Reconsidering edgework theory: Practices, experiences, and structures

Abstract

This article clarifies and revises the sociological theory of voluntary risk taking known as edgework. The concept has three distinct aspects: material practices, embodied experiences, and supporting structures. I first provide a critical summary of these aspects as they exist in the current literature. Second, I advocate for an approach to edgework through the analysis of symbolic practices. I argue that researchers can best understand the meaning of voluntary risk taking by studying how individuals discursively frame their actions. Given the ascendency of neoliberal ideology in contemporary Western societies, there is an increasing importance for research into risk (especially as it relates to the study of sports), and a cogent sociology of edgework can be an important component to such an intellectual endeavor.