Rethinking Gender and Youth Sport

Ian Wellard

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9781134128556
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Gender Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Much writing on gender and sport is focused upon the negative impact of girls' exclusion from the arena, suggesting by inference that current practice in sport and physical education offers an uncomplicatedly positive sport experience for boys, and that gender, in and of itself, offers a simple starting point for research into young people's experience of sport.

Rethinking Gender and Youth Sport articulates certain themes which, it is suggested, might contribute to broadening and furthering discussion in the area of gender, youth sport and physical activity. This collection considers a number of themes relating to gender in sport, including:

• the body
• competence, ability and school physical education
• cultural change and diversity
• gendered spaces
• human rights and well-being.

Authoritative writers have contributed thought provoking chapters which will prompt the reader to re-think the ways in which gender is understood within the context of youth sport.

1
Introduction

Young people, gender, physical activity and sport

Ian Wellard

If sexual discrimination is objectionable in most other areas of our lives, why should it be acceptable within sports?

(Tännsjo and Tanburrini 2000:101)

This book has been prompted by my involvement in research exploring a range of physical activities young people in. Much of this research had been conducted with the general presumption that physical activity in the form of sports, play and recreation, whether in or out of school, is an essential and enjoyable aspect of every young person’s everyday life (or should be). However, although the benefits of physical activity and sport for childhood development are well documented (Bailey et al. 2004), it is still the case that a significantly large number of young people, particularly girls, either are not as much as they would like or are not provided with the opportunities to do so.

Previous research exploring masculinities in the context of amateur and social sports participation (Wellard 2003, 2006a) has suggested that ‘gender’ is still a factor in many young people’s ability to take part and plays a significant part in their experiences once engaging. However, gender on its own is sometimes not sufficient in explaining the underlying difficulties. As a report to the World Health Organization (Bailey et al. 2004) suggested, much of the writing on girls and physical activity has tended to explore the negative aspects of exclusion from what is considered a male arena of sport (Scraton 1992; Birrell and Cole 1994). Although important and relevant, this position has resulted in descriptive accounts of women’s exclusion which could be seen as surreptitiously consolidating existing gender divisions or binaries (Butler 1993) without taking into consideration other social factors such as age, the body, geography, economics and race (Bale 1993; Shilling 1993; Lavoie 2000; MacDonald 2003). Consequently, many investigations into gender in sport have, albeit with original good intentions, reinforced the assumption that all boys benefit from sport whereas all girls are excluded.

The social interpretation of biological sex does continue to influence the way sport, physical activity and physical education are constructed for girls and women (Scraton 1992) and it is still difficult to displace historically formed assumptions that physical exertion and assertion are less beneficial to girls’ overall development. In addition, the social understandings of concepts such as ‘motherhood’ dictate that girls are seen as passive carers rather than as active providers (Woodward 1997). Evidence tends to that many of these values are still supported. Consequently, such presumptions are limiting and, ultimately, harmful, since they construct social and cultural barriers to participation and engagement in personally beneficial and socially prestigious activities (Bailey 2005). Concern is greatest during childhood, as girls’ early experiences often provide the foundation for future participation (Birrell and Cole 1994; Hall 1996; Oliver and Lalik 2001; Cockburn and Clarke 2002).

Early experiences of physical activity

For many young people the only experiences of regular physical activity are within the context of school physical education lessons (Sallis et al. 1997). Scraton (1992) identified how the early experiences of school sport were important in terms of girls’ future participation. Aspects of physical education lessons which were initially regarded as lesser concerns for school governing bodies, such as specific uniforms for physical education lessons or the standards of showering facilities, were found to be significant in girls’ lived experience of school sports. Recognition of individual experience of the body has often been overlooked in favour of broader policy-driven issues relating to health and educational provision. Particularly in sports, there are many occasions where the body is literally on display and this has the potential for the individual to be exposed to negative emotional experiences of shame and bodily embarrassment (Probyn 2000). In consequence, sport has the potential to be a source of embarrassment by way of being an activity where the body is foregrounded. In the school setting, physical education ‘uniforms’ can often be revealing and communal showers can be the source of unwanted displays of the naked body, particularly at a time when girls are becoming more acutely aware of the social female body. The recognition of the body as a contributory factor in shame is equally significant for boys and highlights the importance of incorporating this aspect within any study of youth sports.

Studies have also highlighted a greater emphasis upon discipline in physical education compared with other aspects of the curriculum. Post-structuralist theory has been influential in these accounts of the disciplined body, especially in the way power is located in knowledge structures (Foucault 1977). Additional emphasis on discipline in the context of physical education lessons that distinctions are being made between the supposedly cerebral pursuits of academic study and corporeal activities, and that differing forms of regulation are required.

By the time students enter secondary school, they have developed clear activity preferences. Bedward and Williams (2000) found dance and gymnastics are either loved or hated by most students by the time they reach secondary school. They also found that enjoyment in gymnastics was closely related to personal ability whereas those who disliked it found the experience humiliating. Similarly, opportunities for creativity and expression in dance were understood positively. What becomes apparent is that bodily performances play an important role in the experience of physical education, not only in terms of bio-mechanical dexterity but more in the way that social bodily performances become central to whether a sport is enjoyed or not. Lack of ability is a contributory factor, but there are many other social situations which that have the potential to cause humiliation. Elements considered essential to the performance of a sport, such as competition, demonstrations of technique and winning or losing, are not sufficiently explored in terms of the impact this has upon the individual, especially if the context is in a school lesson rather than a professional, elite sport.

Some ways to combat the negative experience of sport which many school children face include the provision of a broader curriculum, more practical applications of uniform policy and teaching strategies which enhance rather than diminish self-esteem (Butler 2006). However, one solution often proposed is to focus upon ways in which girls can have access to the same range of activities as boys. This can be problematic, as it does not take into consideration one of the main causes of negative experience, chiefly, the elements within the practices involved in school sports which contribute to the experience of them in terms of shame and humiliation. These are not areas which are the sole reserve of girls, but are equally experienced by boys who do not conform to those same expectations which restrict the girls. Thus, work which incorporates the acknowledgement of a of subordinated masculinities within the context of sport needs to be applied (Mac an Ghaill 1994, 1996; 2000; Frosh et al. 2002; 2002, 2006a).

Gender and physical education

Physical education lessons present an important arena for the construction and consolidation of dominant and subordinate masculinities and femininities (Paechter 2003a). The where physical education is located, such as the gym, sports hall or playing field, function as the context for displays of hegemonic forms of heterosexual masculinities and the subordination of others or alternatives. Moreover, the ideal types of bodily usage expected within physical education can be regarded as generally located in traditional understandings of male and female sports. Therefore, the different bodily usages encouraged by secondary school physical education both permit and support the development of particular masculinities and femininities. In Paechter’s (2003a: 47) words, ‘In secondary schools in particular, physical education lessons are an important arena for the displaying and acting out of masculinity and femininity, particularly those forms which could be described as hypermasculine and hyperfeminine.’

According to this argument, much of physical education remains gender-segregated and a place where specific gendered performances are expected and encouraged. This is particularly the case for young men and women when there is more uncertainty about what constitutes correct or appropriate performances. For some theorists (Connell 1995; Theberge 2003), sport (school sports in particular) operates as a means of presenting broader social constructions of gender and identity. Physical education, therefore, provides an important arena for boys to act out ‘hypermasculinity’ (Paechter 2003a). Consequently, the relationship of girls and femininity to physical education is more complex, partly because the agenda is set by the boys and interest in sports is excluded for girls by their male peer group.

Expressions of femininity are often demonstrated by resistance to physical education and sports in a similar way that expressions of masculinity are demonstrated through sporting prowess and resistance to ‘passive’ academic work in the classroom (Frosh et al. 2002). School sports continue to reinforce gender binaries which position the activities of girls as subordinate to boys (Scraton 1992; Paechter 2003a):

The dominance of competitive sport in popular culture, though less than heretofore in the official PE curriculum…and monadic, surface-focused fitness practices discourage the development and use of open, communicative bodily practices and forms.

(Paechter 2003a: 57)

Theoretical debates surrounding the gendered practices evident within physical education and school sports are informative as they offer support to claims that studies within this area need to include consideration of the body and broader academic approaches. However, many theoretically focused studies do not always provide any concrete solutions or ways forward and, ultimately, maintain a theory/practice binary (MacDonald 2003). What is clear is that methods are required which can cut through and break the stranglehold that gender stereotypes have on traditional forms of physical education and sports. An essential part of this is awareness in the of ways in which gender is acted upon. Consequently, particular issues emerge which need to be considered in any future Investigations of young people, gender and youth sports, such as:

1 a recognition/awareness of the gendered constructions and binary divisions which operate within (and external to) current physical education practices;

2 reflection on the influence of hegemonic masculine constructions of bodily performances which may restrict girls’ and boys’ participation in physical education and school sports and wider physical activities.

Drawing upon a broader theoretical base is important and it is by incorporating theories from other disciplines that further investigations into the experiences of young people in sport and physical activity can be made. Consequently, it is suggested that the following need to be considered with gender in any further research into gender and youth sport:

• the body;

• competence, ability and school physical education;

• diversity;

• cultural change;

• gendered spaces;

• human rights and well-being.

Rethinking gender and youth sport

The collection of writing contained in this book was drawn together bearing in mind the above themes. It was initially intended to divide the book into sections and include contributions which drew upon a specific theme. However, as the book developed, it became clear that the writers were engaging with many of these themes rather than just one. For the of clarity, the chapter layout has been kept in the original format, but without formally distinct sub-headings.

In Chapter 2, Dawn Penney provides an initial overview of young people and sport. There have been many developments in recent years, not only in academic thinking, but also in interventions. Australia has appeared to take the lead in many policy-related issues within the area of school sports and in particular girls’ participation. The Australian Sports Commission produced one such document (1999) detailing strategies devised to encourage women and girls to take a more active part in sport. Part of that provision was the recognition of the role of schools within this process as the only organisations that can ensure the provision of sport for the majority of young people. In this document they listed a series of strategies to help achieve this principle within the school setting. Although these strategies cover a broad range of issues and may be difficult to accommodate in all cases, putting down on paper a series of objectives provides the opportunity to move towards particular goals and, ideally, these goals can be adapted and revised as need be. The formulation of a series of strategies also helps identify further issues of potential conflict. For instance, one of the problems highlighted within their list is the apparent assumption that all boys experience sports in the same way. Thus the point about single-sex competition providing...

Table of contents

• International studies in physiacal education and youth sport
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Contributors
• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Physical education, physical activity, sport and gender
• 3 Embodied identities
• 4 Girls, bodies and pain
• 5 Being ‘able’ in a performative culture
• 6 Gender and secondary school National Curriculum Physical Education
• 7 Inflexible bodies and minds
• 8 (Hetero) sexy waves
• 9 Sport, well-being and gender
• Notes
• References
• Index