‘Singled out because of skin color … ’: exploring ethnic minority female teachers’ embodiment in physical education

ABSTRACT

There is a significant lack of diversity within the teaching population nationwide that reflects historical, political, and institutional racialized inequality. In the context of physical education, ethnic minority teachers often report feeling ‘different,’ marginalized, and struggle to negotiate the dominant school culture they feel they do not belong to. Purpose: To explore how race and gender intersect in the lived experiences of ethnic minority female PE teachers in predominantly white schools in the United States. Methods: This study used narrative and visual research methods. Results: Participants often felt isolated and uncomfortable in their educational contexts, actively seeking out other ethnic minorities to make meaningful connections and validate their lived experiences. Discussion: The intersection of race and gender in participants’ embodied identities reflects sexist and racist systems in which white privilege is positioned as normal or universal. PE and PE teacher education programs must actively work to disrupt and destabilize these norms.

KEYWORDS:

• Race
• gender
• visual research
• narrative research