166-3449-1.
  5. Crawford, Garry; Victoria K. Gosling (2004). "The Myth of the 'Puck Bunny'". Sociology. 38 (3): 477–493. doi:10.1177/0038038504043214.
  6. "The HS Puck Bunny". @pckbunnyprobz. twitter.com. February 1, 2019.
  7. "Hockey Fan Shoots Her Shot With Sidney Crosby". Terez Owens. October 24, 2019.
  8. "Puck Soup #34: Confessions of a Puck Bunny - Nerdist". August 7, 2017. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017.
  9. Mahatma (February 17, 2009). "Straight Up Sports: The Puckbunny Quandry".
  10. "SHOW ME THE (PUCK) BUNNY!". October 2012.
  11. "Puck bunny sign". Just Hockey - Hockey, Hockey teams and Washington Capitals. Pinterest.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.