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

Kiekviena sporto šaka, kiekviena rungtis turi savo specifinius, išskirtinius komponentus, požymius, bruožus, kurie atskleidžia tikrąją vienos ar kitos sporto šakos, rungties prigimtį ir galimybes (Karoblis, 2002; Stonkus, 2000). Nesant tyrimų ir jų išvadų, kokiais būdais veiksmingai ugdyti žolės riedulininkių sportinį meistriškumą kyla svarbi mokslinė problema: Kokie pagrindinai veiksniai determinuoja žolės riedulininkių sportinį meistriškumą? Darbe formuluojama tyrimo hipotezė, kad žolės riedulininkių sportinį meistriškumą reikšmingai determinuoja kelios veiksnių grupės. Pirma grupė – pagrindinių fizinių ypatybių (greitumo, jėgos, ištvermės) lygis. Antra grupė – techniniai-žaidybiniai gebėjimai. Trečia grupė – pagrindin��s asmenybės psichinės ypatybės: labiausiai dėmesio apimtis bei motyvacija sportui ir aukštų rezultatų siekimas. Tyrimo tikslas – teoriškai pagrįsti ir empiriškai ištirti žolės riedulininkių sportinį meistriškumą determinuojančius veiksnius. Darbe atliktų tyrimo rezultatų pagrindu buvo formuluojamos kelios pagrindinės išvados: ����� Tirtų žolės riedulininkių amžius, sportavimo stažas, ūgio ir kūno masės rodikliai bei gyvybinė plaučių talpa neturėjo įtakos jų sportiniam meistriškumui. • Beveik visi žolės riedulininkių greitumo rodikliai, kurie buvo matuoti pasirinktais testais, reikšmingai koreliavo su žaidėjų sportiniu meistriškumu. Tik vienas parametras, t.y., judesių dažnio santykis tarp pirmųjų 10 ir paskutiniųjų 10 Tepingo testo sekundžių, neturėjo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Every branch of sports, every event has its own specific, exclusive components, features, elements, which reveal the true nature and possibilities of one or another sport branch, event (Karoblis, 2002; Stonkus, 2000). In what way the mastership of sportswomen of field hockey should be trained as there are no any analyses or conclusions. The important scientific problem arises: what are the main factors determining sport mastership of sportswomen of field hockey? The research hypothesis, that several groups of factors determine the mastership of sportswomen of field hockey, is formulated in the work. The first group – the level of the main physical qualities (velocity, power, toughness). The second group – technical-playing abilities. The third group – main personal psychic features: mostly the comprehension of attention, motivation to sports and the ambition of high results. The aim of the work is to justify theoretically and examine empirically the factors determining sport mastership of sportswomen of field hockey. Several main conclusions were formulated according to the results of the performed research: • The age of examined sportswomen of field hockey, the sports experience, indexes of height and weight and vital capacity of lungs did not have any influence on their mastership. • Almost all velocity indexes, which were examined with certain tests, of sportswomen of field hockey, importantly correlated with sport mastership of players. Only one parameter, i.e. the... [to full text]

Current debates about representations of female athletes in the media consist mainly of textual analyses research produced by scholars who observe the topic from different theoretical frameworks. To better comprehend the relation between women athletes and media’s representation of them, in particularly advertising, this thesis aims to converse with up-and-coming professional and collegiate sportswomen as a way to examine what kind of correlation, if any, there is between sports commercials’ portrayals of female athletes and their actual reality. As there has been a shift in sports marketing approaches towards women through ‘femvertising’ (which challenges traditional gender stereotypes), a common belief is that gender equality in sport has been achieved. Taken as my case study, I use Nike’s commercials I Feel Pretty (2006) and Dream Crazier (2019) as auxiliary ‘props’ to get the discussion about advertisements’ representations of female athletes off ground in my conversations with several women athletes. Nike stands as one of the most prominent sporting brands in the world, and since the early 90s, the brand has been leading in “female athlete empowerment” advertising. Thus, by conducting a focus group interview in addition to in-depth semi-structured interviews with women athletes from the United States and Europe, the analysis draws on a postfeminist critique as a way to better understand the relation between the representations of sportswomen in sport advertisements versus their real-life experiences. Ultimately, the results of this research work imply that even though sport brands make a good case for the visibility of sportswomen, it does not match the experiences of the female athletes without celebrity status. Finally, this thesis is a contribution to the field of media and communication studies as it privileges the voices of up-and-coming professional and collegiate female athletes. It serves in hope of inspiring other scholars to further investigate sport in relation to gender and media through the lived experiences of the sportswomen about which they theorize.

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.

Research to date on women in the sports-media has predominantly concentrated on comparisons of the type and amount of media coverage afforded to sportsmen and women. This substantial body of literature has consistently revealed that sports-media continues to be viewed as an exclusively masculine domain, where women remain under- and misrepresented. While content analyses are important in revealing the sexist portrayal of sportswomen in the media, they do little to provide guidance to sociologists on why this continues to occur. Looking behind the scenes into how sports-media content is produced has rarely been explored internationally, and not at all in France, yet is integral to understanding the process through which gendered coverage is sustained. The aim of this exploratory case study was to redress the deficit of sports-media research in France by undertaking a study of those responsible for the production of sports media content. It was guided by the central question: what role do sports-media producers play in perpetuating dominant ideologies in sport? The nine participants were drawn from experienced male and female sports content decision makers (editors and higher) from the major, national television and print media in France. Data was collected through individual semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews and open coded using NVivo 8. The analysis, based around five themes (ideal profile, feedback, sport selection, women’s sport, blame), revealed that the patterns of sport media decision-making in France show many similarities and some differences to those observed in other countries, but that the end result is the same: sports media content remains dominated by men’s sport. Findings indicate that women’s sport is subject to much harsher editorial selection criteria. Conclusions were drawn on what role the makers of sports media content in France have in reproducing this hegemonic masculinity so inherent in sports coverage. The findings will enable stakeholders such as sociologists, journalism academics, sport media management and sports organisations to consider ways through which hierarchical values and accepted patriarchal practices in the sports-media industry can be transformed.

Nors sportininkių skaičius nuolat auga, sportas vis dar yra suvokiamas kaip vyrams aktuali veikla, todėl natūralu, kad moterys, norėdamos sulaukti pripažinimo ir populiarumo, susiduria su eile apribojimų. Šio darbo tikslas yra išsiaiškinti, ar egzistuoja lyčių nelygybė sporte ir pastarosios įtaką kolektyvinio tapatumo formavimuisi komandinėje sporto šakoje, kaip būdui, siekiant sugriauti lytiškumu (sexism) paremtas struktūras. Teorinėje darbo dalyje remiantis socialinio pripažinimo, lyties kaip struktūros, galios sampratomis bei sportininkių/ sportininkų vaizdavimo ypatumais žiniasklaidoje parodoma, kad sportas dar tebėra vyrų dominavimo sritis. Aptariama teisinė bazė (Tarptautinių „Moterų ir sporto“ konferencijų principai, Title IX (JAV)), reglamentuojanti moterų teises sporte. Apžvelgiamos A.Melucci, V.Taylor ir N.Whittier kolektyvinio tapatumo sampratos leidžia suvokti, kaip grupė apibrėžia, kas ji yra, kaip konstruoja grupės sąmonę, bei kaip mobilizuojasi kovai prieš nusistovėjusį lyčių status quo. Tuo pačiu, pristatomas kolektyvinio tapatumo ryšys su lauko, socialinio pripažinimo sampratomis. Aptariamos sąlygos, sukeliančios kolektyvinio veiksmo atsiradimą. Pristatomas C.F. Pelak atliktas lyčių nelygybės ledo ritulyje tyrimas. Empirinės darbo dalies pagrindą sudaro atvejo – VU merginų krepšinio komanda – analizė, kurioje siekiama pažiūrėti, ar moteriškos lyties atstovės susiduria su lyčių nelygybė sporte ir kokia forma ji reiškiasi. Tuo pačiu, C.F.Pelak merginų ledo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Although the number of sportswomen grows, however the sport is conceptualized as exclusively male domain. For this reason, women, who want to be sport leaders have to confront with a lot of boundaries. The aim of this work is to find out whether gender inequality exists in sport and if it does, to show the role that collective identity plays in contesting sexism structures in team sports. According to conceptions of social recognition, gender as a social structure, power and presentation of sportsmen/sportswomen in media, the theoretical part of this work reveals that the sport is not just the male domain. In this part is described the legal basis (the principles of international “Women and sports” conferences Title IX (USA)) that regulates women‘s rights in sports. A.Melucci, V.Taylor and N.Whittier collective identity concepts allow us to examine the processe of how groups define who they are, contruct the group consciousness and mobilize against perceived injustices. Here are also discussed the circumstances that cause the rise of collective action. The research of gender differences in ice hockey by C.F. Pelak is presented. The empirical base of this work is a case study – VU women‘s basketball team – analysis, which helps to find out whether female confront gender inequality in sports and if they do, how it shows. The same indicators were adapted in making the interviews with the VU basketball players as in C.F.Pelak female ice hockey players research, in order to... [to full text]