Section Editors:
- Jack Black, Sheffield Hallam University, j.black@shu.ac.uk
- Joseph S. Reynoso, Private Practice, New York, USA, drjsreynoso@gmail.com
Aggression occupies a paradoxical place in sport. It is a celebrated aspect of competition; a marker of passion and intensity; and a site of social concern, especially when it manifests in violence, abuse, or transgression. Psychoanalysis, with its attention to unconscious desire, psychic conflict, and the role of fantasy, provides a unique lens through which to interrogate the presence and function of aggression in sporting life. Whether understood as sublimated drive or the return of repressed hostility, aggression raises questions about subjectivity, enjoyment, embodiment, and the social field in which sport is embedded.
This special issue will advance psychoanalytic investigations of aggression in sport by bringing together interdisciplinary scholarship across clinical theory, cultural analysis, and critical sport studies. In doing so, it seeks to explore the psychic, social, and symbolic dimensions of aggression as they relate to athletes, spectators, institutions, and the media. By critically examining the ways in which aggression functions in both its destructive and productive forms (such as, violence, hostility, and domination, or as competitiveness, play, and vitality), the issue will contribute to contemporary debates on sport, subjectivity, and society, while also situating aggression within wider theoretical and political contexts (i.e., gender, race, nationalism, and digital media). We therefore encourage submissions covering a diverse array of fields within psychoanalytic theory, including, but not limited to, Freudian, Kleinian, Lacanian, and relational perspectives, as well as their intersections with adjacent disciplines.
Potential Topics
Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Aggression as drive, instinct, or fantasy in psychoanalytic theory and its implications for sport.
- The relation between aggression, enjoyment, and spectatorship.
- Sporting violence: from sanctioned forms of aggression (e.g. tackling, fighting, sledging) to transgressive acts.
- Sublimation, rivalry, and the transformation of aggression in competitive contexts.
- Aggression and the body: injury, pain, and the somatic inscription of hostility.
- Gendered dimensions of aggression in sport, including femininity, masculinity, and queer subjectivities.
- Racialised and nationalised forms of sporting aggression.
- Aggression, media, and representation: how aggression is narrated, celebrated, or condemned.
- Online aggression in sporting contexts, including trolling, abuse, and digital hostilities.
- Psychoanalytic case studies of athletes, fans, or institutions.
- The cultural politics of aggression: between regulation, containment, and excess.
Submission Types
This special issue welcomes a range of submissions that engage with the intersections of sport and psychoanalysis from multiple perspectives. We accept the following submissions:
Original Research
We invite original research articles that provide in-depth investigations into the unconscious dynamics of sporting experience, desire, embodiment, fandom, and performance. Contributions may employ diverse theoretical and methodological approaches, including qualitative and quantitative research.
Clinical Report
We welcome clinical reports from professionals working directly with athletes, such as, sports psychologists, coaches, and counsellors, that illuminate the lived realities of aggression in sporting contexts.
Review Article
We encourage review articles that critically engage with the field by synthesising existing scholarship, reassessing theoretical frameworks, or mapping new directions for inquiry. Such reviews might interrogate key debates, evaluate emerging trends, or revisit foundational texts that shape our understanding of the psycho-social significance of sport.
Media Review
We invite reviews of film, television, and documentary that explore the representation of sport through screen media. These contributions should bring psychoanalytic concepts to bear on depictions of athletes, fandom, competition, or sporting culture, interrogating themes of identity, obsession, trauma, or jouissance. By critically analysing audiovisual portrayals of sport, such reviews will offer an important space to reflect on how sporting aggression and enjoyment are mediated, represented, and reimagined.
For each submission, we would expect word limits to be in the range of 6,000 to 10,000 words, including reference list.
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Please submit your Abstract (250-words) to j.black@shu.ac.uk and drjsreynoso@gmail.com by January 12, 2026.
As part of your submission, please include:
- Author information (author name[s], institutional affiliation[s], and email)
- Author biography (100-words).
- Submission type (original research, clinical report, review article, or media review)
Anticipated Publication Timeline
12/01/26 — Deadline for abstract submission
26/01/26 — Authors notified of decision
02/08/26 — First draft deadline
Article Publishing Charges
The journal operates on an open access model. The standard article publishing charge (APC) is US $2,195 / UK £1,756 / EU €2,110 / AUD $3,060, plus VAT or other local taxes where applicable. There is no fee for submission.
Authors affiliated with institutions or funders that hold an open access publishing agreement with Taylor & Francis may be eligible for APC support.
Discounts and waivers are also available for authors based in developing countries, as defined by the World Bank, with reductions of 50% or 100% depending on the location of the corresponding author’s institution. In addition, discretionary waivers may be considered for researchers who do not qualify under these policies.
For further details, including country-specific charges and eligibility, please consult the Taylor & Francis open access policies. Authors with questions about eligibility or support are encouraged to contact the Editors.
Please visit the journal web page, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/oass20/sections/sport-and-psychoanalysis
