Sport can have a profoundly positive impact on the world. It can unite diversity, extracts youthful communities from poverty and inject flaking nations with relentless spirit. Sport transcends barriers and mends people with tumultuous personal histories. Within this context, we examine the ability that sport has to direct the lives of women from an early age. Effectively operating beyond the limitations of a classroom, sport can teach essential life lessons. Women who compete in sport from a young age have the opportunity to actualise their innate potential, develop their intelligence, grow in confidence, fine-tune leadership skills and establish a sense of presence. The aim of this investigation was four fold: (1) to explore the reasons why women who compete at an intense level in sport terminate their careers prior to reaching their full potential. (2) To identify the essential factors that impact heavily on women in sport: stereotypes, the media, teaching methods, and other factors identified during the research. (3) To establish the similarities and/or differences between women who have terminated their careers and women who still compete at intense level, and (4) to identify coping strategies that may assist women to overcome the obstacles and persevere in their sporting careers. A qualitative approach was adopted: 64 women filled out the questionnaires. They had all competed in first teams at provincial, national or international levels. Some had terminated their sporting careers; others were still competing. Through analysis of data, women in this study terminated sport participation because of decreased motivation and interest in sport, coach dynamics, academic pressure, development of injury and politics in the administration of sport. The latter may be unique to South Africa following the demand for sport to be more representative of all population groups. This study endeavoured to identify eco-factors that would possibly appear to play a key role in whether women continue in or terminate their sporting careers. Men’s sports dominate the media in South Africa. There seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of coverage given to sportswomen and the number of women actively competing in sport. The media is an incredibly powerful tool and has the “potential to create and achieve an environment that promotes and supports the principles of equity.” (Goslin, 2008: 300) Until the media makes a concerted effort to modify the imbalance, not much will change for women in the sporting world. Stereotypes continue to prevail. Society and media conform to portraits of women as mother, wife, sex symbol or career seeker. One of few sports brands to reverse this affliction is Nike: “Somebody will give her a doll. And somebody will give her a ball. And then somebody will give her a chance" (Nike "There is a Girl in America”, 1996). The advertisement was never released in South Africa. The media, however, can only be responsible for so much. Ultimately, parents have to take responsibility for their child’s upbringing. During this study, differences in parenting styles and how these styles influence the longevity of participation were identified. The issue of how far to push a child to do something she/he does not want to do emerged as a regular theme. Results showed that within the group who were still competing; only 17% had parents who pushed them. Within the group who terminated their careers, 62% of them were driven beyond their will. Perceived peer acceptance was also identified as an influence contributing to the prediction of enjoyment and perceived competence in the sporting arena. Our coaches, their coaching methods and how they handle contemporary females also proved to have a profound impact on the termination or continuation of sport. Coaches provide encouragement, motivation and preparedness. There appears to be little published research to substantiate why women continue sport at a tertiary level. From this research, however, it appears that an athlete who has a growth mindset and is focused on task orientation is more likely to continue sport over someone who has a fixed mindset and is more ego-orient. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

Stereotypa bilder och ideal om vad som är manligt och kvinnligt syns idag tydligt i samhället även inom idrottssammanhang. Idrott har historiskt sett utmanat roller för vad som är manligt respektive kvinnligt. För kvinnor har utövandet av idrott inte alltid varit en självklarhet. Problem kan uppstå när det för kvinnor finns en motstridig bild mellan samhällsnormer och den skapade idrottskroppen. Syftet med denna fenomenologisk studie är att undersöka elitidrottande kvinnors kroppsuppfattning i relation till idrotten och samhällets kroppsideal. Det teoretiska ramverket består av symbolisk interaktionism med fokus på begreppet generaliserade andre. Även teorin sociala jämförelser och begreppen genus och kroppsuppfattning. Studien använder en kvalitativ ansats där det empiriska materialet består av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet bestod av elitidrottande kvinnor i åldrarna 18-30 år, aktiva inom icke-estetiska idrotter. Resultatet visar att idrott och gemenskapen den utgör uppfattas bidra till en mer positiv kroppsuppfattning hos elitidrottande kvinnor. Kroppens funktion och prestation inom idrotten gör att den negativa påverkan yttre faktorer kan ha på kroppsuppfattning får mindre utrymme. Istället väger idrottens krav på kroppen tyngre än samhällets kroppsideal, vilket bidrog till en mer positiv kroppsuppfattning. / Stereotype images and ideals of masculinity and femininity are visible in today´s society, including sports. Sport has historically challenged the roles of what is masculine and feminine and women haven´t always been able to take the practice of sport for granted. A problem can arise when the social norms contradict the psychical body women create in sport. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore body perception of elite sportswomen in relation to sport demands and social body ideal. The theoretical framework consists of symbolic interactionism, focusing on the concept of generalized others and furthermore, the theory of social comparison and the concepts of gender and body perception. The study uses a qualitative approach where the empirical material consists of ten semi-structured interviews. The sample consists of elite sportswomen in the age group 18-30 years, all active in aesthetic sports. The result shows that sport and its positive communion is perceived to contribute to a positive body perception among elite sportswomen. Function of the body and its performance is the most important factor and it can decrease the negative impact external factors may have on body perception. Physical requirements are of greater importance than the body ideal. The result of this study is that all women found it common that their sport was of greater importance than body ideals, which contributed to a positive body perception.