The purpose of this study is to explore 12–14-year-old self-identified girls’ narratives of being- and moving in the space of the Swedish power sport context. While children and sports are associated with health, well-being and a good childhood, the current thesis examine the space of sport with a critical view. Against the background of gender binarity as a current pillar in sport, and the historical legacy that consolidate femininity and women as anomalies, sport will be approached as a male dominant space. The empirical data was collected through three semi-structured focus group interviews. To analyse the collected material, a three-dimensional space structure was utilized, including temporality, sociality, and spatiality. Three research questions were investigated, focusing on the participants´ experiences of gendered stereotypes, their perceptions of their own limitations and possibilities, and how the sports domain is depicted in their narratives. Informed by the narrative analysis, three narrative plots were identified: negotiating the premises of sport; power dynamics of generation and temporality; girl’s barriers and prospects. It was found that the participants stories displayed girls being exposed to various forms of gendered stereotypes, demonstrating the girl-boy power dynamic. The quantitative difference in sport participation (between boys and girls) was found to have an immediate impact on girls’ conditions to do sports. The wide range of age and experience in a team was narrated as a barrier to their individual development. It was also found that the participants experienced limited access to female role models, women’s games and (social) encouragement. Another important finding demonstrated how sport discourse function as a gatekeeper of sport opportunities for young girls, feeding a male hyper confidence. All findings pointed to an existent popular opinion about boys/men’s precedence doing sports, and a lack of interest in girls´/women’s sport.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-205259 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Gyberg, Rakel |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Tema Barn |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds