‘You're not good’: inequalities experienced by women in physical education during their childhood and adolescence

ABSTRACT

Background

Physical Education (PE) is a space for both the reproduction and change of power relations, due to its close relationship with physical activities and sports (PAS) and its masculine tradition. It is still deeply rooted in the perpetuation of hegemonic masculinity and its consequent behaviors. These behaviors, typically exhibited by boys, contribute to the discrimination experienced by many students whose characteristics do not align with the traits of hegemonic masculinity. Poststructuralist feminism recognizes all individuals as active participants in the negotiations of gender power relations, and therefore does not consider girls as passive victims of oppression. In other words, although it might appear that they are being passive in their actions, these attitudes indicate a resistance to engaging in a technical and traditional PE which perpetuates hegemonic masculinity.

Purpose

The objective of this study was to analyze the experiences of inequality experienced by women in PE during their childhood and adolescence.

Method

The participants were 17 women aged from 18 to 46 years old from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Spain). Four in-depth interviews and four focus groups were conducted. The transcripts were analyzed inductively, and a category system was constructed.

Findings

The participants highlighted how their experiences were negatively affected by the following consequences of hegemonic masculinity and power relations:

• PE Teachers in the spotlight – Authoritarian, contemptuous, and passive attitudes of teachers toward girls and their traditional approach were a relevant factor for many of them to lose interest in PE.

• Gender issues – The attitude of most boys caused many girls to stay on the sidelines due to the reproduction of qualities such as superiority, violence, aggressiveness, or competitiveness, as well as behaviors of ridicule and humiliation toward students who did not meet the expectations of motor abilities.

• Learned (in)ability – Since childhood, they believed that they were not good at PAS due to the messages received from society. Additionally, they felt intimidated in competitive contexts, which made it very difficult for them to successfully participate in a performance-focused PE.

Discussion: Participants viewed PE as a hostile environment, where the majority of girls, as well as other students who did not conform to hegemonic masculinity, faced discrimination. However, the students' decision to stay on the sidelines was an attitude of resistance, refusing to participate in the reproduction of toxic masculinity and patriarchy.

Conclusion

It is crucial to recognize the reproduction of hegemonic masculinity and the exertion of power that discriminates and oppresses others in PE. This can serve as an initial step to encourage positive, inclusive experiences and meaningful learning, counteracting the reproduction of traditional models. Likewise, it is important to empower girls and transmit to them their ability to transgress and transform the dominant roles of society.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• hegemonic masculinity
• poststructuralist feminism
• power relations
• physical activities and sports

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council-Diputación Foral De Gipuzkoa under Grant 2020.0662.