eCite Digital Repository
Assimilating to a boy’s body shape for the sake of performance: three female athletes’ body experiences in a sporting culture
Citation
McMahon, J and Barker-Ruchti, N, Assimilating to a boy's body shape for the sake of performance: three female athletes' body experiences in a sporting culture, Sport Education and Society, 22, (2) pp. 157-174. ISSN 1357-3322 (2017) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2015 Taylor and Francis
DOI: doi:10.1080/13573322.2015.1013463
Abstract
This paper explores three female swimmers’ relationships with their male coaches and the body
practices they were exposed to within Australian swimming. Particular attention is given to how the
relationships and practices might relate to gender. Additionally, the article examines how (if at all)
the conduct contributed to the social construction of an accepted female swimmer body. Through
narrative accounts, the three adolescent female athletes articulate hierarchical male coach–female
athlete relationships and specific body encounters they were exposed to and/or engaged with. Their
experiences reveal how a sexually maturing body (growing breasts, female body shape and
menstruating) was deemed unsuitable for performance and the swimmers were thus encouraged to
transform their bodies and behaviours towards that of the boys. Using a feminist Foucauldian
perspective, these accounts points to how the three swimmers came to regulate their diet, training
and appearance in order to fulfil expectations. This self-regulation is problematic in two ways: first,
no scientific evidence shows that a boy like physique is essential for best performance. Second, the
stress from being pressured to achieve a particular body, as well as the shame that resulted from
being unable to achieve the idealised physique, eventually caused the swimmers to develop an
unhealthy relationship with their developing bodies. We highlight how those immersed in sporting
contexts should recognise the serious implications of gender practices and power relations
underpinning the male coach–female athlete dynamic in competitive sport.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Coach–athlete relationship; Self-regulation; Gender; Corporeal ideals; Swimming |
| Research Division: | Education |
| Research Group: | Other education |
| Research Field: | Other education not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Education and Training |
| Objective Group: | Schools and learning environments |
| Objective Field: | Gender aspects in education |
| UTAS Author: | McMahon, J (Associate Professor Jennifer McMahon) |
| ID Code: | 98789 |
| Year Published: | 2017 (online first 2015) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 15 |
| Deposited By: | Education |
| Deposited On: | 2015-03-03 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-11-19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page