Resilient Excellence

Consistent with other sciences (e.g., Kass-Simon, 1993; Tang, 2006), the field of kinesiology has been called a “masculine domain,” which has an institutionalized culture biased against women (Brackenridge, Mutrie, & Choi, 2005). This paper represents the second part of a larger project that examined the life histories of eight trailblazing women in sport and exercise psychology. In the first paper (Krane & Whaley, 2010) we made the case for re-placing these women into the history of sport psychology, based on their contributions to research, teaching, and service to the field. In this study, we explored the experiences of these women with regard to the challenges they faced and how they overcame or coped with them. The specific themes emerging from the data analysis were the trailblazers' graduate school and early professional experiences, general campus climates, departmental politics, gender or discipline, coping and the cost of caring, and giving back and moving forward.

Key words:

• female academics
• life history
• trailblazers

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Diane E. Whaley

Please address correspondence concerning this article to Diane E. Whaley, 201 Memorial Gym, P.O. Box 400407, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904