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Negotiating Power Within High School Girls’ Exploratory Projects in Physical Education

Article in Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal · January 2011 DOI: 10.1123/wspaj.20.1.73

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The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Volume 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 About WSPAJ The Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal is a peer-reviewed journal that serves readers by providing a forum for women-centered issues and approaches to sport and physical activity. Published bian- nually, both Spring and Fall, the Journal consists of original data-based research, review essays, creative writing, book reviews, commentaries, letters and responses, and other scholarly writings relative to sport and physical activity. Contributions across all disciplines are welcomed, in addition to a variety of approaches and viewpoints. Emphases of the journal are the development of theory about women and their physicality, the gender issues relevant to women in sport and physical activity, feminist reconceptualizations of existing knowledge, and action-oriented research. Contributions for the Journal are sought throughout the world and from traditional and non-traditional settings. While the Journal has been in publication for over 13 years, 2004 marks the first time it was published by the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).

On the Cover 1. Tennis player: www.fotosearch.com. 1 2 2. Soccer player: Heather Wihelm-Carter, University of Utah. Photographer: Steve Wilson 4 3 3. Softball player: Amberly Jeppson, University of Utah. Photographer: Steve Wilson. 4. Track runner: Kristy Slade, University of Utah. Photographer: Steve Wilson.

Publication Information The Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal is published by the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS), a non-profit organization, 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191, (703) 476-3400.

Copyright The Journal holds the copyright for all articles that are published in it. Authors may copy for their own use and other persons may do a one-time use, but persons are not to copy for the purpose of avoiding subscribing to the Journal. Professional ethics makes such a practice contrary to the existence of the Journal. © 2011 National Association for Girls & Women in Sport. author Winter 2011 Original Research Articles Maternal Physical-Activity-Related Parenting Behaviors May Influence Children’s Physical Activity Levels and Relative Weight....3-12 Richard R. Rosenkranz and David A. Dzewaltowski

From Ribbon to Wrist Shot: An Autoenthnography of (A)typical Feminine Sport Development ...... 13-22 Sara Dorken and Audrey Giles

Physical and Physiological Attributes of Female Team Handball Players - A Review ...... 23-38 Ronnie Lidor and Gal Ziv

“You’re Not Allowed Body Checking in Women’s Hockey”: Preserving Gendered and ...... 39-52 Nationalistic Hegemonies in the 2006 Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament Kelly Poniatowski

(SWET)ing for the Summit: A Feminist Cultural-Studies Analysis of Singapore’s FiSTt Women’s Mount Everest Team .. . 53-65 Tan Leng Goh

Shape Your Life and Embrace Your Aggression: A Boxing Project for Female and Trans Survivors of Violence ...... 66-72 Cathy van Ingen

Negotiating Power within High School Girls’ Exploratory Projects in Physical Education ...... 73-90 Jennifer L. Fisette Girls in Sport Symposium Proceedings of the Second Annual Girls in Sport Symposium...... 91 Introduction to the Girls in Sport Symposium...... 92 Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We’re Going: Girls and Women in Sport and Physical Activity ...... 93-94 Cultural Competencies in Sport: Criticisms, Solutions and Actions ...... 95-97 Considerations in Coaching Girls and Women in Sport and Physical Activity Settings ...... 98-100 Girls’ Sports Today...Measuring Progress ...... 101-103 Let Me Play! Girls with Disabilities and Physical Activity ...... 104-106 Coaches’ Panel Summary ...... 107-108 Contact Information for Girls in Sport Symposium Authors ...... 109 Book Reviews Sports and Violence: A Critical Examination of Sport by Lynn M. Jamieson and Thomas J. Orr ...... 110 Reviewed by Byron Martin and Renee Frimming

100 Questions and Answers about Your Sports Injuries by Thomas Howard, Garry HK Wo and Josh Lewis...... 111-112 Reviewed by Jeffrey Tincher Information Items Author Guidelines ...... 113-115

About NAGWS...... 116

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 1 author Winter 2011

WSPAJ 2010–2011 Editorial Board

Co-Editor VP Publications Emerging Scholar Lynda Ransdell Glenna Bower Kelly Balfour Boise State University of Southern Indiana University of Tennessee Co-Editor VP Research Managing Editor Ann Boyce Heidi Grappendorf Andrea (A.J.) Ries University of Virginia North Carolina State University

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Title IX and Gender Equity Section Editor Sports Management Section Editors Sport Pedagogy Section Editors Ellen Staurowsky Jennifer Van Sickle Kim Bush Ithaca College University of Indianapolis Meredith College International/Sports Psychology Section Jennifer Bruening Jane Shimon Editor University of Connecticut Boise State University Bik Chow Sport Psychology Section Editor Exercise Physiology Section Editor Hong Kong Baptist University Jennifer Waldron Jamie Vener Health/Fitness Section Editor University of Northern Iowa Southern Oregon University Leah Robinson Sport Sociology Section Edtiors Book Reviews Auburn University Justine Reel Glenna Bower University of Utah University of Southern Indiana Biomechanics Section Editor Jackie Hudson Shelley Lucas Chico State Boise State Diversity Issues in Sport Section Editor Methodologist/Recreation Section Editor Doris Corbett Robin Mittelstaedt Howard University Ohio University

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WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 2 author Original Research Article

Maternal Physical-Activity-Related Parenting Behaviors May Influence Children’s Physical Activity Levels and Relative Weight

Richard R. Rosenkranz, Kansas State University & University of Western Sydney David A. Dzewaltowski, Kansas State University

CONTACT Abstract INFORMATION: Previous studies have demonstrated that parents may influence the physical activity (PA) levels of children. The present study sought to determine whether PA-related Ric Rosenkranz, Ph.D. parenting behaviors were associated with the physical activity and relative weight University of Western of children, controlling for other covariates. A community sample of mothers (n = Sydney 193) of after-school-program attendees completed questionnaires assessing parental Locked Bag 1797 social support for PA, sedentary behavior, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activ- Penrith, NSW, 2751 ity. Children (N = 193, 51% girls) were objectively assessed for height and weight E–mail: via stadiometer and digital scale, and the data were converted to body mass index [email protected] (BMI) percentile via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2010a) growth charts. Linear regression analysis revealed that maternal encouragement for Phone: child PA was positively related to both child PA and BMI percentile. However, +61 02 4620 3625 mother-child shared physical activity was negatively related to child BMI percentile. Therefore, varying types of PA-related parenting behaviors may have differential relationships with child PA and relative weight.

Current recommendations indicate that children should attain 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA) per day (Strong et al., 2005). Many children do not get sufficient amounts of PA (Troiano et al., 2008), and may therefore be more vulnerable to negative health outcomes, including overweight and obesity (Anderson & Butcher, 2006). According to recent surveillance data (Ogden et al., 2008), 33.6% of U.S. kids ages two to 19 are overweight or obese (85th percentile or higher on weight relative to height, adjusted for age and gender), and 17.1% are obese (95th percentile or higher). Among the potential determinants of children’s PA levels and weight status, parents emerge as an important influence (Golan & Crow, 2004; Gustafson & Rhodes, 2006; Trost et al., 2003). Recent sur-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 3 Rosenkranz and Dzewaltowski veillance data also show that a majority of U.S. adults well established, (Gustafson & Rhodes, 2006; Sallis, (many of whom are parents) are insufficiently physically Prochaska, & Taylor, 2000), a review of the literature active (Troiano et al, 2008), and about two-thirds are shows a lack of consistency on PARPB dimensions and overweight or obese (Ogden et al, 2006). Looking spe- measurement. In a meta-analysis by Pugliese and Tinsley cifically at female adults (many of whom are mothers), (2007), results showed a small positive association about one-third are obese, and fewer than 5% obtain between parent behavior and child PA, with moderation sufficient levels of PA. of the association by type of parent behavior, sample Physical activity levels of children frequently resemble age, and measurement. Consistent with Trost and col- those of their parents across socio-economic status and leagues (2003), parental PA modeling showed the weak- weight status (Salmon et al 2005), and given the adult est relation with child PA. Although numerous studies surveillance data stated above, this has implications for have assessed the relationship between dimensions of overweight and obesity in children. Although parent- PARPB and children’s PA, few studies (e.g., Hovell et child resemblance could partly be due to the influence of al., 1996) have examined the association of specific children on parents, there is strong evidence that parents, dimensions of PARPB with objectively measured relative particularly mothers, influence their children through weight of children in a community sample. Therefore, various PA-related parenting behaviors (PARPB; Davison, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to deter- Cutting, & Birch, 2003; Davison, 2004; Hovell, Kolody, mine the level of association between multiple PARPB Sallis, & Black, 1996; Krahnstoever Davison, Francis, & and children’s PA and relative weight. The hypotheses Birch, 2005; Trost et al., 2003). Physical-activity-related based on the findings of Pugliese and Tinsley (2007), parenting behaviors are often described in terms of Trost and colleagues (2003), and Hovell and colleagues social support for PA, which may include instrumental (1996), were: (1) that all social-support PARPB dimen- and direct support, emotional and motivational support, sions (encouragement, logistic support, emotional/ or observational support (Prochaska, Rodgers, & Sallis, motivational support, and parent-child shared PA) are 2002). In one exploratory study, Hovell and colleagues positively related to children’s PA, (2) that all social- (1996) operationally defined PARPB as the frequency of support PARPB dimensions are inversely related to PA encouragement, parent-child shared PA, and transpor- children’s BMI percentile, and (3) that both parent PA tation for PA (Hovell et al., 1996). In a later study, Trost and sedentary behavior dimensions are not related to and colleagues (2003) conceptualized parents’ own PA children’s PA or BMI percentile. The reasoning, in line level as separate from an omnibus social support for PA with Trost and colleagues (2003), was that parents who scale, and showed how parents’ PA indirectly influenced reported healthier PARPB would generally have chil- children’s PA through social support. Davison and col- dren who were more physically active and with lower leagues (2003) developed a questionnaire to assess how BMI percentiles, but that additional PARPB beyond parents promote PA, and found that their items grouped explicit modeling of PA behavior would be needed to into two factors: logistic support and explicit modeling. show protective effects relative to BMI percentile. Logistic support included such behaviors as enrolling children in sport programs, and mothers were stronger than fathers in this type of support. Explicit modeling Methods included parents using their own PA behavior to encour- age activity, and fathers were stronger than mothers in Participants and Setting this type of support. In a subsequent study, PARPB As part of a randomized controlled trial, participants were grouped similarly into logistic and modeling factors for this study were recruited from seven after-school (Davison, 2004). programs operating in one school district in the U.S. Although the positive relationship between several Midwest. The children from the after-school programs dimensions of PARPB and children’s PA has been fairly and their parents were assessed prior to an intervention.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 4 Maternal Physical Activity-Related Parenting

Parents of program attendees completed questionnaires items provided an index for whether or not parents met assessing potential influences on children’s PA and rela- current ACSM guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous PA. tive weight, and gave consent for their child to partici- In a previous study by Yore and colleagues (2001), the pate. In the seven schools hosting the programs, average test–retest reliability of BRFSS physical activity items enrollment was 309, with minority students making up was substantial—kappa = 0.35-0.53 for moderate activ- 31.2% of enrollment. In these schools, the proportion ity, kappa = 0.80-0.86 for vigorous activity, and kappa of students eligible for free or reduced lunch (indicat- = 0.67-0.84 for recommended activity—while validity of ing lower socio-economic status) averaged 43%. Parents the items was moderate, kappa = 0.40-0.52 for recom- who signed consent forms for their child’s participa- mended activity (compared to criterion referent physical tion (N = 404) were offered a five-dollar reduction in activity log). Because children under age 10 are unable program fees for completing the questionnaire, and 241 to report PA levels accurately or reliably (Saris, 1985), (60%) chose to take part. For the present study, self- child PA levels were assessed via parent proxy report report data from all mothers (N = 193) and BMI data using two items inquiring about the number of days of children (N = 193, mean age = 9.5, SD = 0.8) were in the past week, and in a typical week, that the child obtained before the intervention activities. All data col- was physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes lection procedures and measures were approved prior to (Prochaska, Sallis, & Long, 2001). The two items were data collection by the institutional review board at the averaged, and results at or exceeding five days per week authors’ university. were deemed to meet current PA guidelines for children (CDC, 2010b). In a previous study (Prochaska et al Measures 2001), this two-item instrument showed substantial test– Relevant measures of PARPB included parental retest reliability (ICC = 0.77) and showed concurrent social support, PA levels, and sedentary behavior. Social validity by correlating significantly with accelerometer- support was assessed using a previously published five- based measures of PA (r = .40). Parental sedentary time item scale (ranging from “never” to “daily”) that encom- was assessed with one item stating, “How many hours passed the PARPB dimensions of logistic support, each day does the mother/female adult typically spend encouragement, emotional/motivational support, and sitting down while doing things like visiting friends, driv- parent-child shared PA (Trost et al., 2003). In a previous ing, reading, watching television, or working at a desk study, Trost and colleagues (2003) reported test–retest or computer?” This sedentary time item was modified reliability for these five social-support items to be good in wording from a previously published study (Brown, (R = .81). Another study (Rosenkranz, Dzewaltowski, Miller, & Miller, 2003), which reported good test–retest & Geller, 2008) provided validity evidence for these reliability with their measurement of time spent sitting five items by showing that children and parents meet- (ICC = 0.71). Parents reported their own height and ing PA guidelines manifested higher levels of PA social weight, educational level, and their child’s eligibility support than children and parents not meeting PA for free or reduced school lunch. Children in grades guidelines. Physical activity was defined as “Any play, three through six with parental consent were objectively game, sport or exercise that gets you moving, breathing assessed for height and weight in a private setting with harder, and your heart beating faster. It can be done light clothes and no shoes. Height was measured to the in sports, work, playing with friends, or walking from nearest millimeter, using a portable stadiometer (Seca place to place. Some examples of physical activity are Corp, Model #214- Road Rod, Hanover MD). Weight running, brisk walking, yard work, rollerblading, biking, was measured to the nearest 0.1 kg with high-precision skateboarding, dancing, swimming, soccer, basketball, electronic scales (Seca Corp, Model #770, Hanover, football, and volleyball.” Parental self-reported PA was MD). Body mass index was calculated for both self- assessed using four relevant items from the Behavioral reported parent data and objectively assessed child data. Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS; Centers for For parents, the following BMI ranges were used to Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). These determine each relative weight category: Underweight <

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 5 Rosenkranz and Dzewaltowski

18.5; Normal weight = 18.5-24.9; Overweight = 25-29.9; Results Obese > 30. For children, BMI scores were converted to percentiles using the age- and sex-specific LMS param- Table 1 presents characteristics of participants. eters from the CDC growth charts (2010). Children were nearly evenly split between genders, and about 72 percent of the sample was non-Hispanic Analysis Caucasian. Thirty-eight percent of children were at or All data were reduced and analyzed using the SPSS above the 85th percentile for BMI, corresponding to statistical software package (version 15.0, SPSS Inc., overweight or obese status. Roughly 50% of mothers Chicago, IL). To test the first hypothesis a Pearson reported height and weight corresponding to either product moment correlation between PARPB dimen- overweight or obese status. sions and children’s PA was performed to analyze zero- On the PARPB dimension social-support measures, order association. Then a hierarchical linear regression mothers encouraged PA at a frequency scale value was performed to assess associations between each equivalent to 4 to 5 times per week, (scale mean=4.5, PARPB dimension and PA, while controlling for all SD=1.3). Mothers reported being physically active with other variables (all PARPB dimensions were entered in their child about 2 to 3 times per week, (scale mean=3.4, the first step, and demographic covariates of child BMI SD=1.4), transporting their child for PA about 2 to 3 percentile, ethnicity, socio-economic status, maternal times per week (scale mean=3.5, SD=1.4), and watching education and BMI were entered in the next step). their child participate in PA about 2 to 3 times per To test hypotheses two and three, the correlation and week (scale mean = 3.4, SD=1.3). Mothers also reported regression procedures were repeated with children’s telling their child that PA was good for them about 4 BMI percentile as the dependent variable.

Table 1 Participant Characteristics Children Parents Percent female 51a 100a Percent male 49a 0a BMI Percentile Rank (mean + SD) 68.4 + 27.3b -- BMI -- 26.7 + 7.0c Percent underweight 1.6b 1.1c Percent normal weight 60.1b 48.4c Percent over weight 17.1b 28.2c Percent obese 21.2b 22.3c Percent meeting PA recommendations 58d 55a Percent eligible for free/reduced lunch 49d -- Percent ethnic minority >28d -- Percent with some college education -- 76.1a a = self reported; b = computed from objective assessment; c = computed from self-report; d = proxy report by parent

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 6 Maternal Physical Activity-Related Parenting to 5 times per week, (scale mean=4.5, SD=1.5). On the standardized ` coefficients were found for mother’s other PARPB dimension measures mothers reported encouragement of physical activity (` = .293, p < .004), about 5 hours of sitting per day (SD=3.3) and 55% of and child BMI percentile (` = -.187, p = .022), while the sample’s mothers had sufficient PA levels to meet all other variables were non-significant contributors to adult guidelines. the model. Table 2 addresses the first hypothesis by presenting Table 3 addresses the second and third hypotheses associations between PARPB dimensions and children’s by presenting associations between PARPB dimensions days per week of meeting PA guidelines. Bivariate and children’s relative weight. Bivariate Pearson cor- Pearson correlations showed significant associations relations revealed significant associations between BMI between PA and: (1) mother’s encouragement for PA (r percentile and: (1) mother’s encouragement for PA (r = .293, p < .004), (2) mother-child shared PA (r = .370, = .234, p = .001), (2) mother’s telling child PA is good p < .001), (3) mother’s transporting for PA (r = .237, p for them (r = .157, p = .030), and (3) maternal BMI (r = .001), (4) mother’s watching child do PA (r = .321, p = .271, p = .001). For the linear regression, the overall < .001), (5) mother’s telling child that PA is good (r = model explaining 16% of the variance in children’s BMI .274, p < .001), and (6) free or reduced lunch status (r percentile was significant, F (11,161) = 3.729, p < .001. = -.179, p < .014). For the linear regression, the overall Within the overall model, significant standardized ` model explaining 17% of the variance in children’s days coefficients were found for mother’s encouragement of per week of > 60 minutes PA was significant, F (12,162) PA (` = .251, p = .012), mother-child shared PA (` = = 3.85, p < .001. Within the overall model, significant -.183, p = .05), mother’s meeting moderate-to-vigorous

Table 2 Relationships between PARPB Dimensions and Children’s PA Variables Pearson r Standardized beta coefficient F PARPB Dimensions (12,162) 3.85* PA Encouragement .357* .293* Mother-child shared PA .370* .120 Transport for PA .237* .051 Watch child do PA .321* .120 Tell child PA is good .274* -.048 Mother meeting PA standards .121 .071 Mother sedentary time -.132 -.110 Demographic Covariates Mother education -.072 -.021 Child Non-Hispanic Caucasian -.082 .000 Free/reduced lunch status -.179* -.053 Mother BMI -.007 .039 Child BMI Percentile -.075 -.187*

*p < . 05

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 7 Rosenkranz and Dzewaltowski

PA standards (` = .190, p = .018), along with mother’s variables in the model. This is an interesting finding, as education level (` = -.204, p = .014) and maternal BMI it is possible that mothers’ encouragement for their chil- (` = .263, p = .001). All other variables were non-signif- dren to do PA or to play sports is the primary means of icant contributors to this model. maternal influence on child PA, and that other dimen- sions of PARPB (including logistic support, emotional/ Discussion motivational support, and parent-child shared PA) are less influential than encouragement. However, it is also This study sought to determine the distinct associa- possible that encouragement is a more global dimen- tion levels between each PARPB dimension and both sion that encompasses or overlaps heavily with some child PA and child BMI percentile. The findings indi- of the other PARPB dimensions for influence on child cated equivocal support for the first hypothesis that all PA. Further studies are needed with experimental or social-support PARPB dimensions would have a positive longitudinal designs to elucidate the influence of differ- relationship with children’s PA levels. In fact, all PARPB ent dimensions of social support on physical activity. dimensions were positively related to child PA only for If further work supports the importance of encourage- the bivariate Pearson correlations. However, the regres- ment, then intervention strategies can be developed to sion analysis allowed the authors to observe the unique promote child PA through finding effective ways for influence of any one PARPB dimension on child PA mothers to encourage their children to be active. variance, while the other PARPB dimensions were held Regarding the second hypothesis that all social statistically constant. Thus, the regression showed that support PARPB dimensions would have an inverse rela- maternal encouragement was the only social-support tionship with children’s BMI percentile, the direction PARPB dimension significantly related to child PA, of association was not as hypothesized, as maternal when controlling for other PARPB and demographic encouragement and telling children that PA is good for

Table 3 Relationships between PARPB Dimensions and Children’s BMI Percentile Variables Pearson r Standardized beta coefficient F PARPB Dimensions (12,162) 3.85* PA Encouragement .234* .251* Mother-child shared PA -.058 -.183* Transport for PA .072 .093 Watch child do PA .051 .004 Tell child PA is good .157* -.006 Mother meeting PA standards .099 .190* Mother sedentary time -.036 -.102 Demographic Covariates Mother education -.144 -.204* Child Non-Hispanic Caucasian -.043 .017 Free/reduced lunch status -.017 .144 Mother BMI .271* .263*

*p < . 05

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 8 Maternal Physical Activity-Related Parenting health both had positive associations with child BMI BMI percentile. Heavier children had more active and percentile in the bivariate correlations. In the regres- more encouraging mothers, while lighter children had sion model, encouragement remained positively related less active and encouraging mothers. Although this is to BMI percentile when controlling for other PARPB somewhat puzzling, it is important to bear in mind that dimensions and demographic covariates, but telling these are cross-sectional associations, and that the other children PA was good for health no longer had a signifi- side of the energy balance equation that determines cant relationship in the model. In contrast, parent-child relative weight (i.e., energy intake) was not assessed. A shared PA emerged as having a protective relationship potential explanation could be that mothers of heavier for child BMI percentile, when controlling for other children recognized their child’s and their own risk for PARPB dimensions and demographic covariates. Higher overweight and obesity, and were taking preventative levels of mother-child shared PA were associated with steps for themselves and their children. Or, perhaps lower BMI percentiles, when controlling for socio- these findings result from method-variance issues or economic status, educational level, and parent BMI. In bias associated with mothers of heavier children having contrast, higher levels of maternal encouragement for a greater awareness of their child’s need for PA. Another PA were associated with higher BMI percentiles. possibility could be that active and supportive mothers The third hypothesis, that both parent PA and were inadvertently contributing to the development of sedentary behavior dimensions would not be related heavier children through other behavioral avenues, such to child PA or child BMI percentile, was partially sup- as feeding practices. It is conceivable that parental feed- ported. In both bivariate and regression analyses, the ing or other food-related practices could be subverting relationships between maternal sedentary behavior or maternal encouragement for PA and higher levels of PA and child PA was not significant, and the relation- PA among these children. Results differ from those of ship between maternal sedentary behavior and child Hovell and colleagues (1996) who found a significant BMI percentile was not significant. However, the regres- negative relationship between nine-year-old girls’ BMI sion analysis revealed a significant relationship between values and logistic support for PA. However, similar to maternal PA and child BMI percentile, in a positive what was found in Hovell’s (1996) study, these findings direction. Mothers who reported meeting PA standards also showed an inverse association between mother- had children with higher BMI percentiles. These results child shared PA and child relative weight. The observed are similar to those of Trost et al. (2003), in that a inverse relationship between mother-child shared PA significant positive relationship between maternal PA and BMI percentile was as hypothesized. This suggests level and child PA level was not identified (in either that in the context of other demographic influences and the bivariate correlations or the regression model). behavioral dimensions, the behavior of mothers being However, it is noteworthy that the frequency of encour- active with their children may be a potentially protec- agement, shared PA, and other socially supportive tive behavior against overweight and obesity. If that PARPB dimensions were higher in this study’s sample is the case, interventions could promote mother-child than in the sample of Trost’s (2003) study, possibly due shared PA as a mediator of obesity prevention. to the much younger age of the children in this study, Strengths & Limitations or the fact that the previous study included both moth- The main strength of this study is the use of objective ers and fathers. measures of children’s relative weight. Other strengths In this study, greater maternal encouragement was include the novelty of focusing solely on maternal par- associated with greater child physical activity and with enting behaviors related to children’s BMI percentile, greater relative weight. Again, this suggests a need for which revealed associations that may have been hidden further study with longitudinal or experimental design, in a study not assessing potentially differential effects of because the data indicate that maternal encourage- male and female caregivers. Despite these strengths, the ment was related positively to both child PA and child present study has a number of limitations, which may

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 9 Rosenkranz and Dzewaltowski temper the interpretation and conclusions. First, the PARPB may reveal ideal measurement and operational study’s design is strictly cross-sectional, so any causal use of these constructs relevant to PA, relative weight, inference is unwarranted. As noted by Sirard and Pate and obesity. More research is warranted to assess the (2001), using parent report for children’s PA could be relationships between PARPBs and relative weight, as useful for avoiding recall errors from children’s cogni- it is unclear which dimensions may serve as potential tive limitations, but may introduce additional sources mediators for the promotion of PA and the prevention of bias. The degree to which parent report likely differs and treatment of obesity and overweight. The present from objective measures of child PA has not fully been study did not assess whether child self efficacy mediated answered, although reported levels of PA are frequently the relationship between PARPB dimensions and child higher than objectively measured PA (Welk, Corbin, PA, nor whether child PA mediated the relationship & Dale, 2000). Also, although the participant sample between PARPB dimensions and child BMI percentile. was fairly representative of the project’s target popula- Future studies should use path analytic modeling to tion, non-participants may differ in important ways. determine potential causal pathways, which could bet- The sample is limited to one city’s school district, and ter inform intervention strategies aimed at promoting findings may or may not generalize to other locales. child PA and preventing obesity. However, the present Further, the authors relied on subjective self-report mea- study’s findings are useful for further hypothesis genera- sures of parenting behaviors and relative weight, which tion regarding the influence of mothers’ PARPB on chil- may be subject to biases such as social desirability. Also, dren’s PA and relative weight. Subsequent studies can the single-item measure of maternal sedentary time and advance from the data presented here by incorporating the five socially supportive dimensions may not dem- objective measures of PA and sedentary time for both onstrate adequate psychometric properties for each of parents and children, or by developing and validating these important PARPB, although previous studies have better, but still practical measures. shown some evidence of reliability and validity. Finally, Future studies with large and diverse samples may it is possible that parental age or child gender may mod- also reveal differential relationships between boys and erate influence of parenting behaviors, and the current girls, or perhaps differences by race or ethnicity. Further study did not assess the age of participating mothers. studies will benefit by using longitudinal or interven- In conclusion, this study demonstrated that some tional designs to uncover the nature of relationships dimensions of PARPB were related to children’s relative between parenting influences and children’s PA and weight. Placed in the context of other relevant literature, relative weight. Given the current prevalence of over- these findings first suggest a need for theoretical and weight, obesity, and lack of PA in both children and empirical refinement of measures of PARPB. adults, there is great need for research addressing the modifiable determinants of these public health issues. Future Research Directions Some studies have grouped the PARPB dimensions Acknowledgements of parental PA together with mother-child shared PA as This study was supported by National Research “modeling,” but the results presented here show that Initiative Grant number 2005-35215-15418 from the these dimensions have differential association with child USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. relative weight. Future research on the dimensions of

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 10 Maternal Physical Activity-Related Parenting References

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Gustafson, S. L., & Rhodes, R. E. (2006). Parental correlates of Sirard, J. R., & Pate, R. R. (2001). Physical activity assessment in physical activity in children and early adolescents. Sports children and adolescents. Sports Medicine, 31(6), 439-454. Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 36(1), 79-97. Strong, W. B., Malina, R. M., Blimkie, C. J., Daniels, S. R., Hovell, M. F., Kolody, B., Sallis, J. F., & Black, D. R. (1996). Dishman, R. K., Gutin, B., et al. (2005). Evidence based physi- Parent support, physical activity, and correlates of adiposity cal activity for school-age youth. The Journal of Pediatrics, in nine year olds: An exploratory study. Journal of Health 146(6), 732-737. Education, 27(2), 126-129. Troiano, R. P., Berrigan, D., Dodd, K. W., Masse, L. C., Tilert, T., Krahnstoever Davison, K., Francis, L. A., & Birch, L. L. (2005). & McDowell, M. (2008). Physical activity in the united states Reexamining obesigenic families: Parents’ obesity-related measured by accelerometer. Medicine & Science in Sports behaviors predict girls’ change in BMI. Obesity Research, & Exercise, 40(1), 181-188. 13(11), 1980-1990. Trost, S. G., Sallis, J. F., Pate, R. R., Freedson, P. S., Taylor, W. C., Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., Tabak, C. J., & & Dowda, M. (2003). Evaluating a model of parental influence Flegal, K. M. (2006). Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on youth physical activity. American Journal of Preventive in the United States, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Medicine, 25(4), 277-282. Medical Association, 295(13), 1549-1555.

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Welk, G. J., Corbin, C. B. & Dale, D. (2000). Measurement issues in the assessment of physical activity in children. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71 (2), 59-73.

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WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 12 author Original Research Article

From Ribbon to Wrist Shot: An Autoenthnography of (A)typical Feminine Sport Development

Sara Dorken and Audrey Giles University of Ottawa

CONTACT Abstract INFORMATION: This paper uses autoethnography to analyze theories and issues pertaining to gen- der and sport in an attempt to understand the first author’s experiences in both Sara Dorken and Audrey a conventionally feminine sport (rhythmic gymnastics) as well as a conventionally Giles masculine sport (ice hockey). This analysis highlights the dissonance between her School of Human Kinetics personal experiences and what theory says she should have experienced. In particu- 125 University St. lar, Foucault’s concept of constraints as both inhibiting and enabling is applied University of Ottawa to analyze the higher value that is apparently placed on masculine skills and the E–mail: assumption of a standard male-sport experience. [email protected] As countless feminist sport theorists (e.g., Cohen, 1993; Dowling, 2000; Easton, Phone: (613) 562–5800 ext. 2988 1996; Etue & Williams, 1996; Fletcher, 1984; Fraser, 1989; Griffin, 1998; Henderson et al., 1996; Hoepner, 1974; Jutel, 1998; Lenskyj, 2003; Parry, 2005; Ryan, 1995; Fax: Theberge, 2000) have pointed out, sport is bound by various constraints related (613) 562–5497 to the social perspective on gender. The generally accepted rule has been that girls participate in “feminine” sports and boys in “masculine” sports. Barring some exceptions to this rule, many children have experienced gendered segregation in the world of sport. This is where the story of my sport transition from rhythmic gymnastics to ice hockey begins. (This paper is written in the first author’s voice, as the paper draws on her experiences. The second author helped with the concep- tualization, writing, and analysis portions of this paper) When I was six years old my parents and I (although there was much encourage- ment on their part) made the decision to sign me up for rhythmic gymnastics. In contrast, when my brother was a six year-old child they signed him up for ice hockey. Yet, as the starting goaltender for local street hockey games, one might question why the thought of registering me in hockey never came to mind.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 13 Dorken and Giles

Many stereotypes exist in the world of sport. For me, described by Sparkes (2000) as “highly personalized making sense of them has required an analysis of the lit- accounts that draw upon the experiences of the author/ erature on the topic as well as an exploration of my own researcher for the purposes of extending sociological experiences as a middle-class, Eurocanadian, heterosexual, understanding” (p. 21). Although personal narratives female athlete. Within my individual experiences there have historically been absent within scholarly literature are areas of agreement as well as areas of contestation (Giles & Williams, 2007; Sparkes, 2000), they provide with regard to the literature. In this paper, I use poststruc- insight directly from the researcher and apply it to his tural feminist theory to draw links between what I have or her understanding of the subject matter. This type of been taught, what I have read, and what I have experi- research offers “an exciting opportunity to further our enced in sport in an effort to increase my understanding understanding of leisure and leisure research” (Giles & of gender in sport. Using a Foucauldian interpretation Williams, 2007, p. 190). of the inhibiting and enabling characteristics of con- Within the field of sport, much research is based straints (Fraser, 1989; Shogan, 1999), I question the ways upon others’ experiences (i.e., research participants). in which femininity is commonly interpreted as being As a result, one must question why the experience of wholly inhibiting within the realm of sport. Specifically, I the researcher has been avoided or overlooked. Sparkes use textboxes to serve as parallel commentary to disrupt, (2000) states, “scholarly writers are expected to work subvert, and elaborate on the main text. Through these silently on the sidelines and keep their voices out of textboxes, I provide examples from my own experiences the reports they produce” (p. 22); this expectation elimi- and commentaries on other authors’ work in order to say nates many of the potential benefits recently associated what often goes unsaid about girls’ and women’s experi- with the use of autoethnography. Some of these ben- ences in sport. efits include the ability to shed new light on the topic Constraints at hand by providing unique experiences with which The analysis of my sport transition from rhythmic to analyze current literature and new ways in which gymnast to hockey player is informed by a Foucauldian to understand leisure experiences, and the potential to understanding of constraints. Fraser (1989) and Shogan change the life of the reader (Giles & Williams, 2007). (1999) have argued that Foucault constraints are never In addition to the expectation of not using personal solely inhibitory, but that they are also always enabling. narratives, many scholars avoid this technique because For example, Shogan showed that sport rules that inhib- it is “more difficult, both personally and professionally” it certain kinds of actions (e.g., stepping out of bounds) (Giles & Williams, 2007, p. 191) than other method- also enable a game (e.g., basketball) to be contained and ologies. Giles and Williams explain that there are many take place. Giles (2005) also used this approach in her more difficulties to be considered within this type of work in order to examine how discourses concerning research than most would expect. Some of these difficul- traditions both enable and inhibit Indigenous women’s ties include “what to tell and why, where the research is participation in various physical activities. This paper situated within existing literature on the topic, why the builds on Fraser’s, Shogan’s, and Giles’s work and topic is important, and how to aesthetically craft the argues that the gendered discourses that surround sport work to produce a desired outcome” (p. 191). While participation for girls and women both inhibited and autoethnography, a relatively new form of writing, has enabled my sporting experiences. much to offer the research community, it must be done in such a way that reveals something new on the subject Methodology & Methods matter, while simultaneously allowing readers to use their own experiences to interpret what is being written (Biddle The primary purpose of this paper is to compare et. al., 2001). my sporting experiences with the existing literature on Autoethnography has been used effectively by sev- girls’ and women’s participation in sport. Personal nar- eral scholars within the realm of sport and recreation rative research, also termed autoethnography, has been

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 14 From Ribbon to Wrist Shot and feminist studies (e.g., Dupuis, 1999; Ellis, 2004; For instance, women and girls must face challenges Glover, 2003; Holt, 2003; Peshkin, 1988; Sparkes, 2000; such as not being permitted to participate in certain 2002). One such example is the work of Franklin-Reible sports or physical activities, and being stereotyped as a (2006), titled Deviant Leisure: Uncovering the ‘Goods’ result of their participation choices. Further, there is the in Transgressive Behavior. In this article, Franklin-Reible constant (typically unfavorable) comparison between examined sadomasochism as ‘deviant’ leisure with the apparently legitimate men’s sport—which simply goes goal of providing definitions of it so as to “problematize by the term “sport” (e.g., hockey)—and women’s sport, [deviant] leisure” (p. 57); this, in turn, allowed her to which is always identified with the word “women” in discuss implications and provide recommendations for front of it (e.g., women’s hockey), thus ensuring that it future research. By examining her brief experiences within is not confused with its legitimate counterpart. Many the world of sadomasochism, she was able to understand of these concerns stem from birth onwards, as society why it is considered a leisure activity by its participants begins to construct gender characteristics of women and and was able to provide the reader with a broader socio- men alike. Girls in pink and boys in blue; our choices logical understanding of the topic. Franklin-Reible’s will- in life become constrained by the ways in which we ingness to write an autoethnography about these experi- are gendered (Cohen, 1993; Henderson et al., 1999; ences shed new light on the topic. Lenskyj, 2003). Although gender is typically seen as a This paper’s approach articulates with Franklin- solely inhibiting factor in relation to sport (Shogan, Reible’s (2006) autoethnographic research on leisure 1999), these inhibiting factors can and do also act as practices. In this paper, autoethnography allows me, enablers. Below, I analyze many of these stereotypes the author, to combine personal experiences and exist- and one-sided interpretations as well as the associated ing literature on the chosen subject, and to use it as literature through my own experiences. a means of providing a sustained critique of gendered Many young girls experience their parents’ unwill- practices. My own considerable experiences as a partici- ingness or downright refusal to place them in sports that pant in rhythmic gymnastics and ice hockey results in are deemed as posing a potential threat to their well- a personal narrative that counts as a methodologically being (Henderson et al., 1996). Most girls are therefore sound contribution to the existing body of literature registered into more ‘passive’ or ‘gender appropriate’ pertaining to women’s involvement in sport. The text- physical activities that often include ballet, figure skat- boxes found throughout this paper are used as parallel ing, dance, or gymnastics, all of which are perceived to texts to highlight my experiences in relation to a variety be less dangerous than many team sports often reserved of theories and arguments. They undermine, add to, or for the boys, such as football and hockey. This point is problematize the main text and provide the reader with touched upon by Theberge (2000), who points out that a synthesis of existing literature as well as a narrative sport contributes to the dichotomization of gender by critique of it. The textboxes allow me to engage read- offering “apparent confirmation of natural differences ers in a story in order to provide them with a basis of between the sexes” (p. 139). comparison to their own experiences with the intention “I put you in gymnastics because it was safer, I of increasing understanding of feminist issues in sport. didn’t want you getting hurt,” is the explanation I was given by my mother when I asked about my Analysis placement in rhythmic gymnastics. Is my safety, then, more important than the safety of my older Within the realm of sport there are many stereo- brother? Or is it that I am more likely to get hurt? types that run rampant and have real, felt effects, but Or am I just not ‘supposed’ to play sports that are often discounted as being ‘natural’ or inherent to could result in me getting hurt? Maybe it is a com- sport. Gender roles and the social construction of gen- bination of the three…or maybe it is just slightly der are two of the issues faced by women and girls when more complicated than that. entering into this conventionally male-dominated field.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 15 Dorken and Giles

The decision to enroll me in rhythmic gymnastics idea that girls should be ‘feminine’ and boys should be brings into question why my mother assumed that ‘masculine.’ This encouraged them to enroll me into an rhythmic gymnastics would be an injury-free activity for activity that fit the social construct of ‘feminine.’ me, when in fact I experienced many more instances An additional explanation for the initial direction of injury than did my hockey playing brother. Putting of sport development for me and many other young me in an apparently ‘safe’ sport did not actually inhibit girls builds upon historical understandings of women my exposure to danger; instead, it enabled me to throw and their body. Throughout Canadian and American clubs in the air, somersault three times, stand up dizzy history in general, women have been marginalized in and nauseous, and still appear graceful and not at all in all realms of sport (Henderson et al., 1999). Medical danger while going to catch the clubs that descended testimonials about the potential harm that could be on my head. Though the unwritten rule of having incurred from physical exertion, which included bicycle to smile despite pain inhibited my ability to express face, aggravated nervous conditions, increased mascu- masculine toughness (i.e., playing through pain in a vis- linzation, and uterine displacement (Griffin, 1998), were ible manner, with appropriate grimaces at appropriate manifestations of the medical community’s attempt times), it enabled me to be a successful gymnast, in that to control women’s actions by conditioning them to I was not docked precious marks during competition. believe that it was in their best interest to avoid the Since rhythmic gymnastics is perceived as being a world of sport, thus preserving sport for males (Griffin, safe, conventionally feminine sport, my enrolment in it 1998). It is noteworthy that both men and women seemed appropriate. There are several potential explana- alike were convinced of the existence of these ‘medical’ tions for the common experience of being placed in conditions. gender-appropriate activities, the first of which is that of Members of society who did not approve of wom- gender relations. The term “gender relations” describes en’s increasing demand for autonomy and personal free- “the ways in which social life, both in the past and pres- dom through sporting endeavors, such as the bicycle ent, has created structures in which women and men (Green et al., 1990), went further than inferring about have particular roles and rights” (e.g., Easton, 1996, p. women’s health (or the lack thereof) when women 6). The roles that have historically been bestowed upon chose to participate in physically demanding activities women are those that highlight ‘feminine’ qualities beyond childbirth and household labor. In addition to such as passiveness, obedience, attractiveness, and deli- creating a fear of the negative physical effects that sport cacy (e.g., Fletcher, 1984; Jutel, 1998; Metheney, 1965; could have on women’s body in general and, apparently Robinson, 2002), all of which can be used to describe more importantly, their reproductive system in particu- the ideal gymnast, figure skater, or dancer. These are lar, there began to be an association between lesbianism traits that have been both willingly accepted and incul- and sport. Female athletes were described as “man- cated into the mind of young girls, their parents, and nish gender anomalies” (Griffin, 1998, p. 34) by those coaches alike in an attempt to facilitate young girls’ opposed to women’s participation in sport. By creating future success within not only sport, but all realms of this image, women were intimidated from “crossing the society. Indeed, these are traits for which women have borders of acceptable behavior for women, whether in been historically rewarded in work and sporting envi- sport or other arenas” (Griffin, 1998, p. 36). The lesbian ronments alike, and they continue to impact the behav- stereotype made it unappealing, difficult, and even dan- iors of women inside and outside of work environments gerous for women to challenge the status quo, a situa- (e.g., Coakley & Donnelly, 2001; Henderson et al., tion that continues to occur today, as illustrated by the 1999). In my situation, gender relations played a role ongoing unwillingness of many parents to place their in my parents’ decision to enroll me in rhythmic gym- daughters in conventionally masculine sports. nastics and my older brother in hockey. They believed dominant discourses that entrenched in their minds the The simple fact that parents are responsible for their children’s registration in sport can be a reason why it

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 16 From Ribbon to Wrist Shot seems easy to blame them for the propagation of these In the past, I did not think of my own activities as stereotypes. What is sometimes overlooked is the fact being ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine.’ I simply participated that many young girls and boys actively choose, even in the activities that were made available to me. It was beg, to participate in activities that can be categorized as not until I was placed into a conventionally masculine engendering seemingly appropriate stereotypical male or sport that I became aware that gender could serve as a female roles and characteristics. This was certainly true constraint. This is how I first became aware of gender in my case. as an inhibitor. The fact that I wanted so badly to be enrolled in a According to Cohen (1993), “boys’ games con- feminine sport such as rhythmic gymnastics as a young tinually pose challenges of learning additional skills and girl can be explained by Cohen’s (1993) insights. She strategies as well as learning to work toward specific noted that there are significant occurrences of sex typing, goals” and that “the potential outcomes for girls are which refers to “ensur[ing] that children are exposed to not as rich” (p. 8) as a result of the differences in the activities consonant with their gender roles” (p. 5) from differing play patterns. I would argue, however, that infancy to adulthood. Sex typing in turn leads to the the perceived superiority of skills derived from boys’ development of different skill sets that are dependent games is discursively produced and that there are certain upon a child’s biological sex. These skill sets influence advantages to be accrued from girls’ games. the types of sporting choices made by children. Cohen “Aren’t we past the idea that throwing like a girl is further noted that girls “tend not to play team or com- bad or even real?” petitive games; girls’ games consist more of turn taking and solitary, repetitive tasks” (p. 8). When taking that By enrolling me in gymnastics, I do not feel that my statement and comparing it to conventionally ‘feminine’ parents put me at a disadvantage in relation to my broth- sports played by many young girls (tennis, figure skating, er. In fact, it could be argued that the challenges posed ballet, gymnastics, etc.), Cohen’s statement gains validity. to me as a gymnast were greater than those posed to my All of these sports are solitary, consisting of only one per- brother as a hockey player and that, as a result, the skills son competing for herself; they all include the repetition I acquired were of greater societal value. For example, of tasks in order to become specialized in those tasks; not only was I a member of a team, which required the and they all require taking turns performing. skills of working together toward a common goal, but I was also in competition with members of my own team. Although I was enrolled in rhythmic gymnastics as Balancing the elements of teamwork and intra-team com- a child, I continued to be encouraged to “go out petition is a skill that we gymnasts had to acquire and and play with the boys.” I was also encouraged one that is not present in hockey. In addition, we had to to do other conventionally ‘masculine’ activities, learn to be confident enough to perform individually in such as helping to build my family’s cottage, which front of a large audience, a skill that certainly has benefits required the help of every idle hand, resulting in the and that is also almost entirely absent from the world of blurring of gender roles. I was also taught to check hockey (which I am aware has the exception of the goalie the oil, change a tire, and even to replace a broken and the rare occurrence of a penalty shot). Additionally, I fan belt. So, although my parents enrolled me in a was taught at a young age to be confident in my body’s conventionally ‘feminine’ sport, thus contributing to ability to perform, which is similar to the ways in which the perpetuation of stereotypical gender roles, they boys are taught to have confidence in their body (Cohen, socialized me in such a way that gender, for me, 1993). Therefore, generalizations about boys acquiring never seemed all that restrictive. I simply thought of superior skills as a result of their participation in ‘supe- myself as an elegant, graceful gymnast who could do rior’ games and sports does not ring true for me. Quite anything the boys could do, though perhaps a bit to the contrary, I believe that I was able to develop the more prone to injury. In my mind I had the best of same skills as well as additional skills as a result of my both worlds. ‘feminine’ and purportedly ‘inferior’ sport development.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 17 Dorken and Giles

Furthering the argument related to the inferiority the pressures to win, the focus on appearances, or even of women’s sports, when men and women are allowed the body suits until I realized at the young age of eleven to participate in the same sports they are often held to that I no longer wanted to be identified solely on the different standards. For instance, Arkaev and Suchilin basis of what my body looked like and what it could (2004) have found that “men’s gymnastics is more do. As a nine-year-old I was proud of what my body athletic, while women’s is more plastic and expressive, could do and was relatively unaware of what it looked more artistic” (p. 82). One can see the gendered lan- like to others. When I was eleven, the reverse was true. guage used to describe the differences: the man is the I wanted nothing more than to cover it up and hide it athlete, and the woman is expressing herself through art from others; having my body in the spotlight as it had in motion. The authors further differentiated men’s and been for six years was no longer appealing to me. Being women’s experiences in gymnastics, instructing coaches forced to wear a uniform, which consisted of a one- that “explanations are more emotional [for female piece, legless, skin-tight body suit, became a constraint gymnasts] than for male gymnasts who require more and an inhibition. The body suit ultimately inhibited logical and laconic information. Information for female my ability to continue participating in the sport of gymnasts ought to be given in smaller doses than for rhythmic gymnastics. Nevertheless, the body suit’s men” (p. 84). Shocking statements such as this make it inhibitory nature simultaneously enabled a new kind obvious that there continues to be a hierarchy of mas- of sporting experience for me: hockey. My decision to culinity followed by femininity within sport. cover up with layers of hockey equipment meant leav- My life as a gymnast came to a close in the spring ing the friends I had made and the lifestyle I had been of 1998. I had had enough of the intense training living for six years behind; but the decision was an easy and the pressure to remain small in the midst of one. Although it was easy for me, there were others who puberty when my body was becoming larger. I had felt it necessary to express their concern. also had enough of my body being on display in “Watch out for lesbians in hockey, I hear there are tiny “Federation Approved” body suits. One day, I tons of them!” If I could count the number of times approached my coach of six years and after much that was said to me during my sport transition… mental deliberation I informed her that I was trad- Whether or not those making statements about the ing in my toe-slippers for a pair of hockey skates. I apparent plethora of lesbians within women’s hockey think she nearly had a heart attack. I, on the other had any concrete proof of the validity of their state- hand, had never felt better. Although gymnastics ments is beside the point. The simple fact that this had provided me with many life skills (i.e., time statement or variations of it were made by many differ- management, self-confidence, commitment, etc.), ent people on many different occasions attests to the it had become a burden that was no longer worth intolerance of anything other than heterosexuality in enduring. My father was pleased (who wouldn’t be the world of sport. This intolerance becomes somewhat if he knew he would be saving $1000 per year!) and intensified when investigating apparently less ‘feminine’ my mother was sad but supported my decision (and sports such as hockey. As Etue and Williams (1996) is now an avid hockey fan). note, “[a] number of national team players recall that in According to Dowling (2000), “psychologists today their teens they stayed away from hockey, despite their see girls’ self-esteem peaking at nine” (p. 122). She interest in the game, because of rumors that many of claims that this is the age at which girls accept them- the players were gay, and their fear of being seen that selves the most and are most likely to act without way by their peers” (p. 219). The people who made thinking of their body; this was my state of mind dur- homophobic comments to me overtly perpetuated ing the time when I loved being a gymnast. What has intolerance. become evident to me now about my participation in The individuals who made homophobic statements gymnastics is that I really did not have a problem with about the presence of presumably predatory lesbians

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 18 From Ribbon to Wrist Shot

(Griffin, 1998) within women’s hockey were clearly watching almost exclusively male hockey and cheering trying to sway my decision and police gender bound- a big hit or a bench-clearing brawl, there was no room aries. As stated previously, this is a form of control in my vision of hockey for a game without physical seen frequently throughout history. Henderson et al. contact. In turn, in my mind, girls’ hockey was not ‘real’ (1996) point out that in the past “to step beyond these hockey; to me it was an illegitimate reconstruction of ascribed gender roles often resulted in a woman being the real game that I would never get to play. To me, the labeled as masculine, therefore a lesbian and deviant” no bodychecking rule within girls’ hockey existed as a (p. 60). Women did not want to be seen in this way, constraint. It inhibited, in my mind, my ability to play so many avoided the world of sport and the sexual ‘legitimate’ (read: men’s) hockey. I had learned to asso- scrutiny with which it was associated. It is unfortu- ciate hockey with hyper-masculinity and I assumed that nate indeed that the same forms of social control that in order to be a great hockey player I needed to display existed in the past continue to influence and constrain conventionally masculine qualities such as aggression girls’ sport participation choices today. Had I been a and strength (which no doubt explains my surplus of boy who had quit gymnastics to register for hockey, penalties in my first few years of hockey). people would have likely rejoiced and supported my What I overlooked at the time was the fact that decision. This is just one of the many unfortunate ways while the inability to bodycheck in was inhibitory in in which women’s and men’s experiences in the world some ways, it also enabled a different kind of hockey. of sport differ. This different type of hockey, I argue, is a more skilful, “What do you mean there’s no bodychecking in faster, and more strategic form of the ‘legitimate’ game girls’ hockey?” This was my reaction when my father of hockey. It requires making a skilful play on an oppo- let me know that I would be playing hockey, but nent rather than simply bodychecking them into the not the same hockey I knew and loved from tele- boards. As pointed out by Theberge (2000), “this differ- vision and from watching my brother play. I was ence, it should be stressed, is one of relative emphasis: enraged. My perception of that rule was that those with or without bodychecking, hockey is a game of enforcing it thought we were too weak to make or both skill and strength” (p. 116). A second enabling take hits, or not talented enough to know how to feature of the aforementioned bodychecking rule was its make them properly. At that time I did not ques- ability to create within me a feminist consciousness as I tion subscribing to a hegemonic display of hyper- began to question why it was that men were supposed masculinity (bodychecking) that frequently results to do specific things, but women were not. in bodily harm. That would come later… There I was, just off the bench, when I saw it. She According to Etue and Williams (1996) the absence was coming around her net, gearing up for an of bodychecking “in the women’s game has provided end-to-end rush with the puck. She came toward those who object to women playing hockey with one centre-ice and cut toward the boards with her head more reason to dismiss the female game” (p. 165). down. “The perfect hit” I thought to myself, and I Theberge (2000) has commented on the centrality of threw a perfect body check. The crowd roared, my the bodychecking issue to women’s hockey, stating teammates cheered as loudly as they could and my that rules about body contact are the dividing feature coach gave a wink to silently praise the hit. I had between men’s and women’s hockey. The fact that been validated…and all I had to do was sit in the there is no bodychecking was almost enough to make penalty box for two minutes…it was worth it. “Now me reject the female game. Had I been more talented that’s real hockey,” I thought to myself, words that at the beginning of my hockey career, I most likely were echoed by all in the dressing room. would have tried out for a boys’ team. At the time it Although there are rules that constrain the action of did not occur to me that my desire to “be just like the bodychecking in women’s hockey, they are not always boys” was a result of my socialization. Having grown up followed. The action of deviating from the given rules

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 19 Dorken and Giles and throwing a bodycheck enabled me to get a glimpse der as well as the differences in the hockey backgrounds of ‘legitimate’ hockey; simultaneously, however, I was of those with whom I was playing. It is also a testament inhibited from performing and playing as I spent time to how the men I played with viewed women’s hockey in the penalty box. as an inferior form of hockey. Had they thought oth- My perception about the worthiness of girls’ hockey erwise, I would not have received the special treatment; changed as I began to spend more time playing it. I however, even within the group of males on the ice, came to the realization that just because the game was there were significant differences in ability, physical fit- different did not mean that it was inferior to men’s ness, and effort, which no doubt caused many of them hockey. Unfortunately, I still find myself, at times, to feel inferior to other male competitors. Regardless of making unfavorable comparisons between women’s this fact, there were large differences in the way I was (illegitimate) hockey and (legitimate) hockey. Although treated on the ice in comparison to men of comparable I understand the significant differences in the gendered ability. They did not apologize to one another or inten- variations of the sport, I catch myself justifying to tionally allow a player on the opposing team beat them. men the value of the perceived inferior skills used in As a result I began to play in an inhibited fashion, less women’s hockey. aggressively and with less enthusiasm, likely causing these men to continue to believe in the inferiority of Recently I was invited out to play hockey with my the women’s game of hockey. There were even men on boyfriend’s hockey team. Of course, I jumped at the the ice who had comparably less skill than me, which chance as I jump at any extra ice time offered to me. disrupted metanarratives of unvarying male superiority, As I arrived at the rink carrying my hockey bag, the although these metanarratives were reinforced by my guys were commenting on how it was cute that I was reluctance to display my full level of skill. This is again carrying my boyfriend’s hockey bag for him. Slightly the perpetuation of the frailty myth that stems from the amused, I informed them that I would be playing Victorian era, and refers to the notion that the female with them; the reaction was that of surprise, but a body has been—and in some cases continues to be—a very welcoming surprise. On the ice I began to wish frail body (Fletcher, 1984; Jutel, 1998; Metheny, 1965). that they didn’t know I was a girl. Of all the times I have played hockey in my life I have never heard so Conclusions many apologies for bumping into me or for taking the puck from me, and jeering when I happened to Existing literature emphasizes the various societal beat an opposing defenseman (the poor guy). It felt structures responsible for women’s historical struggles like being an outsider on the inside. in sport. Scholars from Metheney (1965) to Coakley Etue and Williams (1996) state that “female play- and Donnelly (2004) point to the inequalities that ers are still largely looked upon as the little sisters who become highly visible in women’s participation in don’t really belong in hockey” (p. 38). Although there is sporting activities. The myth of female frailty, a strong some truth to this statement, I must say that I disagree. societal belief from the past, plays a more subdued It is not so much that we do not belong—I have been yet still integral role in the subordination of women. welcomed more often than not to join in any extra Women’s subordination in sport is facilitated by the ice time. In the experience detailed in the last textbox, widespread control of women’s expressions of physical- while I was welcomed by the men I was playing with, I ity through ideology related to the overarching impor- was also treated differently than everyone else (all men) tance of women’s reproductive role. Today it is framed on the ice, which consequently made me feel like an effectively—though perhaps more subtly—in terms of the outsider. Thus, while I was enabled to play the ‘legiti- risks associated with conventionally masculine sports. mate’ form of hockey, I was concomitantly inhibited While we should certainly see the hyper-feminiza- from participating in the same manner as the others on tion of young girls in gymnastics as problematic, we the ice. This “special treatment” was a result of my gen- must also problematize the subordination of the femi-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 20 From Ribbon to Wrist Shot nine half of the masculine/feminine binary. By resisting By looking at our own experiences as women discourses of conventional femininity and entering a athletes we are able to question the processes and dis- conventionally masculine sport, I was not elevated to courses that inhibit and enable our sport development. the status of a legitimate athlete in a legitimate sport. Although women’s experiences differ drastically, these Rather, I became an illegitimate (that is, female) athlete differences enable us to understand, appreciate, and in an illegitimate sport (“women’s” hockey). Thus, while even critique the existing literature. Other women’s my transition to becoming a hockey player enabled narratives, particularly those from non-Northamerican me to perform a different type of femininity—one that backgrounds, need to be added to the existing body included conventionally masculine behaviors—it was of literature in order to continue to analyze the ways actually the skills that I acquired as a gymnast (confi- in which gender influences women’s and girls’ involve- dence, dedication, teamwork) that enabled me to reach ment in sport. some measure of success. Hence, in producing excel- The analysis of my own experiences in relation to lent female athletes, we need to question the wisdom the existing literature on the topic has allowed me to of placing girls in conventionally masculine sports and gain a deeper understanding of the forces that shaped assuming that this is the best possible training ground my sporting life and history. I believe that my participa- for them. If instead we realize that both conventionally tion in both a conventionally feminine sport and a con- masculine and conventionally feminine sports produce ventionally masculine sport provided me with a basis constraints in the Foucauldian sense, perhaps we can upon which to analyze issues of gender in sport, and become more appreciative of the ways in which con- helped me to gain a better understanding of the forces ventionally feminine sports can lead to success in a that have shaped my journey from ribbon to wrist shot. conventionally masculine realm.

References

Arkaev, L. I., & Suchilin, N. G. (2004). How to create champi- Easton, A. (1996). What is women’s studies? In T. Cosslett et ons: The theory and methodology of training top-class al. (Eds.), Women, power and resistance: An introduc- gymnasts. Toronto: Meyer & Meyer Sport. tion to women’s studies (pp. 1-9). Buckingham, United Kingdom: Open University Press. Biddle, J. H., Markland, D., Gilbourne, D., Chatzisarantis, N., & Sparkes, A. C. (2001). Research methods in sport and exercise Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel psychology: Quantitative and qualitative issues. Journal of about autoethnography. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira. Sports Sciences, 19(10), 777-809. Etue, E., & Williams, M. K. (1996). On the edge: Women mak- Coakley, J., & Donnelly, P. (2004). Sports in society: Issues ing hockey history. Toronto: Second Story. and controversies. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Fletcher, S. (1984). Women first: The female tradition in Cockburn, C., & Clarke, G. (2002). “Everybody is looking at you!”: English physical education 1880-1980. London & Girls negotiating the “Femininity deficit” they incur in physi- Dover, New Hampshire: The Athlone. cal education. Women’s Studies International Forum, 25(6), 651-665 Franklin-Reible, H. (2006). Deviant leisure: Uncovering the “goods” in transgressive behavior. Leisure/Loisir, 30, 55-72. Cohen, G. L. (1993). Women in sport: Issues and controver- sies. London: Sage. Fraser, N. (1989). Unruly practices: Power, discourse, and gender in contemporary social theory. Minneapolis: Dowling, C. (2000). The frailty myth: Women approaching University of Minnesota Press. physical equality. New York: Random House. Giles, A. R., & Williams, D. J. (2007). Are we afraid of ourselves? Dupuis, S. L. (1999). Naked truths: Towards a reflexive methodol- Self-narrative research in leisure studies. World Leisure ogy in leisure research. Leisure Sciences, 21, 43-64. Journal, 49(4), 189-198.

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Glover, T. D. (2003). Taking the narrative turn: The value of stories Klafs, C. E., & Lyon, M. J. (1978). The female athlete: A in leisure research. Loisir et societe / Society and Leisure, coach’s guide to conditioning and training. Saint Louis, 26, 145-167. MO: The C.V. Mosby Company.

Gould, L. (1995). X: A fabulous child’s story. In E. D. Nelson & B. Lenskyj, H. J. (2003). Out on the field: Gender, sport and sexu- W. Robinson (Eds.), Gender in the 1990s: Images, reali- alities (pp. 53-71). Toronto: Women’s. ties and issues (pp. 75-82). Toronto: Nelson. Mangan, J. A., & Hong, F. (2001). Freeing the female body: Green, E., Hebron, S., & Woodward, D. (1990). A social history of Inspirational icons. London & Portland, OR: Frank Cass. women’s leisure. In Women’s leisure, what leisure? (pp. 38-57). London: Macmillan Education. Metheny, E. (1965). Connotations of movement in sport and dance. Dubuque, IA: WM. C. Brown Company. Griffin, P. (1998). Damaged mothers, muscle molls, mannish lesbians, and predatory dykes: 100 years of scaring women out of sport. In Parry, D. C. (2005). Women’s leisure as resistance to pronatalist Strong women, deep closets: Lesbians and homophobia ideology. Journal of Leisure Research 37(2), 133-151. in sport (pp. 29-50). Windsor, ON: Human Kinetics. Peshkin, A. (1988). In search of subjectivity—One’s own. Henderson, K. A., Shaw, S. M., Bialeschki, M. D., & Freysinger, V. Educational Researcher, 17(7), 17-22. D. (1996). Both gains and gaps: Feminist perspectives Robidoux, M. A. (2001). Men at play: A working understand- on women’s leisure. State College, PA: Venture. ing of professional hockey. Montreal & Kingston, ON: Hoepner, B. J. (1974). (Ed.). Women’s athletics: Coping with McGill-Queen’s University Press. controversy. Oakland, CA: AAHPERD. Robinson, L. (2002). Black tights: Women, sport and sexual- Holt, N. L. (2003). Representation, legitimation, and autoethnog- ity. Toronto: HarperCollins. raphy: An autoethnographic writing story. International Ryan, J. (1995). Little girls in pretty boxes: The making and Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(1), 411-425. breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters. New York: Jutel, A. (1998). I can’t! I’ve got my period: Menstrual mythology and Doubleday. the production of feminine movement. Avante, 4(2), 72-91.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 22 author Original Research Article

Physical and Physiological Attributes of Female Team Handball Players — A Review

Ronnie Lidor, Wingate Institute, Israel Gal Ziv, University of Haifa, Israel

CONTACT Abstract INFORMATION: The main purpose of this article is to review a series of studies (N = 18) on the physical characteristics, physiological attributes, throwing velocity and accuracy, Dr. Ronnie Lidor and on-court performances of female team handball players. Studies were selected Associate Professor from a computerized search in electronic databases (PubMed, SPORT Discus) as The Zinman College of well as from a manual search. Five main findings emerged from this review: (1) Physical Education and a tall and heavy build was advantageous in team handball—mean height ranged Sport Science from 165.9±.3 cm to 179±4 cm and mean body mass ranged from 62.4±6.2 kg to Wingate Institute Netanya 42902 72.0±6.3 kg; (2) VO2max values of female players were between 47-54 ml·kg-1·min-1; Israel (3) throwing velocity was higher by as much as 11% in elite female players com- pared to amateur female players; (4) during 90% of playing time, heart rate (HR) E–mail: was above 85% of HRmax, and the average VO2 was 79% of VO2max in female [email protected] players; and (5) on-court distance covered averaged approximately 4 km and varied between 2-5 km in female players, depending on the playing position of the player. Fax: +972-9-8650960 Most of the studies reviewed were cross-sectional, and only a few reported data on on-court performance. There is a need for additional manipulative studies to deter- mine the influence of various training programs on game performance. In addition, conditioning programs that develop power and strength should be emphasized, and attention should be given to the player’s playing position and skill level.

Since the 1960s, team handball has become one of the most popular team sports at both the national and international level (e.g., Clanton & Dwight, 1997; Marczinka, 1993). The game of team handball referred to in this article is played between two teams, each with six court players and a goalie. The objective of the game is to score as many goals as possible by dribbling, passing, and throwing the ball at the goal. While one team attempts to score a goal, the opposing team attempts

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 23 Lidor and Ziv to block and intercept throws. The six court players the need to critically examine the existing literature, are positioned as follows: two wing players, two back- this article had three purposes: (1) to review a series of court players, one center back-court player, and one studies (N = 18) on physical characteristics, physiologi- pivot player. The game is played over two periods of 30 cal attributes, throwing velocity and accuracy, and on- minutes, with a 10-minute break between the periods. court performances of female team handball players; (2) It should be noted that this is not the game played in to outline a number of testing limitations and research North America (also called handball) by two (singles), concerns associated with the reviewed studies; and (3) three (cutthroat), or four (doubles) players on a one-, to suggest practical implications for team handball three-, or four-walled court. coaches and strength and conditioning coaches who Professional and amateur team handball is played work with female team handball players of all levels. in various countries on every continent. World champi- We selected the reviewed articles from an extensive onships, continental championships, and international search of the English language literature, including major tournaments for female teams take place regularly. Since computer databases (PubMed and SPORT Discus). the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976, female team Search terms were team handball and female, and the handball has also been played in Olympics competition search was limited to peer-reviewed journals in English. (e.g., Clanton & Dwight, 1997; Marczinka, 1993). An initial search yielded 61 results in PubMed and 76 To develop effective training programs for female results in SPORT Discus. The authors excluded articles team handball players ranging from amateur to elite, discussing injuries in team handball. Ten articles from team handball coaches, strength and conditioning PubMed and nine articles from SPORT Discus were coaches, athletic trainers, and sport physicians should be relevant to this review. However, five of the 19 articles familiar with the physical characteristics, physiological were included in both PubMed and SPORT Discus, thus attributes, throwing velocity and accuracy, and on-court leaving a total of 14 relevant studies. In addition, the performance of female team handball players. Coaches authors performed a manual search in three other sourc- and trainers can effectively use the relevant information es— reference lists included in the already-found studies, to develop more effective strength and conditioning library holdings, and conference proceedings. This search programs for female team handball players. This infor- yielded four more articles. Therefore, a total of 18 articles mation is also essential for coaches to help their players were included in this review. to develop a repertoire of defensive and offensive drills required for achievement in team handball. Physical Characteristics We attempted not only to review relevant studies on A summary of the studies (N = 12) examining physi- physical and physiological characteristics of female team cal characteristics of female players across the reviewed handball players, but also to critically analyze these studies studies is presented in Table 1. Based on the reviewed and their findings. Professionals who aim to use physi- studies, mean height ranged from 165.9±.3 cm in 222 cal and physiological testing in their training programs players from the first league in Greece (Bayios, Bergeles, can seek information from previously-conducted studies Apostolidis, Noutsos, & Koskolou, 2006) to 179±4 cm examining the use of tests in team handball, but should in seven players from the Norwegian national team (e.g., be aware of the testing limitations and research concerns of Ronglan, Raastad, & Borgesen, 2006). In addition, mean these studies. This information should help professionals body mass ranged from 62.4±6.2 kg in 16 players from the to select and perform the most appropriate tests and test- first division in Greece (e.g., Zapartidis, Gouvali, Bayios, & ing protocols for the benefit of their players. In addition, Boudolos, 2007) to 72.0±6.3 kg in seven members from this article attempts to integrate the findings that emerged the Norwegian national team (e.g., Ronglan et al., 2006). from the reviewed studies and to offer a number of practi- A study of two Spanish teams (e.g., Granados, cal implications to team handball coaches and players. Izquierdo, Ibanez, Bonnabau, & Gorostiaga, 2007) Given the growth in team handball worldwide, and examined differences in physical characteristics between

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 24 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players

Table 1 A Summary of the Physical Characteristics of Female Team Handball Players (Means±SD)

Fat Free Mass Study Subjects Height (cm) Body Mass (kg) Percent Fat (%) (kg) Players from the first Bayios et al. National League in Greece: 165.9±.6.3 65.1±9.1 26.3* 48.0±6.0 (2006) Division A1 (n=101) Division A2 (n=121) Experienced Norwegians play- Ettema et al. ing in Divisions 1 to 4 of the 167.0±.30 64.0±7.0 N/A N/A (2008) Norwegian national competition (n=19) Two handball teams partici- Elite players: Elite players: Elite players: Elite players: pated in the study: Granados et al. 175.4±8 69.8±7 20.5±5 55.1±4 (2007) Elite players (n=16) Amateur players: Amateur players: Amateur players: Amateur players: Amateur players (n=15) 165.8±4 64.6±5 23.3±3 49.7±3 Members of one elite team *p < . 05 in the Spanish National 1st Division League (n=16). T1: 69.6±8.4 T1: 21.1±5.3 T1: 54.4±3.9 Granados et al. 4 measurements: T2: 69.4±7.7 T2: 19.9±5.3 T2: 55.0±4.0 175±6 (2008) T1 – first week of preparation T3: 69.3±8.0 T3: 19.2±5.3 T3: 55.4±4.0 phase, T2 – beginning of first com- petition phase, T3 – end of first T4: 69.3±8.2 T4: 19.6±5.4 T4: 55.2±4.2 competition phase, T4 – end of 2nd competition phase G. keepers: 176± G. keepers: G. keepers: G. keepers: 29.1± 1.9 68.3±6.3 23.3±2.8 2.5 Hasan et al. Players from 4 teams partici- pating in the 12th Asian Games Back: 169±2.9 Back: 62.2±2.1 Back: 19.4±2.4 Back: 24.1±2.3 (2007) in Hiroshima, Japan (n=60) Center: 172±4.4 Center: 66.9±4.5 Center: 20.6±3 Center: 27.1±1.7 Wing: 170±8.3 Wing: 63.5±7.9 Wing: 21.8±2.9 Wing: 24.3±2.5 Training group Training group Female competitive play- Hoff and ers from one league of 171.3±7.7 70.8±9.5 Almasbakk N/A N/A Norwegian 2nd division (1995) Control group Control group (n=16) 168.8±3.3 66.2±3.5 1996: 174.5 1996: 67.8 Jadach and Players from Polish national 1997: 176.7 1997: 68.0 N/A N/A &LHSOL VNL  team; Data from 1996-1999 1998: 175.4 1998: 67.8 1999: 176.3 1999: N/A

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 25 Lidor and Ziv

Table 1 cont. A Summary of the Physical Characteristics of Female Team Handball Players (Means±SD)

Fat Free Mass Study Subjects Height (cm) Body Mass (kg) Percent Fat (%) (kg) Jensen et al. Members of Norwegian 174.3±6.7 71.6± .7 N/A N/A (1997) National Team (n=8) Wing players: Wing players: 169.3 63.5 Michalsik et al. Circlerunners: Circlerunners: Danish elite players (n=24) N/A N/A (2008) 177.7 72.5 Back players: Back players: 177.0 70.6 Noutsos et al. Adolescent players (mean 166.9±4.7 67.1±6.3 26.4* 53.1±4.4 (2008) age=17.8±1.2 years) (n=28) Female players participating Nuviala et al. in national and international 164.3±4.3 62.3±7.8 N/A N/A (1996) competition (n=20) Training camp of the female Training camp: Training camp: Norwegian national team 179.0±4.0 72.0±6.3 Ronglan et al. (n=7) and players of same N/A N/A (2006) International International team during international competition: competition: competition (n=8) 176.0±5.0 71.2±1.8 Experienced players playing van den Tillaar in 2nd and 3rd divisions of and Ettema 170.9±6.2 69.0±8.7 28.4±3.6 49.4* the Norwegian national com- (2004) petition (n=20) Control: Control: Control: Control: 47.4* 168.5±6.8 Well trained players with at 65.0±8.1 27.1±4.0 Heavy training: Van Muijen et al. least 4 years of experience Heavy training: Heavy training: Heavy training: 47.6* (1991) (n=45) divided into 3 train- 169.7±4.8 65.7±6.7 27.6±2.5 ing groups Light training: Light training: Light training: Light training: 47.1* 170.2±5.6 65.3±6.7 27.9±2.2 Players of 1st division Zapartidis et al. of the Greek National 168±8 62.38±6.19 N/A N/A (2007) Championship (n=16)

*data not presented in paper - calculated by authors

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 26 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players

elite and amateur players. The authors found that elite their mean height was not different from the norms of players were taller and had higher fat-free mass (FFM) Greek women. compared to amateur players. The importance of dif- In a study performed with adolescent team handball ferences in physical characteristics among players play- and volleyball players, Noutsos, Koskolou, Barzouka, ing different positions has been described thoroughly Bergeles, and Bayios (2008) found that team handball for other sports such as basketball (e.g., LaMonte, players were shorter (166.9±4.7 cm) than volleyball play- McKinney, Quinn, Bainbridge, & Eisenman, 1999; ers (175.2±6.3 cm). However, adolescent team handball Smith & Thomas, 1991). However, only two studies and volleyball players had similar body mass and FFM. were found examining physical characteristics of team In comparison, Hoffman ( 2006) reported that the aver- handball players playing different positions (e.g.,Hasan, age height for 17-year-old American females was 163.2 Reilly, Cable, & Ramadan, 2007; Michalsik, 2008). In cm. Therefore, adolescent team handball players were the first study (e.g.,Hasan et al., 2007), no significant slightly taller than the average American female. In differences were indicated between players playing dif- two other studies, adult female team handball players ferent positions. In the second (e.g.,Michalsik, 2008), were also taller than the average female (Granados et wing players were shorter and had less body mass than al., 2007; Ronglan et al., 2006). In addition, Granados back court players and pivots. and colleagues (2007) found that elite players were 6% Changes in physical characteristics throughout the taller than amateur players. Hence, despite the reported entire season were examined in 16 elite Spanish players findings by Bayios et al. (2006), it appears that height is (e.g.,Granados, Izquierdo, Ibanez, Ruesta, & Gorostiaga, an important factor in team handball. More specifically, 2008). The researchers collected data four times during back-court players are often required to throw the ball the season—during the first week of the preparation over the raised arms of the defenders from the opposite phase, at the beginning and the end of the first compe- team, and therefore tallness would be beneficial to play- tition phase, and at the end of the second competition ers in that playing position. phase. Percent body fat decreased and FFM increased Somatotype characteristics reported by Bayios et al. by approximately 2% from the first week of the prepa- (2006) showed that team handball players were more ration phase to the end of the first competition phase, mesomorphic, more endomorphic, and less ectomor- suggesting a possible positive effect of the condition- phic than both basketball and volleyball players. The ing program during the season. While these differences greater mesomorphy of team handball players may be were statistically significant, they were estimated from related to the fact that among the three sports, team skinfold measurements, which can produce error rates handball has the most body contact and the highest of more than 2% ( Whaley, Brubaker, & Otto, 2006). e.g., number of physical collisions (Bayios et al., 2006). Therefore, the practical implications of these differenc- Adolescent team handball players were also more meso- es, and whether or not they represent actual improve- morphic and less ectomorphic than adolescent volley- ments, are unclear. ball players (Noutsos et al., 2008). Bayios et al. (2006) described differences between team handball, basketball, and volleyball players in a Physiological Attributes large sample from the first national leagues in Greece (Divisions A1 and A2) consisting of 222 team handball In this section, aerobic profile, power and strength, players, 133 basketball players, and 163 volleyball play- and agility and speed are reviewed. ers. The team handball players were shorter and had a Aerobic Profile lower body mass, higher percent fat, and lower FFM than the basketball and volleyball players. The authors In a study of 24 Danish female elite players, of this study suggested that in team handball, height VO2max as measured on a treadmill was 47.5 ml·kg- was probably not a criterion for selection of athletes, as 1·min-1 (Michalsik, 2008). In eight Norwegian national

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 27 Lidor and Ziv

team players VO2max was 51.4 ml·kg-1·min-1 (Jensen, bench press was 23% higher in elite players (47.9±6.2 Jacobsen, Hetland, & Tveit, 1997), in 16 Norwegian kg versus 36.7±4.6 kg, respectively). In addition, average players playing in the second division it was 50.1 power outputs of bench press at 45-70% of 1 RM were -1 -1 25% higher in elite than in amateur players. For the ml02·kg ·min (Hoff & Almasbakk, 1995), and in players from the Polish national team values ranged between 45 lower extremities, the average power output for values to 49 ml·kg-1·min-1 during the years 1996-1999 (Jadach & of 60-125% of 1 RM half-squat was 12% higher in elite than in amateur players. However, when power output &LHSOL VNL 7KHVH922 max values were similar to those reported in adult female basketball players (44.0 – was expressed relative to FFM, the differences between 54.0 ml·kg-1·min-1; Ziv & Lidor, 2009). elite and amateur players disappeared. Lastly, while ver- tical jump (VJ) values were similar in elite and amateur In another study, Granados et al. (2007) assessed the players (34.9±5.0 cm vs. 33.0±3.0 cm, respectively), the endurance capacity of elite and amateur team handball average power produced by elite players (1,787±156 W) players by using an endurance running test and by mea- was 10% higher than amateur players (1,618±143 W). suring blood lactate and heart rate (HR). The endurance The VJ protocol used in this study involved a counter running test was a four-stage progressive run around movement jump (CMJ) with arm swing allowed. the team handball court at velocities of 8.5 km·hr-1, 10 km·hr-1, and 11.5 km·hr-1. The validity and reliability of The fact that power and strength differences were this test were not reported. Compared to amateur team reduced and even disappeared when expressed relative handball players, the elite players had significantly lower to FFM suggests that per muscle mass, neural activa- blood lactate concentrations and significantly lower HR tion and twitch tension are rather similar in elite and at all velocities, suggesting better aerobic fitness. At a amateur players (Granados et al., 2007). It can then be velocity of 11.5 km·hr-1, blood lactate concentration was suggested that the differences in FFM can account for 3.9±1.8 mmol· l-1 in the elite players and 6.1±1.6 mmol· most of the differences in power and strength. Still, the l-1in the amateur players. Heart rate at that velocity higher maximal power and strength of elite players gives was 172±12 beats·min-1 in the elite players and 186±7 them an advantage in the physical game of team hand- beats·min-1 in the amateur players. A cautious interpreta- ball, where blocking, hitting, pushing, and holding are tion of these values may suggest a greater contribution of major importance (Granados et al., 2007). of aerobic metabolism in elite players during the endur- Three of the studies in the review examined changes ance test. in power and strength throughout the entire season. Jensen et al. (1997) reported that over the course In the first one, Granados et al. (2008) reported that of a season, maximal oxygen consumption increased in during one team handball season of the national first a group of elite players from 51.3±2.3 ml·kg-1·min-1 at division league in Spain, bench press 1RM mean values the beginning of the preparation phase of the training increased from 45.8±5.7 kg at the beginning of the program to 53.8±2.7 ml·kg-1·min-1 at the beginning of preparation phase to 48.9±6.5 kg at the end of the the competition phase (p < .05), and remained elevated first competition phase, and to 51.6±6.7 kg at the end just before the most important tournament (53.5±2.9 of the second competition phase. Bench press muscle ml·kg-1·min-1). They suggested that the 4.7% increase in power outputs were 12-21% higher in the competition aerobic capacity was related to endurance training, a phase of the season compared to the beginning of the priority during this phase of the training program. preparation phase. Lower extremity power outputs were also higher by 7-13% in the competition phase com- Power and Strength pared to the beginning of the preparation phase (for The physiological variables of power and strength are loads of 100% and 125% of body mass). VJ values as superior in elite compared to amateur players. Granados recorded from a CMJ test with arm swing allowed (i.e., et al. (2007) studied 16 elite and 15 amateur players per- squatting from a standing position and jumping with forming a bench press of 1 RM. In this group, the 1 RM arms swinging upwards) increased by 12.2% from the

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 28 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players beginning of the preparation phase to the end of the throwing velocity and maximum strength before the first competition phase (33.7±5.5 cm and 38.4±4.4 cm, training period (r = .59), a significant correlation was respectively). The conditioning program used a linear found after the training period (r = .88, p < .05). As periodization model beginning with low volume and the authors of this study suggested, heavy progressive low intensity and progressing to high volume and high strength training can improve throwing velocity in team intensity toward the competition phase. handball players. The second study (Jensen et al., 1997) evaluated The effect of fatigue on strength and power per- leg isometric strength over the course of one season. formance is of importance to coaches, as they are the In addition to the regular team handball training, ones who decide on playing time and substitutions all participants performed four additional periods of during an actual game. Ronglan et al. (2006) examined training, and testing was conducted after each period. isokinetic knee-extension peak torque and VJ (CMJ with In Period 1, two light-strength training sessions were arms fixed on hips) in elite players during a training performed each week consisting of loads of 50-60% of camp, and only VJ during an international competi- 1 RM and one endurance training session. In Period 2, tion. Testing was conducted eight times during the strength training took priority (2-3 weekly sessions with 5-day training camp before and/or after each training heavier loads), with the addition of sprint training and session, and during the international competition, test- endurance training. In Period 3, training was divided ing was conducted immediately before and after each into endurance training (2-3 weekly sessions), jump and game. Fatigue was tested as changes in isokinetic peak sprint sessions (2 weekly sessions), and strength training torque at 60 deg·s-1, jump height on a force plate, and (1-2 sessions). Lastly, in Period 4, team handball games 20-m sprint times. During the camp, there was a reduc- were played each week in addition to 1-2 weekly sessions tion in knee extension strength and VJ performance of endurance training, however with no more than one of 8.4±1.7% and 6.9±1.3%, respectively. During the sprint or strength training sessions per week. Knee iso- international tournament, VJ performance was reduced metric strength increased progressively from Test 1 to by 6.7±1.3%. The authors suggested two possibilities Test 3. However, values tended to decrease in Test 4. to coaches for counteracting neuromuscular fatigue This decrease in the measured values is not surprising, and insufficient recovery: (a) to distribute playing time as in the period prior to Test 4 only 0-1 strength train- among a larger number of players during a single game, ing sessions were conducted each week. It should be or (b) to provide individuals with extra resting time by noted that this study did not include a control group. alternating players in the games of a multi-game tourna- In the third study (Hoff & Almasbakk, 1995), sig- ment. These two options require all players to have sim- nificant increases in bench press 1 RM in the training ilar capabilities, which rarely is the case. A third option group (from 41.6±2.24 kg to 55.1±2.21 kg) after nine was to improve the physical fitness training of players in weeks of bench press training were observed. The train- order to make them less vulnerable to fatigue (Ronglan ing program included three weekly sessions consisting et al., 2006). This study was conducted on only seven of three 5-6 repetitions with loads of 85% of 1 RM players, and therefore generalization is not feasible. In that were adjusted progressively. The authors observed addition, the intensity of play and level of fatigue as a no changes in the control group (43.6±6.47 kg). This result of the game intensity depends on team playing finding is of importance since the throwing velocity, styles and the playing positions within a team. which was also measured in this study, showed greater Agility and Speed increases in the training group than in the control Granados et al. (2007) examined sprinting perfor- group. Specifically, the performance of the running mances in 16 elite and 15 amateur players. The elite throw improved, whereas in the standing throw, no dif- players were 4% and 3% faster than the amateur players ferences in velocity were found between groups. In addi- in 5-m (1.10±.05 vs. 1.14±.03 sec) and 15-m (2.64±.09 tion, while no significant correlation was found between

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 29 Lidor and Ziv vs. 2.71±.08 sec) sprints, respectively. The small gap preparation phase may have been related to a heavy between the achievements of the elite and the amateur resistance training program or to the resulting fatigue players can be explained by the fact that the sprints from training during this phase. The increase in maxi- were conducted in sterile conditions that did not mal running velocity toward the beginning of the most reflect real-game situations. Under real game situations, important tournament occurred despite a decrease in when players are required to perceive the environment, physical training, suggesting that tapering at that stage anticipate an event, and make a decision, and only then might be beneficial for increasing performance at the perform as quickly as possible, the gap between elite competition phase of the training program. and amateur players would likely be more distinctive In another study, Ronglan et al. (2006) assessed (Williams & Ward, 2007). Similar to the previous study the effect of fatigue on 20-m sprint performance. They (Granados et al., 2007), in a study of 53 players of the measured time using photocells at the 10-m and 20-m Croatian major team handball league, Cavala, Rogulj, marks, and observed no differences in times in the 10-m Srhoj, Srhoj, and Katic (2008) found better agility and mark and only minor differences in the 20-m mark dur- speed performance in above-average players compared ing a training camp, as well as during an international to average players. They assessed agility and speed using tournament. During the tournament, over a course of a number of tests, among them the shuttle-run test, three games played in three days, 20-m sprint perfor- sidesteps, and sprints for 20, 30, and 40 m. mance was reduced by 3.7±.4%. Although this minor Two studies examined changes in sprint perfor- reduction was found to be significant, the authors mance over one team handball season (Granados et argued that team handball performance, as observed al., 2008; Jensen et al., 1997). In one study of 16 elite during an actual game, is influenced by a number of players, no differences were found in 15-m sprint perfor- physiological aspects, and therefore a minor reduction mance throughout one season (Granados et al., 2008). in only one aspect, such as sprinting, would not neces- Since players devoted only .1-.3% of their practice sarily influence the overall performance of the female time to sprinting or sprint training, this finding is not players. surprising. The researchers of this study stressed that Only one study was found that compared agility more time should be dedicated to sprint training and and speed among elite players (n = 53) playing different leg muscle strength and power training, in order to positions. In this study, Rogulj, Srhoj, Nazor, Srhoj, and increase sprint performance. The importance of includ- Cavala (2005) showed that wing players were faster and ing sprint training and increasing speed is highlighted more agile than pivots and goal keepers. However, they by the fact that elite players appear to be faster than reported no significant differences between wing players amateur players; therefore speed is a critical element for and back-court players in agility and speed. Speed was team handball players. assessed using a 30-m run, and agility was assessed using In the second study, Jensen et al. (1997) examined tests such as the stepping aside test. Team handball maximal running velocity in eight world class team wing players are usually required to be faster and more handball players. Maximal running velocity was tested agile than other field players. These qualities of wing for the final 10 m with photocells connected to a stop- players were only partially demonstrated in this study, watch, after they had run 20 m for acceleration. No data since the performance of back-court players was similar on the validity and reliability of this test were reported. to that of wing players. No plausible explanations were Maximal running performance dropped from the early offered for this lack of differences. However, the means stages of the preparation phase (7.85±.24 m·s-1) to the for the speed and agility tests showed that wing players middle stages of the preparation phase (7.66±.25 m·s-1), tended to be faster and more agile than back-court play- and increased just before the team’s most important ers. It is possible that the lack of statistical difference tournament of that year (8.02±.22 m·s-1). The decrease was due to a lack of statistical power. Unfortunately, the in maximal running velocity during the middle of the effect size could not be calculated from data presented

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 30 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players in this study, since standard deviation values were not players. They observed significant increases in throwing reported. velocity during the season for both the standing throw and the 3-step running throw (an 8-9% increase). In Throwing Velocity and Accuracy addition, at the end of the competition phase of the training program, significant correlations were found Throwing velocity and accuracy are considered between power output at 45% of bench press 1 RM and among the most vital elements of team handball. It is standing throw velocity (r = .61, p < .05), and between by throwing the ball as fast as possible and being able power output of 80% of body mass at parallel squats to aim accurately at the goal that team handball players and standing throw velocity (r = .65, p < .05). The sig- increase their chances of scoring. nificant correlations found in these studies should be A summary of the studies examining throwing veloc- interpreted with caution. The authors did not mention ity and accuracy in female players is presented in Table whether measures were taken into account for multiple 2. Granados et al. (2007) examined the throwing veloc- tests, which therefore minimizes the impact of fatigue. ity in elite and amateur team handball players in two In addition, causation cannot be inferred from correla- types of throws—a standing throw and a 3-step running tional relationships. However, since these correlations throw. Throwing velocity was 11% higher in elite players have physiological and logical plausibility, training than in amateur players for both types of throws. As the studies could attempt to determine if there is a cause authors suggested, the differences between the elite and and effect relationship between power, strength, and amateur players can be explained by the higher FFM in throwing velocity. elite players (55.1 kg) compared to amateur players (49.7 In one such study, Hoff and Almasbakk (1995) kg). van den Tillaar and Ettema (2004) provided a similar examined the effectiveness of a 9-week resistance train- explanation with their finding that FFM had a strong ing program on the achievements of elite team handball positive effect on throwing velocity. However, a number players. The resistance training program was composed of variables can affect throwing velocity, among them of bench press exercises three times a week. The find- differences in maximal power and strength, coordination ings of this study showed that standing-throw velocity patterns, technique, and distribution of muscle fiber type increased by 18% in the resistance-trained group and (Granados et al., 2007). by 15% in a control group participating in team hand- In addition, Granados et al. (2007) indicated a sig- ball training only. Three-step running throw velocity nificant correlation between the bench press 1-RM and increased by 17% in the resistance-trained group and by the standing throw velocity in both elite and amateur 9% in the control group. According to these results, the players (r = .61 and r = .69, respectively, p < .05). In authors suggested that combining resistance training amateur players, bench press 1 RM also correlated with with regular team handball training can be more effec- throwing velocity during the 3-step running throw (r tive than only team handball training in the three-step = .81, p < .001). However, in elite players it was the running throw. However, team handball training alone power output at 30% of 1 RM that correlated with also increased throwing velocity. This can be explained velocity during the 3-step running throw (r = .55, p < by the principle of specificity, which in this context .05; Granados et al., 2007). The fact that it was mostly implies that training at throwing a team handball is use- maximal strength, rather than power output at lower ful for enhancing throwing performance. In addition, loads, that correlated with throwing velocity may be it has been suggested that specific resistance training explained by the lower absolute strength levels of female with underweight balls—balls that weigh less than the players, which required them to perform at their maxi- regulation-weight team handball balls—also increased mum when throwing. throwing velocity in well-conditioned players (van den Tillaar, 2004). Granados et al. (2008) studied throwing velocity over a course of a season in a study of 16 elite female Somewhat different results were obtained by Ettema,

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 31 Lidor and Ziv

Table 2 A Summary of Studies on Throwing Velocity and Accuracy in Female Team Handball Players (Means±SD)

Study Subjects Treatment Characteristics of Throw Ettema et al. (2008) Players (n=19) from the 8-week intervention – 3 train- No differences in throwing velocity between Norwegian Divisions 1 ing session per week. groups; to 4 Experimental group: Throw velocities between approximately 17-18 m·s-1; specific resistance training with a pulley device system Control group (6.1%) seemed to actually that mimics overhand throws; improve more than the experimental group (1.4%) Control group: Extra throwing practices with regular balls Granados et al. Elite players (n=16) Descriptive study Elite players: (2007) Amateur players (n=15) Standing throw: 19.5±1.1 m·s-1 Running throw: 21.1±1.3 m·s-1 Amateur players: Standing throw: 17.4±1.3 m·s-1 Running throw: 18.8±1.2 m·s-1 11% difference between elite and amateur players Granados et al. Elite players (n=16) of Follow-up during a season. Standing throw velocity: (2008) Spanish national 1st divi- Testing at beginning of prepa- T1: 19.0±.9 m·s-1, sion league ration phase (T1), beginning T2: 19.5±1.2 m·s-1 and end of 1st competition T3: 20.2±1.7 m·s-1, phase (T2 and T3, respec- T4: 20.5±1.3 m·s-1 tively), end of 2nd competition Running throw velocity: phase (T4) T1: 20.0±1.3 m·s-1, T2: 21.1±1.3 m·s-1 T3: 21.5±1.4 m·s-1, T4: 21.8±1.4 m·s-1 All changes were statistically significant

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 32 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players

Table 2 cont. A Summary of Studies on Throwing Velocity and Accuracy in Female Team Handball Players (Means±SD)

Study Subjects Treatment Characteristics of Throw Hoff and Almasbakk Players (n=16) from Treatment group: Standing throw velocity: (1995) Norwegian 2nd division Nine weeks of bench press Treatment group: Pre: 19.8±2.34 m·s-1 league resistance training. Three ses- post: 23.3± 1.79 m·s-1 (18% increase) sions per week. Three sets Control group: Pre: 18.5±1.29 m·s-1 post: of 5-6 repetitions with free 21.1±.97 m·s-1 (15% increase) weights Running throw velocity: Control group: Treatment group: Pre: 23.1±2.01 m·s-1 Regular handball training only post: 27.0± 2.33 m·s-1 (17% increase) Control group: Pre: 22.6±1.78 m·s-1 post: 24.6±1.47 m·s-1 (9% increase) van den Tillaar and Players from the 2nd Descriptive study Standing throw velocity: 19.2±1.5 m·s-1 Ettema (2004) and 3rd divisions of Standing throw from the 7 m Positive relationship between body size and the Norwegian national line throwing performance league (n=20) Van Muijen et al. Female handball players Three treatment groups, 8 Standing throw velocity: (1991) (n=45) weeks of training, 15 players No changes pre and post training in C and in each group: H groups 1. Regular training with regu- 2% increase in throwing velocity in L group: lar ball weight (400g) (C) from 16.90±1.28 to 17.26±1.27 m·s-1 2. Training with heavy balls Increased maximal isometric torque of (500g) and regular ball (H) medial shoulder rotation and elbow exten- 3. Training with lighter balls sion was seen in L group as well (300g) and regular ball (L) Zapartidis et al. Greek national 1st divi- Testing velocity and accuracy Standing throwing velocity (2007) sion players (n=16) pre and during simulated Pre 16.22±1.47 m·s-1, A1 16.52±1.64 m·s- game activities of 2 halves of 1, A2 16.92 ±1.52 m·s-1, A3 16.56±1.64 30 min. testing every 10 min. m·s-1, B1 16.64±1.41 m·s-1, B2 (A1, A2, A3 – tests every 10 16.81±1.57 m·s-1, B3 16.60±1.59 m·s-1 min in 1st half, B1, B2, B3 – tests every 10 min in 2nd Accuracy (lower values = better accuracy) half) Pre 20.33±5.49 cm, A1 28.27±7.79 cm, A2 27.55± 7.73 cm, A3 31.64±8.66 cm, B1 29.18±7.06 cm, B2 29.6±9.22 cm, B3 33.14±7.33 cm

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 33 Lidor and Ziv

Gløsen, and van den Tillaar (2008), who found no dif- conducted in the heavy ball group and the lighter ball ferences in improvement in standing throwing velocity group, the lighter ball group improved while the heavy between a group of players who completed eight weeks ball group did not. One possible explanation stems from of specific resistance training and a control group. the relationships among force, velocity, and power. The Specific resistance training included three weekly ses- greater the force exerted, the lesser the velocity at which sions using a pulley device system that mimicked over- it can be exerted. With the heavier balls, it is possible that hand throwing at 85% of 1 RM. The control group the force needed reduced the velocity of the arm, and focused on throwing as fast as possible for 81 throws therefore did not improve ball velocity. per session. While no statistically significant differences Only one study in our review examined throwing were found between the groups, it appeared that throw- velocity and accuracy in female players. Zapartidis et al. ing velocity improved more in the control group (6.1%) (2007) tested 16 elite players prior to simulated team compared to the resistance training group (1.4%). handball game activities, as well as during a number Observed power was low (< .50), and it is possible that of these activities. Testing during the simulated games these differences lacked statistical significance due to the took place every 10 minutes in both the first and the small sample size. The fact that the control group ended second half. Throws were performed from the 7-m up performing better than the resistance training group penalty line. Players were expected to hit a wooden can be explained by the concept of specificity. This target of 1 m2, composed of concentric circles at radii group practiced the specific task of overhand throwing, of 5-40 cm with increments of 5 cm. Variability of ball over and over, for eight weeks. It should be noted that velocity was low and remained under 10% throughout 1 RM after the training program was not better in the the study. Ball velocity ranged from 16.22 to 16.92 resistance training group than in the control group. It m·s-1. Ball velocity was higher than the initial measure- is thus possible that the resistance training protocol ment throughout the game , but the only statistically was not intense enough to produce the needed gains in significant difference was between the second 10-min strength that would lead to increased throwing velocity. period of the first half and the initial measurement. The effectiveness of training with handballs of dif- It is possible that as the players warmed up, their ferent weights on throwing velocity was examined in 45 throwing velocity improved. In this study (Zapartidis female team handball players in a study by Van Muijen, et al., 2007), throwing accuracy was reduced from the Joris, Kemper, and Van Ingen Schenau (1991). The play- pre-game throw to throws during the simulated game. ers were divided into three groups: one group practiced Deviation from the target averaged approximately 20 once a week with only a regular ball (400 g), a second cm in the pre-game throw and was 28-33 cm during the group practiced twice a week with both a regular ball and simulated game. While fatigue did not affect throwing a heavy ball (500 g), and a third group practiced twice velocity, it negatively affected throwing accuracy. Since a week with both a light ball (300 g) and a regular ball. accuracy is crucial for scoring goals, this is an important The results of this study showed that the groups practic- finding, suggesting that coaches should alleviate players’ ing with lower-weight balls increased throwing velocity fatigue by making substitutions during the game and by by 2% over eight weeks, while the other groups did not using an effective strength and conditioning program increase throwing velocity during the same time span. throughout the entire season. Another possible explana- However, the groups that practiced with the heavy ball tion for the obtained results in this study is associated and the lighter ball had two extra training sessions per with the instructions the players received. The players week compared to the group that practiced only with the were told to hit the target throwing as fast as possible. regular ball, and therefore it is difficult to assess whether If more emphasis had been placed on accuracy, it is this rather small increase in performance was due to possible that the accuracy results would have improved the increased training volume or due to the change in and velocity would have decreased. ball weight. Although the same number of sessions was

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 34 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players

On-Court Performances compared to players with a lesser endurance capacity, although they maintained similar HR and HRmax. As was indicated before, the game of team handball The authors of this study suggested that female team is composed of both defensive and offensive acts. While handball players with a higher VO2max were able to one team attempts to throw the ball at the goal in order use more aerobic metabolism (Manchado et al., 2008). to score, the opposing team attempts to block all throw- Hence, coaches should include aerobic training that ing attempts. Team handball players perform various emphasizes the improvement of VO2max in the training actions during the game in their attempts to score a goal, schedule of their players. For example, high-intensity as well as in their attempts to play an effective defense. interval training can be conducted during pre-season In addition, players who play different positions, such conditioning. During the season, sub-maximal tests can as wing players or back-court players, typically perform be conducted to ensure the maintenance of VO2max. different acts according to the specific demands of their Michalsik (2008) followed 24 Danish elite players role on the team. In order for the researcher and the prac- from 2002 to 2006. The average physiological load titioner to obtain information on what players do during during tournament matches corresponded to 79% of the game, a time-motion analysis can be performed. A VO2max. The players covered an average distance of time-motion analysis is based on repetitive observations 4.0 km. Each player averaged 27 high intensity plays focusing on what players do during actual games. By during a game. In total, up to 700 changes of activity studying these actions, researchers and coaches can bet- were observed during a game, based on eight move- ter understand the physical demands imposed on their ment categories. Wing players and pivots covered more players. Unfortunately, team handball studies on female distance than back-court players (4,063 m and 4,050 players using time-motion analyses are scarce. m vs. 3,866 m, respectively). However, in light of the A time-motion analysis conducted by Manchado, distance-covered values (i.e., 2066-5251 m) found by Navarro, Pers, and Platen (2008) on 25 elite team Manchado et al. (2008), the practical significance of handball players found a mean HR of 86% of HRmax these differences is unclear. Wing players also engaged throughout a game. Heart rate was higher than 85% of in more high intensity work (3.56% of total distance HRmax in 90% of the playing time. While goalkeepers covered) than back-court players (1.35%) and pivots had lower HR values, no differences in HR were found (2.32%). On offense, wing players received less tackles among players playing field positions. In addition, HR (7.5 per match) than back-court players (15.9) and piv- values during the first half were higher than those in ots (25.4). On defense, wing players performed fewer the second half. These HR values, which probably were tackles (11.8 per match) than back-court players (24.6) above the anaerobic threshold of the players, suggest and pivots (27.4). Wing players also engaged in more that the anaerobic metabolism supplied much of the quick runs (4.4 per game) compared to back-court play- energy requirements during the game. ers (1.35) and pivots (2.47). In summary, wing players Players covered a distance of 4,614 m during one did more high intensity work, covered greater distances, game (Manchado et al., 2008), with large variations and engaged in fewer tackles than both back court play- ranging from 2,066 m in goalkeepers to 5,251 m in ers and pivots. field players. The running distance per minute was The contribution of time-motion analysis to per- low in goalkeepers (31.3 m·min-1) and high in field formance enhancement in team handball was exempli- players (69.7 m·min-1), with no significant differences fied in a study by Zapartidis et al. (2007) examining among players in field positions. In addition, the run- throwing effectiveness and shoulder rotational strength ning distance per minute was lower in the second half in 16 team handball players during a simulated game. (65.1±18.0 m·min-1) compared to the first half (71.5±7.2 The technical actions performed by the players in m·min-1). Interestingly, players with a higher endurance four actual games were videotaped. Players performed capacity were able to perform more intense activities approximately 30 passes and three throws at the goal

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 35 Lidor and Ziv every 10 min, and the authors designed the simulated physiological demands of team handball players during game in the study accordingly. game play, team handball coaches and strength and con- ditioning coaches can effectively plan their strength and Testing Limitations and Research conditioning programs. As in other women’s ball games (e.g., basketball; Ziv & Lidor, 2009), more time-motion Concerns in the Reviewed Studies analyses are needed to fully understand how female team handball players actually perform during games. Five testing limitations and research concerns will now be discussed, based on the reviewed studies on A fourth issue is that there is limited data on throw- physical characteristics, physiological attributes, throw- ing accuracy. It is true that some data are available on ing velocity and accuracy, and on-court performances of throwing velocity and its relationship with power and female team handball players. strength (e.g., Granados et al., 2008), however very little data is available on throwing accuracy. This is unfor- The first research concern in reviewing the litera- tunate, since accuracy is just as important as velocity ture is that there is a lack of manipulative/experimental when team handball players are attempting to score studies. Most of the studies reviewed in this article a goal. More studies are needed to examine throwing were of a correlative or descriptive nature, and did not accuracy, and particularly the effect of different training include intervention programs (e.g., strength and condi- programs (e.g., accuracy games, simulation, and virtual tioning programs for improving throwing velocity and/ reality) on throwing accuracy. or throwing accuracy). Although descriptive and corre- lational studies do imply certain possible conclusions, Finally, there are very few studies that examine team by no means can they suggest causality. Therefore, more handball performance under fatigue conditions. It has studies should encourage the implementation of inter- already been shown that high fatigue can hinder perfor- ventional programs for agility and speed, and power mance in sports involving endurance, rapid movements, and strength, with at least one intervention/training and strength (e.g., Montgomery et al., 2008; Pack, 1974; group and one control/no training group. Reilly, Drust, & Clarke, 2008). A number of testing protocols assessing physical abilities should be used in A second concern is that there is only a limited team handball studies. number of longitudinal studies. By using a longitudinal approach, relevant information on the development of the physical attributes, physiological characteristics, Practical Implications for Team and on-court performances of beginning and advanced Handball and Strength and team handball players can be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. It would be useful for researchers and practi- Conditioning Coaches tioners alike to obtain information on the physical and Five practical suggestions are offered to team hand- physiological characteristics of team handball players dur- ball coaches and strength and conditioning coaches who ing different periods of time across a season, and among work with female players, based on the reviewed studies: different skill levels and age groups. This information would result in an improvement in the coach’s ability to 1. Power and strength exercises should be empha- compare achievements among players and to effectively sized in the conditioning program, as they are plan training programs for female team handball players. associated with both sprint performance and throwing velocity. A third problem with the existing data is that there is very little on-court performance data. Only three studies 2. In order to develop agility and speed in female examined on-court performances of female team hand- team handball players, task-specific agility and ball players (e.g., Manchado et al., 2008; Michalsik, 2008; speed drills should be included in the condi- Zapartidis et al., 2007). By understanding the physical and tioning program. In essence, sprint training

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 36 Attributes of Female Team Handball Players

should be specific to the actual on-court sprint ferent muscle groups in different players. Pivots demands of team handball players. are required to constantly fight for a position 3. Specificity is of importance when planning the while performing offensive maneuvers. This strength and conditioning program. For exam- requires strong legs and torso, and therefore an ple, if back-court players are expected to jump emphasis should be placed on strengthening as high as possible above the defenders’ hands those areas. In contrast, back-court players may in order to throw, explosive-type power training want to emphasize their VJ power training in should be implemented. Team handball players order to jump above the defense and to develop should practice the movements that they are their upper body strength and power, in order required to perform in practices and games. to increase throwing velocity. 4. Strength and conditioning programs should Based on the laboratory and field studies discussed be developed according to data collected from in the current review, it is the authors’ contention that time-motion analyses. For example, if coaches the empirical knowledge from the reviewed studies know how much distance is regularly covered should be used by team handball coaches and strength by their players during the game, they can plan and conditioning coaches when developing short- and the length and intensity of their aerobic training long-term training programs. Relevant information on program according to this information. the physical characteristics of female team handball players; their physiological attributes such as aerobic 5. Coaches should develop strength and condi- profile, agility, and speed; and a number of on-court tioning programs based on the individual play- performance variables such as the distance covered by ing positions and skill level of the individual the players during the game, can all assist coaches to team handball players. For example, Granados better plan their training sessions so that the specific et al. (2008) reported a linear periodization needs of each individual player can be appropriately model beginning with low volume and low considered. The methodological concerns outlined in intensity and progressing to high volume and this review can help coaches select what is most relevant high intensity toward the competition phase. to their specific training program. Using such a training program could target dif-

References

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Cavala, M., Rogulj, N., Srhoj, V., Srhoj, L., & Katic, R. (2008). Granados, C., Izquierdo, M., Ibanez, J., Ruesta, M., & Gorostiaga, Biomotor structures in elite female handball players according E. M. (2008). Effects of an entire season on physical fitness to performance. Collegium Antropologicum, 32, 231-239. in elite female handball players. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40, 351-361. Clanton, R. E., & Dwight, M. P. (1997). Team handball: Steps to success. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Hasan, A. A., Reilly, T., Cable, N. T., & Ramadan, J. (2007). Anthropometric profiles of elite Asian female handball Ettema, G., GlØsen, T., & van den Tillaar, R. (2008). Effect of players. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical specific resistance training on overarm throwing perfor- Fitness, 47, 197-202. mance. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 3, 164-175.

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Hoff, J., & Almasbakk, B. (1995). The effects of maximum strength Montgomery, P. G., Pyne, D. B., Hopkins, W. G., Dorman, J. C., training on throwing velocity and muscle strength in female Cook, K., & Minahan, C. L. (2008). The effect of recovery team-handball players. Journal of Strength & Conditioning strategies on physical performance and cumulative fatigue in Research, 9, 255-258. competitive basketball. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26, 1135-1145. Hoffman, J. (2006). Norms for fitness, performance, and health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Noutsos, K., Koskolou, M., Barzouka, K., Bergeles, N., & Bayios, I. (2008). Physical characteristics of adolescent elite Jadach, A., & CiepliĔski, J. (2008). Level of physical preparation female handball and volleyball players [Abstract]. and its influence on selection of game concepts for the Polish Paper presented at the Annual Congress of the European national handball female team. Polish Journal of Sport & College of Sport Science, Estoril, Portugal. Tourism, 15, 17-22. Pack, M. (1974). Effects of four fatigue levels on performance and Jensen, J., Jacobsen, S. T., Hetland, S., & Tveit, P. (1997). Effect of learning of novel dynamic balance skill. Journal of Motor combined endurance, strength and sprint training on maximal Behavior, 6, 191-197. oxygen uptake, isometric strength and sprint performance in female elite handball players during a season. International Reilly, T., Drust, B., & Clarke, N. (2008). Muscle fatigue during Journal of Sports Medicine, 18, 354-358. football match-play. Sports Medicine, 38, 357-367.

LaMonte, M. J., McKinney, J. T., Quinn, S. M., Bainbridge, C. Rogulj, N., Srhoj, V., Nazor, M., Srhoj, L., & Cavala, M. (2005). N., & Eisenman, P. A. (1999). Comparison of physical and Some anthropologic characteristics of elite female hand- physiological variables for female college basketball players. ball players at different playing positions. Collegium Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 13, 264- Antropologicum, 29, 705-709. 270. Ronglan, L. T., Raastad, T., & Borgesen, A. (2006). Neuromuscular Manchado, C., Navarro, F., Pers, J., & Platen, P. (2008). Motion fatigue and recovery in elite female handball players. analysis and physiological demands in international Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, women’s team handball [Abstract]. Paper presented 16, 267-273. at the Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Estoril, Portugal. Smith, H. K., & Thomas, S. G. (1991). Physiological characteristics of elite female basketball players. Canadian Journal of Sport Marczinka, Z. (1993). Playing handball: A comprehensive Sciences, 16, 289-295. study of the game. Budapest: International Handball Federation. van den Tillaar, R. (2004). Effect of different training programs on the velocity of overarm throwing: a brief review. Journal of Michalsik, L. (2008). Physical demands in modern female Strength & Conditioning Research, 18, 388-396. elite team handball [abstract]. Paper presented at the Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, van den Tillaar, R., & Ettema, G. (2004). Effect of body size and Estoril, Portugal. gender in overarm throwing performance. European Journal of Appllied Physiology, 91, 413-418.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 38 author Original Research Article

“You’re Not Allowed Body Checking in Women’s Hockey”: Preserving Gendered and Nationalistic Hegemonies in the 2006 Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament

Kelly Poniatowski Elizabethtown College

CONTACT Abstract INFORMATION: The purpose of the study was to focus on how hegemonic nationality, as well as hegemonic masculinity and femininity are expressed in the media commentaries Kelly Poniatowski about women’s sport. This study focused specifically on Olympic hockey broad- Elizabeth College casts on NBC’s cable affiliates employing freelance journalists during the 2006 1 Alpha Drive Olympics. Textual analyses of five U.S. and Canadian women’s games were con- Elizabethtown, PA 17022 ducted. Two hockey commentators of the Olympic Games were also interviewed. Results indicate that, in relationship to men, the women’s game is viewed as less E–mail: [email protected] physical. In regards to nationality, the U.S. women are viewed as legitimate athletes for embracing hockey and not traditional feminine sports such as figure skating. Phone: Canadian women are viewed as legitimate for initially having participated in female (717) 361–1371 versions of hockey such as ringette before playing hockey. The U.S. women are described as having strength and power as well as being fit and still feminine, while Fax: their Canadian counterparts are mostly described by physical size. (717) 361–1180 The Olympics not only celebrate the athletic prowess of athletes from around the world but also symbolize unity and peace among the nations who participate (Cashman, 1999). According to Cashman, “Many commentators have referred to the Olympic Games as the world’s greatest sports festival and the largest peacetime event” (p. 3). In general, the media frame the Olympics as “an act of peace and friendship or world understanding” (Zaharopoulos, 2007, p. 238). The Olympics is a mega-event that millions of people watch, making it a forum for magnifying cultural norms in regard to gender, ethnicity, nationality, and identity (Billings & Eastman, 2002, 2003). The Olympics also become the shared experience of the world because they are broadcast globally (Larson & Park, 1993; Zaharopoulos, 2007). Most research on the Olympics in regards to gender and nationality has focused on NBC’s primetime coverage of it (Billings, 2008; Billings & Eastman, 2002, 2003;

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 39 Poniatowski

Daddario & Wigley, 2007). Little research has looked at Literature Review NBC’s cable affiliates—MSNBC, CNBC, and the USA Network—which also broadcast the Olympics. This is Gender is a social construct that defines masculinity significant because Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC and femininity. Concepts of gender are upheld through Universal Sports and Olympics, oversees Olympic prime- ideology and reinforced in society through hegemonic time coverage but trusts the producers and commenta- masculinity and femininity. Nationality is also socially tors to carry out NBC’s vision during non-primetime constructed and ideas about nationalism are reinforced hours and on the affiliate networks. NBC also hires through national hegemony within societies. Gender and freelance journalists to cover events, including hockey, nationality are also reinforced by the media. Mediated on affiliate networks. All of the commentators for the sporting events serve as the largest platform where Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament were either notions of gender and nationality are supported because American or Canadian, white, male, NHL sportscasters most people use the media to follow sports (Billings & except for one. A.J. Mleczko was a former U.S. women’s Eastman, 2002, 2003; Billings & Tambosi, 2004). ice hockey player. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Ideology allows structures of power to appear natu- Italy represented the first time that both men’s and ral so that people will believe they are normal realities women’s ice hockey were broadcast equally. NBC and (Grossberg, 1984). For instance, the media is a power its partner stations, CNBC, MSNBC, and the USA structure that appears natural within society and serves Network, broadcast every men’s and women’s ice hockey to reinforce ideologies. It serves the interests of those game during the 2006 Olympics. Even so, there were who create it and is spread through every-day prac- more men’s teams competing than women’s teams. As a tices such as religion, politics, business, schools, sports, result, one-third more men’s games aired than women’s. music, and popular culture (Hall, 1995; Lull, 1995). The 1998 Olympics marked the first time that Hegemony explains how ideology and dominance of women were allowed to participate in ice hockey at the the elite class are sustained in societies. Gramsci (2006) Olympic level. Since 1998 there has been tremendous defines hegemony as the dominant class’s privileged use growth in women’s hockey all over the world. This of social institutions (such as the media) to produce growth provides support for analyzing the current cov- and reinforce their values and control over the masses erage and commentary of women’s hockey compared Hegemony is a way for culture and politics to meet the to men’s hockey. One major difference between men’s dominant groups’ interests and the minimal needs of and women’s hockey is the use of body checking, which the masses (Artz & Murphy, 2000). It is also a process is only used in men’s hockey. As a result, the games through which social power is exercised, and the domi- are framed differently, often marginalizing the women nant ideology of society is communicated. and regarding them as inferior. These differences are Hegemonic masculinity and hegemonic femininity worth investigating. The media contribute to the con- are constructed in opposition to one another. Hegemonic struction of sexual difference, as well as hegemonic masculinity reinforces patriarchy and the dominant posi- masculinities and femininities. Additionally, the way in tion of men to create a gender regime in which men are which the commentators frame foreign players’ success more privileged (Connell, 2005). Hegemonic masculinity and failures may create a particular type of nationalism. is an idealized masculinity with multiple levels that is Rivalries based on politics and history are also influ- always changing (Connell). Characteristics of hegemonic enced by the media; investigating this phenomenon masculinity include: physical force, occupational achieve- might also show a certain sense of nationalism present ment, patriarchy, frontiersmanship, heterosexuality, con- within the community of commentators. The purpose formity to rules and rituals, learning to defer to male of this article is to examine how gendered hegemony authority, pain, competitiveness, initiative, strength, and national hegemony are portrayed through com- power, aggression, and confidence (Beal, 1996; Duncan, mentary to the American audience. 2006; Trujillo, 1991). Characteristics that do not fit into

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 40 Legitimizing Women Athletes these masculine categories are placed at the bottom of the in media sports coverage by either not giving women gender hierarchy and are further marginalized (Connell, equal coverage to that of men or giving them “ambiva- 1990). Hegemonic femininity is also a social construct lent coverage that trivializes their athleticism” (Hardin with multiple levels, but it is constructed in subordina- & Shain, 2005, p. 805), resulting in a reinforcement of tion to hegemonic masculinity (Mikosza & Phillips, the superiority of male athletes. For example, women are 1999). Characteristics of hegemonic femininity include often photographed in posed shots rather than action being emotional, passive, dependent, maternal, domestic, shots, referred to as “girls” instead of “women,” and compassionate, gentle, thin, small, fragile, slight, weak, referenced in regards to their attractiveness rather than incompetent, passive, vulnerable, and slender (Duncan, their physicality (Billings & Eastman, 2002; Eastman & 1990; Krane, 2001). Billings, 1999; Hardin & Shain). Nationalistic hegemony Nationality is reinforced in sports media by establishing a hierarchy of countries and creating metaphors of nationalism by Nationality, like gender, is a social construct. focusing on winning, competition, and collective struggle Nationality and nationalism do not exist by themselves (Boyle & Haines). For example, the 2002 Olympics in but are created in conjunction with gender and race. Salt Lake City served to remind the world of American Hegemonic nationalism is reinforced through cultural nationalism and of the collective struggle to heal a nation practices such as sports and media. Sports serve as struck by terrorists just months earlier. a platform to help create and define nationalism; in international sports, nations are defined in both the The rise of women in sport threatens the ideological political and sporting world. Hegemonic nationalism gender order of society (Lenskjy, 2003). For example, is “the specific features and actions of the desirable hegemonic masculinity reinforces that men in sports are nation-state” (Howard & Prividera, 2006, p. 136). assumed to be heterosexual. Women who “intrude” in Hegemonic nationalism defines what it means to be the male realm of sport are framed as lesbians posing a patriotic, nationalistic, or in the case of the United threat to the gender order because they display strength, States, American. Particularly during times of war, the endurance, competiveness, and risk-taking behaviors hegemonic process becomes more salient (Howard & that are traditionally viewed as masculine traits (Lenskyj, Prividera). Hegemonic nationalism transcends gender, 2003). Not only does this bring into question their race, social class, religion, and political groups, allowing sexuality, but it threatens masculine hegemony. people to unify under nationality despite these other Sexual Difference. Sexual difference is a term used social markings. Nationalism and militarism are formed to “describe how media images can go beyond simple around masculinity and patriarchy; they define men as stereotyping” (Hardin, Chance, Dodd, & Hardin, 2002, mainly desirable in society. This creates a dichotomy for p. 346). Media images reinforce the culturally con- women and minorities and further marginalizes them. structed differences between men and women (e.g., men Sport prowess is one way to promote nationalism. For as strong and superior and women as weak and depen- instance, the 1980 American ice hockey win against dent) and are made to appear as natural and biological Russia served to unify Americans. The United States in the media (Duncan, 1990; Hardin et al., 2002). Sexual was able to show not only its athleticism but world difference is often used interchangeably with gender dif- dominance. ference to talk about women in sports, but according to Hardin et al., 2002 sexual difference more accurately Sport, Gender, Nationality, and the Media describes the “implications about the natural, biologi- The media-sports complex serves to help reproduce cal state of women” (p. 346). Therefore, the term sexual notions of ideology and hegemony throughout culture difference will be used throughout this study. (Jhally, 1989). The majority of Americans experience the Sexual difference is further reinforced through the Olympics through some form of media, usually televi- media’s emphasis of sex-appropriate sports (Kinnick, 1998). sion (Boyle & Haynes, 2000). Male hegemony is upheld

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 41 Poniatowski

These are sports that are considered socially appropriate or Olympics). For sport to function on an international inappropriate for men or women. For example, figure level, there must be a hierarchy of countries. This legiti- skating and gymnastics are deemed more appropriate for mizes the ideologies of advanced countries and reinforces women, while ice hockey and boxing are deemed more stereotypes of inferior countries, thus preserving national appropriate for men (Hardin et al., 2002). Sex-appropriate hegemony (Boyle & Haynes, 2000). Countries are ste- sports serve to reinforce hegemonic masculinity. reotyped in sports as inferior or superior according to More recently women athletes are being portrayed their place in the political world (Boyle & Haynes, 2000). within the framework of having an athletically fit body Sports serve as an indicator of national characteristics but still being feminine (Carty, 2005; Royce, Gebelt, and national identity because sports are not only highly & Duff, 2003; Krane, 2001). This “fit and feminine” visible, but they focus on “symbols, winning, competi- portrayal suggests that women can be legitimate ath- tion, partisan fans—and in team games the necessity of letes while being feminine within the context of hege- collective struggle” (Boyle & Haynes, 2000, p. 143). monic male sports. This occurs when the role of being Sports also serve as a medium through which rising feminine is separated from the role of being an athlete, nations can gain international recognition (Billings & “thus allowing her to manage stereotypically incompat- Tambosi, 2004). Where a nation sits in the larger inter- ible identities without conflict (Royce et al., 2005). The national political world is partly based on the success “fit and feminine” framework suggests that women use or failure of its international teams in sports (Boyle & their body for performance rather than as an object of Haynes, 2000). According to Jarvie (1993), sporting desire (Carty, 2005). Femininity is then seen to include events become a conduit for national sentiment toward “muscles, strength, fitness, and competiveness” (Carty, the country, as it creates something tangible that signi- 2005, p. 137). This replaces the traditional depictions fies a nation’s existence (as cited in Bairner, 1996). of vulnerability, fragility, dependence, and subservi- While nationalism does not exist independently ence (Carty, 2005). A new paradigm is emerging where of gender and race, most research conducted on the women “can be strong and feminine simultaneously” intersection of sport, nationality, and gender deals with (Carty, 2005, p. 137). masculinity rather than focusing on femininity and Sport also serves to reinforce and maintain male nationality (Wensing & Bruce, 2003). Wensing and Bruce hegemony because it is an acceptable forum for “male believed that the media often “bend the rules” in order violence, both on and off the field” (Miller, 1998, p. 432). to accommodate nationality. During events such as the Sports, such as ice hockey and football, promote male Olympics, female athletes are given more coverage, not hegemony because of their physicality (Welch, 1997). because they are women, but because of their nationality. Hockey idealizes what it means to be a man because Billings and Eastman (2003) found that in NBC’s it “promote[s] a hard, aggressive masculinity” (Adams, coverage of the Olympic Games, American athletes 2006, p. 73). In contrast, the women’s game at the inter- tended to receive more praise from commentators and national level has been feminized and constructed in were given credit for succeeding because they could subordination to the men’s game because body checking keep their courage or had courage, while non-American is not allowed and the women must wear face shields athletes were viewed as succeeding because of experi- (Theberge, 2000). Women are penalized for the hard ence. Daddario and Wigley (2007) found evidence purposeful throwing of the body, while the men are not during the commentary of the 2004 Summer Olympics (Theberge, 2000). This causes women’s hockey to be that stereotyped Asian athletes as hardworking, self- viewed as a lesser version, further marginalizing them in disciplined, and mechanical. Finally, media reinforce the sport (Stevens, 2006; Theberge, 2000). U.S. superiority by stereotyping other countries (Boyle Nationalism and Sports. Nationalism is reinforced & Haynes, 2000). This can occur through targeting in the way the media portray a particular nation on the individual athletes, targeting the way a nation runs its world stage (i.e., the way NBC covers Americans in the Olympic program, or through the number of mentions

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 42 Legitimizing Women Athletes of a particular country’s athletes. and Canadian women’s hockey games from the 2006 Olympics were analyzed. NBC aired all of the women’s This Study games of which five were selected (two U.S. and three Canadian). Reasons for using both U.S. and Canadian Thematic textual analysis is used to understand teams included: (1) U.S. and Canadian cultures are how both gendered and nationalistic hegemony were more similar to each other than to European cultures constructed by NBC commentators during the 2006 (Gupta, Hanges, & Dorfman, 2002), (2) many European Olympic hockey games. This study is a part of a larger women’s players come to North America to play in study conducted by the author (Poniatowski, 2008). college, (3) the commentators are from the U.S. and Thematic textual analysis serves as a process that is Canada, (4) the Canadian and U.S. women’s teams are both systematic and replicable in order to analyze texts considered to be in the top echelon of women’s hockey, and preserve the rigor of quantitative content analysis and (5) the U.S. and Canadian men’s and women’s (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Stemler, 2001). Textual analysis teams competed at a fairly equal level during the 2006 is a way to unpack the meanings of texts in order to Olympic Games. understand the larger cultural significance those texts At the time of broadcast, all games were recorded hold (Kellner, n.d.). Ideologies of gender, race, class, from television. The author then transcribed the com- and nation are conveyed through the text to uphold mentary and included play-by-play commentary, color cultural meanings (Kellner, 1995). commentary, and sideline commentary. Research indi- Themes help the researcher make sense of the data cates that in fast-paced and high pressure situations, and are informed by the researcher’s own background, such as play-by-play commentary, announcers are more theory, and what the researcher observed during data likely to reinforce stereotypes and dominant ideolo- collection (Holliday, 2002). Miles and Huberman gies (Bruce, 2004; Wanta & Leggett, 1998). The author (1994) suggest that investigators begin with their own wanted to focus solely on the commentary given while themes, based on a literature review, and add and the announcers were under pressure—which did not remove themes as they analyze the data. The author include pre-game, post-game, or intermission commen- defines themes as a set of reoccurring ideas within the tary—and player interviews for analysis. Deby’s (2002) commentary being studied. three-step process methodology was used to prepare the Previous studies have investigated the way gender transcripts for analysis—the commentary was transcribed and nationality is portrayed within the primetime cov- and the transcripts were cleaned for errors and then erage of the Olympic Games (Billings, 2008; Billings checked against the audio-recording for accuracy. & Eastman, 2002, 2003; Daddario & Wigley, 2007). The author kept a notebook of observations dur- However, few if any studies have specifically investigated ing transcription; these were informed by sensitizing non-primetime coverage, comments by freelance jour- constructs in the existing literature (Denzin, 1989). A nalists, or non-sex-appropriate sports for women, such review of notes and literature influenced the initial cod- as hockey. Therefore, understanding how commentators ing process. The author did not discount any themes construct both gender and nationality in these contexts because she was using open coding. Once more specific is the aim of this article. The purpose of this article is to themes began to emerge, she narrowed her analysis until analyze how gendered and national hegemonies might the final emergent themes remained (Glaser & Strauss, be preserved for an American audience. 1967; Pan & Kosicki, 1993). A peer reviewer was used to independently analyze the transcripts and the inter- Methods pretations were discussed and themes reworked until a consensus was met (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). While the Purposeful sampling was used due to availability names chosen for the themes were not always identical, of recordings and opponents. Both the United States many of the researcher’s and reviewer’s ideas converged.

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They discussed any differing interpretations and mutu- the men’s. Such comparisons reinforce both hegemonic ally agreed on the final analysis. masculinity and hegemonic femininity. The author triangulated her findings in order to give The biggest difference between men’s and women’s the study validity. Triangulation consists of “collecting hockey is that in women’s hockey, body contact is information from a diverse range of individuals and set- allowed—but checking is not. This factor is mentioned tings, using a variety of methods” (Maxwell, 1996). The repeatedly by commentators during the women’s games. work was cyclical in nature as it used a peer reviewer, During the U.S. and Switzerland women’s game, AJ interviews with commentators, and conversations with Mleczko stated: other scholars before settling on my final themes (Braun There is a lot of body contact, and I think if you & Clarke, 2006). look at them, they [the women] are fully outfitted, All of the commentators who broadcast the fully protected, full facemask, which you don’t see Olympic Games studied were contacted for an inter- on the men. And you can’t play the game of hockey view. Of the six commentators contacted, two respond- without body contact. ed, and both asked not to be identified in relation to During the semi-final game between Canada and the interviews. Phone interviews were conducted and Finland, Mleczko made a similar statement: recorded and then transcribed. Commentators were asked questions in regards to the major themes found in As we all know, hockey is a game of physical con- the commentary and asked to explain and clarify those tact. Look at all the gear they are wearing head to themes. Remarks from the commentators were used to toe, even more than the men. So you can’t play this help refine the themes that were found. game without some body contact. These two statements serve to tell the audience that, Results while there is body contact and the women’s game can get very physical, the women are still more protected Throughout the commentary the women’s game is than the men by the type of equipment they wear. often compared to the men’s game. Size, confidence, At the Olympic level women are required to wear full physicality, and strength of the North American women facemasks, while men are only required to wear helmets are often noted. The three main themes that emerged (facemasks or face shields are not required). Compared within the commentary were (1) physicality, (2) women with men, women are constructed as needing the as legitimate athletes, and (3) attributes of success and extra equipment protection, thus a “feminine frailty” failure. Each of these themes serves to reinforce notions (Lenskyj, 2003) factor is created, reinforcing hegemonic of hegemonic femininity and hegemonic masculinity. femininity. The theme of attributes of success and failure not only reinforces gendered hegemony, but nationalistic hege- During the gold-medal game between Canada and mony as well. Sweden Mike Emrick stated: Physicality And body checking is not legal, but it is a collision sport, and once in a while you have body contact, Distinctions between body contact and body but in that case it wasn’t for playing the puck. It checking in women’s games, as well as drawing atten- played the player, and that will cost two minutes. tion to the amount of equipment women wear are Emrick’s statement reinforces that checking is illegal often heard within the commentary of women’s hockey in women’s hockey and serves to support stereotypes games. Comparisons of the physicality of the men’s of femininity—frailty, weakness, passivity and inferiority. games versus the finesse of the women’s games are also However, Emrick also states that hockey is a “collision often made to portray the women’s game as inferior to sport” and this reinforces stereotypes of masculin- ity—strength, aggression, power, and dominance. This

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juxtaposition of comments allows the women to remain ing, portraying the game as more feminine, but other feminine (no checking in women’s hockey) while also commentators focus on the grey area between body appearing athletic (a collision sport). A dichotomy is contact and body checking. While the overarching created because the sport is divided in two—the female theme tended to be that women wear more equipment game and the male game, one that allows body check- than men and are only allowed body contact, reiterating ing and one that does not—which upholds hegemonic masculine hegemony and female frailty, it is also clear masculinity. that even commentators cannot agree on the differences During the U.S. and Finland game, Mleczko stated, between the two games. “There’s [a] tough time in women’s hockey to call the Differences in physicality are also reinforced by grey area between body checking and body contact.” contrasting the men’s and women’s games. For instance, Mleczko made a similar statement during the Canadian in one women’s game between the U.S. and Finland, and Finnish game commenting that “There is that grey Mleczko contrasted the games by stating: area between body checking and body contact, so it I think that that’s what a lot of people think—that’s adds to a lot of confusion.” Mleckzo, who is a former one of the weaknesses is the difference in women’s Olympic women’s hockey player, is the only commenta- hockey—that women tend to pass too much. I know tor to admit that there is not much difference between the team has worked—Team USA has worked really body checking and body contact, while Emrick made hard at getting shots and making sure they are bear- an earlier distinction that there is a difference. It appears ing down. from Mleckzo’s comments that the women’s game is in fact not inferior to the men’s game and requires just as This statement suggests that passing is a weakness much strength and power as the men’s version. In these in hockey. Therefore, because women pass more than instances, the men’s and women’s version of ice hockey men, the women’s game is traditionally viewed as weaker appear more similar and hegemonic masculinity is not than the men’s game. It should be noted that within the reinforced. men’s game the same dichotomy exists; the European teams emphasize passing while the North American Both commentators interviewed were asked what teams emphasize skating and shooting (Commentator the biggest difference between men’s and women’s A Interview). This creates multiple levels of hockey hockey was. Commentator A responded that the wom- within the gender hierarchy (Cantelon, 2006). However, en’s teams assemble their teams sooner than the men’s Mleczko’s comment that the United States women have teams. Commentator B agreed with Commentator A’s worked hard to make more shots and pass less suggests comments, but felt that the biggest difference between that the American game is not weak. The U.S. women the two games was the fact that the men’s game allowed are perceived as strong when they need to be, which checking and the women’s game did not. Commentator reinforces their athletic superiority. B said, In another instance, during the U.S. and Switzerland Basically the heart and soul of it is that men’s hock- game, Mleczko contrasted men’s and women’s hockey ey has checking, and women’s doesn’t… There isn’t by stating that women’s hockey is typically thought the open-ice hitting that you see in men’s hockey; of as being a game of finesse. She said, “You’re not and with that being said…I think there’s a little bit allowed body checking in women’s hockey. And I think more flow to the [women’s] game in general. There’s if you talk to some of these players, Angela Ruggiero a lot of passing in women’s hockey because of it said women’s hockey is much more a game of finesse.” [lack of open-ice hitting]. Overall, the women’s game is presented as having more These interview comments reinforce that opinions finesse (passing and body contact) than the men’s game, vary between commentators. Some commentators which is viewed as more physically demanding (shoot- emphasize that the women’s game has no body check- ing and body checking). The comments also reinforce

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 45 Poniatowski both hegemonic femininity and sexual difference. The Potter and her five-year-old daughter, Madison. Potter “natural” differences between the games are reinforced “actually got her daughter Madison out on the ice at in the inferior women’s game which lacks physical- age one. Maddy is now five years old and has appar- ity; this is equated to weakness, passivity, and finesse ently expressed interest in figure skating, much to her in the game. In contrast, the dominant men’s game mother’s chagrin.” The comment serves to reinforce is portrayed as having more shooting and allowing that female hockey players accept the dominant ideol- body checking, making it a game of hard aggression. ogy that hockey is better than figure skating even if (or However, the American women are portrayed as athleti- because) hockey is considered more masculine. Potter cally superior athletes (practicing skating, not passing) and Julia and Stephanie Marty are portrayed as women within the epitome of femininity (the women’s game who are moving away from the traditionally feminine has more finesse than the men’s). In this instance, gen- sports, such as figure skating. This challenges masculine der breaks down in order to accommodate nationality. hegemony because women are being accepted into the Both commentators interviewed were asked to traditionally masculine sport of hockey as they move describe any physical differences between the men’s and away from traditionally feminine sports. It serves to women’s game. Commentator A responded that “Men legitimize the female athlete within the male sports hier- are encouraged to hit, and the women are penalized for archy. However, showing Potter as maternal reinforces it.” Commentator A added that this did not mean that the characteristics of hegemonic femininity. the women’s game could not be physical “The women’s Ringette, a traditionally female sport, is also men- game can be rough, but it is penalized.” Commentator tioned. Emrick said of Canadian goaltender, Charline B responded that the physical differences are due to bio- Labonte, “The face-off to come back near the goal- logical differences, “I mean, to me, it’s a biological issue keeper Charline Labonte who started out playing a that men are faster….I mean, it’s a fact. It’s not some- game called ringette.” Mleczko then explained, “A lot thing that, you know, it’s not a weakness to the game, it of these Canadians started playing ringette, on the ice… just makes you focus on different skills.” Commentator And it is something that was more traditionally a girl’s B also mentioned that “the men are so fast and so sport than hockey.” strong that sometimes the game moves too quickly for Bandy and shinny are also mentioned. These are the non-hockey people to follow it.” Commentators B’s both earlier versions of ice hockey that are still played insinuation is that women’s hockey is easier for non- today. Both men and women play bandy and shinny. hockey fans to follow because it is slower. In reference to the Russian women, Joe Micheletti said: Women as Legitimate Athletes Most of these women didn’t start playing, you Female athletes are portrayed within the commen- know, didn’t start skating until late. Most of them tary as being both feminine and legitimate athletes. played a game called bandy, which is played without Such comments are viewed within the context of female skates and a ball. But you know, that’s kind of how athletes moving away from traditionally feminine sports they learned the basics of the game, but a lot of such as figure skating and ringette (a women’s version them didn’t start skating until later on. of hockey). This commentator’s information is incorrect. Women hockey players are often mentioned as Bandy is actually played with skates (American Bandy having previously participated in more feminine sports Association, 2009). Ringette and shinny are also played such as figure skating and ringette before switching to with skates. However, some forms of shinny may not hockey. For example, Emrick said of Julia and Stephanie use skates. It is hard then to tell what the commentator Marty—who are twins on the Swiss team—that they were actually means. If skating is involved in bandy, shinny, “figure skaters and then saw hockey and decided it was ringette, and hockey, then when exactly did these a lot more fun.” Commentators also talked about Jenny women start skating?

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Women are also positioned as legitimate athletes During NBC’s broadcast, one commentator said, because they are participating on a women’s hockey “That confidence is a big key for all of Team Finland, team. There were few opportunities for girls to play on not just Maja Hassinen.” In reference to a game in girls’ teams until 1998 (the first year women’s hockey the preliminary round between the U.S. and Finland, debuted in the Olympics) and many women started “He [Finnish Coach Hannu Saintula] says they played by playing hockey on boys’ teams. Comments include, maybe 20, 30 minutes of good hockey, and that’s the “When a lot of these women were younger it was not next step for them—having the confidence and physi- an accepted sport, so their parents had to put up with cal stamina to play 60 minutes of good hockey against a lot of nay-saying and criticism from different people” these better teams.” Another commentator said about and “Those at Nagano…had to almost exclusively start the Finnish team, “I think a lot of that is not panick- playing on boys’ teams just to get any kind of experience ing, is having the confidence to know that they are just at all.” During one game A.J. Mleckzo said of her per- as good as the people they are playing.” According to sonal experience, “Pretty much everybody on the team commentators, it is not just the Finnish team that lacks had the same exact story [girls playing on boys’ teams]. confidence. In a game between Switzerland and the There were no options.” Such statements reinforce that United States, Mleczko said of Patty Elsmore, the Swiss traditionally ice hockey was not considered a legitimate goaltender, “In a situation like this, the more shots sport for girls and women. Only recently, have women that Elsmore gets, obviously, the more confidence she’s had “legitimate” opportunities to participate on women’s going to get, but at some point a fatigue level has to ice hockey teams, thus making them legitimate athletes. set in.” In the gold-medal game between Sweden and Such a proposition also reinforces the position of sports Canada Mleczko said, “Team Sweden has struggled to as masculine; women are not legitimate athletes if they penetrate the defensive zone of Team Canada, and this have to participate on boys teams. This threatens mascu- is their chance right now. They have 50 seconds left on line hegemony (Lenskyj, 2003). this powerplay; they need to set something up, gain a little confidence.” Such examples reinforce the idea that Attributes for Success and Excuses for Failure European teams not only lack confidence in playing Throughout the women’s games, commentators against North American teams, but could gain confi- provide the audience with a vast amount of reasoning dence by playing against these teams and succeeding. as to why teams either succeed or fail. European teams The United States women are also framed with are presented as lacking confidence, while strength is statements about their confidence and strength. For a measure of success for the U.S. team. In contrast, example, during one U.S. game Pierre McGuire said: the Canadian women’s team is presented as successful because of their physicality and size. The big thing for me is when you watch Krissy Wendell play, and the fact of the matter, she has so Confidence and Strength. much confidence. That will help the 11 first-time Failure and success of both European and U.S. teams Olympians just get that much more comfortable in are attributed to confidence or the lack thereof. Some this tournament. comments were made about European teams needing to In reference to American Kathleen Kauth, Mleczko gain confidence against superior teams like the U.S. and stated, “She’s gotten stronger off the ice, is skating her Canada, particularly after losing to them on pre-Olympic stride, and I think that comes with so much confidence.” tours. Commentator interviews reveal that until 2006, the U.S. goaltender Chanda Gunn even has confidence: United States and Canadian teams were considered to be “You can see right here she is all over the puck. She is in the top echelon of women’s hockey. This is because burying it. She looks like she has a lot of energy and a until the 2006 Olympics, Canada and the United States lot of confidence out there.” Commentators attribute always played one another for the gold medal. the success of the Americans to the confidence they have and their strength; this makes sense since success

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 47 Poniatowski in sports is often attributed to confidence (Feltz, 1988; Albert: Good line on the ice for Canada as Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). In contrast, the Wickenheiser looks to move forward with the puck success of the Canadian women is often attributed to on the face-off win, off the boards for Piper, two their physicality and size. The U.S. and Canadian teams on one with Wickenheiser, and the play broken up should have confidence because they have never lost beautifully by Pelttari. except to each other in international play. AJ: Excellent play by Pelttari. Two big players An example of the success of the U.S. women play- coming at her, and she had a lot of poise, a lot of ers related to their strength as stated by a commentator composure right there to keep her stick in the pass- is, “She [Katie King] is so strong and so fast and has such ing lane. a powerful stride.” Another example about an American During the game against Sweden, Emrick opened player is “Angela Ruggiero is such a strong blast from with, “Gillian Apps, Cherie Piper, Hayley Wickenheiser— the point.” During the game against Switzerland, Tricia the big guns are starting it off for Canada.” Mleczko Dunn-Luoma is “so strong, and you can see her picking said of one player, “Caroline Ouellette is one of the up the puck and skating in.” In the same game: bigger, stronger players on Team Canada.” Natalie Darwitz is definitely one of the smaller play- The major difference in the comparisons between ers, however, she is so strong, and I think the physi- the U.S. women and the Canadian women is primarily cal fitness level and strength level of the U.S. team that for the U.S. women, their strength and power are is….so much higher than the Swiss that when they mentioned. In contrast, the Canadian women’s strength collide, they [the U.S.] are just stronger on their and power are mentioned along with their physical skates, and the weaker person will go down. size and even their aggressiveness. Physicality, strength, These types of comments reinforce the U.S. women power, and toughness are associated with masculinity, so as more physically fit, which enables them to dominate such comments did not serve to reinforce the feminin- in physical-contact situations. ity of the Canadian women. Canadian women are big and massive compared with all other teams. Reviewing Physicality and Size of the Canadian Women. the stats of the American and Canadian women, the The U.S. women are described as “fit but feminine,” Canadian women are slightly taller and heavier than while the physicality and size of the Canadian women the American women. Overall, both the American and is often mentioned in the commentary. For instance, Canadian women are larger in stature than many of in reference to two of the Canadian players, Mleczko their opponents. While physicality and size do matter remarked, “Caroline Ouellette with Gillian Apps are in ice hockey, since players can gain more leverage over two of the tallest players on the team, 5’11” and six feet, their opponent if they are bigger and more aggressive. and they do use their size very effectively.” In another The fact that the women’s game has removed body game, in reference to Gillian Apps, Pierre McGuire stat- checking creates a dichotomy between the women’s ed, “She’s big. She’s strong. She’s extremely aggressive.” and the men’s games. Because commentators focus on Further evidence of Apps’s size and physicality occurs the size and physicality of the Canadian women and during the Finnish game when the commentator said, not the Americans, it becomes an attribute for success “Team Canada is up by a player out there. Gillian Apps, for the Canadian women. They can succeed not only six feet tall; she is the biggest player in this tournament. because they are more powerful and faster, but also She’s just battling hard, but she has the leverage on because they are physically larger. Because gender con- her.” Canadian players other than Gillian Apps are also tains multiple levels of masculinity and femininity, this mentioned for their size and physicality. During one frame places American women at the more feminine play in the Canada and Finland game, Albert discusses end of the continuum, and the Canadian women at the a play and Mleczko follows up with the size of the more masculine end of the continuum. Thus, within Canadian women:

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 48 Legitimizing Women Athletes

NBC’s commentary the American women are portrayed and provide an area for future study. as not only athletically superior but also feminine com- Legitimizing women athletes in the male sports hier- pared with other teams. This portrayal creates a national archy occurs within the context that some women ath- symbol, albeit a relatively new one, of women operating letes are moving from traditionally feminine sports such within the masculine world of sports as both fit and as figure skating and ringette to hockey, a traditionally feminine. In contrast, within this particular commen- masculine sport. This supports the idea that sports are tary, the Canadian women are portrayed as athletically masculine. But more importantly, such comments serve superior but not feminine. to legitimize those women athletes who have moved away from “girlie” sports. The barriers of sex-appropri- Discussion ate sports break down in this instance, allowing women to appear as athletes. Five women’s ice hockey games were investigated to further understand how gender and nationality were Women are further legitimated as hockey players portrayed within the 2006 Olympics. The purpose of because they now play on women’s hockey teams where this article was specifically to investigate how gendered body checking is not allowed and full facemasks are and national hegemonies might be preserved for an required. Commentators reinforce this idea throughout American audience. the commentary, thereby reinforcing the stereotypes of sex-appropriate sports and hegemonic masculinity and Overall, the author found that both hegemonic femininity. Women can be legitimate hockey players but masculinity and hegemonic femininity are constructed in only within the context of the inferior women’s game. In juxtaposition to one another. For instance, the themes other words, if there are no girls’ hockey teams for girls of body contact versus body checking and skating versus to participate on, then it must mean that the sport is not passing, not only reinforce the men’s game as the domi- legitimate for girls to play; girls who participate on boys’ nant game, but serve to construct hegemonic masculinity hockey teams are not legitimate athletes, threaten male as aggressive, physical, and tough. In contrast, hegemonic hegemony within the sport, and do not reinforce the ide- femininity is constructed by describing the women’s als of hegemonic femininity (frail and weak). game as more finesse, passive, and gentle because the women wear more equipment, have more passing, and Within the theme of attributes for success and are not allowed body checking. Such frames serve to rein- excuses for failure, the United States’ women are force sexual difference, constructing the idea that there described as superior. Superiority is constructed by por- are natural stereotypes between men and women. This is traying the confidence of the U.S. women and the lack also reiterated in Commentator B’s interview comments of confidence of the European teams. A large factor in about the two games differing because of “biological dif- this construction may be that until the 2006 Olympics ferences” between men and women. only Canada and the United States ever played for the gold medal in international competition. European Commentators sometimes cannot agree on the simi- teams may lack confidence in playing the top-tiered larities or differences that exist between the men’s and teams. However, this is not clearly stated within the women’s game, and they differ on their thoughts regarding commentary. U.S. women are also portrayed as having the grey area between body contact and body checking. more confidence than female athletes of other nation- Interestingly, the disparity occurs with A.J. Mleckzo, a alities. This creates an alternate level of femininity, one former women’s hockey player, who is the only commen- that is confident and more in line with masculinity but tator to suggest that there is not much difference between is still accepted. body checking and body contact. Her comments are likely rooted in her experience as a female hockey player. The dif- In contrast, the success of the Canadian women is fering opinions suggest that some commentators may not often attributed to their size and physicality. Interestingly believe any real differences exist between the two games enough in this context, the Canadian women are also

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 49 Poniatowski constructed as more masculine because of their size One facet of this study is to better understand how and strength. While the American women are powerful, nationalistic coverage in the Olympics occurs during they are still more feminine within the gender hierarchy cable programming. According to Dick Ebersol, NBC than their Canadian counterparts. These constructions strives for nationalistic salience in its Olympic coverage of both the U.S. and Canadian women serve to rein- (Billings, 2008). While NBC did not run medal counts force North American salience within the commentary. and the use of “us” and “them” was not noted in the Therefore, nationality is more important than gender games studied, there is still an underlying sense of in this context. The author is not suggesting that the American nationalism and North American superiority United States and Canada are one and the same. Indeed present within NBC’s Olympic hockey commentary. they are two separate countries with two separate iden- Sports are powerful because they are mediated and tities. But given that the U.S. and Canadian teams fall shape the way audiences view the world. Mediated into the top echelon of women’s hockey, they preserve sports do not create ideologies but rather reinforce the North American dominance reflected in the com- existing ones. This study suggests that some improve- mentary. ments are being made in the salience of gender. The American women are presented as both fit and femi- Limitations and Research nine, which is a fairly recent development. However, the women’s game is still portrayed as inferior to the men’s Despite its limitations, this research needs to be game and American sentiment is more important than understood within the context in which it was conduct- gender in the women’s game. ed. First, the findings cannot be generalized to the rest of the hockey tournament or other hockey texts (TV There are several areas for future research. First, games, newspapers etc.).The findings are only applicable more research should be conducted on Olympic sports to the specific U.S. and Canadian women’s Olympic ice broadcast on cable networks. More comparisons should hockey games that were studied. Secondly, the author is be made as to how the primetime coverage does or does an American woman researcher, which determines the not differ from cable coverage because differing audi- lens with which she investigates the texts. There may be ences may be a factor. Second, future research should other ways to read these manuscripts. Finally, only two continue to investigate women’s hockey in order to of the six commentators agreed to an interview. More track changes in how women athletes are discussed, interviews would have provided more insight into the particularly American athletes. Tracking such changes meaning behind the commentary. will continue the discussion of gender and nationality issues, and reveal if and how improvements occur, as well as if parity in sports is being reached.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 50 Legitimizing Women Athletes References

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WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 52 author Original Research Article

(SWET)ing for the Summit: A Feminist Cultural-Studies Analysis of Singapore’s First Women’s Mount Everest Team

Tan Leng Goh, University of Utah and Kerrie J. Kauer, California State University, Long Beach

CONTACT Abstract INFORMATION: This article is a feminist cultural-studies analysis of Singapore’s first all-female mountaineering team to successfully summit Mount Everest. A feminist cultural- Tan Leng Goh studies approach was used to explore the highly male hegemonic domain of moun- University of Utah taineering and the ways in which the Singapore Women’s Everest Team (SWET) was situated within the sport and their local Singapore culture. Qualitative, face-to-face, E–mail: semi-structured interviews with six elite-level Singaporean female mountaineers (ages [email protected] 25 to 39) were conducted by the first author in January 2009, before their attempt Phone: to summit Mount Everest. Using inductive analysis and feminist deconstruction, (801) 581–7558 several salient themes emerged from the data: (a) disrupting norms, (b) sexism in extreme sports, and (c) women-centered spaces. The interviewees demonstrated unity as an all-women team as they overcame challenges in their pursuit of climb- ing Mount Everest. This study attempts to expand the sport studies literature with multicultural and gendered perspectives of female mountaineers.

Mount Everest’s strength, beauty, and intimidating presence have long shaped the perception of mountaineers who seek the ultimate challenge of “conquering” the Earth’s highest continental crust. Looming at 8,848 meters, climbers who attempt to summit the mountain average a two-month journey from base to summit. Part of the Himalayan range, Everest transcends borderlands, reaching out between Nepal, Tibet, and China. Critical interpretations of the ascents of Mount Everest reveal a history of colonization, class privilege, and masculine hegemony that highlight the ways in which Everest has been symbolized as an “imperial archive,” and as the high- est male preserve on Earth (Birrell, 2007; Slemon, 1998). This article analyzes the narratives of six Singaporean female climbers who illus- trate how the intersections of gender, race, and social class were negotiated in their

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 53 Goh and Kauer attempt to summit Mount Everest. Pulling from the work temperatures ranging from 72 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit of feminist scholars such as Birrell (2007), Appleby and throughout the year (Tambyah, Tan, & Kau, 2008). Fisher (2005), and others, this article will also attempt The country has a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi- to understand the experiences of these women specific religious and multi-lingual population of 4.9 million to the culture of Singapore. Considered an extreme or people (Statistics Singapore, 2009). Spanning about 270 “high-risk” sport, mountaineering has seen rising num- square miles in total area and without natural resources, bers of female participants. Some scholars attribute the the need to survive as an island nation dictated that rise in the number of women participating in extreme the task of nation-building be exclusively concerned sports to the untraditional nature and non-exclusiveness with improving the material conditions of the popula- of such sports (Anderson, 1999). Many argue that tion (Chua, 1997). Since its independence in 1965, extreme sports are built on a different model, a paradig- Singapore’s economic development and industrialization matic shift, “one in which females and males might see created a middle-class and continuously upward-striving equal opportunities for participation, exposure, monies, society (Trocki, 2006). Materialistic idealism is socially respect, and individual and group growth within and embraced, and parents often hope to provide their chil- through sports” (Rinehart, 2005, p. 238). Yet, criti- dren with the best education, which is perceived as the cal and feminist perspectives provide slightly different path to materialistic success. Academic achievement and interpretations that illustrate how extreme sports such excellence are dominant themes in the public schools, as mountaineering, ski jumping, and rock climbing have where the aim is to produce intelligent and produc- subtly contributed to the exclusion and marginalization tive workers who will enhance the economic growth of female athletes in order to preserve male dominance. and prosperity of Singapore (Wright, 2001). Sport and This has been most recently epitomized by the exclusion physical activity, on the other hand, are merely viewed as of female ski jumpers in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, avenues to health and wellness (Trocki, 2006). where elite competitive women were not permitted to Feminist Cultural Studies compete due to the extreme nature of ski jumping and because it was deemed by the International Olympic This study employed a feminist cultural stud- Committee as “too risky” for women (Bennett, 2008). ies framework to understand the experiences of these This study is particularly significant due to the women as well as to deconstruct the cultural meanings dearth of research focusing on female climbers (Appleby that have been attributed to mountaineering, extreme & Fisher, 2005) and mountaineers, particularly women sports, Singaporean culture, and Mount Everest. Simply and women of color. This project is also unique in that put, a feminist cultural-studies approach unpacks com- it examines the experiences of a group of women from mon, taken-for-granted behaviors and gendered practices Singapore (Singapore Women’s Everest Team [SWET]), that have become normative. The cultural studies piece the first group of women from that country to attempt is important because it provides a lens to understand the summit. Specifically, the purposes of this project how gender, race, and class intersect within the cultural were to explore the women’s perceptions and experiences milieu of Singapore. This framework also provides the of social and cultural influences as participants in the tools to decenter Whiteness and critically analyze the male-dominated sport of mountaineering and to reveal international and cultural experiences of female athletes the barriers and challenges they overcame in the pursuit of color, a population that has been largely absent from of summiting Mount Everest. the sport studies literature. A very White bias is reflected in the literature about women, and though the sporting Singaporean Culture world stretches across the globe, many of the “facts” have A brief explanation of the culture and country of been generalized from a Western, usually White, view Singapore is important for situating the women who of women (Hall, 1996). Furthermore, Asian women are participated in this study in a specific cultural context. virtually invisible in the sport literature, in part because Singapore is an island city-state located at the southern of simplistic stereotypes of submissive, subservient Asian tip of the Malay Peninsula, and the tropical climate has women (Hanson, 2005). Therefore, a critical, cultural

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 54 (SWET)ing for the Summit analysis of the intersections of gender, race, and class is Procedure and Study Participants necessary in the study of women of color by discarding the assumption of the existence of a “generic” sporting The study participants were six women from woman and forming a theory that works toward reflect- Singapore, who are part of the elite team of women ing the diversity of all women’s lives and their struggles mountaineers from the Singapore Women’s Everest towards equality (Hall, 1996). Team (SWET). They had been engaging in alpine train- ing and expeditions as a collective group since 2004. Additionally, a feminist cultural-studies approach Their ages ranged from 25 to 39 years, and they all iden- will contribute to the understanding of the relations tified as Singaporean Chinese. Pseudonyms were chosen among cultural practices, the body, and the reproduc- for the participants for the purpose of confidentiality. tion of social formations (Cole, 1994). Bergner and Mackie (1993) mentioned that “feminist analysis of The first author traveled to Singapore in January, culture has centered on the processes that construct and 2009 prior to SWET attempting its summit of Mount maintain categories of gender and the oppression of Everest. A face-to-face, in-depth interview that lasted women” (p.1). Cultural expectations of femininity and approximately 60 to 90 minutes was conducted with masculinity also underlie analyses of feminist cultural each participant. The interviews focused on the wom- studies (Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar, & Kauer, 2004). en’s experiences while pursuing the summit of Mount Given the lack of research that explores the experiences Everest. The first author used Singlish when conducting of multicultural women in sport, and the absence of the interviews, which is a basilectal dialect that draws its critical scholarship on the sport of mountaineering, this roots from several Chinese dialects, Malay, Tamil, and research seeks to explore the experiences of Singapore’s English (Chew, 2006). first all-women team to summit Mount Everest. Reflexivity The subjectivity of the researcher is known as reflex- Methods ivity, and many feminist researchers maintain that a Keeping with the feminist cultural studies frame- reflexive awareness is critical in doing political work that work, the female mountaineers were situated as co- aims to highlight the voices of culturally marginalized participants in an attempt to break down traditional and devalued groups. The first author is a Singaporean hierarchies between the researchers and the researched. Chinese, who was born and raised in Singapore. At the The researcher’s hope was to go beyond a pluralistic time of data collection, she was completing her mas- gathering of individual voices and engage in conversa- ter’s degree in an American university’s Department of tions that could potentially have a transformative quality Kinesiology. The first author had also participated in for both the first author and the female climbers. Within sport climbing for about eight years at an elite level and this particular space of the actual interview and the con- had represented Singapore at more than ten competi- versational atmosphere that was constructed by the first tions in Singapore, Asia, and Europe. She was one of author, contextual as well as local meanings were co-cre- only five females who trained under a male coach in the ated and represented multiple and changing thoughts, Singapore National team of 30 members. The second perceptions, and norms. Local meanings of Singaporean author is a United States-born assistant professor and culture were exchanged by both the researcher and her was the faculty adviser of the first author. The second co-participants so that they collaboratively agreed on author identifies as a White woman and has participated language and definitions that most accurately portrayed as a competitive collegiate athlete and currently engages the thoughts of both the interviewer and interviewee. in various forms of physical activity, but has no back- A semi-structured interview was chosen as the method ground in climbing or mountaineering. for conducting this research because it is a powerful Data Analysis research tool for feminist researchers exploring women’s experiences and the contexts that shape those experience When doing critical feminist qualitative research, (Devault & Gross, 2007). objectivity is neither possible nor desired, thus mak-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 55 Goh and Kauer ing it imperative for the researchers to position them- ignation, respectively. These words are indigenous to the selves within the context of the project and engage in Singaporean culture. Presenting the quotes in their origi- a reflexive political practice (see Lather, 1992). Themes nal form richly illuminates the voices of the participants. emerged from the data inductively, meaning that the Disrupting Norms data emerged from the interview transcripts rather than being placed into a priori themes (Kvale, 1996). The first The women discussed many social and cultural and second author separately analyzed the transcripts barriers they had to endure and overcome along their and then jointly discussed possible initial themes. journey to summit Mount Everest. Broadly, the main The data were further triangulated by a group of barriers had to do with ways in which these women graduate students immersed in a qualitative research disrupted hegemonic femininity and male dominance in group and in critical sport studies literature. Each mem- mountaineering, as well as cultural norms that are indig- ber of the qualitative group also separately analyzed the enous to Singapore society. Because of their training and data and challenged the first author to take note of what pursuit of summiting Everest, the women experienced was missing or was left out of the interview text, or offered both social exclusion and sexism. They were often seen multiple interpretations of particular themes. By using a as disrupting the values and norms of Singaporean cul- collaborative approach, a deeper intellectual analysis ture where education and material wealth take prece- took place, allowing for original and competing ideas to dence over sport. The following subthemes summarize generate, checking for heavily biased interpretations, and the ways in which these women were “disruptive” to thus strengthening the trustworthiness and credibility of gender norms, climbing norms, and Singaporean cul- the findings. As stated by Kvale (1996), “The interpreter tural norms. goes beyond what is directly said to work out the struc- Resisting Hegemonic Femininity. The study par- tures and relations of meaning not immediately apparent ticipants, being the first Singaporean women to climb in the text” (p. 201). The interpretive analysis was based Mount Everest, experienced social and cultural resis- on the active voices of the participants as well as feminist tance from many people they encountered during their deconstructions by the authors and the research group. years of training. Two participants mentioned that it Specific themes emergedfrom the women’s voices, but was not common for women to participate in sports, let the researchers also looked beyond the text to note what alone mountaineering. Rachel commented, “Basically was silenced and avoided. This kind of analysis required the people that I meet, their mentality is just that they an ethical lens so that women’s voices were not further are not used to women doing the same thing as what silenced, and so that the more nuanced, taken-for-grant- they have previously heard that men have done.” In ed discourse that was both present and absent in the addition, Serene mentioned that most women conform transcripts could be extrapolated (Sykes, 2001). to essentialist notions of particular behaviors that are viewed as appropriate, and that mountaineering and Results other forms of sport were not included in this descrip- tion of femininity: The analysis yielded many interesting and new find- If you look at the big picture, most sports already ings, but this article will present only the three most have less women participation…it’s not instinctive salient themes and subthemes that emerged from the in women to like, want to go and play, you know, interviews: (a) disrupting norms, (b) sexism in extreme kick a ball, climb a tree or go into trekking…I think sports, and (c) women-centered spaces. Some quotes are in general, people have a herd mentality or are, you presented in Singlish and “Hanyu Pinyin,” which were know, sheep-like. originally transcribed from the interviews. The phonetic quality of the participants’ voices was displayed through Cultural attitudes that emphasize hegemonic forms “Hanyu Pinyin.” Some quotes end with these ambigu- of femininity were also commonly expressed toward ous words, “lah” and “lor,” which are used as a form of these women, which served as reminders that their pur- declaration to facilitate the conversation and a sense of res- suit was not completely understood or embraced by the

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 56 (SWET)ing for the Summit general society. Irene recalled a conversation with a male wanting to fit into socially acceptable forms of feminin- ex-colleague, who said, “Women, as they get older, their ity (Greenleaf, 2002; Krane et al., 2004). Research on value drops…. you won’t be as pretty as before…don’t female athletes in Western cultures indicates that they waste so much [time] in doing all these things.” go to great lengths to “perform” hegemonic forms of Similarly, Rachel also faced stereotypical remarks femininity, such as dressing in hyper-feminine clothes from others saying, “Sometimes my colleague will joke or wearing make-up during competition (Krane et al., lor, ‘Aiyah…. after you climb Everest…nɷ jiù jià rén 2004). Similar efforts were reported by members of shēng hái zi le’ [get married with someone and have chil- SWET. For example, Emily said, “Sometimes when we dren], [giggle]…I’ll be like, ‘NO!’” In addition, Emily attend meetings we wear dresses, you know like normal also talked about Asian women in Singapore conforming kind of dresses.” She continued, “Some of us are very to cultural norms: feminine but we don’t hide these aspects or we pur- posely make ourselves [look] like rugby players.” This I am also speaking from a traditional Chinese society quote is an example of how the process of triangulation way of thinking. Some of my friends are like, besides with the qualitative research group served to strengthen uni[versity] education, they still believe that they the study’s interpretation. Two of the members who should “jié hūn, shēng hái zi” [get married and have identify as White and were from Western backgrounds children], like have a family and then like, maybe read this quote as ripe with innuendos about masculine don’t do anything too risky. gender representation and lesbian sexuality that are often Another participant, Jesse, also faced similar pressure ascribed to female rugby players. However, the first as a woman living in an Asian society that espouses and author and another member of the qualitative research emphasizes traditional notions of femininity and the group (who has a degree in Asian studies) believed that importance of women’s roles in the family, especially as in Singaporean culture, the stereotype of the butch les- wife and mother. Jesse explained the difference between bian athlete was not a salient cultural stereotype. Thus, the Asian and the Western cultures: it was concluded that Emily meant that her identity as a female climber did not hinge on a more masculine gen- When we meet Americans or Europeans…at the der expression that people expected from her, but one mountains, it’s normal, no surprise you know, all that was most true to her own gender identity. women’s team, they are just impressed that it’s six women and not one [or] two women…. but local Traditional notions of femininity are pervasive in people will be…a bit more skeptical…That’s [a] Asian culture. Furthermore, there is a social percep- cultural thing, it’s like how we are being brought tion that women should perform their roles as wife and up since youth, like what women should be doing mother rather than seek other, more personal pursuits. at this age, …. “why are you not settling down?”…. The women mountaineers not only received external “Why are you focusing on doing something, it’s remarks discouraging them from pursuing this sport, like a hobby that thing?” you know…[it’s] one of but they also experienced internal struggles to overcome the challenges women will face if you want to be a the conflict of conforming to societal norms. Therefore, mountaineer in Singapore. it became a constant negotiation for them to pursue a male-dominated sport in a Singaporean society which Females in Singapore are socialized from a young emphasizes the traditional Asian standard of femininity. age to acquire feminine characteristics that fit the dominant construction of “woman” that is shaped by Disrupting Singaporean Cultural Norms. In addition a male-dominated model of femininity (Whittington, to negotiating traditional feminine roles and their pur- 2006). Therefore, women athletes often have to negoti- suit to summit Everest, the women mountaineers had to ate and reconcile the social expectations of femininity negotiate Singaporean cultural norms related to success. and feminine social roles with their athletic pursuits. Higher education and career advancement are frequently Sportswomen acquire power and strength physically and viewed as the path to success, particularly in material mentally, yet they often face the paradox of needing or forms. Therefore, most Singaporeans view that selfless

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 57 Goh and Kauer dedication to an elite sport is counterproductive (McNeill, don’t need to go and source for marketing…whereas for Sproule, & Horton, 2003). The women received many us, we really need to come together to go through this list negative reactions to their decision to train in and pursue of companies.” Furthermore, Emily noted: the sport of mountaineering. For example, Irene was told Actually, they (1998 male team) were a bit bet- by other people to focus on her job. She said, “They’ll tell ter off because…they were the first team and then you like, ‘You should think about your career, you should back then, they had like the SAF (Singapore Armed think about whatever,’ because being away for like 3 Forces) funding. And then I think, as a men’s months every year…takes a toll on your career lah.” Emily team, they have like Tiger Beer (Singapore Brewery also experienced negative remarks from other people who Company). You know beer is like a man thing. said, “Climbing mountains is a waste of time, it does not achieve anything…there’s no medals, there’s no prize Prior to the title sponsorship, all six team members money, what’s the point?” mentioned that they had each spent a substantial sum of money on their own, for overseas training expeditions The women mountaineers’ decision to take the since 2004, when the team was formed. For example, unbeaten path posed many challenges. One salient chal- Irene said, “It has been five years…and then with the lenge was the lack of funding for all their overseas expe- funds not coming in and then you have to fork out for ditions. A reason for the lack of funding was that most every single trip yourself and each trip counting like 10 organized sports in Singapore are education-based—not thousand dollars.” Emily said, “Because we only got our glorified the way they are in the United States (Wright, title sponsorship this year, so a large part of our previ- 2001)—which made sponsorship and funding for their ous funds were actually self-funded and I only started training and expedition extremely difficult. Emily com- working for, like a bit over a year.” In fact, many of the pared the Singaporean and American sport culture women reported that their anxiety about summiting perspectives, “It’s not a problem of the sport but sports Everest stemmed from thoughts of not returning and sponsorship, [which] is…[in its] infancy in Singapore…. leaving their family with the substantial debt they had It’s not like in the U.S., where you have like, heavy accumulated during their training. endorsement deals.” It became clear that these women needed to con- Like in many professional sports, funding opportu- stantly negotiate between Singaporean ideals of success nities and sponsorship were imperative for the successful and material wealth, and their desire to summit Mount completion of SWET’s training goals. Finding sponsors Everest, which essentially subtracted from their career to fund their trip became an arduous task for the team and earning potential. Additionally, sexist and cultural and even forced the women to postpone their expedi- ideologies around hegemonic forms of femininity and tion from 2008 to 2009 due to the lack of resources. success created difficult circumstances for the women Emily described how one potential sponsor reacted to to secure funding and sponsorship. The lack of finan- her request for funding: cial resources delayed their trip to Everest at a critical As we still are raising fund[s], they’ll (a local sports time to attempt the summit after they had been prop- forum) say things like, “why should I give you erly acclimatized from their trip to Cho Oyu in 2007. money to fulfill your dream?” And then they’ll say, This shows how class and gender intersected for these “what about my own dream, I don’t go around to women. Cultural norms and expectations in Singapore ask people to sponsor me.” But then in such a way, presented unique challenges for these female athletes. they are taking it from a wrong point of view because Material wealth and success based on income and occu- we are going as a national team not as an “Emily and pation were valued over the intrinsic motivation of these friends” kinda fun thing. women to summit Everest—an endeavor that provides Two participants compared their funding situation no financial success, yet requires substantial financial with the previous two all-male teams from Singapore and commitment. The lack of financial support thus became they both echoed that funding was not a challenge for the equally challenging as the lack of respect for the pursuit male teams. Rachel mentioned, “They (2005 male team) of their sport at an elite level.

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Sexism in Extreme Sports so they take extra care of us. Although the number of women who participate in This example shows that a paternalistic trivialization extreme sports has increased, many female athletes often of the ability of the women mountaineers to accomplish do so within sexist and even hostile environments where something independently was subtly demonstrated by their they endure degradation and marginalization (Laurendeau male Sherpas, something that male mountaineers rarely & Sharara, 2008). The study participants described sev- experience. However, this particular climber perceived eral instances where they encountered sexist behaviors this paternalistic trivialization as “helpful” for females, and and attitudes in the sport of mountaineering. In many something that gives them an advantage instead of sexist cases, their experiences were trivialized and marginalized behavior that can inhibit women’s progress. by people in their community as well as by mainstream The media also served to trivialize the accomplish- media representations of their team. Additionally, the ments of these women. Jesse gave one example of the women experienced sexism confounded by racism, by team’s achievements being overlooked by the media being treated as the exotic “Other” or as intruders in a when she commented, “Straits Times (Singapore news- male domain. All the women discussed the ways in which paper) did not report on the women’s ascent on Cho they believed their accomplishments had been trivial- Oyu even though we are the first female team from ized and the ways in which many people in the climbing Singapore to scale beyond 8000 meters.” This is often community reacted to them as the exotic outsiders. Their the case in Western media, which provides extensive comments are summarized in the following subthemes. coverage of men’s athletic events and little to no cover- Trivialization. In this study, the women discussed age of women’s sports (Schell & Rodrigeuz, 2000). The how they experienced paternalist notions of trivialization media is also a powerful institution where social norms from men as well as trivialization through mainstream of femininity are often highlighted. Women athletes media. Because sport is perceived and constructed as a had long been portrayed as objects of physical desir- masculine domain, women are constantly compared to ability to men in photographs of them looking chic and men with regard to their physical and athletic strength pretty (Messner, 1988). Pictures and photographs that and prowess, the result of which is that women are most highlight hegemonic femininity more than athletic com- often associated with weakness and men with strength petence serve to trivialize women’s accomplishments. (Roth & Basow, 2004). In mixed-gendered settings, Emily gave an example: men will often take over entire tasks instead of allowing When we first announced our formation right, you women to accomplish moderate-to-strenuous activities know Straits Times, sometimes they do like…a little on their own (Roth & Basow, 2004). The participants cartoon, and then they drew Singapore Women’s experienced this paternalistic trivialization often, and Everest Team, and…they drew a woman wearing Jesse commented, “I think it’s very natural for a man to stiletto shoes, so it’s not realistic. It’s really, really, pamper a woman…you know…I think they are kinder very funny because, that was like one stereotypical to us to some extent [laugh].” Emily felt that it is a men’s image, you know. I think it’s like to poke fun at us basic instinct to take care of women: lah, you know, how can a woman climb a mountain? I would say as [a] female [you] have a lot of advan- Some of the participants mentioned that in response tages lah…for instance we are young and we are to such trivialization, they were even more motivated to female, then like the “Sherpas” (men) are very nice prove to others that women are capable to achieve tasks to us and they take care of us and I think they see us that were thought to be impossible in the past. For exam- like being young and quite cute. If we are a group ple, Serene said, “It’s like in the end, the performance will of men, I think they would not be so friendly to us. show that it’s not true lah and I think that it…motivates And they are friendly not in a “Hum-Sup” (seduc- me in a way, because we are the underdogs.” When tive) way, but they are friendly in like, because a lot a Sherpa commented that women mountaineers were of these “Sherpas” are like quite old and with daugh- physically weaker than men, Serene responded: ters so they see us as kids, you know like daughters

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It [motivates me to] want to show that we will not Rachel also remembered being treated as unique be a burden to you (Sherpa) or we will not cause when she said, “Whenever people see us, they [are] like, any trouble…maybe, make him…not look down on ‘Huh, all female climbers?’ They’ll be surprised, you female climbers. know, and they’ll come to our tent to visit us then we’ll Jesse also shared the same desire to prove that women explain our story.” Rachel explained why people are are capable of accomplishing the task of mountaineering: interested in the all-women team, “In fact, most people, they take interest in female climbers because they are so I think that there’s a responsibility in us at this few right, they will be like, ‘Oh, how did this person moment because definitely, there are people out fare on the mountain?’” The way in which these women there who are doubtful about our ability…Today were sexualized was further compounded by the men’s it’s like you need to [be] as strong as a man, but how response to their presence on the mountain, which mir- strong is strong, there’s no definition….so I find that rored a racialized view of female athletes of color and the there’s some form of stress there. So it’s like, no mat- animalistic associations that are often ascribed to them ter how right, the six of us, if there’s only one who (Schultz, 2005; Spencer, 2004). can get to the top, though as a team right, it’s still a success lah, but I think it’s not good enough to… Women-Centered Spaces bring the nation’s name up lah. Women-only and female-centered spaces have been In sum, the women mountaineers had experienced found to create empowering experiences for female various forms of trivialization through the media or athletes (Whittington, 2006). Within these spaces, through personal contact with others during the five these female athletes expressed feelings of camaraderie, years they trained as a team. Socially, women were empowerment, and an opportunity to forge paths for perceived to be unable to accomplish tasks that were other women in Singapore. previously performed by men. Therefore, these women Team Camaraderie. The six SWET members barely mountaineers wanted to prove that they could perform knew each other when the team was formed in 2004. beyond the expectations of others. However, through five years of training and working Objectified as the “Other”. The participants reported together, the team had developed a strong bond. A sense of that they rarely, if ever, encountered other female moun- team identity and cohesiveness was expressed unanimously taineers or guides while on overseas mountaineering by all the team members. When asked what mountain- expeditions. Furthermore, males occupy the majority of eering means to her, Irene said, “To me, now it’s more positions as leaders, either as coaches or guides. Because of than just the climb, it’s because I do everything with the the small number of women in the sport, the participants team. This is part of the team’s…quest towards Everest.” became “unique” or “exotic,” rendering them objects Similarly, Helen expressed, “To me, this Everest expedition for the “male gaze” (Duncan, 1990). One participant is…a team journey.” Serene also noted that each individual recounted an incident on Cho Oyu, where their team was member’s effort is important for the proper functioning one of 10 teams on the mountain. After news about the of the team. She said, “It’s like a musical band, you know, Singapore all-women team broke out in the base camp, a five-piece band, everybody has to contribute. So, if you several male climbers walked quite a distance to where the take out the drummer…it’s not complete.” The women Singapore women’s camp was situated. Serene recalled: mentioned that one of the main reasons they became more united was because of their ability to overcome barriers in They walked all the way to see us, you know, the pursuit of their common goal. For example, Irene men- ʁ the guys, they were like, “Oh, xīn jīa pō měi n ” tioned, “Mountaineering to anybody else…is just climbing, ԁ ɹ [Singaporean beauties], “Oh, w yě yào kàn, w yě yào but to me, it [is] like running a business because…we have kàn” [I want to see too, I want to see too]…Suddenly we to look for our own funds, we’ve to meet sponsors.” felt like animals, you know, like they come to the zoo to look at the exhibits….they think it’s like a rare species Although disagreements within any sport team that they walked all the way here just to view. are inevitable, the participants were able to overcome

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 60 (SWET)ing for the Summit most of their disputes peacefully, as Serene reflected, in the company of men, she expects the men to do more “Sometimes there’ll be minor disagreements all that, but things than her.” Similarly, Serene recounted an experi- I would say that, it had been really, really peaceful and ence she had with a mixed team: loving.” Irene also added, “Like team building, you will In an all-female team, I find myself wanting to do form some storms like that. But then our storms were more, like taking more initiative. Like in a mixed never like…shout and then like bitch fight or whatever team…frankly speaking, I will leave it to the guy, and things like that.” Emily expressed similar feelings even the cooking. Because they will be the ones who about the team: will automatically step up, who will take charge… We are not confrontational and…I guess in general, But in the female team, it’s like all of us are expected we tend to talk more about things, you know, “say- to be like climbers, do our own thing, you know, to ang” (care) each other instead of like conflict lah, so take charge lah, so I find myself being on my toes in I would say that we are actually quite nurturing and a way. it’s quite nice. There’s no prima donna issues, like The women mountaineers also suggested several major ego issues to deal with. advantages of being in an all-women team. For example, The women mountaineers consistently discussed Rachel commented, “It will train women to be more the advantages of having an all-women team, including independent…because in the mountains, you have to the fact that women may be more comfortable in the be very…self sufficient…in terms of physical things absence of men. Serene mentioned, “That’s why those like carrying your own things.” In addition, Jesse men- female teams come out also because they want a space tioned, “It will build confidence for women because… whereby they can also be comfortable and they can feel it is tough in the mountain so when you gone through free to share without, you know, without feeling shy and it…it somehow builds a person’s confidence, especially embarrassed.” women, a sense of achievement.” In comparing the dif- Several critical scholars have indicated that in post- ferent experiences of being in an all-women team versus colonial attempts to summit Everest, individuals with a mostly-male team, Jesse commented: material resources and wealth traded in the concept of When it comes to an all-women team right, the teamwork, as described by our participants, for complete women tend to be more competitive themselves dependence on their highly paid guides. These findings than when they are in a men’s team…especially illustrate the dedication to one another of the SWET when I’m in an all-women environment…I tend to members, as well as their dedication and commitment compete myself against other women…I feel it this to the values associated with teamwork—traits that have way, I may not win, I know I won’t win, like for apparently been missing from the dominant male narra- example running, there’s so many better runners, tive (Birrell, 2007; Slemon, 1998). but I just feel that I push myself more, so [I] try to win [against] as many women as possible, that kind Empowerment. Another positive aspect of having a of thing. When I’m in an environment when there’s women-only space is the empowerment that each team a mixture of male and female…I don’t feel so com- member experienced while mountaineering as a team. petitive anymore. The participants demonstrated that such empowerment is more possible in women-only spaces than in mixed These female athletes mentioned that the support spaces. Serene commented, “For me, it’s very special to from each other in the all-women team spurred them to be in the all-female team because I think the support, work harder towards their goal. In addition, they learned you know, the kind of condition, the environment that to take charge and do many things independently. you train in, is very conducive for growth lah.” Also, in Conversely, in the company of men, they choose not the absence of male climbers, the women found them- to take charge and allowed men to automatically take selves taking initiative and doing more things indepen- up positions of authority. Characteristics such as leader- dently. For example, Helen said, “A woman, when she’s ship and an increase in confidence and perseverance are examples of the benefits of an all-women environment.

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Through women-only outdoor programs, women can women to come together and learn the sport of moun- “foster ‘masculine skills’ such as decision-making and taineering. In so doing, they hope that there will be more taking charge as well as ‘feminine skills’ such as coopera- women mountaineers in Singapore and more women tion, and considering the needs of others” (Whittington, taking up sports in general. 2006, p. 206). Hence, the empowering experiences reported by the SWET members suggest that women- Discussion and Conclusion only spaces can be positive for female athletes. Opening Paths for Other Women. Being the first At the time of data collection, the SWET was all-women team from Singapore, these women defied all approximately four months from beginning their ascent odds to achieve something that had been previously per- to the peak of Mount Everest. Five women from the formed by men only. Consequently, their accomplish- team successfully climbed to the summit of Mount ment inspired other women to pursue mountaineering Everest, making them the first all-women’s team from and participate in other sports. For example, Emily said, Singapore to accomplish such an endeavor. All six “A lot of people say, ‘we are very visionary, we dare to do women made it back down the mountain safely. While something that others don’t’ and ‘you inspire me to run Birrell (2007) indicated that overcoming barriers and a marathon or do a trek at Nepal.’” In time, a growing challenges is part of the dominant narrative written number of women took up the sport of mountaineering, about Everest, these women expressed that most of the as commented by Emily: barriers they faced were not connected with Everest itself, but with the social and cultural ideologies about Over the years, we’ve seen more women like in Bukit gender, race, and social class. Expectations of “appro- Timah [a hill in Singapore] training and…when we priate” Asian femininity were a constant issue for these give talks to the public, there are a lot of young girls women, who were training their bodies and engaging who ask us, “How do you get started?” “How do we in activities that were still largely associated with men learn rock climbing?” “Oh how do I go on a trek to and masculinity in Singapore. This study illustrates the Nepal?” perpetuation of male hegemony in Singaporean society The team aspires to make the sport of mountaineer- to preserve the status quo of male dominance. Though ing more accessible to other women by sharing their an increasing number of Singaporean women are joining experiences and giving advice to those who are interested the workforce, few of them occupy powerful positions in the sport. For instance, Jesse said, “One way to move in universities, the government, and public and private forward after the team [had] accomplish[ed] the expedi- agencies. Hence the national values system is still pre- tion…is to organize expeditions for women and it’s easy dominantly male, conservative, and largely hierarchical for them to relate to us as well.” Rachel also mentioned: (Chng & Sankaran, 2007). I hope that my team will make a difference lah, Current critiques of individuals in pursuit of Everest in the future of women, to basically make the illustrate the unabashed class privilege that people have, mountains more accessible to more women…‘cause paying guides upward of $70,000 to reach the summit really no one will have a clue on how to approach to become part of an exclusive club. These critiques most mountaineering ‘cause there’s no mountains in often are directed at teams vying for global recognition Singapore….So hopefully we’ll become the bridge in sport by “clienting” their way to the top in order to lor, uh, in giving advice, in giving directions, and “re-locate their position on the post-colonial world state” inspiring women lah to climb mountains. (Slemon, 1998, p. 59). However, for these women, their pursuit of Everest was often devalued because it was in Jesse commented, “I believe the Women’s Everest contradiction to Singaporean values around material Team has made an impact on women’s sport industry, wealth and success and focused on a personal, intrinsic and…more women [are] coming out to do, maybe not pursuit. Many of the women also discussed the financial [just] mountaineering, but other sports.” The team difficulties they faced, from both a personal standpoint hopes that they can continue to provide avenues for as well as the standpoint of securing sponsorship and

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 62 (SWET)ing for the Summit funding. This complicates the narrative of class privi- mony and sexualized notions of Asian femininity that lege regarding Everest and provides a far more nuanced exist in today’s society and culture. understanding of the complex nature of class and how Though barriers and challenges exist for women it impacted the women on this team. These women did participating in this sport, the participants consistently not “client” their way up and even had to postpone their mentioned that being in an all-women team was a attempt after already having trained and become properly positive experience for them. It was in this all-female acclimatized at Cho Oyu, due to the lack of funding and environment that they developed trust, caring, feelings sponsorship (which was seemingly easy for the previous of power, and social support for each other. Having all-male teams). The intersections of gender with class the autonomy to take charge in many difficult situa- become further complicated by the larger post-colonial tions allowed them to develop independence and self- narrative about “conquering” Everest to secure member- confidence. Participation in sports has been shown to ship to an elusive and exclusive club (Birrell, 2007). help women develop positive experiences and charac- The sexism these women experienced ranged from teristics (Appleby & Fisher, 2005; Krane et al., 2004; trivialization of their accomplishments to objectification Scott & Derry, 2005; Wheaton & Tomlinson, 2001; by individuals in mountaineering and in the popular Whittington, 2006). press. Representing the female climbers in stilettos This study illustrates that women can unite as a team in the local newspaper exemplifies how these female to overcome many social and cultural challenges in their athletes may have been perceived as a threat to hege- pursuit of the male-dominated sport of mountaineering. monic femininity and male dominance. One of the ways Although people outside their team environment made women’s accomplishments have been trivialized in sport stereotypical comments, the team members supported and is through sexualization, so men can still hold feelings cared for each other within an all-women environment. of power over women (Messner, 1988). In addition, the By resisting dominant social and cultural norms, these women believed that they were being treated as objects pioneering women mountaineers helped other women for the “male gaze” in the confines of the male-dominat- gain access to the sport of mountaineering. Being role ed base-camp community. One participant said she had models for aspiring women mountaineers in Singapore, been “ogled” at by several male mountaineers on Cho they may continue to ignite social change throughout the Oyu. Rendering female athletes as the exotic “other” sport environment. This could inspire other women to and for the purposes of the male gaze perpetuates the step up and perform new and challenging tasks that have animalistic stereotype that women of color often face in not been previously achieved by women. their pursuit of sport (Schultz, 2005). Future Directions The experiences these women described illustrate how multiple layers of discrimination and degradation This provides a Singaporean perspective of women’s occur across the intersections of race and gender. Other participation in sports. Because this study was done studies on women in extreme sports, such as surfing and within the time frame of a Master’s thesis, there were sky diving, found evidence of sexism and objectifica- several limitations to this project. Had the first author tion within these spaces (Laurendeau & Sharara, 2008; had more time or had she been living in Singapore, Rinehart, 2005). However, the current study points to she could have gathered more in-depth information as ways in which women of color face different forms of a participant observer using more ethnographic data- discrimination and challenges. One reason could be that collecting methods. In addition, the study was limited by Singaporean women are associated with the localized each participant engaging in only one face-to-face inter- and globalized image of the “Singapore Girl” repre- view; multiple focus groups with 3-4 members of this sented by the Singapore Airlines’ flight attendants. This team would have added richer and more in-depth data sexualized image of Asian femininity portrays and values as well. However, due to a dearth of research on women youth, charm, beauty, and exoticism (Heng, 1996). The of color, this study provides new and interesting findings image of the “Singapore Girl” perpetuates male hege- on a culture that is relatively invisible in the sport stud-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 63 Goh and Kauer ies literature. Future research should focus on studying Acknowledgment women from different cultures, so as to expand on the predominantly White-centered perspectives in sport. The research on which this article is based would In addition, the increase of women participating in not have been possible without the support of Sharon extreme sports should also lead to future research on the Guthrie and Daniel Smith, who were formal members experiences of women pursuing these sports. Finally, the of the first author’s Master’s thesis committee. researchers would also like to explore the post-summit experiences of the women from the SWET team.

References

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WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 65 author Original Research Article

Shape Your Life and Embrace Your Aggression: A Boxing Project for Female and Trans Survivors of Violence

Cathy van Ingen Brock University

CONTACT Abstract INFORMATION: This article focuses on an action research project called Shape Your Life, developed to teach women and transgendered survivors of violence recreational boxing at the Cathy van Ingen, Ph.D. Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club, Canada’s only women-led boxing club. In this Associate Professor, innovative project, participants were encouraged to explore “healthy aggression” Physical Education & as a means of initiating change in their lives. As most research on aggression in Kinesiology sport focuses on young men, the aggression of girls, women, and trans (transgen- Brock University dered and transsexual) individuals remains a much under-studied topic. This article 500 Glenridge Avenue St. Catharines, ON attempts to open up further dialogue on gender, sport, and aggression by providing Canada L2S 3A1 an account of survivors’ aggression as an important source of empowerment, there- by moving beyond the narrow focus on female aggression as harm inducing and a E–mail: cause for moral panic. The article also highlights the need for practical approaches [email protected] to physical activity and sport programming that address the needs of participants whose lives are affected by gender-based violence. Phone: (905) 688–5550 ext. 4981 Do you realize that in this age of the world the power of self-defense, or of indig- Fax: nant protest, is more necessary to women than to men? You will find that we do (905) 688–8364 more startling and unconventional things here than learning to box… It is an excellent place, we find, for the adoption of new ideas.—The Garden of Eden, U.S.A.: A very possible story (1895, p. 148) The above excerpt, written over a century ago, comes from William H. Bishop’s utopian novel, which describes life in a community called Eden, a place of sexual and economic equality.i Bishop’s novel is considered the first “to discuss rape as a social problem and certainly the first to suggest, as a possible form of resistance, box- ing” (Boddy, 2008, p. 162). This article also engages in an examination of boxing

i Although this novel is noted for its pro-feminist depiction of gender roles and envisions a “new womanhood,” the text clearly reflects and embraces racial injustices without further reflection.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 66 Shape Your Life

as a possible form of resistance. It focuses on an action multi-service feminist organizations that provide pro- research project, called Shape Your Life (SYL), devel- gram delivery and social advocacy for women and trans oped to teach women and transii survivors of violence individuals in disadvantaged life situations; and myself, recreational boxing at the Toronto Newsgirls Boxing a university researcher engaged in research openly com- Club, Canada’s only women-led boxing club. In this mitted to a more just social order. Shape Your Life began innovative project, participants also engaged in “more firmly grounded in anti-oppression feminism, a model of startling and unconventional things” than just boxing. practice that acknowledges and attempts to address struc- In particular, they were encouraged to explore “healthy tures of oppression. Therefore, to offer an effective project aggression” as a means of initiating change in their lives. and minimize barriers for participants, SYL was designed As most research on aggression in sport focuses on young with consideration for the ways in which poverty, race, men, the aggression of girls, women, and trans individu- gender, homophobia, and other forms of oppression are als remains a much under-studied topic. experienced as social inequalities. Given this framing, The article begins with an overview of the SYL it was necessary to consider the various processes that project. The focus then shifts to a review of literature support violence and function to preserve inequities in on female aggression and violence, arguing that much gender relations including economic vulnerability, rac- of the growing concern about aggression and violence ism, inadequate health care, and other discriminatory reflects broader cultural anxieties about gender and race processes (McKenna & Larkin, 2002). To this end, the relations, and continues to ignore the ways in which SYL project was integrated with other services, programs, girls and women are systemically targeted for violence. and resources that were helpful in the area of housing, Following this, the project’s action research methodol- income support, counselling, parenting help, healthcare, ogy is outlined. In the subsequent section, the concept and community legal services. of ‘healthy aggression’ and the meanings it holds in the With the awareness that gender-based violencev is lives of survivors of violence is explored. This section compounded by other axes of difference, Scrapper, the attempts to open up further dialogue on gender, sport, SYL project coordinator, focused on providing outreach and aggression by providing an account of women and and support to a diverse group of participants, with the trans survivors’ aggression as an important source of particular aim of trying to reach survivors of violence empowerment, thereby moving beyond the narrow focus who live in disadvantaged communities. For example, on female aggression as harm inducing and a cause for Scrapper established connections, held workshops, and moral panic. information sessions with, and took referrals from sev- Shape Your Life (SYL) eral agencies including sexual assault centers, crisis lines, community health centers, women’s centers, counseling The Shape Your Life project began in the fall of 2007, services, and agencies that work with disadvantaged as a one-year action research project in Toronto designed women, trans, and youths. Within a short period of time to teach recreational boxing to 120 women and trans par- the demand for SYL increased well beyond the capacity ticipants who identified as survivors of violence.iii Shape of the project, and each month names were added to a Your Life originated as a community-university partner- waiting list. Shape Your Life was free for all participants. shipiv between the Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club; two Transit passes, childcare, and post-workout snacks were iiMy use of the term trans encompasses transgender and transsexual identities. iiiFunding for SYL was provided by the Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario Victim Services Secretariat. Participants joined the project for a three- month session. Multiple sessions were held, each with 15-25 participants. The project is now operating in its third year and has worked with over 300 participants. SYL continues to operate on donations and money raised specifically for SYL through the Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club. ivOpportunities for Advancement and The June Callwood Centre for Women and Families partnered with Brock University and The Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club to offer the SYL Project. vThe term gender-based violence, rather than violence against women, is used in this article because it acknowledges that gender relations are imbued with asymmetrical distributions of power and to reflect a more trans-inclusive term (O’Toole, Schiffman, Kiter Edwards, 2007).

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 67 van Ingen

provided, as were shoes and workout clothing when ponytail of a BYU player, resulted in media coverage not needed. At the completion of the project, participants seen in women’s soccer since Brandi Chastain removed were also provided with an additional one-year boxing her shirt (CBSNews.com). In 2010, Brittney Griner, a membership at the Newsgirls gym and their own new Baylor freshman previously known for her dunking abil- pair of boxing gloves for training. ity, was suspended for two games for throwing a punch Girls Behaving Badly? The Framing of Gender, that broke an opposing player’s nose in a playoff game (LATimes.com). Aggression, and Violence At the heart of these sensational accounts is a debate Gender-based violence is undeniably pervasive and is as to whether girls’ and women’s violence really is widely acknowledged as a major social and public health increasing. In simple terms, two opposing sides frame problem. However the issue of violence against women the debate (Luke, 2008; Wesley, 2006). Multiple sources and transgendered people remains largely overlooked of data show an increase in the rate of girls being arrested by physical educators and sport and physical activity for violent crimes in the past two decades, providing researchers who have predominantly focused on violence evidence that girls’ use of violence has increased. This within the confines of sport. The literature that does claim is refuted by those who state that girls are not address violence against women is dominated by a focus becoming more violent but that the increase in arrests on women’s self defense (e.g., Hollander, 2004, 2009; can be explained by changes in enforcement behavior, McCaughey, 1997, 1998) and is often produced by fem- higher incarceration rates of women and girls of color, inist scholars outside of critical sport studies. Moreover, and the failure of adequate social services for the most there remains a noticeable absence of research on the marginalized and disadvantaged girls and women. Luke physical activity experiences of survivors of violence.vi (2008) critically flushes out both sides of this debate Yet, within the last two decades there has been a rather concluding that the curious turn in research that examines females, aggression, concern over the increase in girls’ violence is a result and violence (e.g., Moriettie, Odgers, & Jackson, 2004; of the co-occurrence of limited theorizing about Pepler, Madsen, Webster, & Levene, 2008; Simmons, violence primarily as an enactment of masculinity, 2002; Underwood, 2003). Sensational media reports and cultural tensions over changing norms and under- public accounts, including those generated by academics, standings of race and gender, and what some have have helped to construct the cultural view that girls and described as a backlash against the movements for women are becoming increasingly aggressive and violent. social justice of the 1960s and 1970s (p. 38). Newspaper headlines like the “Dark side of girl power” As Luke highlighted, the majority of research con- (Monsebraaten, 2006) and books such as Garbarino’s structs aggression and violence as variously oppressive and (2006) See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More inappropriate when enacted by females. Clearly aggression Violent and What Can Be Done about It bombard read- is overwhelmingly framed as the domain of men, which ers with images of aggressive and violent girls and cite the virtually ignores the causes, consequences, and meanings importance of recognizing, intervening in, and minimiz- of aggression in the life of girls and women. ing the amount of aggression displayed by females. More recently the violent behavior of two college athletes went It is important here to distinguish between aggression “viral,” generating Internet-celebrity status and moral and violence, as the two terms are not interchangeable. concern over the increasing levels of violence in women’s Violence, as understood here, can take three forms: (1) competitive sport. Video highlights from a game in 2009 subjective, which is the most visible form of violence such featuring New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert as crime, terror, and physical acts enacted by individuals or throwing elbows, colliding with players, and yanking the groups; (2) objective, such as forms of discrimination and racism including those forms that are invisible and anony- viOne exception is Concepcion and Ebbeck’s (2005) work that examines the therapeutic use of exercise programs for survivors of domestic violence.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 68 Shape Your Life mous; and (3) systemic, which includes forms of violence views about gender, aggression, violence, power, and inherent in economic and political systems (Zizek, 2008). strength,. Take for example the words of Joyce Carol Aggression, the more difficult term to define, relates to Oates (2002), who famously wrote, violence but is not the same thing, as it is possible to be raw aggression is thought to be the peculiar prov- aggressive without violence. Indeed, aggression is a word ince of men, as nurturing is the peculiar province of with a history. Kerr (2005) devoted an entire chapter in women. (The female boxer violates this stereotype Rethinking Aggression and Violence in Sport to unpack- and cannot be taken seriously— she is parody, she is ing the numerous definitions of aggression in a variety cartoon, she is monstrous. Had she an ideology, she of academic fields including sport, highlighting their is likely to be a feminist) (p. 73, originally published major shortcomings. Kerr took up Apter’s (2001) reversal in 1987). theory to frame his discussion of aggression in sport and to argue that aggression can have a constructive and favor- Women have had to overcome numerous obstacles able effect. Reversal theory is concerned with the ways in to gain entry into the ring (Denfeld, 1997; Dunn, 2009; which individuals experience their own motivation to a Hager Cohen, 2005), and today boxing is one of the few given situation at a particular time (Kerr 1999). Reversal sports where the skilled use of aggression and physical theory, as advanced by Kerr (1999, 2005), provides a violence is sanctioned, acceptable, and celebrated. scientific basis for the study of aggression in autonomous individuals by providing a coherent model of motivation, Methodology cognitive processes, and affect. Shape Your Life was developed as an action research Kerr (2005) highlighted that sport-sanctioned aggres- project, an approach widely used in broader fields of sion and violence is a source of excitement, pleasure, and education, but one that has a much shorter history in satisfaction. Indeed, sanctioned forms of aggression and physical education and sport research (Frisby, Crawford, violence are a fundamental domain of experience, yet & Dorer, 1997; Reid, Tom, & Frisby, 2006; Tinning, such experiences often remain taboo or restricted in the 2000). Action research challenges and attempts to lives of women. As boxing journalist Katherine Dunn change inequitable power relationships by “bringing noted, “We live with a distinct double standard about together theory, method and practice” (Frisby, Maguire, male and female aggression” (2009, p. 114). Consider, & Reid, 2009, p. 14). In other words, action research, for example, that women’s sport often removes or limits in all of its various forms, is rooted in praxis attempting particularly aggressive forms of play such as prohibit- to contribute simultaneously to scholarship and social ing intentional body checking in hockey, and fighting change (Carr & Kemmell, 1986). Shape Your Life fos- two- rather than three-minute rounds in women’s box- tered scholarship by making space for participants not ing. Indeed, sanctioned aggression and violence are still traditionally supported in critical sport research, by call- considered the hallmarks of masculinity and male-dom- ing attention to the pervasive phenomenon of gendered inated sporting landscapes. If this were not the case, it is violence, and by addressing power imbalances that limit unlikely that the New Mexico soccer player’s dirty play access to physical activity programs. Simultaneously, or the Baylor freshman’s single punch would have gener- SYL worked toward social change by offering recreation- ated so much spectacle and concern. As a result, a focus al boxing as a means of empowerment. Empowerment, on men and masculinity still profoundly structure the in this instance, refers to “the ability of persons to make concepts, frameworks, research, and dominant meanings decisions and have control over their personal lives of violence and aggression. What remains overlooked is through the cultivation of resources” (Frisby, Crawford, the multiple meanings and experiences of aggression and & Dorer, 1997, p. 14). violence in the life of women and trans people. Data collection for the project included a large body The incursion of female and trans bodies into what of observational, survey, and interview data produced is still largely viewed as the masculine domain of box- over the first year and half of the project. Data for this ing provides a unique opportunity to explore contrarian article in particular, were drawn from in-depth, semi-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 69 van Ingen structured interviews generated from focus-group and tire and their punches are less effective. Participants one-on-one interviews with 78 participants. Shape Your are given the opportunity to experience being the only Life participants ranged in age from 16 to 58 years old two bodies in the ring and the assurance that they and represented a diverse group in terms of gender iden- will never be hit back. “Chasing” is often one of the tities, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and social class. highlights of the project as participants safely experi- However, one common thread connected all participants ence the pleasure, satisfaction, and intense physicality as—each self identified as a survivor of violence. One of of being in the ring. Although it is argued here that the traditions of the Newsgirls boxing club that was chasing is a source of enjoyment and pleasure to most extended to the SYL project is that boxers were encour- participants, it is also true that not everyone chose to aged to select a “boxing name.” For example, one of the participate in this experience, and a few SYL boxers SYL sessions had participants named The Brampton did not want any physical contact with another person. Brawler, Pit-bull, Resilience, Tantrum, The Chili, and Aggression is essential in the sport of boxing. Soc’er Mom. These boxing names are used in this article When Savoy Howe, founder of the Toronto Newsgirls as pseudonyms at the request of the participants who Boxing Club and the head SYL trainer, works with took part in the interviews. All interviews were taped women and trans individuals, and in particular with and transcribed for subsequent thematic analysis. those whose bodies have experienced violence, she The following section draws on these participant makes the case for what she calls “healthy aggression.” narratives to examine the meanings and experiences of Howe contends that aggression is both healthy and aggression in the life of female and trans survivors of instrumental for women and trans individuals: violence within the SYL project. Participants discussed It is about being powerful and grounded, it allows the importance of aggression within the context of the you to be adamant about what you need to do for boxing project and everyday life by considering the ways yourself, it’s about making good choices for your- in which aggression can be experienced as healthy, pro- self. Healthy aggression is powerful but it needs ductive, and as transformative in their lives. to be rehearsed—if you don’t rehearse it, you’ll “Healthy Aggression” The SYL project teaches be as useless as tits on a bull. Healthy aggression recreational boxing that does not include sparring or changes the way you think about what you can do hitting other participants. It is not the intention of SYL in this world. We have to retrain ourselves to be to manufacture fighters; rather, the project introduces aggressive. recreational boxing as a means of connecting with and The above excerpt demonstrates the ways in which supporting survivors of violence in order to empower Howe rejects the notion of aggression as the exclusive and affect social change. Within the project, participants domain of men and masculinity and insightfully argues learn and perform the skills used in boxing by hitting that aggression is an essential component of self-care. heavy bags, speed bags, and shadow boxing. Similarly, Dunn (2009) explained, “we tend to forget One of the “capstone” experiences in the project that the human capacity for aggression is more than a is when participants climb into the ring to “chase” an monstrous defect, that it is also a crucial survival tool” experienced boxer. This gives the SYL boxer the rare (p. 106). opportunity to work on their offensive skills in a more In what follows, healthy aggression is explored in realistic setting and to hit an actual moving body target direct relation to the experiences of SYL participants. instead of a piece of equipment. Wearing heavily padded Their accounts are offered as an attempt to open dia- 16-ounce sparring gloves, participants work on throwing logue about the promising benefits healthy aggression punches for an uninterrupted round of three minutes. offers to survivors of violence: The opponent is a trained fighter wearing head gear and gloves, who works on slipping, parrying, and catching Fancy Pants: I survived violence since I was a kid punches, although they sometimes let the SYL boxer and boxing, the SYL project, isn’t about fighting land a body punch or head shot, particularly after they and punching people out. For me this project

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 70 Shape Your Life

teaches aggression and it’s about learning to stand plex, diverse, and sometimes overlapping meanings to up for yourself, so you don’t have to get to the point their experiences with aggression. However, in all cases, where you’re going to let somebody beat you up. SYL boxers discussed an emancipatory, change-enhanc- Brawler: Healthy aggression is a way of thinking. I ing, contextualized approach to healthy aggression. used to think very differently about aggression, that As the following comments reveal, there are multiple it always ended up in violence. Now I see it [healthy sources of oppression that are embodied and experienced aggression] as a positive. I used to feel very insecure on a daily basis. Healthy aggression provides an impor- and not confident at all. I thought the abuse was tant component of survival as well as creativity. The fol- happening to me for a reason and coming here, it’s lowing three quotes speak to the ways in which healthy helped me a lot. Now I think about myself in a dif- aggression can build and maintain a sense of self: ferent way. You know, I don’t deserve this abuse, it Bee Sting: I think healthy aggression is particularly shouldn’t be happening to me, and I’m not going to important for racialized women, women of color, put up with it anymore because I don’t have to. To and minority women. As a minority woman I am me, that’s what healthy aggression is. told everyday about limits. There has been a change Pit Bull: Before (SYL) my viewpoint was always that of thought, a change of feelings, and also the change aggression means something negative. It was always in my personality after being in this project. I know physical, verbal, derogatory, or anything negative. you can become whatever you want, do whatever Whereas when I went boxing it showed me the posi- you want. Now I’m finding if I don’t agree with tive, it turned it around. Being aggressive helps and something I’ll say, “No! I’m not going to do it.” doesn’t have to be hurtful. Killah Kuwahla: Through SYL I decided to commit Striker: My last relationship was very abusive and myself to start to take care of myself. The whole when I think about it now I really have to laugh physical aspect of the project was challenging, but ‘cause I think, oh my God, I was such a punk… I also I was really interested in finding the power of can never see myself standing there or taking a lick aggression within my own body. Because I am small again [long pause]. Being aggressive means I don’t I wanted to see what sort of power was there that I have to even be there. I will take care of myself. So haven’t even tapped into. I have started to really lis- yeah, that is what this project has done for me. ten to my body, which I never did before. I’m find- ing out that I can do good things by being aggressive, The SYL project encouraged participants to think I can take care of myself, and I don’t just have to differently about aggression, and to explore how healthy react to stuff all the time. aggression can be experienced without being destruc- The Chili: Because of the abusive relationship that tive or harm inducing. Similar to the findings in I was in I totally lost myself. Coming here I am McCaughey’s (1997, 1998) ethnographic study on finding the person that I once was. I really appreci- women participants in self-defense and martial arts class- ate that because without being here and boxing and es, SYL participants reported feeling pride, accomplish- being aggressive I don’t think I could have found ment, and increased confidence in their body as they my voice. I just became very timid and internalized learned to be aggressive. In essence, they improved their everything, and I never really stood up for myself or capacity to stand up and care for themselves. As Striker had opinions. I just stayed in the background and discussed in the above quote, she was no longer willing did whatever anyone wanted and now I am working to put up with intimidation of an abusive relationship. at coming out of that. The SYL project provided an important social space to reframe aggression as healthy, as a constructive tool, as The participants clearly outlined the positive effect a means of undermining passivity, and as an important of the project and healthy aggression on their life. In aspect of self-care. addition, Bee Sting highlighted that there are wide ethnocultural differences among experiences of violence It is important to note that participants gave com- and aggression. Violence against women and trans

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 71 van Ingen individuals in South Asian, Caribbean, First Nations, of aggressive girls, or on “girls behaving badly,” blunts or other non-white communities occurs within a racist the ability to focus on gender-based violence condi- nation, and access to resources is often more difficult to tioned by inequality. obtain. Bee Sting argued that race is not a trivial differ- Boxing anchored by healthy aggression has the ence in daily life as a “minority woman,” and that she potential to be an empowering practice for survivors of was often further displaced within white-dominated violence. The primary aim of this article was to delink culture, making healthy aggression particularly relevant. connections between masculinity and aggression in For Bee Sting and other participants, healthy aggression order to open up spaces for fresh and productive inter- is enriching, rather than threatening, and an important pretations of aggression in the life of female and trans tool in redefining oneself and one’s own capacities. survivors of violence. The article attempted to rethink the relationship between women’s and trans’ bodies and Conclusion aggression drawing from data that explores the benefits of healthy aggression. Explicit in much of this work Shape Your Life is a unique boxing project for are two additional insights. The first is the recognition female and trans survivors of violence. As a participant of the need for strategic and practical approaches to named Shortfuse remarked, “When you go through all physical activity and sport programming that address those different instances of violence, it’s like it’s taking gender-based violence. There are very few programs little pieces of you away, and here I am taking those for survivors of violence that encourage participants to pieces back and becoming me—who I’m supposed to “learn by body” (Wacquant, 2004) and that actively be.” At the heart of this inquiry into healthy aggression engage the moving body. There is clearly considerable is the acknowledgement that violence and aggression scope for further action research by critical sport scholars often function to preserve inequities in gender relations. engaging survivors of violence. The second insight is the Indeed, normative claims of male physicality and aggres- relevance of potentially new theoretical understandings sion impact the ways in which power and dominance of aggression, which will enable the development of a have been constructed on and through the body of more situated and in-depth analysis of both oppression women and trans individuals. Notwithstanding this lim- and resistance in the life of those impacted by gender- itation, over the past two decades there has been growing based violence. public and scholarly concern over female violence and aggression. The analysis presented in this article draws from Luke (2008), who examined the claims as a form Acknowledgements of cultural anxiety over changing social norms regarding This article would not have been possible without race and gender and that new policies for violence have the willingness of SYL participants to share their stories. resulted in criminal behaviors that were previously dealt I am grateful and wish to thank all the boxers in Shape with outside the court system, not in an actual increase Your Life. in girls’ and women’s violence and aggression. Moreover, the focus on and fascination with the increasing visibility

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 72 author Original Research Article

Negotiating Power within High School Girls’ Exploratory Projects in Physical Education

Jennifer L. Fisette, EdD Kent State University

The purpose of this study was to create an educational context in physical educa- CONTACT tion to empower seven high school girls by giving them the opportunity to design, INFORMATION: implement, and complete an action research project of their interest. Participants’ stories were told and voices heard through the development of informational Jennifer L. Fisette, EdD products they dispersed among the student body. Specifically, the girls expressed Kent State University that gender and embarrassment issues were barriers they encountered in physical School of Teaching, education. As a result, they wanted to take action by learning how other high Learning, and Curriculum school students felt about these issues. This article examines my process as a reflex- Studies ive researcher and the students’ process as participants and action researchers, as 350 Midway Drive 261B Gym Annex well as how various power hierarchies inherent in the educational structure both Kent, OH 44242-0001 empowered and constrained the research.

E–mail: [email protected] Over the past two decades, feminist and critical theorists have discussed, argued, and researched how girls think about, feel, and experience their socially constructed Phone: (330) 672–0230 body in the physical education context (Azzarito, 2009; Azzarito & Solmon, 2006a, 2006b, 2009; Azzarito, Solmon, & Harrison, 2006; Garrett, 2004; Oliver, 1999, 2001; Oliver & Lalik, 2001, 2004; Oliver, Hamzeh, & McCaughtry, 2009; Wright, 1997, 2000). Scholars such as Azzarito, Oliver, and Wright have conducted studies in which girls were given the opportunity to talk about their body and experiences in physical education, and engage in activist activities based on their perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. Findings from these studies suggest that adolescent girls struggle with body issues, which are derived from societal influences such as the media (Azzarito, 2009; Azzarito & Solmon, 2006a, 2006b, 2009; Azzarito et al., 2006; Garrett, 2004; Oliver, 1999, 2001; Oliver & Lalik, 2001, 2004; Oliver et al., 2009). Although Azzarito, Oliver, and Wright’s scholarly work has informed researchers, teacher educators, and physical education teachers on the importance of integrating body education into the physical education curriculum, there is still a need for con-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 73 Fisette tinued research that explores the power relations present Drawing from critical and post-structural social within the physical education setting that influence how theories is beneficial in designing discourse-driven girls perceive and feel about their body, and how these and activist-centered research. This study is grounded perceptions affect their engagement in physical educa- in Foucault’s (1979) work on power and knowledge. tion. Furthermore, to move beyond descriptive studies According to Foucault, power produces knowledge and and to transform discourse into action, Oliver and col- knowledge influences power positioning. For example, leagues (2009) suggested, “scholars move beyond docu- within a bureaucratic school setting, power is not nec- menting ‘what is’ and begin exploring ‘what can be’” essarily given to individuals in authoritative positions (p. 92). Oliver’s research engaged girls in critical inquiry based on their status (e.g., school committee, admin- tasks that allowed them to deconstruct their perspectives istration, teachers), yet most people who believe that and beliefs about their body that were formulated by they have power over others use their position to instill societal norms and messages. To extend the scholarly power relations. contributions on activism and empowerment relative to Power positioning can be established based on a adolescent girls’ experiences in physical education, the person’s level of knowledge. In schools, students have present study focused on creating an educational con- the least amount of power and knowledge, unless those text to empower adolescent girls by providing them the who have more (e.g., teachers) are willing to share their opportunity to conduct an exploratory project of their power and control. For example, adolescent girls in interest that was designed, implemented, and completed physical education have the opportunity to increase by the participants themselves. their power and knowledge through exploratory proj- Previous studies (Azzarito, 2009; Azzarito & Solmon, ects, whereby they authorize their own learning process 2006a, 2006b, 2009; Azzarito et al., 2006; Fisette, in to some extent. In this situation, adolescent girls are press; Garrett, 2004; Oliver, 1999, 2001; Oliver & Lalik, given the opportunity to be empowered as they take 2001, 2004; Oliver et al., 2009; Wright, 1997, 2000) have control of their knowledge development through dis- focused on how adolescent girls feel about and view their course and exploration. Power and control might be body in relation to the socially constructed female body; considered negative or a form of domination; however, however, researchers who study adolescent girls’ embodi- Foucault’s (1979) interpretation of power and knowl- ment are only at the beginning stages of understanding edge is that: different strategies that girls utilize to empower them- We must cease once and for all to describe the selves in physical education. These strategies need to be effects of power in negative terms: it ‘excludes’, discussed, shared, and designed by the girls themselves, it ‘represses’, it ‘censors’, it ‘abstracts’, it ‘masks’, not by researches or their physical education teachers. it ‘conceals’. In fact, power produces; it produces Girls’ voices need to be heard so teachers and researchers reality; it produces domains of objects and rituals can design physical education programs that are comfort- of truth. The individual and the knowledge that able, meaningful, and enjoyable for all students. In this may be gained of him belong to this production. study, adolescent girls formulated their own exploratory (p. 194) projects to further their knowledge on a topic or issue in physical education that was important to them. This Foucault made this claim over 25 years ago, yet indi- article describes the challenges and difficulties the girls viduals in today’s society still demonstrate a binary (i.e., faced when negotiating power relations during the devel- positive or negative) view of power. Power is neither opment of their exploratory projects. oppressive nor repressive; however, social discourses are reproduced or resisted based on the power position of Theoretical Grounding on Power and the individual. Institutions, such as schools, were based on their structure, the individuals within them (e.g., Knowledge students, teachers), the power and knowledge of the individuals, and the processes that affected the transfor-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 74 Negotiating Power mation of individuals (Foucault, 1979). If schools are Negotiating the Relations of Power influenced by social practices and discourses, then the dichotomous perspectives provide reason to revisit the within the Research Context questions that pertain to who has the power and where In this study, I used a critical humanist qualitative the power is generated and constructed. This article research paradigm to analyze how my role influenced sheds light on how this power dichotomy is present adolescent girls’ development of exploratory projects among researchers, school administrators, teachers, and within the context of physical education. A critical students, and how the projects the girls engaged in ques- humanist’s perspective is based on “individual con- tioned and challenged the traditional power relations sciousness as the agent to empower, transform, and that are typically pervasive within schools. liberate groups from dominating and imprisoning social For adolescent girls to feel empowered in the con- processes” (Rossman & Rallis, 2003). I chose this para- text of physical education, they need to engage in dis- digm as the basis for my analysis because it aligns with course and explore factors and issues that impact their the study’s focus on creating contexts for empowering experiences (both positively and negatively) in physical girls through discourse and action research developed education. For this to occur, researchers, the individuals by students. These means have the potential to change technically ‘with the power’ due to their position and or transform girls’ perspectives about their bodies and knowledge, need to create an educational context that social issues, particularly within the context of physical allows girls to question, challenge, and investigate topics education, thereby furthering their experience of indi- and issues they perceive as important to them. The girls vidual (or collaborative) agency. themselves direct the course of action for their projects, Action research was implemented in this study as a while the researchers (or teachers) navigate their process means to empower girls by providing them the oppor- within the power constructs of the school structure. If a tunity to take ownership of their knowledge develop- researcher’s or teacher’s goal is to create an educational ment through their own exploration instead of being context that empowers girls, as in this study, then they prescribed or commanded by others. Although this will need to resist the rules, policies, and decisions that may sound reasonable or doable in theory, it has rarely administrators make that could potentially impede the been put into practice with students. Typically, action girls’ ability to design projects based on their own deci- research in physical education has been conducted with sion-making and ultimately limit their opportunity to researchers and inservice (i.e., hold a teacher license) be empowered. As the girls acquire knowledge through or preservice (i.e., are in a college/university teacher their explorations, they establish their position of power preparation program) teachers; however, to date, there within the context provided, which offers the potential is a paucity of student developed action-research stud- for girls to feel empowered. ies in physical education (e.g., Oliver et al., 2009). This The next section of this paper describes the negotia- may be due to schools’ resistance to challenging the tion of power relations within the research context. It traditional philosophy of power hierarchies, specifically, specifically addresses my role as the researcher through- who should have power and who has the potential to out the study and outlines how the participants were generate power. The purpose of conducting student selected, how the data were collected, and what pro- developed action research is to question and challenge cedures were taken in the girls’ development of their the notion of power within schools, which opposes the exploratory projects. The final section elucidates the hegemonic power notions within most school contexts. negotiation of power relations during the development Action research involves: (1) the collaboration of indi- of the girls’ exploratory projects and presents their viduals (e.g., focus groups, such as those employed in informational products—the medium through which this study); (2) questioning and challenging problems their stories (i.e., voices) are told. and issues within a social context (e.g., schools, physical education); and (3) engaging in an organic process of

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 75 Fisette fact finding (e.g., learned knowledge of girls’ experiences theory on power and knowledge interconnect and through their voices), reflection and planning (e.g., provide the framework for this article. Each of these first two phases of girls’ exploratory projects), strategic perspectives has a specific role in the analysis of this action (e.g., third phase of girls’ projects), and evalua- study. First, action research was employed as the basis tion (fourth and fifth phases of girls’ projects) (Carr & of understanding the girls’ lived experiences and devel- Kemmis, 1986; Peters & Robinson, 1984). opment of their exploratory projects. Second, the criti- Given the focus on these processes in this project, I cal humanist qualitative research paradigm provided a must also explicitly disclose my role throughout the dif- lens through which to analyze my role within the focus ferent phases in this study, especially during the devel- group sessions, specifically during each phase of the opment of the participants’ action research projects. girls’ projects. Finally, since the purpose of the broader Throughout the paper, I examine my own process as study was to create an educational context to empower a reflexive researcher (Rossman & Rallis, 2003) and the adolescent girls by providing them the opportunity to students’ process as participants and action researchers. conduct an exploratory project of their interest, it was I explicate various power relations that complicated important to explore all of the power relations (i.e., and constricted the participants’ development of their Foucault’s critical theory) that occurred within the exploratory projects, which both empowered and con- university and educational structures (e.g., Institutional strained the girls. Although my primary goal was to Review Board, administration, teachers) among and create an empowering environment for girls by giving within each focus group, and specifically during the them a voice, in the end, it is my interpretation of their girls’ project development. Without one of these per- voices that develops into the story. spectives, it would be challenging to truly get a sense of the girls’ empowerment in this study. Throughout the Thus, it was imperative to be aware of my own bias- remainder of this paper, I will provide specific examples es based on the research literature, my previous research of how my role as a researcher enhanced or constricted studies, and my personal experiences, which I reflected the girls’ potential to be empowered. This section pro- upon in my researcher journal and discussed with criti- vides insight into the decision-making processes within cal friends prior to and throughout the study. This was the research context that provides the foundational particularly important as my role as researcher changed framework for the participants’ action research projects. over the course of the semester. At the onset, I utilized an etic (i.e., outsider’s view and voice) perspective as I School Setting created activities for the girls to conduct, which initi- This study was conducted at Varsity Regional High ated discourse among the girls in each group. Initially, School (name has been changed), situated in a rural I facilitated the focus group discussions; however, as community in the Northeast region of the United the girls began to develop their own action research States. Four different school districts comprised the projects, I shifted into an emic (i.e., insider’s view and student body of this high school, where there was a voice) perspective (Rossman & Rallis, 2003). It is impor- total enrollment of 714 students in the seventh through tant to note that the ‘shift’ did not occur discretely. As twelfth grades with 94% of the student body identifying a matter of fact, a continuous shift between the etic as white, which was higher than the state average (74%). and emic perspectives occurred throughout the study The design of the physical education program was as I navigated the tension between being the person in differentiated based on grade level. For example, the power as a university researcher, and also the person seventh and eighth graders had 45-minute physical edu- legitimating the knowledge of the girls based on their cation classes every other day for one semester, ninth own experiences by creating a context whereby they through twelfth graders had 82-minute physical educa- become the authorities. tion classes every other day for one full semester that Collectively, action research, critical humanist quali- was required, and the ninth through twelfth graders had tative research paradigm, and Foucault’s (1979) critical

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 76 Negotiating Power an elective program for 82 minutes, every day, for one or team sports every class meeting. quarter. Activities offered at each grade level included Participant Profiles. Dot, Isabelle, Raika, Sunshine, team and individual sports and fitness. There were three Lilly, Rebecca, and Latorah (names have been changed) physical education teachers (2 female, 1 male). were the participants of the study. Lilly and Rebecca Participant Selection were ninth graders; the remainder of the group were 10th graders. I developed the following profiles based Seven, ninth- and 10th-grade girls (n = 2, n = 5) on personal profiles the girls completed during their were the participants in this study. In selecting the first focus-group session and individual and group participants for the study, I first observed two separate interviews. physical education classes for the first two weeks of the semester to record descriptive field notes on all of the Lilly was a gregarious, outspoken, athletic girl who girls’ behaviors, level of engagement, and skill ability. was very diligent about her schoolwork and horseback Initially, the objective was to conduct focus-group inter- riding. She tended to a barn and rode horses every sin- views with ninth graders; however, since ninth through gle day after school and on the weekends. Rebecca was 12th graders were in each class, the potential sample new to the school and was more reserved than the other size of ninth graders was very small. Based on the first girls. She kept to herself, but increased her engagement two weeks of observation, there were distinct ‘groups’ during group discussion as the semester went on. She in the class (e.g., male and female athletes, upper- and also enjoyed riding and training horses. Dot was very lower-class students, male and female non-athletes). The quiet, kept to herself, and did not like being the center visibility of these divergent groups led me to decide of attention, yet she colored her hair (e.g., red, pink), to work with ninth- and 10th-grade girls, because they wore alternative clothing, and enjoyed going to rock seemed to either be the most alienated in the class or concerts where she engaged in body surfing. Isabelle was tried to get involved in the activities with little avail. frequently absent from school, was social, and enjoyed For example, these girls would stand in the middle of playing the guitar. Raika was outgoing, personable, and the gym or field and walk a few steps back and forth very determined to show others that she was not a ‘girly to appear like they were engaged in game play, yet girl’. She was on the track and field team and enjoyed never did get involved. Other students in the class did wood stacking and hunting. Sunshine was very shy, not engage with them before, during, or after class. intimidated by her peers, and highly concerned about Furthermore, there were girls who worked to get open, her image and looks. She was part of the ski club and called for the ball, but were ignored by their classmates. enjoyed hanging out with her friends. Latorah was laid This was most apparent by the underclass girls who back, reserved, yet willing to initiate conversation. She were in a large class of 50 students, both boys and girls, was a member of the girls’ Junior Varsity basketball many of whom were student-athletes. The class that had team. the most ninth- and 10th-grade girls was selected, since Permission to conduct the study and approval for it provided a larger sample size for participant selection. participants to engage in action research-based activities I held a meeting with all the ninth- and 10th-grade (i.e., with teachers and students) were obtained through girls (N = 9) in the same physical education class at the university’s Institutional Review Board and the the end of the second week of classes. The girls sat in school district. Students, parents of the students, and pairs (of their choosing), with the exception of one girl physical education teachers signed a letter of informed who listened from a distance as she sat in the back of consent, which explained the purpose, risk, and rights the room against the wall. Seven out of the nine girls of the participants in the research study. Furthermore, returned their signed information consent forms and letters of consent assured participants anonymity, as became participants in the study. The two girls who did pseudonyms are utilized for the names of participants not return the forms preferred to participate in fitness and the school.

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Interactions with Participants my power positioning as the researcher by negating any possibility for the girls to have power or control over Data were collected from focus-group interviews (N the focus-group selection process (Foucault, 1979). In = 28; 14 for each group) to explore how adolescent girls an effort to create a context where girls feel comfortable perceive and feel about their bodies while they engage in and safe, it is important to provide them with a voice so physical activity within the physical education context. that they have input in the decision-making processes Data collected from focus-group interviews were process to create a positive environment according to them. oriented as the data were analyzed after each session (via listening to audiotapes) and transcribed verbatim. Each Focus-group interviews were divided into two session built upon the activities conducted, discussions phases. In Phase I, participants engaged in activities held, and the formulation of exploratory projects. These such as personal profiles, an autobiographical free write projects were student developed (i.e., action research) of their past experiences in physical education and and based on a topic or issue in physical education physical activity, perceived skill ability selection, pic- about which they wanted to explore and learn more. ture identification, a body drawing exercise, and poster sessions. These activities were based on the literature Focus-Group Interviews. Focus-group interviews (Oliver, 1999, 2001) and previous pilot studies con- were conducted with the participants once a week ducted (Fisette, in press), which revealed that the girls throughout the data-collection process. Participants responded favorably to these activities (i.e., they actively were divided into two groups: Focus Group A and engaged in discourse with their group), because they Focus Group B. Although seven participants could were allowed to reflect on their responses before sharing engage in one larger focus group, there was a risk that with the group (i.e., they were not put on the spot). The some participants’ voices would dominate, whereas purpose of these activities was to generate conversation others could have been lost. Furthermore, participants among the participants. Participants first completed the often feel more comfortable to express their thoughts activities individually and then shared their responses and feelings with a few of their peers compared to a with the entire group. Discussions followed each of the larger group (Fisette, in press). These groups were for- participants’ responses, which were led initially by me, mulated based on my initial observations and input but were eventually based on topics and points of view from Ms. Patterson (one of the physical education the girls wanted to talk about. teachers). Phase II extended the conversations from Phase I by First, the girls were paired up with someone they having each group conduct exploratory projects on a interacted with during physical education class, so they topic they felt was important to them and about which would feel as comfortable as possible. Second, Ms. they wanted to learn more. Furthermore, Focus Groups Patterson helped me to determine which pairs would A and B created informational products to disperse the formulate each group. Her recommendations were information gathered and to share their findings and based on her perceptions of how the girls who were group perspectives on their selected topic with the fac- leaders would be more vocal in the groups, and would ulty and student body at the high school. engage the other girls in conversation. Considering that the goal of this study was to empower girls and give During Phase I, I had an etic perspective, as my role them a voice, they were potentially disempowered by was to listen intently to what the participants were say- not being allowed to have input in the focus-group ing and stimulate discussion among them. Furthermore, selection process. I thought I was taking the necessary this process was pertinent to the entire study, because steps to create a comfortable environment for the girls, the activities created for future focus-group interviews yet I did not discuss with the participants the focus- were primarily based on participants’ discussions with group selection process or what they needed to feel one another. During Phase II of the focus group ses- comfortable during the focus-group sessions until a sions, my goals were to help support the groups, listen couple of weeks into the study. In this instance I used carefully, and advise on want-to-do-ability (ownership,

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 78 Negotiating Power passion for topic), should-do-ability (ethics), and do- Survey and Interview Construction ability (logistics) (Rossman & Rallis, 2003). Focus After each group selected a topic and formulated a groups (one for each group) were conducted one block plan, they created survey and interview protocols based period per week during the participants’ physical educa- on their topic selection. First, participants individually tion class. and then collectively formulated a list of questions. Second, participants decided which questions they Procedures Implemented During the wanted to keep, revise, or omit. Finally, participants Development of Girls’ Exploratory piloted their protocols with one another within their group and then made revisions based on their practice Projects sessions. Throughout the second half of the study, par- Information Gathering and Synthesis ticipants formulated group exploratory projects to gain further insight on a topic they felt strongly about in After each group constructed their survey and physical education. The focus groups’ project devel- interview protocols, they gathered and synthesize the opment was based on the step-by-step process the information. Both groups received permission from the girls underwent as they designed and developed their teachers and students to gather the information. They projects, which included: Topic Selection, Designing also formulated a schedule and informed the teachers and Planning, Survey and Interview Construction, and students as to when they were going to hand out Information Gathering and Synthesis, and Informational the surveys or conduct the interviews. Participants col- Products. lected the information over the course of two sessions, then compiled the information, made meaning of it, Topic Selection and compared their findings with their own perspectives Participants were asked to brainstorm salient top- and feelings. ics they believed were frequently discussed throughout Informational Products the first six focus group sessions. Each group followed a step-by-step process to select their topic. First, par- The final phase in the participants’ project develop- ticipants individually created a list of topics. Second, a ment was for each group to create an informational group list was formulated based on their individual lists. product to share their thoughts, feelings, and findings Third, they clustered similar topics together to narrow on their topic with others. Both groups followed a down the options. Finally, each group selected a topic similar process to create informational products. First, they believed was an important issue in physical educa- participants selected a method to deliver the informa- tion. Focus Group A selected gender issues and Focus tion on their topic. Second, participants formulated an Group B chose embarrassment in physical education. outline of the salient points they wanted to include in their products. Third, participants individually wrote Designing and Planning one paragraph at a time that emphasized key points Participants discussed and debated over what from their outline. Fourth, after each participant wrote information to gather, how they were going to gather a paragraph in their journal, they shared them aloud the information, and who were going to be their par- with their group while I typed them on the computer. ticipants or where they would collect the information. Fifth, the groups discussed each sentence within a para- These steps did not transpire in sequential order; rather, graph and selected which sentences they wanted to keep they ebbed and flowed among the participants who or disregard. Finally, participants compiled and edited made decisions based on their personal interests and their informational products. Each group crafted an feelings, ethics (e.g., IRB approval), and logistics. informational product that was dispersed among the entire student body.

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Negotiating the Relations of Power Once Focus Group A had decided how to gather information, they were able to move forward in their during the Development of Girls’ planning. I posed guiding questions (e.g., who will con- Exploratory Projects duct the surveys, how many students) and the group discussed and debated these logistics. At times, it was During the focus-group sessions, the participants necessary to question and challenge their thought pro- and I had to negotiate the power relations that arose cesses. For example, they wanted to distribute surveys throughout the development of the girls’ exploratory to 120 students; however, it would have been a complex projects. Negotiations occurred in all five phases of the process for them to synthesize the information gath- project development; however, only the most salient ered. This is an example of how I used my power and power relations that transpired within the Designing knowledge (Foucault, 1979) to challenge participants’ and Planning, Information Gathering and Synthesis, thinking so they could understand the larger ramifica- and Informational Products phases will be presented in tions of their decisions; however, this questioning also this article. controlled the direction of their process, which margin- alized their voices and potentially disempowered them. Designing and Planning After further discussion, the group made the following Focus Group A and Focus Group B selected gen- decisions: (1) construct a survey of five to ten questions, der and embarrassment issues in physical education, (2) hand out surveys to 15 to 20 students (both boys respectively, as the topics for their exploratory projects. and girls) in one 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade advisory Once they agreed on these topics, the groups started to period, and (3) analyze the surveys and select students design and plan their projects. Throughout this phase, to interview based on their responses. the participants discussed, debated, and negotiated Focus Group A was excited, but exhausted and numerous ideas before they made final decisions about overwhelmed from their planning session. Previous to their projects. this study, participants had never engaged in explor- Focus group A. Isabelle, Raika, Lilly, and Rebecca atory projects with an action-research focus. At times, continued their extensive conversations on the com- their ideas were rather extravagant and other times they plexity of gender issues in coeducation classes such as were stifled in what they wanted to do and needed guid- male dominance, gender segregation, and gender ste- ance from me. Furthermore, time was a salient factor reotypes, which influenced their comfort and participa- since their only opportunity to design and plan their tion in physical education. As they began the planning projects was once (on a few occasions twice) a week for process, the group immediately agreed that they wanted 82 minutes during their physical education class. Once to learn how other students felt in physical education; they had a tentative plan, they were determined to move however, they had trouble deciding how they were their project forward. going to gather the information. Their first suggestion Focus group B. Dot, Sunshine, and Latorah worked was to create a survey. Although the group liked the best when they were given the opportunity to brain- survey idea, they were concerned that students would storm on their own before sharing with the group not take it seriously. (based on data gathered during Phase I of the focus Focus Group A went back and forth between cre- groups, including their feedback about their level of ating a survey and interviewing students one-on-one. comfort during the sessions). I provided them with a Participants believed they could include more students worksheet to record their ideas on what they wanted if they used a survey instead of student interviews; how- to explore on their topic. Dot and Sunshine suggested ever, interviews, they stated, would be more genuine. changes on how to gather information to learn more The group was divided, but came up with a compromise about their topic. For example, Dot suggested students to first create a survey and then conduct interviews. should “be able to request a friend or someone in the

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 80 Negotiating Power class with you” and Sunshine recommended, “that the and decided on the following: (1) interview students in teachers think about how things could embarrass kids their school, but from a different class than their own; [in physical education].” (2) interview six students (four girls, two boys); and Latorah had a different thought process than Dot (3) observe the students they interviewed during their and Sunshine. She stated, “I kind of did it backwards physical education classes. The girls arranged a meeting or something because I said interviewing other girls and with the two female physical education teachers to ask seeing if they feel the same way we do.” Latorah’s idea their permission to interview students in their class. initiated conversation among the group about “going Furthermore, the teachers provided them with a list of to different schools and look at gym classes and see potential students they believed would be willing to be how other girls are in gym.” Focus Group B was excited interviewed and varied in their skill ability and engage- about the possibility of talking to students from other ment in physical education (according to the teachers’ schools. They wanted to get different perspectives than perspectives). Dot, Sunshine, and Latorah each selected the student body at their own high school, since they two students from the list, went to their physical educa- believed other schools did not place as much emphasis tion class to ask if they would be interested in being on athletics. Athletics was a primary focus at Varsity interviewed, and scheduled a time for the interview. High, particularly in physical education where athletes Although participants were given the opportunity to were privileged and given preferential treatment (e.g., empower themselves by creating and conducting a proj- varsity athletes did not have to participate in physical ect that was of interest to them, they continuously had education on game days). Focus Group B were intimi- to navigate individuals in a position of power (e.g., me dated by and shied away from the many athletes in as the researcher, physical education teachers), as well their class, even though Latorah was on the girl’s Junior as institutional structures supporting power hierarchies Varsity basketball team. (e.g., IRB issues, time constraints), which often depreci- ated the power and control they had over their projects The idea of Focus Group B gaining access to girls and silenced their voices. from other school systems was problematic. While I wanted to create an optimal educational context to Information Gathering and Synthesis empower the participants by allowing them to explore Each group constructed their survey and interview the project of their choice, the ethics of the project protocols (see Figures 1 and 2) during the third phase needed to be carefully considered. The University of the project. Before handing the surveys out to stu- IRB approval allowed me to conduct research with dents, Focus Group A piloted the surveys to determine adolescent girls and for them to conduct action-based whether the questions generated the type of responses activities; however, the IRB did not state that students they wanted, were clear and concise, and were in the could interview or observe students from other schools. appropriate order (according to them). Focus Group B As the researcher, I had to use my power position to also piloted their interview protocols during a practice negate their request to go outside of their school for session, which was conducted to give the participants their exploratory project. Resistance is a factor in power interview experience, especially since the group was ner- relations (Foucault, 1979, Gore, 2002) and in this situ- vous about interviewing their peers. Participants had the ation the power (i.e., opportunity, knowledge) the girls opportunity to be the interviewer and the interviewee. desired was resisted. The challenges and nuances of the The next step in the groups’ project development was permission process required to solicit information at a to gather and synthesize the information. Both groups school different from Varsity High were explained to received permission from the teachers and students to the girls, and when I informed the participants that they conduct the surveys and interviews. were unable to go to other schools to gather informa- Focus Group A. Isabelle, Raika, Lilly, and Rebecca tion, they understood, but were disappointed. needed to receive permission from one advisory teacher Focus Group B continued to plan their projects

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Figure 1 Figure 2 Survey on Gender Issues in Physical Education Created Interview Protocol on Embarrassment in Physical by Focus Group A Education Created by Focus Group B Name (optional) ______Group B – Interview Protocol ______Explain why we are conducting the interview. Gender ______Age ______Grade Level _____ Gender ______Grade ______1. What’s your first reaction to PE? Survey Questions 2. How do you feel in PE? 1. Do you enjoy PE? Why/why not? 3. What is something you would change about PE and why? 2. What are your favorite and least favorite activities in 4. Do you think PE is fun? If not, what would make PE more fun? PE? 5. Difference between how you feel about PE in elemen- 3. What do you like about PE? What do you dislike about tary, middle, and high school? PE? (Consider other aspects of PE in addition to activities) 6. Which age group do you like better – the middle school 4. If you could change something about PE what would or high school? that be? 7. Do you participate in PE? 5. How do you feel about coed PE classes? 8. Describe your participation in PE. 6. Would you like same-gender classes? Why/why not? 9. What’s your favorite activity? Least favorite activity? Why? 7. Do you play a sport? If so, what sport(s)? 10. Are you comfortable with the people around you? 8. Please describe why you consider yourself a physically 11. Do you socialize with everyone in the class? active or non-physically active person. 12. Do you like to have friends in your class? Why/why not? 9. How are you influenced by the media about gender and 13. Do you see embarrassment as a key factor when you sexuality? Please explain. are in PE? Please answer the following questions: 14. How do you feel when you change your clothes in the locker room? 10. Would you be interested in having a follow up 15-20 minute interview? YES NO 15. Is embarrassment a key factor in how much you participate? 11. What is your B2 class? ______Would 16. How do you feel when you get embarrassed in front you be willing to get out of class for 20 minutes or so of the class? What do you do about it? for the interview? YES NO 17. Do the people in your class affect your level of embar- rassment? 12. Have you had PE thus far this year? YES NO If no, when was the last time you had PE ______? 18. What makes you the most embarrassed during PE? 19. How do you feel if the ball hits you in the face? 20. Do you do physical activity outside of school? 21. If yes, what type of physical activity do you do? 22. Would you rather do physical activity by yourself or with other people? 23. What is your purpose for doing physical activity (e.g., fun?)?

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 82 Negotiating Power per grade level (9-12) prior to distributing their surveys synthesis process, because I did not want them to get to students. Students at Varsity High did not have frustrated or lose interest in their projects. However, homeroom at the start of the school day; rather, they the group needed to experience this process to make were given fifteen minutes after first block (i.e., period) meaning of the information gathered, especially if where they reported to the same teacher every day they wanted to include any of their findings in their throughout their four years in high school. informational products. Furthermore, if I controlled On the day Focus Group A distributed the surveys, the process, the girls’ involvement would have been participants reported to me five minutes before the minimized and the projects would have ultimately been advisory period to receive copies of the survey and for crafted in my voice instead of the participants’ (Dyson, final preparations. When the bell signaled the end of 2006; Foucault, 1979). first block, the girls excitedly ran out the door to their Focus Group B. Dot, Sunshine, and Latorah were assigned advisory class. The group met immediately prepared on interview day; however, they were con- after they distributed the surveys and were excited to cerned that the students they planned to interview share their experiences and what people wrote on the would not show up. The group held two time slots for surveys. I allowed them to read the responses before the the interviews; 30 minutes apart. Participants conducted group started to compile the information. their interviews in separate locations. After participants perused the surveys, I explained Participants reflected upon their interviews after that they needed to establish a plan as to how they they were completed. They stated that some interviews were going to analyze the surveys. Once again, I ques- were better than others, because the students provided tion whether I imposed my own position of power and them with more information. All three participants fol- level of knowledge over the girls as I steered them down lowed the structured interview protocol and did not the data analysis road. What would have happened if ask follow-up questions, which limited the depth of I did not suggest to them that they needed to analyze students’ responses. their surveys? Were lessons lost due to my influence? Focus Group B was perplexed when I first asked Unfortunately, I did not question my decisions and how they planned to compile and make meaning of actions at the time, so the girls devised an analysis plan the information gathered. After providing them with that best suited them. examples, they decided to compile and summarize the First, they discussed how to divide the 40 surveys responses question by question. Each participant shared they collected. Second, they formulated key points of responses from their students aloud and recorded the analysis to ensure the group would follow the same pro- information into their journal. Then they summarized cess when they compiled the information. The key points their notes, which included tallies for yes/no questions, established were: record notes in journals, compile infor- similarities and differences among the six students, mation question by question, create columns or tables and similarities and differences between the students with yes, no, or sometimes and tally by gender, place the and their group. This procedure stimulated conversa- gender in parentheses with longer responses, start a new tion among the participants based on the students’ page for every question, and look for patterns. responses, which minimized the monotony of tallying Participants did not espouse the same excitement information and allowed them to make meaning of the during information synthesis as they did when they information throughout the process. handed out the surveys and read students’ responses. Informational Products For two sessions, they recorded and compiled the The final phase in the participants’ project develop- information from the surveys. They expressed that the ment was for each group to create an informational process was long and monotonous. At times, I wanted product to share their thoughts, feelings, and findings to alleviate the girls from having to go through the on their topic with others. Discussions transpired as to

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 83 Fisette whether the groups should include their names on the Researcher’s Note informational products. Participants were concerned Throughout the course of the study, I consistently they would receive negative comments from students, communicated with the two female physical education because they would be easily identified due to the small teachers. The teachers were very supportive of the study size of the school. At first, they chose not to include and often inquired about the process. I provided gen- their names, but once the products were formulated, eral updates on how participants engaged in the focus they changed their minds. In the following section, the groups, but refrained from sharing detailed information groups’ informational products will be described and discussed during sessions in order to ensure participant presented. confidentiality. Focus Group A. Isabelle, Raika, Lilly, and Rebecca As the groups worked on their exploratory projects, created a newsletter for their informational product, I met with the female teachers to make them aware of because it could be disseminated to the entire student the potential informational products that would be body. Focus Group A distributed the newsletter into circulated throughout the school. I explained that the the teachers’ mailboxes, because they wanted the teach- groups chose to create a newsletter and write an article ers to read and circulate the newsletter to the students for the school newspaper about a topic or issue in phys- in their advisory period. I supplemented the newsletter ical education they believed was important to explore with a memo to provide the teachers with an explana- and share with others. I did not want the teachers to tion of the study and purpose of the newsletter. The be blindsided, since I was knowledgeable about the newsletter was circulated at the start of the second contents of the informational products. They repeat- semester, which was after the end of the study. The edly assured me that they were supportive and believed newsletter titled, Gender Issues in PE, is presented in that the experience was valuable to the participants. Figure 3. Before each informational product was distributed, I Focus Group B. Dot, Sunshine, and Latorah wrote provided copies to the physical education teachers and an article for the school newspaper. The group and I met with the school principal. The principal asked for met with the journalism teacher to find out if students additional copies, because she wanted to distribute the outside of the journalism class could submit an article informational products at the upcoming school com- to the newspaper. The teacher rarely received external mittee meeting. articles, but was supportive and encouraged the group Once the newspaper was printed and circulated to write an article on their experiences in physical edu- throughout the school, the journalism teacher provided cation. The teacher and I agreed that the article would me with multiple copies. He informed me that he had to be an editorial piece, because it was primarily based on take necessary steps to include the article in the newspa- the girls’ opinions. I wrote a sidebar article to provide per. First, he met with the principal, because he was con- context and credibility to the participants’ article, per cerned that the participants might receive negative com- the suggestion of the journalism teacher. At the time, ments from the student body if he included their names. the girls appreciated that I wrote an article that framed Both agreed that it would be best to exclude their names their own; however, I wonder whether my article created from the article. When he shared this information with a context for the girls to feel empowered, or on the me, I questioned whether the decisions made by those contrary, whether they needed my position of power in power positions, such as the principal and journalism to legitimize their voices. The article was printed in teacher, empowered or disempowered the girls. Were the the school newspaper three weeks after the study con- girls relieved that their names were not included on the cluded. The article entitled, Embarrassment…and Other article as they originally wanted or did they want not only Things You Might Not Know about How Girls Feel in for their voices to be heard, but to be recognized as the PE, is presented in Figure 4. authors? Unfortunately, since the study concluded three weeks prior, I did not get to ask the girls these question

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Figure 3 Newsletter for Focus Group A’s Exploratory Project

Volume 1, Issue 1 – January 2008 Isabelle, Raika, Lilly, Rebecca ______9th & 10th Grade__ Girls’ Thoughts & Feelings about play the games with the males. Two of us try and if it doesn’t work out Physical Education then we have the attitude ‘oh well’, which results in us not trying as hard to participate. One of us tries and tries, but can’t seem to get no- e are a group of 9th and 10th grade girls that participated in a ticed. These are ways we approach and experience PE. We understand Wresearch study in our gym class. This study is about physical edu- this differs for every person, but ask yourself, how do you approach cation (PE) in our school and giving students a chance to voice their PE? Think about your level of participation – what influences it? opinions. We have been meeting once a week throughout the 1st semes- ter during PE. We are researching gender because it was a predominant Same-Gender vs. Coed Classes topic during our meetings. We handed out surveys to one advisory class nother question we asked was whether students prefer same-gender per grade to find out the students’ views about how they feel in PE. In or coed PE classes. No one wanted same-gender classes; however, the following paragraphs, we will share some information that we have A students shared positives and negatives to having coed classes. For collected from both these surveys and ourselves. We made meaning of example, being with friends and having the chance to prove yourself the information we gathered from the surveys and compared them to to others are positive reasons to have coed classes. A negative reason what we have discussed during our meetings. We are doing this to show is that females often times have limited opportunities to participate in the high school student body some of the gender issues in PE. an activity because the males dominate the games (e.g., when playing a Females Feel Inferior to Males game, a female is about to get into the play when a male runs in front of her and takes the spotlight). e mixed the survey responses with our own opinions and found Wthat PE can be and is very uncomfortable for females. Females feel Social Groups in PE constant pressure to prove themselves to the males. We also feel like we he opportunity to socialize is a reason students enjoy PE. Al- are ignored because we are ‘not as skilled’ as the males. The reason males though students like to talk to their friends, have you noticed think we are not as good is because they don’t give us a chance. Many T who talks to whom in your PE class? Through our experiences and females feel uncomfortable and self-conscious about their skill ability observations, we find that males are friendly with the other males, and body. When females withdraw themselves, we then become invisible. while the females in the class have their own female cliques and We feel that the males believe if we do not play a sport then we are not don’t mingle with other groups. Why do you think this is? We do worthy of being recognized. In PE, females usually are associated with not know the answer, because it applies differently to each per- choosing fitness for an activity whereas males choose dodgeball. Gender son. However, we wonder, why is it that females feel less comfort- roles play into PE a lot; it just isn’t noticed or talked about. able with their female friends and most females seek approval from Female Approaches to PE males, whereas, males seek approval from other males? ne of the questions on the surveys asked what students like and Suggestions for Change Odislike about PE. Ironically, many males answered they disliked when people don’t try or participate. We find this ironic because the e feel that it is important to further investigate gender dif- reason many females do not participate is because of treatment they Wferences in PE so we can learn how to best participate with receive from the males. For example, have you ever noticed when a one another. For example, males may want to give more attention male in PE class says something to a female and she gets scared and to females by passing the ball to them instead of always passing it withdraws herself? If a female feels uncomfortable, they sink back and to their male friends. Females might want to try to increase their make themselves invisible. level of participation and do their best to have a better chance to be noticed and respected. We want to end this newsletter with two he four of us have different methods of approaching PE within our questions for you to consider: What changes could be made in PE group. For example, one of us does everything possible to make T so that gender isn’t such a predominant issue as it is now? What herself noticed in fear of becoming invisible. She puts herself in posi- changes could be made so all students, both males and females, feel tions other females may find uncomfortable, so she can participate and more comfortable in PE.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 85 Fisette

Figure 4 Newspaper Article for Focus Group B’s Exploratory Project Embarrassment…and Other Things You Might Not Know About How Girls Feel in PE by: Dot, Sunshine, and Latorah want the opportunity of embarrassment to come so we try to Three sophomore girls have been working together to find ‘blend in’ with people so no one notices us. However, we have out how girls really think and feel in gym class. We were positive experiences when we play a game that is entertaining to selectively chosen to participate in a study on students’ feel- us with some friends. These experiences spark us to get into the ings about gym. Once a week we would meet to discuss our game and actually participate. We talked with other students and own thoughts and feelings in physical education (PE). As we found that friends being in the same gym class give students a started to meet every week we found that embarrassment was level of comfort, unless they are taken away. For example, this a big factor in how we feel. However, we wanted more points occurred during a game of dodgeball. Two of us had decided to of view, so we interviewed students in other gym classes to see participate in dodgeball and asked to be on the same team. We if there were any patterns in their emotions and feelings about were having fun because we were with someone we could talk gym to ours. Over the period of the semester, we put to- to, until another instructor came over and informed us that we gether information to help better understand what students’ couldn’t be on the same team because we were both girls and thoughts are in gym. Throughout this article, we will provide we were split up. This made the game dreadful and unbearable, insight into how we feel embarrassed in PE, what causes us because we were isolated. Overall, if we are concerned or worried to feel embarrassed, how embarrassment affects our level of about embarrassment, we may not full out participate. Instead, participation, and conclude with suggestions for students and we will casually follow along with the game and look interested teachers to consider about how students feel in PE class. as opposed to fully participating. During gym many feelings are experienced, such as feeling We understand that what we have shared is not representa- like a loser, fat, not good enough, jealous, a freak, or just too tive of all students. Yet, we believe that other students have different to be accepted. These feelings, along with falling similar feelings; they just don’t express it. In the future, we down or messing up in a game, cause us to feel embarrassed would like students and teachers to consider the following and not good about ourselves. We feel this way because of suggestions to allow more students to have positive experi- the people in the class, different activities that we play, and ences in PE class: having to change in the locker room. First, if we are put on ‡*HWLQSXWIURPVWXGHQWV a team with students we don’t know and aren’t comfortable ‡3URYLGH PRUHDFWLYLW\RSWLRQV²DVNVWXGHQWVZKDWWKH\ with, this makes us feel embarrassed or put on the spot be- would like to do at the beginning of the course cause we have to try and fit in with everyone else. Second, not being able to play a game well causes some dislike for that ‡'RQ·WVLQJOHSHRSOHRXW activity, which continues to grow (i.e., dislike of activity) as ‡$OORZ VWXGHQWVWRKDYHDIULHQGRQWKHVDPHWHDPUDWKHU we keep playing that game. Screw-ups and mistakes that are than all strangers made can spark rude comments out of competitive players ‡0DNHVXUHHYHU\RQHLVLQYROYHGLQWKHJDPH that make our feelings worse than they were before. Third, ‡%HOHQLHQWZLWKFKDQJLQJ changing in the locker room is hard when you don’t want to be vulnerable or people to see you. Furthermore, changing ‡'RQ·WSLFNIDYRULWHV LHVWXGHQWV  into clothes you wouldn’t normally wear or playing a game We hope students and teachers will think about these sug- you don’t like pulls you out of your comfort zone. gestions to minimize students feeling embarrassed and bad In games that we dislike or aren’t good at, we stay hidden in about themselves in PE. Furthermore, we should always take the sea of upperclassmen and skillful players, only to stand out into consideration the people around us to make everyone when needed. In our experience thus far in gym, we don’t even feel comfortable.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 86 Negotiating Power directly. Second, the journalism teacher contacted the For adolescent girls to have the opportunity to physical education teachers and explained to them that investigate topics and issues they believe are important he was going to print the article, despite their comments in physical education, they need to be placed in a that the article was based on girls who did not like physi- power position to do so. According to Foucault (1979), cal education. According to the journalism teacher, the “power is exercised, not possessed; not privileged/domi- article sparked discussion throughout the school, among nated, but affected by strategic positions” (p. 26). Power faculty and students, about challenges and issues students positioning was a salient factor during the decision-mak- face in physical education. Furthermore, he received ing processes throughout the study, which affected the positive feedback from the faculty and administration girls’ opportunity to be empowered. There were times for including an editorial article that provided students I had to navigate my own positioning as the researcher the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings. He of the study, such as within the bureaucratic school was hopeful that the article would foster further student- institution, the restrictions placed by the IRB, and my centered discourse throughout the school. attempts at managing (or controlling?) the girls’ explor- atory projects. For example, in an attempt to create a Navigating the Relationship between comfortable, safe environment for the girls, I selected the focus groups based on input from the physical Power and Knowledge within an education teacher, without ever consulting or including Educational Context that Empowers the girls in the process. Furthermore, I impeded Focus Group B’s quest to interview girls from other schools, Girls because of ethical issues with the IRB. Each time I used my own position of power, knowledge, and control, The goal of the broader study was to create an edu- I potentially disempowered or constrained the girls’ cational context to empower adolescent girls by provid- opportunities to feel empowered. ing them the opportunity to conduct an exploratory project of their interest that was designed, implemented, Although the girls did not express they felt disem- and completed by the participants themselves. For this powered, I did not explicitly inquire how these circum- to occur, the power and control held by teachers and stances made them feel. In reality, the girls never had researchers needed to be shared with the participants; power and control over their exploratory projects due however, the power positioning within the bureaucratic to the aforementioned examples; however, they did school system and my own navigation of the research gain access to power through the knowledge base they process often limited the participants’ potential to be developed during the focus-group sessions. The power empowered. When participants had power and con- relations that occurred throughout the study enhanced trol, they did not explicitly have power over others; my own knowledge of additional possibilities and rather, the emphasis on student voice allowed them to opportunities researchers and teachers can implement extend their knowledge on selected topics and issues. to empower students, including giving them a voice Knowledge, in this case, was the power held by the par- when developing focus groups and obtaining approval ticipants, because, “power produces knowledge; power for the girls to explore communities outside of their and knowledge directly imply one another; there is no school. In this section, the relationship between power power relation without the correlative constitution of and knowledge and its relation to participants’ project a field of knowledge” (Foucault, 1979, p. 26). In most exploration and the creation and distribution of their school settings, students have less power and knowledge informational products will be discussed. than teachers, for example, unless teachers are willing to Focus Groups A and B embraced the possibilities share their power and control. Power relations are also the exploratory projects offered, particularly on the topic present within student groups and subgroups, such as in of their choice. Focus Group A selected gender issues the focus groups in this study. in physical education as the focus of their project. The

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 87 Fisette group struggled with male power and dominance in struggled with balancing the power that the exploratory physical education, which affected their participation lev- projects gave to them (i.e., when and when not to use els in physical education. Male dominance has frequently the power). For example, participants extended their been identified as a major obstacle in coeducation classes power and knowledge to the students they surveyed and (Azzarito, et al., 2006; Griffin, 1984, 1985a, 1985b; Lirgg, interviewed, but when they created their informational 1993; Treanor, Graber, Housner, & Wiegand, 1998); how- products, they disempowered themselves (or did they?) ever, students do not usually explore this issue on their when they opted to exclude their names. own. Focus Group B chose embarrassment in physical The creation of the newsletter and newspaper article education as the issue they wanted to investigate. These extended their voices beyond the comfort of their focus participants feared being surveyed, judged, and ridiculed group. These participants wanted to inform other stu- by classmates based on their physical appearance and dents and teachers about gender and embarrassment performance, given the public nature of physical educa- issues in physical education, because they understood tion. Kirk (1999) viewed the physical culture as a way the power of having their stories told and voices heard. to observe how individuals and groups act within this Collectively, the participants’ ability to craft and distrib- public society. Findings from this study supports Kirk’s ute these informational products empowered them and notion that the physical culture brings the private into enhanced the knowledge of their readers. the public and the public into the private. How to access students’ voices has been a lingering Implications for Teachers question in physical education, since limited studies have focused on students’ viewpoints, thoughts, and For students to be empowered and gain knowl- feelings (Dyson, 2006). The methodological process edge on issues that are important to them, several of this study demonstrated a step-by-step process that factors should be considered. First, student-centered emphasized student voice, which gave participants the and critical pedagogy needs to be a part of all physical power and opportunity to share, discuss, and make education curricula to engage students in activities and meaning of their thoughts and feelings about various discussions about their thoughts and feelings (Rovegno, aspects of physical education. In addition, care was 2008). For this to occur, teachers need to develop the taken to sequence and organize the methods to provide knowledge and skills to access student voice, imple- participants a comfortable and safe environment for ment action research projects, and create educational their voices to be heard. Methodologies, such as those contexts that provide students with opportunities to utilized in this study, provide a more holistic education- empower themselves. The teacher’s role is significant al experience for students and provide valuable insight in this process, particularly if the students do not pos- for researchers and teachers to consider as they attempt sess the knowledge and skills to empower themselves to improve the quality of physical education in schools when the opportunity is presented to them. To develop (Dyson, 2006). this knowledge and skills, teachers need to be open to learning student-centered and critical pedagogy through The exploratory process used in this study was a chal- professional development opportunities. Researchers lenge for the participants. They were excited and eager and teacher educators also need to consider implement- to engage in their own projects, but were novices with ing this educational perspective in physical education regard to project development. For example, participants teacher education programs. continuously brainstormed and engaged in discussion that focused on topic selection, designing and planning, This study offers a few examples of the challenges and constructing surveys and interviews; however, the and difficulties faced when navigating the power rela- final steps in the process (i.e., compiling and making tions that affect student developed projects. Although meaning) became a real test of the participants’ com- I was a university researcher and had an outsider’s per- mitment to their projects. Furthermore, participants spective (i.e., etic), teachers may also have to navigate

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 88 Negotiating Power and negotiate the same challenges, barriers, and con- Previous studies (Azzarito, 2009; Azzarito et al., straints I encountered. Sufficient time is needed to truly 2006; Fisette, in press; Garrett, 2004; Wright 1997, create a context that empowers students, which may 2000) have begun to shed light on how adolescent girls conflict with physical education curricula and teachers’ think and feel within the context of physical education. philosophies that support maximum participation in Currently, limited research (e.g., Oliver, 2001; Oliver physical activity during physical education classes. & Lalik, 2001, 2004; Oliver et al., 2009) is being con- Second, initiatives need to be made to extend ducted on students’ development and implementation beyond the power of voice and move towards the of their own action research projects. These projects power of action. In other words, activities need to give students the opportunity to develop knowledge empower and educate students to investigate and take based on their own interests and explorations. The action. Third, students are capable and willing to for- adolescent girls in this study took a risk by dispersing mulate their own action research projects to further their thoughts, feelings, and project findings among the their knowledge and inform others if they are given the high school student body through their informational opportunity. products. They demonstrated the power of student voice and action.

References

Azzarito, L. (2009). The Panopticon of physical education: Pretty, Foucault, M. (1979). Discipline and punish: The birth of the active, and ideally white. Physical Education and Sport prison. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Pedagogy, 14(1), 19-40. Garrett, R. (2004). Negotiating a physical identity: Girls, bodies Azzarito, L., & Solmon, M. A. (2006a). A poststructural analysis of and physical education. Sport, Education and Society, high school students’ gendered and racialized bodily meanings. 9(2), 223-237. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 25(1), 75-98. Gore, J. M. (2002). Some certainties in the uncertain world Azzarito, L., & Solmon, M. A. (2006b). A feminist postructuralist of classroom practice: An outline of a theory of power view on student bodies in physical education: Sites of compli- relations in pedagogy. Paper presented at the Annual ance, resistance, and transformation. Journal of Teaching in Meeting of the Australian Association for Research in Physical Education, 25, 200-225. Education, Brisbane, Australia.

Azzarito, L., & Solmon, M. A. (2009). An investigation of students’ Griffin, P. S. (1984). Girls’ participation patterns in a middle embodied discourses in physical education: A gendered proj- school team sports unit. Journal of Teaching in Physical ect. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 28(2), Education, 4, 30-38. 173-191. Griffin, P. S. (1985a). Boys’ participation styles in a middle school Azzarito, L., Solmon, M. A., & Harrison, L., Jr. (2006). “…If I had physical education sports unit. Journal of Teaching in a choice, I would….” A feminist poststructuralist perspective Physical Education, 4, 100-110. on girls in physical education. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 77(2), 222-239. Griffin, P. S. (1985b). Teachers’ perceptions of and responses to sex equity problems in a middle school physical education Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, program. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, knowledge and action research. London: Falmer Press. 4(2), 103-110.

Dyson, B. (2006). Students’ perspectives of physical education. Kirk, D. (1999). Physical culture, physical education, and relational In D. Kirk, D. MacDonald, & M. O’Sullivan (Eds.), The analysis. Sport, Education and Society, 4(1), 63-73. handbook of physical education (pp.326-346). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Lirgg, C. D. (1993). Effects of same-sex versus coeducational physical education on the self-perceptions of middle and high Fisette, J. L. (in press). Exploring how girls navigate their embodied school students. Research Quarterly for Exercise and identities in physical education. Physical Education and Sport, 64(3), 324-334. Sport Pedagogy.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 89 Fisette

Oliver, K. L. (1999). Adolescent girls’ body-narratives: Learning to Rossman, G. B., & Rallis, S. F. (2003). Learning in the field: desire and create a “fashionable” image. Teachers College An introduction to qualitative research. Thousand Oaks: Record, 101, 220-246. Sage.

Oliver, K. L. (2001). Images of the body from popular cul- Rovegno, I. (2008). Learning and instruction in social, cultural ture: Engaging adolescent girls in critical inquiry. Sport, environments: Promising research agendas. Quest, 60, Education and Society, 6(2), 143-164. 84-104.

Oliver, K. L., Hamzeh, M., & McCaughtry, N. (2009). Girly girls Treanor, L., Graber, K., Housner, L., & Wiegand, R. (1998). Middle can play games: Co-creating a curriculum of possibilities school students’ perceptions of coeducational and same-sex with fifth-grade girls. Journal of Teaching in Physical physical education classes. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 28(1), 90-110. Education, 18, 43-56.

Oliver, K. L., & Lalik, R. (2001). The body as curriculum: Learning Wright, J. (1997). The construction of gendered contexts in single with adolescent girls. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 33(3), sex and co-educational physical education lessons. Sport, 303-333. Education and Society, 2(1), 55-72.

Oliver, K. L., & Lalik, R. (2004). Critical inquiry on the body Wright, J. (2000). Bodies, meanings and movement: A comparison in girls’ physical education classes: A critical poststructural of the language of a physical education lesson and a felden- perspective. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, krais movement class. Sport, Education and Society, 5(1), 23(2), 162-195. 35-49.

Peters, M., & Robinson, V. (1984). The origins and status of action research. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 20(2), 113-124.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 90 author Editors Note

Proceedings of the Second Annual Girls in Sport Symposium

Diane L. Gill and Erin J. Reifsteck, Editors

The following section presents the proceedings of the Second Annual Girls in Sport Symposium held on April 23, 2010, hosted by the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness and the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). The symposium builds on UNCG’s longstanding commit- ment to women’s sport and physical activity, and publishing these proceedings in the Women’s Sport & Physical Activity Journal is a beginning step in our new UNCG-NAGWS partnership. We hope readers will review the proceedings and join UNCG and NAGWS in advancing girls and women in sport and physical activity. The proceedings begin with an introduction by Symposium Director, Donna Duffy, which includes a preview of the new UNCG-NAGWS collaborative program and the next national symposium. Summaries of the five key presentations at the symposium and the closing coaches’ panel follow the Introduction. First, Heidi Grappendorf provided the opening keynote that gave participants an overview of “where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going” in girls and women’s sport and physical activity. DeAnne Brooks then discussed cultural competencies in a highly interactive session, followed by Jenny Etnier’s informative and entertaining presentation covering psychological considerations in coaching girls. Pam Noakes began the afternoon session with a progress report on girls and women’s sports since the passage of Title IX nearly 40 years ago. Ashley Thomas and Leandra Bedini discussed adaptive sports and specifically the Bridge II Sports program. The testimonies of four girls who participated in this program were clear highlights of the symposium. Finally, the symposium closed with a panel discussion with three highly experienced and “successful” high school coaches who demonstrated the value of experiential knowledge with their insightful comments. The following papers are abbreviated summary versions of the full presentations. As editors who were also par- ticipants in the symposium, we know that these summaries do not include all the information that was presented and cannot capture the many enlightening comments from the interactions and discussions within sessions at the symposium. Contact information for the authors and presenters is provided at the end of these proceedings.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 91 author Introduction

Introduction to the Girls in Sport Symposium

Donna Duffy

The Second Annual Girls in Sport Symposium was held on Friday, April 23, 2010 and was hosted by the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness and the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The Girls in Sport Symposium was developed to help coaches and teachers of girls and women in sport and physical activity settings stay current on the latest modes and models of teaching and coaching. Generally speaking, the goal of the symposium each year is to enhance the ability of teachers and coaches of girls and young women to promote their positive development through sport and physical activity. This year’s symposium was a great success with over 120 coaches, teachers, recreation professionals and aca- demic scholars learning about the history and legal implications of Title IX, how girls with disabilities experience sport, competition and physical activity, cross cultural considerations of coaching girls and how we move forward in promoting more opportunities for girls and women in sport and physical activity. Following the symposium, in the spring of 2010 the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) chose the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness (CWHW) in the School of Health and Human Performance (HHP) at University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) as its collaborative, university home. The goal of this new collaborative program, named the Program for the Advancement of Girls and Women in Sport and Physical Activity, is to further the mission of NAGWS by advancing sport and physical activity opportunities for all girls and women, through evidence-based scholarship and by provide continuing educational opportunities for all professionals who work with girls and women in sport and physical activity settings. One of the initiatives is the expansion of the Girls in Sport Symposium to a national conference of engaged practioners and scholars. The first National Conference for Girls and Women in Sport and Physical Activity will be held October 20- 22, 2011 on the UNCG campus. Dr. Jan Todd, from the University of Texas, has agreed to serve as the keynote speaker for our first conference. For updates on this conference and other activities at UNCG around girls, women, sport and physical activity, we invite you to visit our website at: www.uncg.edu/hhp/pagwspa.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 92 author Where We’ve Been

Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We’re Going: Girls and Women in Sport and Physical Activity

Heidi Grappendorf

The journey towards gender equity has been long and ongoing for girls and women in sport and physical activity. Efforts towards gender equity in sport have been plentiful, and are continually ongoing as more girls and women participate and play in sport at both the high school and intercollegiate levels. Further, women continue to work their way towards more management and leadership positions. Numerous strategies and initiatives have been created to eliminate gender discrimination, promote opportuni- ties and to ensure gender equity in sport and physical education for girls and women. However, from the early efforts of female physical education instructors and the women of the AIAW, women are still fighting some of the same stereotypes, myths, and issues that their foremothers faced. Minimal participation was attributed to traditional gender roles, medical myths, and the notion that women were inferior to men (Ladda, 2007; Rintala, 2001; Swanson & Spears, 1995). Eventually some women began calling for more participation and more organization (Ennis, 2006; Swanson & Spears, 1995). This led to the formation of several groups included the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and the CIAW (Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) and eventu- ally the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as well as others. The women of these groups had very specific ideas as to how they wanted sport and physical activity run for women, and they were steadfast in avoiding some of the problems and scandals that men’s sports and physical activity had been experiencing (Chepko & Courtier, 2001; Rintala, 2001). With the passage of Title IX in 1972, more and more girls and women began participating and women worked towards obtaining positions in management and leadership. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (2010) 3,114,091 girls are playing sports compared to 294,015 in 1971-72. Further, at the inter- collegiate level, participation levels are close to an all time high (Acosta & Carpenter, 2010). Title IX has created many positives in addition to more girls and women participating in sport. These include both psychological and physical benefits. However, there are still some issues and concerns that need to be addressed with this growth. Inevitably with change and evolution, there are going to come some growing pains. For advocates of girls and women in sport and physical activity it is important to pay attention to those pains and some of the issues facing girls and women. For example, the media continues to sexualize female athletes, if they get any coverage at all (Fink & Kensicki, 2002; Messner, Duncan, & Wachs, 1996). Further, Stoll (2005) continues to study and monitor the decreasing levels of moral reasoning for athletes. For girls and women, the levels continue to drop and Stoll predicts

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 93 Grappendorf that those levels will be as low as male athletes within women seeking positions in sport leadership (Burton 5-10 years. Additionally, violent incidents between et.al.; Eagly & Karau) female athletes have been well noted in the press lately, This presentation addressed the history and pro- and incidents of hazing continue to get more extreme. gression, along with barriers and victories of girls and Furthermore, girls and women in sport continue to face women in sport and physical activity. A brief overview sexist language and negative perceptions. These percep- of the early struggles for women in sport and physical tions include ideas about women’s gender roles and activity was provided along with a current status update. the incongruency that is often seen between “athlete” Finally, future issues and areas of concern for those and “female” (Burton, Grappendorf, Henderson, Field, involved with girls and women in sport and physical Dennis, 2008; Eagly & Karau, 2002). Traditional gender activity were addressed. These issues are crucial to dis- roles and stereotypical expectations of what women cuss as the movement towards gender equity continues. “should” be have hurt both female athletes and those

References

Acosta, R. V., & Carpenter, L. J. (2010). Women in intercolle- Ladda. S. (2007). Scholastic Physical Education. In M. Hums, giate sport: A longitudinal study thirty-one year update G. Bower, H. Grappendorf (Eds.), Women as leaders in (1977–2008). Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www. sport: Impact and Influence (pp. 63-84). Oxon Hill, MD: acostacarpenter.org/2010pdf%20combined%20final.pdf AAHPERD Publications.

Burton, L.J., Grappendorf, H., Henderson, A.C., Field, G.B., & Messner, M.A., Duncan, M.C., & Wachs, F.L. (1996). The gender Dennis, J.A. (2008). The relevance of intercollegiate athletic of audience building: Televised coverage of women’s and participation for men and women: Examination of hiring men’s NCAA basketball. Sociological Inquiry, 66, 422-439. preferences to entry level management positions based on role congruity theory. International Journal of Sport National Federation of State High School Associations. (2010). Management, 9, 175-192 2008-2009 Athletic participation survey. Retrieved January 28, 2010, from http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id= Chepko, S., & Couturier, L. (2001). From intersection to collision: 3282&linkidentifier=id&itemid=3282 women’s sports from 1920-1980. In, G. Cohen (Ed.), Women in sport: Issues and controversies (pp. 79-110). Oxon Rintala, J. (2001). Play and competition: An ideological dilemma. Hill, MD: AAHPERD Publications. In G. L. Cohen (Ed.), Women in sport: Issues and controversies, (pp. 37-56). Oxon Hill, MD: AAHPERD Eagly, A.H., & Karau, S.J. (2002). Role congruity theory of preju- Publications. dice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109, 573-598. Stoll, S. (2005). Moral reasoning in athlete populations- a 20 year review. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www. Ennis, C. (2006). Curriculum: Forming and reshaping the vision educ.uidaho.edu/center_for_ethics/research_fact_sheet.htm of physical education in a high need, low demand worlds of schools. Quest, 58(1), 41-59. Swanson, R., & Spears, B. (1995). The history of sport & physical education in the United States. Burr Ridge, IL: Fink, J. S., & Kensicki, L. J. (2002). An imperceptible differ- McGraw-Hill. ence: Visual and textual constructions of femininity in Sports Illustrated and Sports Illustrated for Women. Mass Communication & Society, 5(3), 317-339.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 94 author Cultural Competencies

Cultural Competencies in Sport: Criticisms, Solutions and Actions1

DeAnne D. Brooks

Title IX helped to increase sporting opportunities for many girls and women. Since its implementation in 1972, millions of girls have benefited from increased access to sport as well as changing beliefs regarding females who par- ticipate in sport. Common beliefs regarding race, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, ability/disability, and body type, however, continue to inform rules and practices that restrict access for many potential female athletes. During the session, we reviewed photographs of women athletes from three major Division I universities. The photographs depicted cross country runners and track and field sprinters in competition, golfers walking the course, swimmers and divers posing for a photo at a meet, basketball and soccer players celebrating wins, softball players huddled in a circle, volleyball players during pre-game announcements, and tennis players on senior day. As indicated by the session participants, these photos illustrated the lack of racial diversity that exists in women’s sports on the collegiate level. We then discussed discriminatory racial beliefs and social practices that may con- tribute to this lack of diversity. We discussed the lack of cultural competence and consideration of minority religious groups in the design and implementation of sports. The following quote was presented as an example, “FIFA will discuss the decision to bar an 11-year-old Muslim girl from playing in a soccer tournament in Canada last weekend because she was wearing a head scarf” (NBC Sports, 2007). We also discussed scheduling competitions on the Jewish Sabbath while refusing to schedule competitions on the Christian Sabbath. To demonstrate the existence of beliefs, practices, and rules that continue to restrict access to members of economically disadvantaged families, we read an ad promoting a local volleyball camp. The camp costs $250.00; session attendees acknowledged both the prevalence of such high-priced athletic services as well as the lack of access for girls who can’t afford to pay. Finally, we read points from the Women’s Sports Foundation position on negative recruiting (Women’s Sports Foundation, www.womenssportsfoundation.org). The published recommendations that, “A coach or athlete’s sexual orientation should not be a factor in determining their eligibility for teams, coaching positions, or athletic or academic honors or awards” and that “Lesbian and bisexual athletes and coaches should be able to identify themselves if they choose to without fear of negative consequences” demonstrate that sports environments are still unwelcoming and unfair to sexual minorities.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 95 Brooks

Images and quotes were presented demonstrating tuted a rule to reduce or eliminate registration that following the implementation and relative success costs for children who presented any proof of of Title IX, beliefs, rules, and practices continue to lead financial hardship) to an underrepresentation of certain groups in sports. ‡7DNLQJVSRUWVGLUHFWO\WRFRPPXQLWLHVRIXQGHU- For the remainder of the session, session attendees met represented athletes (ex. Soccer program that in small groups to answer the following questions: provides transportation, a healthy snack, and 1. Is your team diverse? If so, what type of diversity soccer skills to children living in low-income is evident? neighborhoods; Lacrosse clinic that provided 2. What characteristics make up your athletes? donated equipment and skill instruction to ath- Who is left out? Why? letes living in low-income neighborhoods) 3. How have you, personally, adjusted beliefs, ‡2IIHULQJ VSRUWV FOLQLFV DQG FDPSV DW UHGXFHG practices, or rules to invite diversity into your prices (ex. Volleyball coach offers a 6-week coaching practice and/or What sports programs skills camp for $75.00 which is significantly less are designed to encourage diversity and increase expensive than similar camps) access to sport for members of underrepresent- ‡ 'HVLJQLQJ VXVWDLQDEOH SURJUDPV H[ %ODFN ed groups? Women in Sport Foundation programs in After several minutes of lively conversation, session Philadelphia that provide continuous instruc- attendees mentioned numerous challenges they face tion to Black girls in the area in sports non- with regard to improving diversity as well as many suc- traditional to that community) cessful strategies that have succeeded toward this end. At the conclusion of the session, attendees recog- Challenges included: nized that youth and high school coaches have a won- derful opportunity to expand upon the success of Title ‡$WKOHWHV·UHIXVDOWRMRLQWHDPVSOD\VSRUWVWKDW IX by continuing to work toward providing sporting are non-traditional for their cultural group opportunities for all girls and young women. In this ses- (ex. Volleyball coach actively recruits African- sion, we discussed common beliefs, rules, and practices American girls in her school to join her team that may restrict some girls’ participation in sport, and but they choose to play basketball instead) then discussed options for change and plans for action. ‡([SHQVLYHVSRUWVDUHE\GHVLJQXQDYDLODEOHWR Session attendees left with greater awareness of ways low-income groups (ex. Lacrosse equipment to end discriminatory and exclusionary and coaching costs $500.00 per player) practices as well as ways to positively affect change in and through sport. Successful strategies included: ‡6HUYLFHVRIIHUHGRQDVOLGLQJVFDOHDFFRUGLQJWR family’s ability to pay (ex. Athletic Director of local Parks and Recreation department insti-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 96 Cultural Competencies References

Coakley, J. (2007). Sports in society: issues and controversies (9th Edition ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

NBC Sports. (2007, February 28). Retrieved January 2, 2009, from NBC Sports: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/17384029/

Women’s Sports Foundation. Retrieved January 2, 2010, from Women’s Sports Foundation: http://www.womenssports- foundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Equity%20Issues/R/ Recruiting%20%20Womens%20Sports%20Foundation%20 Response%20to%20Negative%20RecruitingSlander%20 Based%20on%20Sexuality%20The%20F.aspx

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 97 author Considerations for Coaching

Considerations in Coaching Girls and Women in Sport and Physical Activity Settings

Jennifer L. Etnier

The number of girls and women involved in sport has risen dramatically over the last several decades. Given this increase, an interesting question is whether or not there are important differences in coaching girls as compared to coaching boys. A search for coaching books published since 1980 with titles suggesting a discussion of gender differ- ences in coaching results in one book focusing on coaching boys and over 30 books that focus on coaching girls. The books that focus on coaching girls include titles like “They Can Do it!”, “Coaching the Female Athlete”, “Issues with Coaching Girls”, “Designing Women”, and “Pregnancy and Other Practical Considerations”. Clearly there is evidence from the popular literature supporting the perception that there is nothing special that you need to know to coach boys, but there is important information you must have if you are going to coach girls. Although the focus of this talk is not on the social issues reflected in this disparity, interested readers should consult a recent content analysis of popular coaching books for an informed discussion of these issues (LaVoi, Becker, & Maxwell, 2007). The focus of this talk is on the empirical evidence supporting the perception that there are differences in coaching boys as opposed to coaching girls. With regard to physical differences between men and women, there is substantial evidence. However, with regard to gender differences in psychological factors related to sport performance, there is very limited empirical evidence and this evidence has primarily been translated from research conducted in other venues such as educational settings, worksites, or personal relationships. In fact, the majority of the “evidence” for gender differences in psychological factors that are critical for coaches to be aware of appears to come from expert opinion or to be based upon experience and gender stereotypes. That being said, there is evidence to suggest that there are small differences in communication between men and women (Allen & Valde, 2006). For example, men have been shown to be more “talkative” than women and to use more assertive speech whereas women use more affiliative speech (Leaper & Ayres, 2007). This is consistent with per- ceptions that women are “rapport” specialists who use communication to develop relationships while men use com- munication to problem solve and to aggressively focus on task accomplishment. Meta-analytic evidence also indicates that all-female groups prefer a leader who uses a democratic style while all-male groups are more equivocal in terms of their preference for an autocratic or a democratic leader (Foels et al., 2000). There is some empirical evidence of gender differences related to assertiveness and motivations for participation in intercollegiate sport. Men tend to report higher assertion scores than women (Keeler, 2007), and women report that they are less accepting of aggression in sport than are men (Tucker & Parks, 2001). Female athletes report a higher value for the social aspects of sport while

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 98 Considerations for Coaching male athletes more highly value the competitive nature men (Bouchard et al., 1998). In soccer, these differences of sport (Flood & Hellstedt, 1991). in physical attributes are thought to contribute to dif- With regard to physical issues relevant to sport, there ferences in the game experience that are reflected in a is empirical evidence regarding pain perception and tol- number of ways including that elite male soccer players erance, injuries, and physical attributes. Although pain run more (10-14 km) than elite female soccer players thresholds and pain tolerance are higher for the general (10.3-10.4 km) in the game and that male teams typically population of men as compared to women (Riley et al., begin successful shooting possessions in both the middle 1998), some evidence suggests that there are no gender and offensive thirds of the field while female teams begin differences in pain intensity or affect amongst athletes them in the offensive third (Kirkendall, 2007). (Hall & Davies, 1991). In terms of injuries, there are no Given the limited research on gender differences differences in injury rates between boys and girls partici- in psychological factors that are relevant to sport, the pating in youth (7-13 yrs) soccer (Radelet et al., 2002). wealth of coaching books suggesting that girls should In contrast, female high school athletes have greater be coached differently than boys is clearly reflective overall injury rates than males in the sports of soccer and more of social expectations and gender stereotypes than softball/baseball (Powell & Barber-Foss, 1999a) and have of empirical evidence. To further complicate this issue, a greater rate of mild traumatic brain injuries (concus- there may be differences in psychological factors that sions) in the sports of soccer, basketball, and softball/ result from teams being managed by a coach of the baseball (Powell & Barber-Foss, 1999b). Importantly, same gender or the opposite gender. Given that approxi- evidence also suggests that women experience greater mately 60% of NCAA women’s teams in 2007-2008 were cognitive deficits and more severe consequences from coached by men, this is another intriguing question and traumatic brain injuries than do men (Dvorak, McCrory, one on which there is currently no research. Until empiri- & Kirkendall, 2007). Additionally, it has been reported cal evidence supports gender differences in how athletes that female athletes are 2-8 times more likely to experi- should be managed by coaches, the use of gender-based ence an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament, ACL, coaching practices is premature. The one area where than are male athletes (Hewett et al., 2005; Yu & Garrett, evidence clearly supports gender differences is in physical 2007). Importantly, there are also gender differences in capabilities and the experience of injuries by athletes who how athletes respond to injuries. When going through are high-school aged and older. Importantly, boys and the recovery process, women are less likely to talk to a girls who have not yet gone through puberty and who are significant other, perceive coaches as being much more equally physically active are not very different in physical negative towards them, and are more concerned about capabilities or injury risk. Future research designed to how the injury will influence their future health (Granito address injury risks in young men and women and fac- & Vincent, 2002). There is also evidence demonstrating tors related to recovering from injury is clearly mandated differences in physical capabilities between men and and ultimately the development of training protocols to women. Women are reported to be approximately 80% reduce the risk of injury for both gender groups is an as strong as men of the same weight (Laubach, 1976) important practical direction for this research. and to have lower maximal aerobic capacities than do

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 99 Etnier References

Allen, M., & Valde, K. S. (2006). Researching a gendered world: Kirkendall, D. T. (2007). Issues in training the female player. Br J The intersection of methodological and ethical concerns. Sports Med, 41 Suppl 1, i64-67. In K. Dindia & D. J. Canary (Eds.), Sex differences and similarities in communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Laubach, L. L. (1976). Comparative muscular strength of men and Erlbaum Associates. women: A review of the literature. Aviat Space Environ Med, 47(5), 534-542. Bouchard, C., Daw, E. W., Rice, T., Perusse, L., Gagnon, J., Province, M. A., et al. (1998). Familial resemblance for LaVoi, N. M., Becker, E., & Maxwell, H. D. (2007). “Coaching VO2max in the sedentary state: the HERITAGE family study. Girls”: A content analysis of best-selling popular press coach- Med Sci Sports Exerc, 30(2), 252-258. ing books. . Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 16(2). Dvorak, J., McCrory, P., & Kirkendall, D. T. (2007). Head injuries in the female football player: incidence, mechanisms, risk fac- Leaper, C., & Ayres, M. M. (2007). A meta-analytic review of gen- tors and management. Br J Sports Med, 41 Suppl 1, i44-46. der variations in adults’ language use: talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech. Pers Soc Psychol Rev, 11(4), Flood, S. E., & Hellstedt, J. C. (1991). Gender differences in moti- 328-363. vation for intercollegiate athletic participation. Journal of Sport Behavior, 14(3), 159-167. Powell, J. W., & Barber-Foss, K. D. (1999a). Injury Patterns in Selected High School Sports: A Review of the 1995-1997 Foels, R., Driskell, J. E., Mullen, B., & Salas, E. (2000). The Effects Seasons. J Athl Train, 34(3), 277-284. of Democratic Leadership on Group Member Satisfaction: An Integration. Small Group Research, 31, 676-701. Powell, J. W., & Barber-Foss, K. D. (1999b). Traumatic brain injury in high school athletes. Jama, 282(10), 958-963. Granito, V. J., & Vincent, J. (2002). Psychological responses to ath- letic injury: Gender differences. Journal of Sport Behavior, Radelet, M. A., Lephart, S. M., Rubinstein, E. N., & Myers, J. B. 25(3), 243-259. (2002). Survey of the injury rate for children in community sports. Pediatrics, 110(3), e28. Hall, E. G., & Davies, S. (1991). Gender differences in perceived intensity and affect of pain between athletes and nonathletes. Riley, J. L., 3rd, Robinson, M. E., Wise, E. A., Myers, C. D., & Percept Mot Skills, 73(3 Pt 1), 779-786. Fillingim, R. B. (1998). Sex differences in the perception of noxious experimental stimuli: a meta-analysis. Pain, 74(2-3), Hewett, T. E., Zazulak, B. T., Myer, G. D., & Ford, K. R. (2005). A 181-187. review of electromyographic activation levels, timing differenc- es, and increased anterior cruciate ligament injury incidence in Tucker, L. W., & Parks, J. B. (2001). Effects of gender and sport female athletes. Br J Sports Med, 39(6), 347-350. type on intercollegiate athlete’s perception of the legitimacy of aggressive behaviors in sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, Keeler, L. A. (2007). The Differences in Sport Aggression, Life 18, 403-413. Aggression, and Life Assertion Among Adult Male and Female Collision, Contact, and Non-Contact Sport Athletes. Journal Yu, B., & Garrett, W. E. (2007). Mechanisms of non-contact ACL of Sport Behavior, 30(1), 57-76. injuries. Br J Sports Med, 41 Suppl 1, i47-51.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 100 author Girls Sports

Girls’ Sports Today...Measuring Progress

Pamela Noakes

In the past 38 years since the passage of Title IX legislation girls’ sports participation has grown to more than 3 million participants per year at the high school level (National Federation of State High School Associations) but questions remain. ‡ +RZPXFKSURJUHVVKDVEHHQPDGHDQGZKDWDGGLWLRQDOSURJUHVVQHHGVWREHPDGH" ‡ :KDWH[SHUWLVHQHHGVWREHSURYLGHGWRIHPDOHDWKOHWHVWRVXSSRUWWKHLUVSRUWH[SHULHQFH" ‡ +RZFDQWKLVDXGLHQFHEHHIIHFWLYHO\UHDFKHG" A 2006 Girl Scouts of the USA report, The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living addressed issues facing girls today regarding obesity and active living. The report cited CDC statistics reporting that since 1980 obesity rates have tripled for children ages 6-11 and doubled for children ages 12-19. Today approximately 9 million children over the age of six are obese. Over the past 25 years the percentage of overweight girls has more than doubled with low income and minor- ity girls at highest risk. Effects of childhood obesity are multi-fold: ‡ ,QFUHDVHGULVNRIEHFRPLQJRYHUZHLJKWDGXOWV ‡,QFUHDVHGFKDQFHRIGLVHDVHVVXFKDV7\SH,,GLDEHWHVK\SHUWHQVLRQFDQFHUFKROHVWHURODEQRUPDOLWLHVDQGRUWKRSHGLF problems ‡ ,QFUHDVHGFKDQFHRISV\FKRORJLFDOSUREOHPVLQFOXGLQJGHSUHVVLRQ ‡ ,QFUHDVHGIHHOLQJVRIVWLJPDWL]DWLRQLQFOXGLQJWHDVLQJDQGORZVHOIHVWHHP An active child is more likely to be more fit, but girls in 1972 were far behind boys in participation in sports. Title IX is education legislation passed that year which provided protection for equity in educational opportunities including sport. The language of Title IX states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program receiving Federal financial assistance. When Title IX was passed, just under 300,000 girls participated in high school sports; today more than 3 million girls participate (NFHS). Most popular sports for girls in the US in 2008-09 were Track & Field (Outdoor), Basketball, Volleyball

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 101 Noakes and Softball (Fast Pitch) followed by Soccer, Cross Country, Acosta reports a relatively stagnant number of female coach- Tennis and Swimming & Diving. Competitive Spirit Squad es and administrators in athletics in the past several years. was the tenth most popular sport. What can be done in communities to ensure that Title Competitive Spirit Squads are included as a sport list- IX is being understood and acknowledged? Assessing current ing by NFHS. There is a distinction between Competitive services and implementing change strategies are essential to Spirit Squads and Cheerleading that is important to note: evaluating where your community/school stands. Athletes a Competitive Spirit Squad would have a trained coach, should be informed of gender equity issues and be encour- regularly scheduled practices, and a competition schedule aged to be advocates. in which there is scoring. A cheer squad that simply serves Information is available through local, state and national as sideline pep squad is not a Competitive Cheer Squad. sources. Each school must have a Title IX Coordinator (NOTE: A July 21, 2010 ruling by U.S. District Judge Stefan who should serve as a primary resource. Organizations Underhill established that competitive cheer is NOT an offi- like National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cial sport that schools can use to meet gender equity require- and National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic ments. The complaint was filed in Connecticut against Administrators (NACWAA) provide education to profes- Quinnipiac University in Case 3:09-cv-00621-SRU.) sionals while non-profits like NAGWS and Women’s Sports According to NFHS’s 2008-09 Participation Report, Foundation provide advocacy and programming at the grass- North Carolina was 13th in the country in girls’ sports partic- roots and professional levels. ipation with just under 80,000 participants reported. Sports In this session, participants viewed one chapter of an ranked in order of popularity in the state are Competitive educational DVD created by NAGWS in partnership with Spirit Squad, Track & Field (Outdoor), Softball (Fast Pitch), WBGU-PBS in Bowling Green, OH. This 14-chapter DVD, Volleyball, Basketball and Swimming & Diving followed by Title IX: Implications for Women in Sport and Education, Cross Country, Tennis, Soccer and Indoor Track & Field. provides the viewer with more than three hours of voices and Despite the significant increase in participation num- perspectives on gender equity, impact of Title IX, governance bers overall, understanding of Title IX and its impact is still of women’s sports and pre-Title IX experiences. Experts in unclear. No institution has lost federal funding due to Title sport/education, law and government provide the viewer IX violations although lawsuits and complaints have been with invaluable insight into the history of Title IX and its filed. Critics of Title IX claim that the law forces men’s/ impact on women in sport. Guided discovery questions boys’ sports to be cut. In today’s tough economic climate, are provided in each chapter for further exploration of the many schools are being forced to evaluate which sport pro- chapter topic. grams they offer, and understanding of Title IX is critical in It is important for coaches, administrators, parents and that process. athletes to understand Title IX and its implications so they According to information retrieved from Women’s can do their jobs well. Community and school leaders can Sports Foundation (WSF), the National Center for Education dramatically impact the quality of their services by continu- Statistics (NCES) reported in 2003-04 that girls comprised ally evaluating their athletic programs and establishing strate- about 49% of the high school population. Girls receive gies to ensure that their populations are being appropriately about 41% of the athletic opportunities (NFHS). Girls also served as required by law. Take steps to be informed today. fall short in allocation of operating and recruitment budgets, NOTE: The DVD “Title IX: Implications for Women in equipment, facilities and publicity (National Women’s Law Sport and Education” is available for purchase through the Center). Therefore girls receive 1.3 million fewer participa- AAHPERD Online Store (www.aahperd.org/shop ) or on tion opportunities than boys at the high school level. Amazon (www.amazon.com ). At the college level, men received about $135 mil- lion more in athletic scholarships than females in 2002-03. Ongoing annual research by Linda Carpenter and Vivian

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 102 Girls Sports References

Acosta, R. V. & Carpenter, L. J. (2010). Women in Intercollegiate National Women’s Law Center, The Battle for Gender Equity Sport, A Longitudinal National Study Thirty Three Year in Athletics in Elementary and Secondary Schools Update. Retrieved March 24, 2010 from http://www.acosta- (2008). Note: The 2010 report is available at https://www. carpenter.org . nwlc.org .

National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations Schoenberg, J., Salmond, K., & Fleshman, P. The New Normal? (NFSHA). 2008-2009 Sports Participation Statistics. What Girls Say About Healthy Living. (New York, NY, Girl Retrieved March 24, 2010 from http://www.nfhs.org/ Scouts of the USA, 2006). Participation/SportSearch.aspx . Women’s Sports Foundation (2008). Gender Equity in National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS). High Schools and College Athletics: Most Recent Title IX: Implications for Women in Sport and Education. Participation & Budget Statistics. Retrieved on March 24, (Reston, VA, AAHPERD, 2009). 2010 from https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org .

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 103 author Let Me Play

Let Me Play! Girls with Disabilities and Physical Activity

Ashley Thomas and Leandra A. Bedini

This presentation addressed the benefits of physical activity, specifically the Bridge II Sports program, on the health and social issues facing girls with physical disabilities. The presenters briefly discussed relevant research, described the Bridge II Sports program, and shared personal experiences of four girls with disabilities before and after their involvement with Bridge II Sports. Need for Physical Activity for Girls with Disabilities Research shows that youth with disabilities demonstrate behaviors that vary from their non-disabled peers. For example, children with disabilities have demonstrated lower levels of school satisfaction, greater voluntary absen- teeism, more frequent drinking/smoking, higher psycho-social distress, and higher sedentary activities. In addition, research found that girls were significantly less active than boys; more sedentary with increasing age (Hogan et al., 2000), at a greater risk for obesity (National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, 2007), had lower self- concept regarding physical appearance, social acceptance, athletic competence, and scholastic competence than their counterparts without disabilities (Shields et al., 2006). Benefits of Physical Activity for Girls with Disabilities Physical activity for women with disabilities has been shown to provide great benefits. Specifically, physical activity participation reduced physical de-conditioning and isolation (Santiago & Coyle, 2004), as well as improved psychosocial health and well-being, fostered a sense of independence and accomplishment, and increased awareness of their body’s abilities and limitations (Rolfe, Renwick & Bailey, 2009). For girls with disabilities, physical activity increased social support (Anderson, Wozencroft, & Bedini, 2008) as well as served as an “equalizer” and provided normalcy (Bedini & Anderson (2005). Need for Organized Physical Activity Programs in North Carolina Unfortunately, in North Carolina, children with disabilities have few opportunities for physical activity. Estimates suggest that of the roughly 43,000 high school students, approximately 8,600 have a disability. While

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 104 Let Me Play

North Carolina has roughly 1000 high school bas- Deja, a 16 year old with cerebral palsy, started, She ketball teams, there are only three youth wheelchair described how she is now on the high school track team basketball competitive teams in the state - and partici- – the only member with a disability. pants travel an average of 1-hour to get to practices. “I guess you could say sports have been my pride and These data illustrate that the exclusion of children with joy… I have just started a new sport that is totally dif- disabilities from opportunities for physical activity is ferent than the others, because now I have to do it all significant and critical “systems” (community, medical, by myself. Of course, I am the only “paralympian” educational) are failing to serve these students. out there so I sort of stand out. I am doing the shot put and the 100 meter dash. This has been quite a Testimonies challenge because no one can help me. I have to throw the shot and roll my chair on my own. I have Four participants shared their experiences before scored a point for my team in both track meets in and after they got involved with the Bridge II the shot put, but I am still working on the 100. It is Sportsprogram. Initiated in North Carolina, Bridge II nice to finally be able to do a sport for my school. Sports “creates opportunities for children and adults My goal is to make it to the State championships. who are physically challenged to play sports individu- Having the chance to participate in sports is great. ally or on a team, helping them discover tenacity, con- It gives other people the chance to see that I am just fidence, self-esteem and the joy of finding the player as athletic as they are in my own way.” within.” Each of the girls noted the physical, social, emotional benefits of participation. Dania, a 19-year old, born with spina bifida, shared how this program helped her socially. She stated that Bella, a 10-year old with spinal cord injury, began her speech with “My name is Bella, and today I am going “…before I got involved in sports, I was very shy to talk to you about being a paraplegic athlete and how and had a hard time talking to people. Now I have adaptive sports and Bridge II Sports has changed my more self-confidence and better leadership skills… life.” She continued to share how she found a basket- Sports have given me enough confidence to speak ball on the ground during recess one day and thought to you today.” it could help her make new friends and become part of Finally, Jill, 16 a year old with spina bifida sum- a team. Through Bridge II Sports, she was able to play. marized the sentiment of this presentation. She stated, She described her first tournament saying: “From the beginning, I saw my disability as God’s “As a team we set goals for this first season and to way of picking on me. I always wondered why I do our best, play our hardest, and show good sports- had to be so different, or why I was the one who manship… We learned a lot at that tournament. All couldn’t play alongside my friends at school. At the other teams had been playing a lot longer than the age of nine, I stumbled upon wheelchair sports, us … but it showed us how to be a team and work and within two years, I was addicted and compet- together… I just couldn’t get enough basketball!” ing avidly in track, basketball, waterskiing, snow A teammate she met during the tournament is also skiing, field, and swimming. Sport has given me 10-years old and in a wheelchair: more than I could ever ask for - confidence, lifelong friendships, goals to work for, a future as well as “…just like me. I have never had another friend who scholarship opportunities to take me to college. It understood what life was like every day and being has taught me to fully appreciate the aching feeling part of a team and playing sports made that happen.” I get after a good workout, how refreshing Gatorade She ended her testimonial by stating optimistically, really is, and most importantly, that I’ m not just “My name is Bella, I am10-years old and I am an some science experiment gone wrong; I’m a person athlete AND future Paralympian.” with a love of life. I am an athlete.”

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 105 Thomas and Bedini References

Anderson, D., Wozencroft, A., & Bedini, L. (2008). Adolescent Rolfe, D., Yoshida, K., Renwick, R., & Bailey, C. (2009). Negotiating girls’ involvement in disability sport: A comparison of social participation: How women living with disabilities address bar- support mechanisms. Journal of Leisure Research, 40 (2), riers to exercise. Health Care for Women International, 183-207. 30, 743-766.

Bedini, L. A., & Anderson, D. M. (2005). I’m nice, I’m smart, Santiago, M., & Coyle, C. (2004). Leisure-time physical activity I like karate: Girls’ with physical disabilities perceptions of and secondary conditions in women with physical disabilities. leisure. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 34(2), 114-130. Disability and Rehabilitation, 26 (8), 485-494.

Hogan, A., McLellan, L., & Bauman, A. (2000). Health promotion Shields, N., Murdoch, A., Loy, Y., Dodd, K. J., & Taylor, N. F. needs for young people with disabilities- a population study. (2006). A systematic review of the self-concept of children Disability and Rehabilitation, 22 (8), 352-357. with cerebral palsy compared with children without disability. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 48 National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (2007). (2),151-157. Children with disabilities and obesity fact sheet. Retrieved on April 20, 2010 from http://www.ncpad.org/dis- ability/fact_sheet.php?sheet=488

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 106 author Coaches’ Panel

Coaches’ Panel Summary

Erin J. Reifsteck and DeAnne D. Brooks

The Second Annual Girls in Sport Symposium concluded with a panel discussion involving North Carolina high school coaches from the local area. The following coaches participated in the panel: Robyn Wesselman (varsity girls’ volleyball coach, Mount Tabor High School) Kris Briton (varsity girls’ basketball coach, James Benson Dudley High School) Donald Davis (varsity track and field coach, Hugh M. Cummings High School) DeAnne Brooks, who is a recent Ed.D. recipient, current coach, and former collegiate All-American and North Carolina high school track and field athlete, moderated the discussion. The coaches were asked a series of ques- tions regarding their coaching experiences, addressing three major topics: 1) the meaning of success, 2) the biggest challenges faced when coaching, and 3) advice for new coaches. Specific questions included: ‡ :KDWLVVXFFHVV" +RZGR\RXDVDFRDFKHVGHILQHVXFFHVVIRU\RXUVHOYHV Does “success” depend on the age of the athletes? Has your definition of success evolved over your coaching career? ‡ :KDWDUHFKDOOHQJHVRUSUREOHPV\RXIDFHDVDFRDFK"+RZKDYH\RXDGGUHVVHGWKHP" Are challenges different when coaching younger or older girls? Are there any specific problems relating to resources? Are parents a challenge in your coaching practice? ‡ :KDWSLHFHRIDGYLFHZRXOG\RXRIIHUDQHZFRDFK" Meaning of Success When defining the meaning of success, the general consensus among the high school coaches’ panel was that success is founded on more than simply winning. Although all three coaches have been recognized for their teams’ standout achievements in their respective sports, the coaches cited the importance of impacting student-athletes

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 107 Reifsteck and Brooks beyond the athletic arena. Specifically, they felt success- youth. The coaches perceived a sense of entitlement ful if their players did well academically, graduated from among young athletes today and found it necessary high school, and ultimately went on to attend college to remain firm and honest with these athletes. One and eventually contribute back to their community. strategy the coaches found helpful was to have team Coach Wesselman reflected this sentiment: “I could members sign a contract outlining behavioral rules and not tell you what my record is… but at the end of the regulations with clear consequences delineated. four years… I promise their mothers that [the student- athletes] will go off stronger, more independent, more Advice to New Coaches capable women.” Overall, if the coaches were able to impact their players in a positive way and achieve their The coaches’ panel discussion concluded with each goals for their teams without letting the many barriers veteran coach providing advice for new coaches begin- they encounter stand in their way, then the coaches felt ning their coaching career. The panel acknowledged that they had obtained some level of success. the need to keep perspective in the profession and not to let frustrations with coaching become so overwhelm- Challenges Faced ing that you take that anger home with you at night. The coaches also found it imperative to understand When discussing the biggest challenges they face the reasoning behind one’s actions as a coach. Coach with coaching girls, the issue of self-confidence was Briton advised coaches in making decisions to always raised. The coaches believe that it is the role of the focus on the best interests of the student-athlete: “If it’s coach to encourage their players to believe that they are about the student-athlete and their best interest, the suc- talented athletes. Coach Davis felt that it was especially cess will come… if your focus is on the right things and important to let female athletes know that they are as everyone buys into it and you establish that culture, the valued as their male counterparts who play more popu- winning will come.” larized sports such as football and basketball. Beyond issues specific to female athletes, the coaches felt that, in general, working with young athletes presents chal- lenges related to lack of accountability among the

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 108 author Contact Information

Contact Information for Girls in Sport Symposium Authors Heidi Grappendorf Pamela Noakes Diane L. Gill Heidi Grappendorf is an Assistant Pam Noakes served as the Executive Diane Gill is Professor in sport and exer- Professor in Sports Management with a Director of National Association for Girls cise psychology at UNCG. Her research research focus on gender issues at North and Women in Sport (NAGWS) from focuses on physical activity for health and Carolina State University 2005-2010 well-being. Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Management 45090 Brae Terrace #102 Department of Kinesiology Campus Box 8004, Biltmore Hall Ashburn, VA 20147 University of North Carolina at North Carolina State University e-mail: [email protected] Greensboro Raleigh, NC 27695 P.O. Box 26170 (919) 513-0060 Ashley Thomas Greensboro, NC 27402-6170 e-mail: [email protected] Ashley Thomas is Executive Director of 336-334-4683 e-mail: [email protected] DeAnne D. Brooks Bridge II Sports, a non-profit organization that creates opportunities for people who Erin J. Reifsteck DeAnne Brooks is an Assistant Professor in are physically challenged to play sports. the Division of Kinesiology at Greensboro Erin J. Reifsteck is a Graduate Student in 2106 Greenwich Place College. She recently completed her doc- sport and exercise psychology at UNCG. Durham, NC 27705 toral degree at UNCG with dissertation (866) 880-2742 Department of Kinesiology research on former elite Black women ath- e-mail: [email protected] University of North Carolina at letes’ physical activity experiences. Greensboro Greensboro College Leandra A. Bedini Greensboro, NC 27402-6170 815 W. Market St. Leandra Bedini is Professor in therapeutic e-mail: [email protected] Greensboro, NC 27401 recreation at UNCG. Her research focus is (336) 272-7102 leisure of disenfranchised groups - girls and e-mail: [email protected] women with disabilities, family caregivers. Donna Duffy Jennifer L. Etnier Department of Recreation, Tourism & Donna Duffy is Director of the new Hospitality Management Program for the Advancement of Girls Jennifer Etnier is a Professor in sport P. O. Box 26170 and Women in Sport and Physical Activity and exercise psychology at UNCG. Her University of North Carolina at and a faculty member in Kinesiology at research focuses on exercise and cognition Greensboro UNCG. and she recently authored the book, Bring Greensboro, NC 27402-6170 your A Game for young athletes. Acting Director, Center for Women’s (336) 334-3260 Health and Wellness Department of Kinesiology e-mail: [email protected] Department of Kinesiology P. O. Box 26170 The University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27402-6170 Greensboro, NC 27402-6170 336-334-3025 (336) 334-3037 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 109 author Book Review

Sports and Violence: A Critical Examination of Sport Lynn M. Jamieson and Thomas J. Orr

Reviewed by Byron Martin and Renee Frimming, University of Southern Indiana

For those interested in critically exploring issues pertaining to sport violence, the book Sport and Violence: A Critical Examination of Sport by Lynn M. Jamieson and Thomas J. Orr provides practical and applicable solu- tions to societal challenges in sport. This book is intended for educators, practitioners, organizers, and parents. Jamieson and Orr provide a historical foundation of the global emergence of a critical sport topic. Additionally, they provide real-life occurrences and case studies to help the reader understand the magnitude of the issues associ- ated with sports violence. In the book, Jamison and Orr define sport violence as “any behavior that causes either physical or psychologi- cal injury related to either a direct or indirect result of a sport experience.” They further define sport violence as “the diffusion of violent acts resulting from one’s direct or indirect involvement in sport. Sport violence, therefore, can occur in the home, school, workplace, recreational site, at events and many other venues due to the sport contest or involvement itself” (p. 4). Jamieson and Orr address health and wellness as being infringed upon by sport violence. They provide numerous accounts of sport violence such as hazing, hooliganism, and winning at all cost. A few examples that illustrate this disturbing trend include “father breaks nose of his 10-year-old’s coach with hockey stick, player smashes aluminum bat into umpire’s face and coach, also full time police officer offers pitcher $2 to hit next player” (p. 8). The authors state that this problem is caused by the fact that “the local leisure and sport service delivery system lacks the guide- lines that give rise to learning a sport, competing in a sport, and creating a consistent process for children to advance to higher skill levels and competitive involvement. Further, the public, leisure service delivery systems abdicate their responsibilities when addressing this advancement and allow pressure groups to manage these responsibilities” (p.178). Sports and Violence: A Critical Examination of Sport also discusses how a “sound sport environment” can be developed by structuring programs to improve the understanding of different groups and group dynamics, and calling for research in sport ethics. Specifically, the development of standards, a uniform code of conduct, policy frameworks, qualified sport management professionals, program coordinating councils, and parent guidance and education are suggested as efforts that can emphasize the overall health and development of athletes. As reviewers we feel that Sport and Violence: A Critical Examination of Sport is a contemporary book that addresses a timely sport issue and offers educators, practitioners, organizers, and parents practical and applicable solutions to societal challenges in sport.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 110 author Book Review

100 Questions and Answers about Your Sports Injuries Thomas Howard, Garry HK Wo, and Josh Lewis

Reviewed by Jeffrey Tincher, Indiana State University

Have you ever felt that “pop” in your calf muscle as you were exercising or participating in an activity, or tightness in your hamstring that makes it difficult to take the first few steps in the morning? Statistics indicate that approximately seven million Americans seek medical attention for sport-related injuries each year, at a cost of billions of dollars. If you have ever wondered whether you’ve injured yourself, what you can do to keep an injury from getting worse, or what to do to speed your recovery, then the book 100 Questions and Answers about Your Sports Injuries by Thomas Howard, Garry HK Wo, and Josh Lewis could be a great help to you. This book could reduce your chances of getting injured or, if you do get hurt, may help you get back to your activity more quickly and perhaps save you some money. As the title indicates, the book asks and provides the answers to 100 different questions about sport- and activity- related injuries, covering a wide range of injuries that can occur from head to toe. The authors, three medical doctors who practice in the area of sports medicine, have gathered the information for this book from their collective experi- ence and collated it into an easy to use resource. The book includes a section covering injuries that are more common among female athletes, and a chapter on injuries that are specific to certain sporting activities. The final section of the book covers various exercises that can be performed to strengthen areas of the body where injuries often occur, to either reduce the chance of getting injured or to rehabilitate an injury that has already occurred. The authors clearly explain the causes of the many injuries covered in the book and provide recommendations that are easy to understand and treatments that are simple enough to be performed at home. While this book is comprehensive, the authors do note in the forward that it is not meant to take the place of appropriate medical attention, and the explanations of some of the injuries covered in the book recommend evaluation by a healthcare professional. Not only will athletes and individuals maintaining an active lifestyle find 100 Questions and Answers about Your Sports Injuries useful, it could also be an excellent resource for parents and coaches of young athletes, espe- cially of athletes at the middle and secondary levels. Many schools at this level do not have an athletic training department, and this book could help in the recognition and prevention of potential injuries, which could cut down on lost playing time and reduce the number of injured athletes. In this reviewer’s opinion, 100 Questions and Answers about Your Sports Injuries is a good, comprehensive guide to recognizing common injuries that affect athletes of all abilities, and the knowledge and expertise of the authors make it a good addition to anyone’s library.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 111 Tincher References

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Frisby, W., Crawford, S., & Dorer, T. (1997). Reflections on par- Oates, J. C. (2002). On boxing. New York: Harper. ticipatory action research: The case of low-income women accessing local physical activity services. Journal of Sport Pepler, D., K. Madsen., C. Webster., & Levene, K. (2008). The Management, 11(1), 8-28. development and treatment of girlhood aggression. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. Frisby, W., Maguire, P., & Reid, C. (2009). The ‘f’ word has every- thing to do with it: How feminist theories inform action Reid, C., Tom, A., & Frisby, W. (2006). Finding the ‘action’ in research. Action Research, 7(1), 13-29. feminist participatory action research. Action Research, 4(3), 315-332. Hager Cohen, L. (2005). Without apology: Girls, women and the desire to fight. New York: Random House. Simmons, R. (2002). Odd girl out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls. Florida: Harcourt. Hollander, J. (2004). ‘I can take care of myself’: The impact of self-defense training on women’s lives. Violence Against Sokoloff, N., Pratt, C., & Ritchie, B. (Eds.) (2005). Domestic vio- Women, 10(3), 205-234. lence at the margins: readings on race, class, gender, and culture. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Hollander, J. (2009). The roots of resistance to women’s self- defense. Violence Against Women, 15(5), 574- 594. Tinning, R. (1992). Action research as Epistemology and Practice: Towards transformative educational practice in physical Kerr, J. H. (1999). Motivation and emotion in sport reversal education. In A. C. Sparkes (Ed.), Research in physical theory. East Sussex, UK: Psychology. education and sport: exploring alternative visions (pp. 188-209) London: The Falmer. Kerr, J. H. (2005). Rethinking aggression and violence in sport. New York: Routledge. Wesely, J. (2006). Considering the context of women’s violence. Feminist Criminology, 1(4), 303-328. LA Times.com. (2010, March 4). Baylor’s Brittney Griner punches Texas Tech player. Retrieved March 6, 2010, Zizek, S. (2008). Violence: Six sideways reflections. New York: from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/03/ Picador. britney-griner-punch-video-baylor-jordan-barncastle-baylor-tex-

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 112 author Author Guidelines

Manuscripts that are relevant to the goals of the journal should be submitted to the editor. The purpose of the is to provide a forum for women-centered issues and approaches to sports and physical activity. The journal consists of original data-based research, review articles, book reviews, commentaries, responses, and other scholarly writing relative to sport and physical activity. Contributions across all disciplines are welcomed. Emphases of the journal are application of feminist perspectives in sport and physical activity, theory development, application of theory to settings specific to girls and women, gender issues, feminist reconceptualizations of existing knowledge, and action- oriented research.

Submitted material should be of interest to teachers, coaches, researchers, and scholars, particularly in the fol- lowing fields: physical education, athletics, intramurals, kinesiology, sport science, fitness, exercise and health, and women’s studies.

Submitted manuscripts must NOT have been submitted to other publications or previously published. Guidelines for type of manuscripts, preparations, review process, copyright, and submission process are as follows:

Type of Manuscripts Review of Book and Instructional Resources Research Articles This category includes critiques and analysis of visual and printed materials (e.g., videotapes, books, Original research, whether experimental, descrip- specialized materials). Emphasis is on critical analyses tive, historical, philosophical, or other will be accepted. of significance of these materials, including discussion Manuscripts are normally 12-15 double-spaced pages, of controversial issues. These reviews will be relatively but there is no limit in length. Emphasis will be on arti- short, usually no more than a page or two. cles for which women’s issues are the focus. Submissions must contribute to knowledge about and for women in sport and physical activity. (Use of women as subjects Informational Items does not automatically meet these criteria.) Communiques: The types of manuscripts Review Articles within this category are: Commentary on issues, Two types of review articles will be published: opinions, philosophical treatise, critiques of review of literature and interactive reviews. An interac- articles; and notes, such as work-in-progress, tive review will feature a review by an author, critiques preliminary reports, new testing instruments or tools, from others in the field (2-4), and a counter critique by and new approaches. the author. As with the research articles, reviews must Another Perspective: This category consists of non- focus on women’s issues, concerns and knowledge, and traditional material which furthers the purpose of the will normally be 12-15 double-spaced pages, but there journal but cannot be subsumed under identified cate- is no limit in length. gories. Such items may take non-traditional forms (such as photo essays, poems, and creative writing). Each must, however, consist of a theme relative to the issues of women in sport and physical activity.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 113 Author Guidelines

Manuscript Preparation characterized by the Third Person. Such practice results in grammatically incorrect English. Furthermore, this American Psychological Association, 5th practice serves to impersonalize the information, thus, edition, (APA) style should be used for citations, table and absolving the writer from responsibility for statements figure legends and layout, and references. of interpretation. For example, authors frequently state that “the data show,” “results indicate,” and “research References are placed in alphabetical order with cita- has proven.” These comments are characteristic of a tions appearing in the text according to author and year of technician who reports, not a researcher who interprets. publication. Non-sexist language should be used through- out. Manuscripts must be typed on computer disks using In addition, a serious grammatical error has been Microsoft Word. made. Inanimate objects or things cannot perform, act or do anything. They can only be acted upon, possess Manuscripts should be typed, double spaced, on 8 characteristics and exist. Human beings, and other liv- 1/2 x 11-inch paper. Title, author(s) names, addresses, ing entities behave and act. It is the author, or previous e-mail addresses, FAX numbers and telephone num- researchers, who interpret data and state conclusions. bers should be listed on a cover sheet. This cover sheet should be contained in a separate file on the disk. A brief Therefore, a basic principle in writing for WSPAJ informational note of activities and prior accomplish- is to eliminate the use of action verbs with inanimate ments of author is also requested, and that should also objects. Examples of how writers may express themselves contained in a separate file on the disk. Pages should be are as follows: “Researchers state, show, conclude, etc. numbered consecutively, and the lines of each page must These data are depicted in Figure 5. Based upon the also be numbered. Please submit two hard copies and one data, women are more adept than men.” virus-free disk. Submissions that fail to conform to the required guidelines will be returned. A second principle is that the First and Second Persons may be used, and, in certain instances, should Tables, graphs, or drawings should be submitted be used. It is impossible to eliminate bias from research, on separate pages, in accord with APA style, and in the especially from interpretations, conclusions and general file with the main article on the disk. They must be discussion. Therefore, the research must indicate the rendered in black ink on white paper. Charts, graphs, basis of interpretations, conclusions and general dis- or other illustrations reprinted from other sources must cussion. The First Person/Second Person is sometimes be accompanied by permission to reprint obtained by effective and is a means of placing the responsibility for the authors. Tables which are printed using computer the research with the author. software should be set-up using tabs, not the space bar, for the columns. If tabs are not used, transfer of the files Manuscript Review Process often requires time and patience. You can help reduce our frustration by using tabs and by sending camera All manuscripts will be initially screened by the ready printed copies of the tables. Figures must be cam- Editor and sent to 2-3 reviewers. The Editor will review era ready since the software usually is not available for the initial reviews and will notify the corresponding direct transfer of figures from your computer software. author of the editorial decision and the reviewers’ com- Research writing is unique and stylized. A set vocabu- ments. All reviews will be conducted electronically and lary exists with respect to research reporting, especially should be completed within 8-12 weeks. The Journal’s reports based upon experimental designs in which con- philosophy is to provide the most comprehensive and ditions and treatments are manipulated. Often the constructive feedback possible. terminology is repetitive, quite limiting in scope and monotonous. Authors should attempt to expand their manuscript vocabulary. Research writing also has been

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 114 Author Guidelines

Copyright Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to: [email protected]. Submissions are to include two The Journal holds the copyright for all articles, attachments. The first attachment should include the which are published in it. Authors may copy for their original manuscript and all tables and figures. On the own use and other persons may do a one time use, but title page, include the authors’ names and institutional persons are not to copy for the purpose of avoiding sub- affiliations, a running head, the date of submission, and scribing to the Journal. Professional ethics makes such a complete contact information for the corresponding practice contrary to the existence of the Journal. author (address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail). The second attachment should include a blind Manuscript Submission copy of the manuscript and all tables and figures. The title page should not include the authors’ names, affili- Submitted articles must not be under review with ations, and contact information. Additionally, remove another journal or previously published. Manuscripts from the manuscript any author notes or acknowledge- for publication in the Women in Sport and Physical ments. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure Activity Journal should adhere to the guidelines in the that this version of the manuscript is completely blind. Publication Manual of the APA (5th ed., 2001). Articles If it is impossible to submit manuscripts electroni- must be preceded by an abstract of no more than 150 cally, mail one printed copy of the original manuscript words. Meticulous attention should be paid to the accu- with a disk version of original and blind copies of manu- racy of reference citations in the text and in the refer- script (compatible with Microsoft Word) to: National ence list. To assist in the review process, line numbers Association for Girls and Women in Sport, WSPAJ, should be visible on each manuscript page. Additionally, 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Q authors should ensure that any tracked changes or com- ments are no longer visible on submitted manuscripts. If such formatting remains the confidentiality of a blind review cannot be guaranteed.

WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 115 Order your subscription today!

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