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Exploring Female Athletes' Body Perceptions

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Exploring Female Athletes' Body Perceptions SQUEEZING IN: EXPLORING FEMALE ATHLETES’ BODY PERCEPTIONS Mallory E. Mann A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2015 Committee: Vikki Krane, Advisor Dafina-Lazarus Stewart Graduate Faculty Representative Nancy Spencer Dryw Dworsky ii ABSTRACT Vikki Krane, Advisor Much attention has been paid to female college athlete body image over the last three decades. However, relatively few inquiries employed a holistic approach that examined the myriad of interrelated sociocultural and personal factors influencing athletes’ body perceptions. The primary purpose of the current study was to explore female college athletes’ body image in both social and sport settings. A secondary purpose was to investigate the sociocultural context and how it influenced athletes’ body perceptions. Finally, this study sought to understand the ways in which female athletes’ social identities helped explain their body-related behaviors. Feminist and intersectional methodological approaches guided this inquiry to create partial, in- depth understandings of how female athletes think about and relate to their physiques. The study is particularly unique in its commitment to representing multiple, diverse stories from athletes without privileging one type of body perception. Using an intersectional methodology contextualized athletes body descriptions to uncover deeper meanings and underlying factors. Twenty female college athletes participated in unstructured interviews. These athletes represented eight different varsity sports at NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions. This study offers a new perspective on the relationship between motivational team climate and female athlete body image. While task-oriented team climates still appear to serve as a protective factor against body disturbances among athletes, findings also indicated that a team’s obsession with the body seemed more closely tied to body image issues than a team’s goal orientation. How strongly women adhered to White, heterosexual, middle-class definitions of femininity influenced their experiences with their bodies both in and out of sport. Further, their social identities related to how women negotiated their physiques within body boundaries. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of a journey that my trusted circle of mentors, colleagues, friends, and family made possible. First, I want to thank Dr. Colleen Hacker and Dr. Karen McConnell. That I am pursuing my doctorate is a reflection of the seeds of possibility you both planted years ago. I am grateful for the role you both play as mentors in my life. Thank you for subtly nudging me to create my own path and modeling excellence. Dr. Hacker, your commitment to actively engaging with each moment in ways that are on-purpose and with meaning has directly influenced how I approach each day. Dr. McConnell, your consistent demonstrations of balance and devotion to living an unapologetically authentic life inspire me to do the same. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude for the supportive distance my family and friends provided over the last few years. I feel blessed to have each of you in my life. Thank you for the space you offered without judging or questioning our respective relationships. To my colleagues at Pacific Lutheran University, I appreciate your advice over the last year and a half. The countless “check-ins” and encouragement throughout this process mattered. Finally, I would like to thank my committee: Dr. Vikki Krane, Dr. Nancy Spencer, Dr. Dafina-Lazarus Stewart, and Dr. Dryw Dworsky. Your insight helped create a critical and reflective dissertation. Dr. Krane, thank you for always making time. From persisting through technology-related errors to attending cross-country academic conferences to talk between sessions, you made completing this project possible. Thank you for challenging me to expand my analyses. I am a more competent and capable scholar because of how you trained me. Whether directly or indirectly, every person and group mentioned played a significant role in the completion of this dissertation. So, thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Conceptual Framework .............................................................................................. 5 Feminist cultural studies ............................................................................... 5 Achievement goal theory ............................................................................... 10 Social Identity Perspective ............................................................................. 14 An Integrated Conceptual Framework ....................................................................... 17 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ....................................................................... 20 Body Image as a Construct ........................................................................................ 20 Contextualizing Body Image in Sport........................................................................ 25 Factors Influencing Athlete Body Image ................................................................... 27 Factors Influencing Athlete Eating Behaviors ........................................................... 33 The Role of Team Climate ......................................................................................... 38 The Present Study ...................................................................................................... 40 Epistemology ................................................................................................. 41 Purpose ........................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHOD AND METHODOLOGY..................................... 46 Feminist Methodology ............................................................................................... 46 Intersectional Methodology ....................................................................................... 47 Method........................................................................................................................ 49 Participants ..................................................................................................... 49 Procedure ....................................................................................................... 50 v Trustworthiness .............................................................................................. 55 CHAPTER IV. BODY DESCRIPTIONS ............................................................................ 58 Defining Athletic Bodies ........................................................................................... 58 Body Perceptions ....................................................................................................... 65 Perceptions of contentment with the body .................................................... 66 Fitting feminine body norms ............................................................. 66 Body function over physical appearance ........................................... 68 Perceptions of discontentment with the body ................................................ 72 The body as perpetually imperfect................................................................. 78 Summary of Body Descriptions ................................................................................. 80 Discussion of Body Descriptions ............................................................................... 81 CHAPTER V. MOTIVATIONAL TEAM CLIMATES ...................................................... 87 Task-Oriented Team Climates ................................................................................... 87 Success as improvement ................................................................................ 88 Coaches’ concern for athlete well-Being ....................................................... 95 Team meals in task climates.......................................................................... 98 Body-related outcomes .................................................................................. 100 Points of contention ....................................................................................... 106 Athletes’ negative attitudes ................................................................ 106 Coaches’ actions related to conditioning bodies ................................ 111 Outcome-Oriented Team Climates ............................................................................ 113 Success as outperforming opponents ............................................................. 114 Inequitable treatment of athletes ................................................................... 120 vi Summary of Motivational Team Climates ................................................................. 122 Discussion of Motivational Team Climates ............................................................... 123 CHAPTER VI. BODY-OBSESSED TEAM CLIMATES ................................................... 128 Appearance Yields Sport Success .............................................................................. 128 The Role of Sport Leaders ........................................................................................
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