It’s Not About The Book

Abstract

In his autobiography, It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, Lance Armstrong claimed that his identity as a human being is not defined simply in terms of his skill at racing a bicycle. Armstrong’s articulation of multiple, competing identifications is consistent with a postmodern notion of fractured, incomplete identity. However, following Butler, identity can be seen as contested, negotiated, and often hegemonic. Drawing from the emerging field of cyborgology, and the work of Birrell and McDonald, the authors construct a parallel cyborg “counternarrative” alongside the popular Armstrong story. By interrogating Armstrong’s story through the lens of cyborg theory, the authors will explore and articulate alternative meanings/readings of Armstrong’s narrative of self as represented in his book and, finally, suggest that Armstrong’s story can be read as an exemplar of the postmodern cyborg sporting hero.