Female Athletes in a Dual-World: How they Manage, Negotiate, and Tread the Waters of Conflicting Notions of Body Types Público

Abstract

Although women and girls are participating in athletics at record numbers as a result of the Title IX ban on sex discrimination, female athletes experience daily struggles both on and off the court (Cahn 1994; Dworkin and Messner 1999). The institution of sports is dominated by hegemonic masculinity, which is the ideal type of dominant and powerful masculinity (Connell 1987; Messner 1992). In the context of female sports, female athletes must manage a type of hegemonic femininity. Hegemonic femininity is necessitated by societal definitions of femininity, rather than by the strength and aggressiveness required for sport performance (Lenskyj 1994; Krane 1999; Choi 2000). Female athletes live in a paradoxical world where femininity is embraced, but where muscularity is required (Krane et al. 2004). In navigating this paradox, female athletes must utilize different strategies to manage their own femininity in accordance with their muscularity. This research study focuses on female athletes at an NCAA Division III university in the South. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews, I explore female athletes' experiences with negotiating their femininity with respect to their muscularity. I ask how female athletes manage and negotiate their femininity and muscularity and how the lesbian stereotype affects their daily lives. The research builds on existing literature in sociology of sport, as well as feminist perspectives of the institution of sport. Findings from this study illustrate that the issue of contradictory body types for female athletes results in two general types of negotiation. First, female athletes must deal with consequences of having a musculature athletic body in light of the societal expectations for femininity. Athletes have different experiences with their muscularity and engage in several strategies to manage the paradoxical nature of their bodies. Although all athletes must deal with this body type paradox, those who play gender-inappropriate sports (i.e. softball, basketball) are prone to labels and stereotypes of lesbianism. Thus, they have a second set of negotiation strategies in which they must engage.

Table of Contents

Introduction...1
Theoretical Background...3
Empirical Background...11
Research Questions...19
Methodology...20
Results...24
Discussion...44
References...52
Appendices...56

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Sociology
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, General Women's Studies
Palavra-chave	Sociology of Sport Body Types Empowerment Female Athletes Gender Negotiation
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Scott, Tracy L, Emory University
Committee Members	Owens, Michael Leo, Emory University Browne, Irene, Emory University

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