Researching

Women
and Sport
EDITED BY
GILL CLARKE
BARBARA HUMBERSTONE
JO CAMPLING
RESEARCHING WOMEN AND SPORT
Researching Women
and Sport
Edited by
Gill Clarke

and
Barbara Humberstone

Foreword by
Jennifer Hargreaves
Consultant Editor: Jo Campling
Editorial matter and selection © Gill Clarke and Barbara Humbcrstone 1997
Text © Macmillan Press Ltd 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of

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as the authors of this work in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published 1997 by

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Companies and representatives
throughout the world

ISBN 978-0-333-64231-3 ISBN 978-1-349-25317-3 (eBook)

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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Foreword by Professor Jellllifer Hargreaves viii
Notes 011 Contributors x
IlItroduction xiii
Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstone
Managing a Women's Sport Organisation:
Interpreting Biographies
Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstolle
2 Researching a Women's Sport Organisation 17
Brenda Grace
3 Playing a Part: The Lives of Lesbian Physical Education
Teachers 36
Gill Clarke
4 Islam, Well-being and Physical Activity: Perceptions
of Muslim Young Women 50
Hasina Zaman
5 Self-confidence and Self-esteem in Physical Education
and Sport 68
Jail Graydoll
6 On Pleasure and Pain: Women Speak Out About
Physical Activity 80
Jan Wright alld Alisoll Dewar
7 Working on the Body: Links Between Physical Activity
and Social Power 96
Sarah Gilroy
8 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes in Australia 113
Talllli Grey
9 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport 126
Celia Brackellridge

v
vi Contellts
10 Time and Context in Women's Sport and Leisure 142
Margaret Talbot
II Gender Relations in Physical Education Initial Teacher
Education 164
Alllle Flintoff
12 The Sporting Lives of Women in European Countries:
Issues in Cross-national Research 183
Sheila Scraton
13 Challenging Dominant Ideologies in the
Research Process 199
Barbara Humberstotle
Index 214
Acknow ledgements
We would like to thank our contributors and all the past and present exec-
utive members of the Women's Sports Foundation for supporting us
throughout the genesis and growing pains of this book. The Women's
Sports Foundation is the only national organisation in the United Kingdom
(UK) that is solely working to improve and promote opportunities for
women and sport, and has its mission to pursue and promote equity for
women in and through sport. The Women's Sports Foundation was one of
280 delegates from 82 countries representing governmental and non-
governmental organisations, national Olympic Committees, international
and national sport federations and educational and research institutions
that attended the first international conference on women and sport, organw

ised by the Sports Council, which took place in Brighton, UK from 5-8
May 1994. The conference drew up and endorsed what has become known
as 'The Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport', the overriding aim of
which is to develop a sporting culture that enables and values the full
involvement of women in every aspect of sport. It is hoped that this inter-
national strategic approach will accelerate change and lead to a more
equitable sporting culture world-wide.
Finally we are indebted to Sarah Gilroy for her insightful comments
throughout the editing of this book and to Jo Campling for her constant
support and helpful advice.

Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstone

vii
Foreword

Feminist accounts of the social world of sport - and, in particular, of

women's sport - have increased in number and improved in quality in
recent years. Even so, they remain small in quantity by comparison with
those which marginalise or comparlmentalise gender issues. Gill Clarke
and Barbara Humberstone have edited a text which makes a particularly
useful contribution to the field, not only because it expands the scope of
investigation to include physical activities and physical education and
brings together articles by women who have been actively engaged in dif-
ferent capacities in sport and associated activities, but also because it
emphasizes the process of research. It is the first English-language book to
focus in this way on feminist research in the areas of sport, physical activi-
ties and physical education. As well as attracting readers from Sports
Studies, this text is relevant to those doing feminist research in other areas.
Collectively, the authors of the book highlight the complex and contro-
versial nature of feminist research procedures and methodologies. By
letting their subjects 'speak for themselves', and treating them as partici-
pants with the potential to affect the outcome of the research, orthodox
relations of power in research are implicitly questioned and the gendered
nature of enquiry is revealed.
The work of Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstone in the Women's
Sports Foundation (UK) (WSF) provided the impetus for their decision to
seek collaborators for this collection. In fact most of the contributors have
been involved in one way or another with the WSF. Because the
Foundation is concerned with gender equity in and through sport, and has
a committee dealing with education and research issues, it provides an
important symbolic partner for the publication.
Researching Women alld Sport embraces a variety of topics, represent-
ing women involved in a range of activities and from several countries.
Different chapters include research about active athletes, as well as those
who are involved in teaching and organisation; participants are from dif-
ferent social groups - for example, lesbian physical education teachers,
young Muslim women, and disabled athletes; and personal and sensitive
issues are included - such as problems of body image and sexual harass-
ment and sexual abuse. The connection between empirical data and theo-
retical analysis is explored in several chapters, and the importance of

viii
 Foreword ix
relating personal experience to wider social implications is made clear.
All the contributions are reflective in nature and connected with the per-
sonal experiences of doing feminist social research. They illustrate the
clear connection between the personal and the political, signalling the rela-
tionship between the process of research and configurations of power.
The variety of subject matter and interpretation in Researching Women
and Sport makes it a useful guide for students doing research in these
areas and represents a welcome intervention in the field.

Jennifer Hargreaves
Professor of Sociology and Politics of Sport
Roehampton Institute, London
Notes on Contributors
Celia Brackenridge trained as a PE teacher and after some years teaching
she became a lecturer in PE at what is now Sheffield Hallam University.
During this time she played lacrosse at international level, helped to fonn
the Women's Sports Foundation and carried out research on the social psy-
chology of sport and on women as sports coaches. Following over twenty
years as a teacher, researcher and manager, Celia is now Professor and Head
of Research and Postgraduate Development in the Department of Leisure
Management at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education.
Her current research is concerned with sexual abuse in sports' coaching.
Gill Clarke lectures at the University of Southampton. Prior to this she
was Field Leader for PE at the Chichester Institute of Higher Education,
after having taught PE in secondary schools in Hampshire. Her current
research explores the lives of lesbian PE teachers. She has published arti-
cles on discourse analysis, sexuality and research methods in PE. In her
spare time, she is an international hockey umpire, having officiated at the
1992 Olympic Games, the World Cup in Dublin, 1994 and umpired at
the Olympic Games final in Atlanta in 1996.
Alison Dewar is a lesbian feminist physical educator. She taught in the
School of Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia. She is
currently studying law at the University of Ottawa in Canada.
Anne Flintoff taught PE in secondary schools before moving to her
current post as principal lecturer in sociology of education, PE and sport at
Leeds Metropolitan University. Her PhD research focused on gender rela-
tions in initial teacher education in PE, and much of her teaching reflects a
commitment to raising awareness of, and challenging, gender inequalities
in PE and sport. Her ongoing research interests include assessing the
impact of the recent moves to school based training for equality work, and
exploring the nature of young women's active lifestyles in aerobics and
conditioning activities.
Sarah Gilroy lectures in the sociology of sport and leisure at Chichester
Institute of Higher Education. Her main research interests concern the
sociology of the body, the construction of gender power relations and
negotiations within households over work and leisure. Her involvement in
international hockey coaching informs another area of interest concerning
coaching and sport developments.

x
 Notes on Contributors xi
Brenda Graee completed a Masters degree in Sports Studies at the
University of Alberta, Canada. This return to higher education after many
years absence provided an opportunity to develop a research interest in
sport advocacy work generated by ten years working in community recre-
ation, and many more as a sportswoman. She is currently facing quite dif-
ferent challenges having taken a Chief Executive post with a sports centre
that offers specialised facilities for people with disabilities. Her commit-
ment to leading an active life has survived the pressures of both study and
career and she continues to play her chosen sport. water polo .
. Jan Graydon is Head of the School of Sports Studies at Chichester
Institute of Higher Education. She is the author of many articles on
various aspects of sport psychology, and consults with athletes in a
number of sports. She is also a squash coach and keen player. She keeps fit
for the sport by circuit training, jogging and weight training.
Tannl Grey graduated from Loughborough University of Technology
with a politics degree and is currently studying for an MPhil in Sports
Studies at Cardiff Institute of Higher Education. She has represented Great
Britain since 1987 in wheelchair track and road racing and is a quadruple
gold medallist from both the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics and the 1994
World Championship and a gold medallist at the 1996 Atlanta para-
Iympics. She has an MBE for her services to sport and is the current world
recorder holder in 100 m, 200 m, 400 m and 800 m track events.
Barbara Humberstone is Senior Lecturer in Sport and Leisure studies at
Buckinghamshire College, Brunei University where she is responsible for
postgraduate research students. Prior to this she taught sociology at
Portsmouth University, undertakes equal opportunities consultancies and
was assistant director of PE at the University of Southampton. She has
taught in a number of secondary schools. Currently she is undertaking
research into women in leisure/sport management and exploring the political
and social context of outdoor education. She is interested in exploring social
change through ethnographic methodology and has published widely on
gender. equity issues. physical and outdoor education. She is a member of
the European group developing networks for academics researching outdoor
education and is leading the women and outdoor education group.
Sheila Sera ton is Profcssor and rcader in Leisure and Feminist Studies at
Leeds Metropolitan University. Her research interests include gender. sex-
uality and physicality. She is currently involved in a joint cross-national
study of women and sport. Her recent publications include. Gender and
Physical Education (1993) and Leisure and Postmodernity (1995).
xii Notes on Contributors
Margaret Talbot is the University Head of Sport and Carnegie Professor
at Leeds Metropolitan University. For the last two decades she has been
researching and writing on women's leisure. sport and physical education.
and has worked with the Sports Council and other agencies to develop
policies and strategies towards increased equity in sport, especially for
women and young people. She was a Member of the Physical Education
Group which produced the framework for National Curriculum Physical
Education and was Chair of the European Sports Conference Working
Group on Women and Sport from 1991-1993. She is currently leading a
research project for the Commonwealth Secretariat on the barriers and
opportunities faced by Commonwealth women in sport, and is working on
a project with the Malaysian Ministry for Youth and Sport to analyse
women's sports provision in a multi-cultural society.
Jan Wright teaches in the Faculty of Education at the University of
Wollongong, Australia. Her current research interests combine the
application of feminist poststructuralist theory to questions about the rela-
tionship between culture, identity, physical activity and schooling.
Hasina Zaman currently teaches leisure and sport at Tower Hamlets
College in East London. She trained as a PE teacher at Greenwich
University and over the past ten years has worked predominantly with
BengalilMuslim women teaching sports and outdoor education activities,
particularly rock-climbing.
Introduction
Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstone

In late 1993, we wrote to a number of women from a variety of back~

grounds whom we felt could make a valuable contribution to the under~
standing of feminist research inviting them to contribute to this book.' We
envisioned a book which sought to address critical issues surrounding
feminist research in sport, physical activity and physical education (PE)
and which would also give voice to a diversity of perspectives and theoret-
ical standpoints. We wanted the book's focus to be on women, by women,
for it seemed to us that much of the literature and related research had
failed to address women's experience(s) of sport, physical activity and PE.
Where research had previously focused on women much of it, as Jennifer
Hargreaves (1994: 288) insightfully comments, had been linked to the
experience of white Western women in Christian cultures - usually middle
class and heterosexual and, we would add, able-bodied. Much too had
been written about women by men, and in many instances this work
tended to imply that women were some homogenous group whose experi-
ences could be universalised. We have tried to address some of these
shortcomings and universalisation, but as the reader will see, in a text such
as this it has proved impossible to include al\ voices. We acknowledge
and recognise this, and would urge others to take up the challenge to let all
women's voices be heard. However, whilst we believe in the necessity for
women to be heard, we also believe that it is important for us as both
readers and writers that we learn how to listen to others' voices and so
begin to avoid privileging some voices above others. The notion of giving
voice in itself is also problematic, for as Dewar (1991: 75) rightly posits:
'What does it mean to give? What kinds of relations does this imply?
What kind of power and privilege is implied in the act of giving? What
does this say about how voices are heard and interpreted?' Though due to
the limitations of space we have been unable to include some voices, we
believe it is essential that women's differences are acknowledged and cel-
ebrated and that we continue to problematise the privileges that our
various backgrounds may give us, and recognise that our notion of voice is
likely to be profoundly influenced by our own life experiences and
chances. Dewar (1991: 71) perceptively sums up the problem, she com-
ments that 'The problem as I see it now is not how to give voice but to
learn about different voices, hear what they have to say, and work to
become allies and friends in our struggles to take on oppressive forma-
xiii
xiv b.trodllction
tions'. Further to this we would contend that how we choose to (mis)repre-
sent these voices is also significant. Within this text we have not only
deliberately sought to hear different voices but we have also sought to
include writing by women who are at different stages of their careers.
At the same time however we wanted to challenge traditional research
orthodoxies which appeared to us to have privileged certain ways of
knowing and researching over others and to have rendered women's pres-
ence both marginal and in many cases invisible, particularly in the field of
sports studies. Hence, we wanted a text that moved away from positivistic
and 'scientific' visions of the sporting world, to one that both drew on and
challenged these conventions, and recognised that research stories can be
told in a multiplicity of ways in order to broaden our understanding of all
women's lives. Thus, following Maynard and Purvis (1994), we wished to
add to the continuing debates around 'doing feminist research' (Maynard
and Purvis 1994: 2) through our focus upon sport, physical activity and
PB.2 To this end, we asked our contributors to draw on their research to
illustrate and illuminate the dilemmas and issues involved in the process
of feminist research, and in so doing we have tried • '" to move beyond
boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom'
(hooks 1994: 207). Drawing on hooks' clarity of vision and thought we
see writing as the practice of academic freedom, in which women should
playa significant part. Our contributors testify to this.
Chapters I and 2 both provide insights into an organisation run by
women for women's equity in 'sport'; the Womens Sports Foundation
(WSF). But each chapter shows the authors approaching their research in
very different ways. In Chapter I, Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstone
draw on the experiences of the past, and present, chairs of WSF to illus-
trate the contribution of life-history research. In Chapter 2, Brenda Grace
explores the workings of the WSF through a case-study approach in which
she interviewed a number of the executive members.
The life-history approach to research adopted in Chapter 1 provided the
WSF chairs with the opportunity to talk in detail about their experiences in
sport and their involvement in the organisation. What emerges are rich
descriptive biographies which highlight each chairs' commitment to sport
and to their promotion of women within sport whilst also illuminating the
strategies they adopted in dealing with tensions within the organisation. It
further exemplifies the ways in which women are both influenced by and
can challenge societal and organisational values and structures. Brenda
Grace begins her chapter (Chapter 2) by discussing various feminist theor-
etical standpoints before emphasising the importance of reflexivity in the
research pJ'Ocess and demonstrating this within her own account. Her
 Illtroductioll xv
research captures some of the tensions within an all-women organisation,
drawing particular attention to the dilemmas around homophobia and
heterosexism and image presentation for the WSF.
Continuing the life-history approach, Gill Clarke starts Chapter 3 by
discussing some of the methodological issues that must be addressed
when conducting sensitive research. She illustrates this sensitivity in her
work as she highlights the complexities of the lives of lesbian PE teach-
ers in secondary schools in England. Drawing on in-depth interviews,
she illustrates some of the strategies that they may employ in order to
conceal their lesbian identity as well as documenting the homophobic
abuse that they may have been subjected to by colleagues and pupils
alike. Rarely have young Muslim women had the opportunity to express
their views about their experiences of PE and sport in a non-Islamic
culture. Hasina Zaman, herself a Muslim, provides this much needed
perspective in Chapter 4 where she dispels the myth that Muslim young
women are passive and in some way uninterested in physical activity.
She raises awareness and directs our attention to Islamic ideology whilst
exploring the dilemmas affecting young Muslim women and their
involvement in physical activity and how these might be addressed in a
secular society.
Jan Graydon argues in Chapter 5 that sport psychology has much to
offer in the understanding of sex differences when an emancipatory
approach is adopted which does not reinforce stereotypes of sex differ-
ence. She draws attention to psychological research which examines girls'
and boys' self-confidence and self-esteem in physical education and sport.
This highlights the importance of using a combination of quantitative and
qualitative research methods to gain greater insight into the meanings
which participants give to their sports experience. 3 Jan Wright and Alison
Dewar, in Chapter 6, highlight the ways in which women interpret and
give meaning to their experiences in physical activity. They use an inter-
pretive case study to examine how eight mature women in Canada and
Australia talk about their experiences of physical education, sport and
physical activity. The potential for women to be empowered through their
involvement in physical activity is discussed in Chapter 7 by Sarah Gilroy.
In addition to exploring some of the theoretical concerns about the body
and power, she draws upon interviews with women about their involve-
ment in physical activity to illustrate the complexities of this area of study.
Elite women athletes and their experiences are frequently missing from
research. Tanni Grey, in Chapter 8, seeks to redress this omission. She
draws on her experiences whilst on a Winston Churchill Fellowship in
Australia studying the coaching and training structures for elite wheelchair
xvi Introdllction
athletes. Herself an elite wheelchair athlete, she reflects on her experiences
both as a woman athlete and as a wheelchair researcher.
An unspoken issue, until very recently, in women's sports coaching and
training is raised in Chapter 9. Here Celia Brackenridge provides evidence
that some girls and women are the recipients of unwanted sexual attention
in sport and physical activity. She describes the care needed by herself
and collaborative researchers in attempting to examine sensitively the
experiences of those who have been sexually harassed and abused in sport.
Margaret Talbot explores, in Chapter 10, how women manage their lives
and their sport in the family context through the use of time profiles. Time
profiles, which were one aspect of a larger research project in which 40
women were also interviewed, are shown as a useful method in feminist
research. This research shows the significance that other family members
play in women's lives and the ways in which women negotiate their 'own'
time free from family responsibility for sport.
In Chapter II, Anne Flintoff raises a number of pertinent issues arising
out of her ethnographic research into the relationship between gender and
initial teacher education in PH. She assesses, in the context of her research,
aspects of contemporary debates surrounding feminist research and
describes the processes by which dilemmas raised in the research come to
be resolved. The practical and theoretical problems encountered in a cross-
national research project concerning women and sport are explored in
Chapter 12. Here, Sheila Scraton discusses the research in which she is
collaborating with women researchers from a number of European coun-
tries to examine how women in these countries experience and integrate
sport into their lives. In the final chapter, Barbara Humberstone uses auto-
biography to raise issues around power in the research process, illuminat-
ing the dialectic between ideology, structure and personal struggles. She
highlights the contribution that 'grounded' theory can make to feminist
research and explores a specific personal challenge to positivistic ideology
in the legitimisation of ethnographic research.
The chapters that follow in this book address specific issues around
feminist research in sport, physical activity and physical education, whilst
illuminating a diversity of experiences and dilemmas encountered through
the process of feminist research.
 lmroduction xvii

Notes

The impetus for this book came from a Women's Sports Foundation (WSF)
executive meeting in which it was suggested that the 'Guidance Notes for
Students' on 'Researching & Writing on Women & SportlLeisure/PE' pro-
duced by the WSF in 1989 and edited by Celia Brackenridge should be
updated. However, we decided that there was a need for an original book
concerned with feminist research in sport.
2 See Maynard and Purvis (1994), which examines and analyses feminist
research in some detail. Their book develops issues around power, politics
and responsibility ill the feminist research process through the concerns of
their contributors.
3 Maynard (1994) provides an excellent discussion around the traditional
opposition to quantitative methods of enquiry in favour of qualitative
methods of enquiry in feminist research, arguing for each to be used in a
complementary rather than competitive way.

References

Dewar, A. (1991) 'Feminist Pedagogy in Physical Education: Promises,

Possibilities and Pitfalls', Joul'llal of Physical Education, Recreatioll alld
Dallce, 62, 6, pp. 68-71 and 75-77.
Hargreaves, 1. (1994) Sporting Females: Critical Issues in the History and
Sociology of Women 's Spon, London: Routledge.
hooks, b. (1994) Teachillg to Trallsgress: Educatioll as the Practice of Freedom,
London: Routledge.
Maynard, M. and Purvis, J. (Eds) (1994) Researchill8 WOlllen's Lives from a
Femillist Pe,.spective, London: Taylor & Francis.
Maynard, M. (1994) 'Methods, Practice and Epistemology: The Debate about
Feminism and Research' in Maynard, M. and Purvis. J. (Eds) Researchillg
Womell's Livesjrom a Femillist Perspective, London: Taylor & Francis.
1 Managing a Women's Sport
Organisation: Interpreting
Biographies
Gill Clarke and Barbara Humberstone

Women in strategic positions in organisations are few and far between

(Cheung-Judge and Morrison 1992; EOC 1995; Marshall 1995). Many, if
not most, organisations are dominated by male values (Hearn et al. 1989;
Marshall 1984). In sport this is particularly so (Humberstone 1995; White
and Brackenridge 1984). Nevertheless, or perhaps as a consequence of
women's under-representation, invisibility and discrimination in sport, a
number of women in the UK got together in the early eighties (as have
women in many other countries, see Hall 1994) and initiated the Womens
Sport Foundation (UK) (WSF). Its original aims were' ... to promote the
interests of all women and girls in and through sport and demand equality
of opportunity'. These aims still underpin the work of the WSF.I This
advocacy body not only sought, ' ... to provide a voice to challenge the
discrimination faced by women and girls in sport and recreation in all
levels ... ', but it also gave opportunities for women to become strategic
managers in and through this all-woman organisation. 2
The biographies of four key women members, all past and present
chairs of the Foundation, are explored here. Through these life histories,
not only are their commitments and tensions as managers illuminated, but
also their sporting, educational and career experiences are illustrated.
Some of the issues associated with 'doing' life-history research are also
revealed.

THE RESEARCH

Members of the WSF are not a homogenous group, though they do all
share an interest in and love of sport. They differ in terms of class, race,
sexual identity, age, disability, body size and cultural, religious and lin-
guistic heritage (Dewar 1993: 212). This is to some extent reflected in the
diverse life stories presented here of the chairs of the organisation. The
stories that follow emanate from the interviews conducted with the chairs
2 Researching Women and Sport
during 1994 and 1995. Though the chairs were interviewed by the authors
(Celia Brackenridge and Anita White by Gill Clarke, and Monica
Vaughan and Tina Slade by Barbara Humberstone), each interview fol-
lowed a broadly similar format covering similar questions. The interviews
took place in the chairs' homes, except for Celia who was interviewed at
her place of work. The interviews lasted for approximately ninety minutes
and focused on the following issues: educational and career experiences,
interest and participation in sport, and involvement with the WSF. All the
interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. They were returned to the
chairs for their reactions, comment, verification, and alteration.
The stories that follow highlight aspects of these women's lives and
reveal the lived reality of their feminist politics. Our aims as story tellers
and analysts are to provide opportunities for the reader (and writers) to
identify with them as women and to learn something about each and
thereby gain an insight into and understanding of their lives. What we
have tried to do as authors of their stories is to let them speak from their
own perspective and in their own words as much as possible, whilst
attempting to analyse and interpret their stories. Nevertheless, we
acknowledge that it is ultimately we who have selected the content to be
included and by implication what not to include and the manner in which
it has been presented. However, it would be wrong to infer from this that
this was a static process, and that there was not only negotiation or com-
promise over the text and shape that these stories finally took. Indeed,
when the stories were returned from the women some aspects of their
stories were deleted on request as it was felt that they were 'too personal'
and left one feeling 'personally exposed and uncomfortable'.
We believe such a process should also involve some indication of our
positionality vis-a-vis this research. We are both members of the WSF
(UK) Executive and serve as co-convenors of the Education and Research
Group. Each of us is actively involved in sport in our spare time. Gill
Clarke umpires hockey internationally and plays tennis to keep fit, and
Barbara Humberstone windsurfs, rock-climbs and walks regularly. In
terms of our writing, Gill Clarke identifies as a lesbian feminist. and
Barbara Humberstone as a heterosexual feminist. Each chair whom we
interviewed is well known to us, indeed this led us to recognise the poten-
tial for harm that the telling of such stories could cause, for we were
recording information that could have been deleterious to them, thus at
times we felt constrained as to what information we could subsequently
report. Thus, like Goodson () 992: 2) ) we felt ' ... an obligation to protect
people from being managed and manipulated in the interests of research'
and so returned our 'selected stories' for the chairs to approve.
 Managing a Women's Sport Organisation 3
FOUR LIFE HISTORIES

Cella's Story

Celia was a founder member of the WSF and its first chair from 1984 until
her resignation due to ill health in 1988. She continues to be a member and
was involved regionally with the WSF until moving in 1994 to take up the
post of Head of Research and Postgraduate Development in the
Department of Leisure Management at Cheltenham and Gloucester
College of Higher Education. Outside her academic career Celia was a
successful sportswoman, and played lacrosse for England for many years.
Celia was educated at a mixed primary and junior school, before
moving to a private day school for girls at the age of nine. After passing
her eleven-plus examination, she won a scholarship to the senior part of
the school. She remembered that at home ' ... right from the beginning
there was a lot of educational pressure, but not a lot of educational back-
ground. I don't remember lots of books or newspapers in the house ... '.
She felt that she was' ... not academic but practical'. She recalled enjoy-
ing sport from an early age and being relatively successful at it. She was
selected for the school lacrosse team at fourteen, which was seen as being
very young, and she was also in the tennis and swimming teams. She felt
that she followed' ... a fairly conventional tomboyish line at school doing
all the sporty things .. .'. Celia's sporting talents were further developed
when at fourteen she joined a top local lacrosse club and played alongside
International players. It was at this time that she' ... became besotted with
it and wanted to play for England ... '. This was something that she later
went on to do with considerable success, indeed she was made Captain of
the British team and then the England team at the age of twenty seven. She
also coached the English side from 1982 until 1986.
In 1968, after taking her 'A' Levels, Celia decided to go to Bedford
College of Higher Education in order to become a Physical Education
(PE) teacher. She spent the fourth year of her course at Cambridge
University and became the first student in the UK to gain a First Class
Honours Degree in PE. At Cambridge not only did she continue to excel at
academic work but her sporting skills were rewarded with the gaining of
'Blues' in lacrosse and cricket. She then gained a scholarship to do a
Masters degree at Leeds University. Following this she took up a teaching
appointment at Bournemouth School for Girls, but after only one year's
teaching and at the age of twenty four she took up her first lecturing post
at Lady Mabel College. Celia described how she ' ... was taken on one
side very sternly by a sort of matriarchal woman who was a Principal
4 Researching Women and Sport
Lecturer there and given a talking to on how I was very young and I
wasn't to be led astray by these students'. After a year she was promoted
to Senior Lecturer to develop the Recreation Studies Degree. In 1977 Lady
Mabel College became Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam
University) and in 1986 Celia was promoted to a Principal Lecturer. By
then she was teaching Sports Studies, but diversification in courses fol-
lowed. Celia became a· ... Senior Academic Postholder ... , a Head of
Department grade at Sheffield, and was promoted into the Management
Team as Head of Academic Quality'. In 1994 she left to take up a
Readership at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. 3
Returning to the WSF, at the time of her initial involvement Celia did
not see herself as being· ... very political1y conscious but just beginning to
be .. .'. She commented on how she .... suddenly realised you can't just be
a feminist in sport, you have to be a feminist across the board'. Celia
described it as •... a package deal, and I think that was like the scales
falling from my eyes'. Celia recalled how during WSF's first year there
was •... a lot of anguished conversation, what the name should be, and of
course who is going to run it, where is it going to be. I got very impatient
about talking and not doing anything, so I just said that I would do it
and I'll do it in Sheffield if you want' . She described how the WSF was •...
very typically voluntary sector, no money, lots of ambition, lots of interest
but nobody really knowing how to start. .. '. Celia also recal1ed how there
were •... rows like shall we have men, shall we not have men, shall we
have a sliding scale of subscriptions ... shall we throw our lot in with the
Sports Council or stay independent. What are we going to do about les-
bians, or are we going to do nothing about lesbians? And there were fero-
cious arguments .. .'. She recalled how WSF initially .... didn't have a
conscious ideology, we did some quite good things and we also appeared to
be a lot bigger than we were, as we were writing to Fleet Street about this
and that, trying to link with other organisations ... We did as much as we
could on a shoestring in a rather naive way' . Celia described how she had
to become .... very politically correct very quickly, because I had never
done anything like this. I had never been to a women's meeting before,
didn't know any lesbians, 0\' at least I didn't think I did ... '.
The WSF later moved to an office in central London. Celia vividly
remembered how, on 3 September 1988, she collapsed with back trouble
before an Executive meeting and had to be lifted off the Hoor and taken
back to Sheffield. She commented that •... it was quite clear that I wasn't
going to be able to continue, and I can't remember exactly how it came
about but Anita took over'. Celia noted how •... people were always reluc-
tant to become chair because they had seen me do it and then Anita do it,
 Managing a Women's Sport Organisation 5
and it was a bit daunting the idea of taking it over' . Celia felt however that
it was •... very important that each person who does, does it their own
way ... '. Celia felt that it was •A good thing that I gave up the chair
because a new perspective was brought in. Anita was much more outward
looking in terms of PR ... I was more worried about negative issues and
fighting against discrimination and writing long letters to official bodies.
She got out and talked to people, she was the acceptable face for the
WSF ... All sorts of doors opened as soon as she took that job which could
never have happened with me because I did it a different way ... I was
totally burned out by the time I handed over .. .'. She also revealed that
this was a particularly stressful time for her • ... as during this period in
the late eighties I was changing sexuality, and the period of great change
in my professional life also coincided with that in my personal life'.
Celia's hopes for WSF in the future are that it will •... be strong enough to
survive as an intermediary between sports specific organisations and an
international pressure group for women. I wouldn't like there to be what I
think there still is - complete political isolation between sports specific
bodies and women's generic bodies'.

Anita's Story

Anita was a founder member of the WSF, and chair from 1988 to 1990.
Currently she is Acting Director of National Services at the Sports
Council. As a successful sportswoman Anita was an international hockey
player and captained the English side that won the World Championships
in 1975. Following this she was involved in coaching at club and inter-
national level.
Anita was educated at a Methodist girls' grammar school where she
remembered that there were lots of opportunities for sport and that she did
everything that was going because she loved it, and reached county level
as a netballer, athlete and tennis player. She recalled that the school motto
was •... Beyond the best, there is a better' and that she grew up with a
very strong achievement orientation reinforced by parental expectations.
Anita decided she'd •... become a PE teacher because ... the only role
model I had of a woman who was doing the kinds of things that I liked
was my PE teacher, so I just thought I'd be one, too'. Anita commented
that at that time that was the only career avenue open for women to follow
who were interested in sport. Anita went to Nonington PE College, an all-
women's college with a strong tradition in movement and dance. She
described it as •... very sheltered and very restricted ... in some ways, it
was an environinent run by women for women'. Whilst there she was
6 Researching Women and Sport
active in sport, and captained the hockey team. After leaving Anita taught
for four years at a mixed Independent school in Slough. It was •... at that
time that ... I had to make a decision about what sport to go for ... ', she
opted for hockey and played for Buckinghamshire and the South of
England. Anita's next post was a one-year temporary PE lectureship at
Berkshire College of Higher Education, and whilst there she was selected
for the England hockey team. It was also at this time that she got married
and recalled the support that she got from her husband throughout her
hockey career. In 1971. at the age of twenty four, Anita moved to lecture
at West Sussex Institute of Higher Education (WSIHE, now Chichester
Institute of Higher Education (CIHE». Anita continued to play interna-
tional hockey and in 1974 she was made team captain. She believed she'
... was captain more for the leadership qualities than for my playing abil-
ities .. .'. Having reached the top in her sport Anita decided to extend
herself academically and in 1978 she studied full time for a Masters
degree at Sussex University, and in 1980 she went to the United States, to
undertake a Doctorate in the Sociology of Sport. On her return to the
Institute, she was promoted to Head of the Sports Studies programme.
Anita was involved with the formation of the WSF in 1984. She
described how she met Celia on her return from the USA and recognised
that they shared a lot in common. 'We were both of a mind about things
that needed to change in Higher Education and Physical Education, and in
women's sport.' Anita remembered how she .... began to appreciate all
the issues that affect women in their everyday lives, and ... became ...
more sensitised to women's issues .. .'. She recalled how Celia· ... really
seized on. '" really got into the analysis of women's issues and ... brought
those things to the WSF ... '.
In 1988 Anita became the second chair of WSF after Celia resigned.
She recalled how she was persuaded by a couple of the members to con-
sider taking on the role, although her initial reaction was to doubt her
ability to do so, for she felt that· ... you couldn't possibly follow Celia,
she'd been so brilliant'. Anita described some of the difficulties that she
faced in undertaking the role, for her .... it was the first time that I'd tried
to lead a voluntary organisation .. .', and she also found managing volun-
teers quite different to her professional management role in higher educa-
tion or captaining a hockey team, and •... it was an enormous time
commitment. .. ' on top of her full time job.
Anita recounted how she became •... uneasy about some of the direc-
tions WSF was going in, in particular the issue of working with men'.
Anita recalled that in the early days a lot of people were lost to the organ-
isation because of the line that was taken of excluding men from member-
 Ma1laging a Women's Sport Organisation 7
ship. Further to this she commented that her preference would be ' ... to
identify male allies, because I do believe that works, but, I equally respect
women who think it needs to be done differently ... Celia and I differed on
this point and probably would still not agree, except I think we would
agree that there should be room for feminists to do things in the way they
are best placed and most able' .
Anita also recalled how she had talked to the CIHE students about WSF
and how she subsequently encouraged Tina (current chair ofWSF) to take
a more active role within the organisation. Whilst chair, Anita described
how she •... tried to get the organisation accepted as a legitimate part of
the sporting scene, ... I tried to establish better relationships with the
CCPR and with the Sports Council ... I suppose it was a softening ... a
more liberal view of trying to work with an establishment that was pre-
dominantly male ... '. She remembered also ' ... how the leaders in the
women's sports movement at that time tended to be women in their thirties
who were challenging both the male and female sports system, so
we weren't much liked by anyone'. Anita expressed the belief that the
, ... public perception of the WSF was that it was a lesbian organisation,
working out how to deal with the issue as an organisation and overcoming
the homophobia we found to exist within the organisation and among our-
selves was interesting ... it was important for the organisation to decide
whether it wanted to combat this perception actively or subtly'. She also
remembered •... in the early days, there was a lot of tension between
radical and liberal feminists ... I'm more of a liberal feminist and I ...
believed the way to change the system was to work within it for
change ... '. Indeed, Anita believes that these' ... are continuing debates',
she commented that she would like to think that she listened to all the dif-
ferent viewpoints and that her concern as chair was to help the organisa-
tion to be more acceptable to the sporting world because she didn't really
believe that it could be changed unless WSF worked from the inside.
Anita advocated the building of bridges and forming alliances with main-
stream organisations. Her role as chair was only for two years because of
her appointment to the Sports Council, where it was incompatible for her
to continue to hold the role of chair of an organisation seeking ·Sports
Council funding.
As to the future of WSF, Anita considers that the organisation is
, ... still facing many of the dilemmas it has done over the last ten years, in
particular to what extent it should remain outside and challenge the system
and to what extent it should integrate with the system and try to change
from within'. Anita believes that WSF ' ... needs to decide to what extent
it should stand outside and throw bricks at the establishment and say "You
8 Researching Women and Sport
guys have got it wrong'" and 'to what extent it should seek to consolidate
its inRuence within the sporting establishment'.

Monica's Story

Monica was chair from 1989 to 1992. Prior to this she had been treasurer,
when Anita was in the chair. Her first involvement with WSF was as the
representative on the executive from the British Sports Association for the
Disabled (BSAD). As a contestant in the swimming events in the 1976
and 1980 Paralympiad she gained five and four gold medals respectively
for Britain. Monica is now a podiatrist working for the local National
Health Service Trust.
Growing up on a council estate where she attended a Catholic primary
school, Monica 'loved sport, any kind of sport; netball, rounders ... the
football and cricket was after school' , with the local lads. She then went to
the Catholic co-educational comprehensive in the city, being new it had
'very good sports facilities ... including a swimming pool'. Despite the
loss of her left leg above the knee at the age of four, Monica played and
enjoyed all sports. She was often not picked for team games, 'until
someone twigged that I might not be able to run but I could hit the ball a
long way and could catch very well and had other skills'. However, after
support from a teacher who taught Monica to swim front crawl, she
trained with a prestigious swimming club, competing in and winning able-
bodied swimming competitions. 'I'd always competed against able-bodied
people, I didn't know anything about sport for people with disabilities.'
On leaving school, Monica worked for the Cheshire Homes Foundation
and then trained as a State Registered Nurse. After qualifying, Salisbury
District Health Authority gave Monica a three-month sabbatical from
nursing to train for the 1976 Paralympics for the physically disabled. In
her time Monica was an outstanding swimmer, comfortably winning nine
gold Paralympic medals overall.
Taking part in and being a medal winner in the 1976 Olympics had pro-
found effects on Monica. Despite her considerable success, she felt her
swimming achievements were overlooked and her disability took centre
stage. 'I came back fl'Om Canada and I was "one-legged girl sweeps
board" ... the focus was on my disability whereas I had gone out to the
games as a swimmer ... I was confronted with my disability which had
never been a problem or issue before.'
After competing in the 1980 games, Monica decided to give up swim-
ming competitively and she moved from her job as ward sister in a reha-
bilitation centre in Oxford to take up the post of southern region
 Managing a Women's Sport Organisation 9
development officer for BSAD. Here she worked for five years developing
and promoting sport for people with disabilities and became BSAD's rep-
resentative on the WSF executive in 1984 while Celia was chair.
Monica was drawn to the ideals propounded by the WSF, 'here's an
organisation that wants to do something' about recognition of womens'
sporting abilities. 'WSF ... was very enthusiastic to welcome women with
disabilities ... not in a patronising ... way but totally as women who were
involved in sport ... and who had voices to be listened to'.
For Monica, through her involvement in sport, a number of personal
dimensions crystallised into public issues. 'I've felt about me as a woman
with a disability - or the disability and as a woman, they are actually quite
similar. It's like ... being gay and having a disability are, in many ways,
very similar, except that having a disability is socially acceptable and
being gay is not. You are stigmatised for both. Within sport, women are
also stigmatised because they are women ... Why should other people be
deciding what sports we can or can't play?'
In 1987, Monica left BSAD to embark on a new career, taking a
diploma in podiatric medicine and in 1989 became the chair of WSF.
During her time as chair, Monica sllccessfully led the Foundation through
a number of constitutional challcnges and achieved considerable sponsor-
ship from Tambrands4 for young womens' sports awards. Despite her
achievements as a sports woman and her professional experiences. Monica
felt that some people in authority in sport, 'didn't have a great deal of
confidence in me as someone ... to discuss things with'. She also felt she
did not have the professional background and backup that former chairs
had enjoyed. The latter, who were lecturers in sport and physical educa-
tion, not only had 'students who were keen' to be involved with the work
of WSF, but also, 'were known nationally and internationally ... (through
their) writing papers'.
Monica resigned from the chair in 1992 for a number of reasons. Her
career in podiatry was developing and she wanted to focus all her energies
on it. Not only was the amount of voluntary work for WSF considerable
but also she was deeply concerned about the ways in which homophobia
was creating tensions within WSF and between it and outside bodies. She
felt that had she remained chair she would have had to overtly challenge
homophobic prejudices, which were emanating largely from outside the
organisation. 'I think you have to confront the issue of lesbianism because
other people would actually bring it up rather than us as an organisation ...
For us to deny it, which I think was happening with [our sponsors] and the
Sports Council, ... is wrong and there comes a time when the organisation
has to stand up and be counted ... If I had remained as chair ... that's what
10 Researching Women alld Sport
would have happened. That would have probably split WSF and have
meant that we would have become a WSF for heterosexual women and a
WSF for lesbian women ... which would have been wrong for WSF. 'S
There is a major critique of WSF which Monica feels needs to be
addressed. That is, that 'it is very much seen as a white middle class
organisation. It's something Celia always tried to' address ... where are
the Black women, where are the Asian women? ... it goes back to the kind
of image we are projecting'.6
Having chosen to direct her enthusiasm and energies to issues around
disabilities, Monica is planning to undertake a part-time degree in disabil-
ity studies and continues to practise podiatric medicine.

Tina's Story

Tina is, at the time of writing, the present chair of WSF, having been
elected in 1993. After completing a BA Sports Studies degree at West
Sussex Institute of Higher Education (WSIHE), Tina took an M.Sc. in
Leisure Management 'at Loughborough University. After completion of
this, and at the age of twenty three, her first post was as manager of a
small rural county council leisure centre. She then moved to a city council
leisure department, taking up a post as a recreation officer. Tina is now the
leisure services development officer and a member of the leisure services
management team.
Tina attended a girls' grammar school where lacrosse was played
instead of hockey but, 'we had a rebel hockey club during lunch time'.
Although never really specialising in any sport, Tina has always been
eager to take part in a variety of activities. At school and college, she was
a member of a number of teams such as netball, squash, hockey and bas-
ketball. She now runs with the city Running Sisters' Club. At WSIHE,
Tina became interested in issues around women and sport. Gender issues
were part of the course on which Anita lectured. Interested by this issue,
she wrote her final dissertation on women in sports centre management,
illuminating women's under-representation in leisure management. Also,
through Anita's encouragement, in 1985 Tina attended her first Annual
General Meeting of the WSF. There then followed a number of years in
which Tina co-ordinated WSF activities in the Southern region. She was
then nominated as vice-chair to support Monica and, after Monica's resig-
nation, Tina was voted in as chair.
Tina's commitment as chair of WSF is significant and, despite the sub-
stantial demands on her time, she derives considerable pleasure from her
involvement.
 Managing a Women's Sport Orgallisation It
For Tina, on taking over the chair, 'there was such a lot to do and it was
so challenging ... You can never do as much as you would want to do
because there would be enough to keep a chair busy working fuU:time on
it... So, whatever you do, it doesn't come up to your expectations because
you feel you could do much more'. Tina, together with the WSF executive
members and staff, sllccessfully obtained funding from the Sports Council
for a three-year national development programme. This involved the
appointment of a full-time officer, Carolyn Carr. Management of this post
has been very important for Tina. 'I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in
the process of appointing Carolyn and also feel an obligation to ensure
that she has the support and encouragement she needs and ... continuity in
terms of her direct supervisor ... WSF has significant responsibility to her
as an employee.'
Tina sees this appointment as valuable as it has facilitated the initiation
of a number of projects which additionally require further voluntary com-
mitment. The Sports Council's funding, Tina felt, 'is a bit like pump
priming, their money will be more than matched with the valuable vol un-
t!try work by members and the executive of WSF'. She is concerned that
after the three years, when the national development project ends, unless
further funding is available WSF may not be able to support the types of
initiative that have been possible over the last three years. Tina maintains
that, 'We've done a tremendous amount but we've really only touched the
surface, I believe that there's a lot more that can be done to raise the
profile of the issue ... so that it becomes a part of everyday life that
women should have equality of opportunity in sport at all levels and in all
capacities' .
Tina is also very aware of the amount of work and effort put in by
other members of the executive committee and the stresses which they
experience in other aspects of their lives. 'I think you need to be realis-
tic about what can be achieved with volunteers most of whom are also
in full-time work and with family commitments. Nevertheless by
encouraging an active involvement we've achieved a tremendous
amount.' She is also conscious of the substantial responsibility she has
as chair and frequently talks through some of the issues with Jonathan,
her partner.
For Tina her professional position and voluntary work for WSF are
compatible in their underlying values and aims. As an officer for the city
council, Tina needs to ensure that the council is providing a leisure service
which reflects the needs of the local community. 'As an officer of the
council, I need to ensure that we are continually improving the service to
shape it more toward the community. This often involves taking positive
12 Researching Women and Sport
action initiatives to encourage use of our facilities and services by those
who have been traditionally under-represented in sport.'
Unlike some organisations, Tina sees her current local authority as a
'supportive environment to all the sorts of policies that WSF supports',
and she feels that, 'other organisations may not have the same type of
ethos and so far I probably haven't encountered the sort of barriers that
many other people have. WSP's policies complement those of my local
authority' .
In the future, Tina would like to progress her career in local authority
management. She sees WSF as going 'from strength to strength'. 'It would
be nice to think that there is no need for an organisation such as WSF but
until then I hope we can continue to support women, raise the awareness
of the issues surrounding womens' involvement in sport, bring about
change in sport and thereby increase WOOlens' opportunities.'

MAKING SENSE OF LIFE HISTORIES: AGENDAS AND

DILEMMAS

These vignettes selected by the authors from the interviews, in collabora-

tion with the chairs, are but partial reflections and to some extent snap-
shots of their lives. They cannot do justice to all that these women have
achieved both personally and publicly in a society which is perhaps only
now beginning to recognise the capabilities of women in organisations and
in sport. Their enthusiasm and determination, evident in these brief
glimpses, working both on behalf of the WSF and also professionally, has
arguably done much to further the cause of women, sport and physical
activity. Although the impact of their contributions is difficult to measure,
sponsorship by Tambrands and funding support by the Sports Council for
WSF projects has provided opportunities for recognition of young sports
women and raised the profile of women in sport and sport management.
Their work for the WSF has perhaps also developed their own awareness
of and sensitivity to the positions of women more generally.
The chairs are unrepresentative of women in general in terms of their
achievements (both in sport and professionally) and in their ethnicity,
class and occupational status. They are however more representative of
the few women who are in leadership/management positions in sport and
leisure in that they are largely middle class and white. Therein lies one of
the challenges facing the WSF(UK); to transform itself, as well as trans-
forming sport.
In their various ways, the chairs have not been afraid to challenge the
inequalities and inequities in sport nor to acknowledge discordances
 Managing a Women's Sport Organisation 13
within this organisation. Clearly, not only are there differences in
identification and in feminist standpoints between the women volunteers,
but also there is the ever-present concern over the image of WS'F in the
wider community. Such tensions weave throughout each chair's story.
Each story tells of the commitment and energies of these chairs in
working for the cause of women in all aspects of sport and physical activ-
ity. The different approaches of Celia and Anita in the infancy of the
.organisation are evident. Cel ia vigorollsly, overtly challenging discrimina-
tion and inequality in sport, her approach reflecting a more radical feminist
standpoint, whilst Anita saw the importance of working with and
influencing those in power, subtly building bridges between WSF and
significant sporting bodies, her approach being more representative of a
liberal feminist standpoint. This is not to say that they do not support other
feminist standpoints. Building upon the awareness-raising of Celia's work,
Anita's approach paved the way for major sponsorship which has sup-
ported a number of successful deVelopment projects. Monica secured and
guided the organisation through its first major commercial sponsorship,
and Tina played a key role in directing the Sports Council funded national
development project ( 1993/6).
In a heterosexist and homophobic society, an all-woman advocacy body,
as Anita points out, may be perceived as 'a lesbian organisation'. We would
argue that there is often still the tendency in a male-dominated society to
ridicule all-women organisations, unless their image is non-threatening as in
the Women's Institute, which is sometimes patronisingly represented as 'all
jam and Jerusalem'. Monica draws attention to the divisive effect which
homophobia could have had on the organisation, challenging the united
strength of both lesbian and heterosexual women on the executive.1 One of
us (Clarke 1995: 9) has drawn attention to the insidious and invidious ways
in which homophobia can act to 'separate(s) heterosexual women from their
lesbian sisters and prevent(s) them from sharing experiences and working
together to challenge prejudices and discriminatory practices'. We both
acknowledge this threat to women's strength. For Monica, rather than pre-
cipitating a division, the way forward which she chose at that time was to
stand down as chair. It is ironical that there would appear to be no such
similar 'negative' image for all-male organisations.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Not only does research utilising biography give the opportunity for an
individual's experiences and views to be made visible, but also it may
provide insights into the ways in which women are both shaped by and
14 Researchillg Womell and Sport
can challenge societal and organisational values and structures. We have
found this project stimulating and yet sometimes daunting. Certainly, the
process has made us more sensitive to the problems each chair faced and
more aware of what each has contributed to the development of sport and
physical activity for women.
It has also developed our understanding of the tensions around process-
ing interview data. Our attempt to 'give voice' to our research collabora-
tors has not in itself been as straightforward as it might at first appear (see
Dewar 1991: 75). What is captured on tape in an informal discussion may
appear to one interviewee, when presented with a selection of their words,
as acceptable whilst to another it may seem trivial and superficial. The
issues for an interviewee of wishing to present a particular image creates
for researchers particular ethical dilemmas which are associated with
'ownership' and representation (see Gill Clarke's Chapter 3). For us this
research also raises issues around the ways in which research repre-
sents/(mis)represents its participants. How often in research are interpreta-
tions made which may be at odds with the participant's understandings
and whose interpretation is privileged? This dilemma also comes into play
when researchers attempt to draw upon specific theories in the analysis of
their data (see Barbara Humberstone's Chapter 13).

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Carolyn Carr (WSF National Development

Officer) and Sarah Gilroy, a founder member of WSF, for their helpful
comments on this chapter. In particular we wish to express our thanks to
past and present chairs of the WSF for their collaboration in the writing of
this chapter.
We would also like to thank Noreen Henderson for transcribing some of
the life stories and Marilyn Hayward for typing endless versions of this
chapter.

Notes

The WSP was launched in 1984 and for the first ten years was a voluntary
organisation, managed by an annually elected Executive Committee. At the
time of writing, the WSP has become registered as a Company limited by
Guarantee and is presently awaiting the outcome of its application for charita-
ble status. Subsequently, the management structure will undergo change,
though it will continue to be run by volunteers. Its office is at Crosfield House,
Mint Walk, Croydon, CR9 IB - where the National Development Officer
(funded by the Sports Council) is based with the part-time membership and
 Managing a Women's Sport Organisation 15
advisory officer. The work which is carried out includes women and sports
leadership initiatives, establishing and supporting women and sports net-
works, providing information and producing resources.
2 The current membership leaflet lists the main aims as being to:
Increase awareness about the issues surroundings women's involvement in
sport;
Support women to become involved in sport at all levels and in all
capacities;
Encourage organisations to improve access to sporting opportunities for
women;
Challenge instances of inequality in sport and seek to bring about change;
Raise the visibility of British sportswomen.
3 Celia now has a Professorship.
4 During the two years of the scheme, over £100,000 was awarded directly to
young sportswomen to support them in their sporting endeavours.
5 The issue of homophobia in sport and sporting organisations is only now
beginning to be addressed by significant sporting bodies such as the Sports
Council. A workshop concerned with homophobia was held at the Brighton
International Conference on Women and Sport, May 1994.
6 The WSF recognises that, and the WSF Development Plan for 1996-2000
seeks to actively encourage membership which is representative of the
whole community and to ensure that the Executive Committee members are
also representative of the community.
7 Hall (1994) identifies these tensions confronting women's sport advocacy
organizations globally.

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Marshall, J. (1984) Womell Mallagers: Travellers ill a Male World, Chichester:
Wiley.
Marshall. J. (1995) Womell Mallagers Movillg 011 London: Routledge.
White. A. and Brackenridge. C. (1984) 'Who Rules Sport? Gender Divisions in the
Power Structures of British Sports' Organisations'. Paper presellted at the
Olympic Scielltijic COllferellce, University of Oregon.
2 Researching a Women's
Sport Organisation
Brenda Grace

As a feminist studying sport, I consider it important to explore the

connections between knowledge about women and the way that such
knowledge is produced, thus:
... the only viable analyses of gender and sport are those that provide
both a critical and historical analysis of the ideological foundations of
our past and ongoing research. (Han 1988: 331)
For me, then, the critical analysis of the research process itself is an
important part of any project and is central to my attempt to operate within
a feminist framework. To provide a context for discussion here, a brief
background is provided of feminist critiques of traditional social science
research and of the way that feminist scholars have engaged with estab-
lished paradigms influential in the discipline. A look is taken at the emer-
gence of a specifically feminist approach to research and different feminist
epistemologies. In focusing on my own experiences as a graduate student
researching a women's sport advocacy organisation, I attempt to draw out
insights gleaned and some of the contradictions I faced from working
through a feminist methodology.

DEFINING APPROACHES

Feminism includes a wide diversity of positions and analyses; accordingly

feminist research embraces a range of viewpoints (Cook and Fonow
1991). While recognising this diversity, I also see feminism as a move-
ment by which we aim towards the improvement of women's lives. The
common thread that links different feminist approaches is a fundamental
commitment to pursuing feminist politics. Feminist scholarship and
research acknowledges that social life is structured by gender relations that
are oppressive to women, is committed to changing this with an emphasis
on women's empowerment and autonomy, and seeks to replace sexist
intellectual traditions with a feminist paradigm (I use paradigm in the
sense of a shared intellectual view of the world). The focus on transform-

17
18 Researching Women and Sport
ing intellectual and cultural practices that subordinate women distinguishes
feminist scholarship from other social and political theory within the
broader paradigm of critical theory.
The relationship between epistemology and methodology is at the
centre of feminist critiques of much orthodox social science research.
Epistemological questions draw attention to the political implications of
the research process. Stanley and Wise (1983) provide an accessible
explanation of epistemology:
An 'epistemology' is a framework or theory for specifying the constitu-
tion and generation of knowledge about the social world; that is, it
concerns how to understand the nature of 'reality'. A given epistemolo-
gicial framework specifies not only what 'knowledge' is and how to
recognise it, but who are 'knowers' and by which means someone
becomes one, and also the means by which competing
knowledge-claims are adjudicated and some rejected in favour of
another! others. (Stanley and Wise 1983: 188)
The assumptions which underpin the whole research process are referred
to as methodology; it is the 'theory and analysis of how research should be
undertaken' (Harding 1986: 2). A researcher's treatment of methodologi-
cal issues, for example the relationship between the researcher and
research subjects, will be guided by their epistemological orientation.
Method, however, is the actual practical technique employed in gathering
research data (interviewing, participant observation, surveys, the acquisi-
tion of documents, and so on) ..

FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF ORTHODOX SOCIAL SCIENCE

RESEARCH

The changing political climate in the 1960s and 1970s generated by the
women's liberation movement had an impact upon the work of many
women academics working in the social sciences (Millman and Kanter
1975; Smith 1974). As a result of feminist influence, women scholars
began to conduct critical analyses of the gender imbalance inherent in
most traditional social science research. Feminist concerns focused on the
bias towards men as both subjects and producers of academic knowledge
(cf. Zalk and Gordon-Kelter 1992: (0).
Criticism of the widespread omission of women as research suhjects
and the distortion of social theory arising from generalising men's experi-
ences to include women focused attention on the need to study women's
 Researching a Women's Sport Organisation 19
experiences of, and contribution to, the social world (Spender 1981).
Feminist social scientists undertook research about women with the goal
of generating knowledge that would contribute to improving women's
social, political and economic status. As this work increased and devel-
oped, various feminist scholars began to question existing research prac-
tice as inappropriate to the situations under study (Oakley 1981; Smith
1974, 1979; Stanley and Wise 1983). The feminist critique of male bias in
methodological approaches inevitably led to a critical analysis of episte-
mological issues. A significant outcome of feminists experiencing a misfit
between the way that research produced 'facts' and the actual social expe-
riences of women was the realisation that for the gender issue to be
addressed, it was not simply a question of adding women, but of examin-
ing the production of knowledge as a gendered process. Smith (1974,
1979, 1987) worked through a sociology of knowledge perspective to
conduct a feminist analysis of the ideological foundations of social science
research. In making connections between what is valued as knowledge and
relations of ruling, Smith demonstrates how patriarchy is supported by
mainstream intellectual practices.
The feminist challenge to 'malestream' social science traditions has
largely been based on a critique of positivist epistemology. However, fem-
inist attempts at reformulating androcentric traditions occupy a wide
variety of positions; the critiques range from correcting the male bias to
make the results more 'objective', to an outright rejection of the paradigm.
Although positivism has historically held a central position, there have
always been competing paradigms (cf. Sparkes 1992). In developing their
critique of positivist epistemology and methodology, feminists drew from
other anti-positivist traditions, in particular the interpretive and Marxist
traditions (Acker, Barry and Esseveld ]983).
Sparkes (1992: 19) notes that as academic disciplines studying the
social world became established they were greatly influenced by the legit-
imacy attached to 'scientific' inquiry; concepts and methods used to study
the natural sciences were applied to the social sciences. Positivist assump-
tions are associated with Cartesian systems of thought. In this tradition,
the social world is considered to exist outside an individual's perception of
it and can be observed by researchers from a detached and objective
stance. Positivist notions that social reality can be understood through
binary categories is based upon Cartesian thought. In this mode of
thought, social phenomena are divided into separate and opposite groups;
subject/object, male/female, rational/emotional, public/private. In cri-
tiquing positivist epistemologies feminists drew attention to the effect of
binary thinking on negating similarities and continuums and pointed out
20 Researching Women and Sport

that the implicit gender structure of such categories privileges male over
female.
Positivist methodologies place great emphasis on the use of prescribed
methods that purport to control researcher bias and other external vari-
ables that might 'distort' the results. Quantitative methods are privileged
over qualitative methods as techniques that produce objective, mathemat-
ical data. Feminist researchers argued that quantitative methods stripped
away the context of the subjects being researched and that this had directly
contributed to women's experiences being made invisible. Women who
felt a sense of dislocation between their research experience and positivist
methodologies also argued against creating an artificial separation between
researcher and research subjects, pointing out that much valuable informa-
tion was lost as a result (Millman and Kanter 1975). Concern was increas-
ingly expressed about the power dynamics created by positivist research
and how this was antithetical to feminist principles (Mies 1983; Roberts
1981).
The interpretive paradigm emerged in the last century as a critical reac-
tion to positivism. This paradigm embraces a wide variety of research tra-
ditions that hold in common the rejection of a natural science approach to
studying human social life. Theory is seen as grounded in the study of
social experience rather than created externally and then tested for valid-
ity. Reality is not viewed as an objective 'truth' that exists separate from
human experience, but rather as the subjective experience of individuals
and a network of intersubjectively shared meanings between individuals
(Sparkes 1992). Interpretive epistemology posits that knowledge is con-
structed out of human experience and is therefore imbedded with values
and biases according to changing contexts and individuals. Interactional
methodologies such as ethnography and phenomenology study people's
social experience through an exploration of the meanings and interpreta-
tions that they themselves use to understand their lives. Interpretive
methodology, and the qualitative methods associated with this approach,
have been adopted by many feminist researchers who reject the rigid sep-
aration of researcher and researched. Interpretive research strategies are
also valued by feminists because they are based on the epistemological
assumption that the only way to know a socially constructed world is to
know it from within (Hall (985).
Nco-marxist and other critical traditions have also developed an extens-
ive critique of positivism. Central to this is the argument that the concept
of 'objectivity' and the researcher's value neutrality disguises ideological
influences on knowledge production. Critical epistemologies stand in
direct opposition to the liberal ideology associated with positivism.
 Researching a Women's Sport Organisation 21
Knowledge is seen as socially constructed and the product of humans
interacting with each other and their material world. It is argued that forms
of knowledge holding the most authority generally reflect the interests of
the ruling group in society. Protecting these interests requires the mling
group to control the process of knowledge production and present their
own view of the social world as 'objective reality'. Although feminists
have critiqued these traditions for being gender-blind, they have reworked
many of the ideas to expose how hierarchies of knowledge contribute to
women's subordinate social position (Acker et al. 1983). The commitment
of Marxist and critical theories to engaging with theory and research in
order to contribute towards social change made these epistemological
positions attractive to feminists challenging orthodox traditions. A key
Marxist concept utilised in the development of feminist epistemology is
the idea that knowledge constructed from the standpoint of those lower
down the social structures provides a more complete picture of reality than
that constructed only by those in the ruling group. This is considered in
more detail in the following discussion which examines the emergence of
feminist epistemology.

FROM CRITIQUE TO REFORMULATION: FEMINIST

EPISTEMOLOGIES AND METHODOLOGIES

An extensive literature has emerged dealing with the epistemological

foundations of feminist research. Within this, three main positions are
acknowledged by many authors; feminist empiricism, feminist standpoint
theory and feminist postmodernism (AlIen and Barber 1992; Harding
1986; Hawkesworth 1989). Other feminist writers on the subject have
argued that there is a broader spectrum of feminist epistemological posi-
tions that includes these models (with positions incorporating elements
from one or more of them). The tensions within and between the different
perspectives on the feminist research process are an indication of the
expanding scope of this scholarship and its transitional stage of develop-
ment (Harding 1986, 1990). They also reflect the increasing willingness of
feminists to critically engage with their own theory and practice. The
outline that follows is intended to highlight the central themes of these
three feminist epistemologies.
Feminist empiricism maintains a positivist base, accepting notions of a
social realism that can be revealed throllgh systematic methods of observ-
ing, recOI'ding, and analysing the subject under study. However this posi-
tion does reject the idea that the researcher can hold a neutral, value-free
22 Researching Women and Sport
position, and maintains that the women's movement has enabled better
scientific standards by drawing attention to the poor scientific standards
inherent in sexism and male bias in the social sciences. Feminist empiri-
cism has challenged the traditional approaches to social science research
as not reaching its own scientific standards, but it has not addressed the
foundations of the scientific standards themselves (Allen and Barber 1992;
Scraton and Flintoff 1992). Sandra Harding (1990) suggests that the con-
servative nature of feminist empiricism enables it to have some influence
within mainstream social sciences in terms of getting feminist issues on
the agenda, and that this position h~s made a contribution to feminist
scholarship. At the same time, however, she notes that an inability to
transform the norms of science limits its potential for achieving social
change for women.
Feminist standpoint theory is rooted in the Marxist analysis of the
significance of social location in shaping an individual's understanding of
reality. Where Marx theorized class and class consciousness, feminist
standpoint theorists examine the implications for a feminist epistemology
of women having a particular understanding of the world from their posi-
tion as a less powerful social group than men. The key to this epistemo-
logical position is described by Joyce Nielsen:
... it is to women's advantage to know how men view the world and to
be able to read, predict, and understand the interests, motivations,
expectations, and attitudes of men. At the same time, however, because
of the division of labour by sex found in all societies and sex-specific
socialization practices, sex segregation, and other social processes that
guarantee sex differences in life experience, women will know the
world differently from men. It is almost as though there is a separate
women's culture which is certainly not the dominant one. (Nielsen
.1990: 10)
Standpoint epistemology operates from the assumption that material con-
ditions shape and limit an individual's understanding of life. Although
many aspects of women's worlds are made invisible. or silenced, because
they are not valued by the men who hold positions of social, economic and
political power, their everyday, lived experiences shape how women
understand reality. Feminist standpoint theories posit that women have the
potential for a 'double vision' which enables them to have a more
complex, and less partial understanding of thc social world lhan men
(Smith 1979; Weskon 1979). Central to standpoint theory is the notion
that members of an oppressed group achieve their double vision through
engagement with the material rcality of their oppression and as a con-
 Researching a Women's Sport Organisation 23
sequence of intellectual and political struggle against inequality. This
process has been termed by Marxists, and subsequently by feminists, as
consciousness raising. In this sense, a standpoint is more than just a partic-
ular view of reality, it is rooted in the political analysis of lived experience,
and is an important part of the process by which oppressed groups actively
resist the dominant culture. Feminist standpoint theory has been employed
by feminists committed to undertaking research/or women rather than
about women. With an emphasis on exploring the social processes that
oppress women and locating the analysis in their material reality, many
feminists find standpoint theory fits well with the political goals of
feminist research.
A third significant dimension of developing feminist epistemology
arises from the contemporary school of thought known as postmodern
theory. Scholars working from this theoretical position have challenged
many of the assumptions of the early feminist work on the research
process. Stanley and Wise (1990) note the recent contribution of decon-
structionist and postmodern ideas in providing a conceptual language for
their own much earlier criticisms about monolithic feminist concepts and
silenced epistemological standpoints. Postmodern theories are sceptical
about all universalising claims and attempt to destabilise conceptual cate-
gories and taken-for-granted ways of knowing. Each dimension of the way
our world is conceived and structured is called into question and analyzed
as a construction within a particular historical and social context. From
this intellectual position, feminist standpoint theory has been criticised for
generalizing women's experience of oppression without sensitivity to the
particular oppression experienced by marginalised women, such as women
of colour, lesbians and disabled women. (Allen and Barber 1992). The
'deconstructionist' critique of feminist theory and research during the past
has been developed at a time when black and lesbian feminists have been
increasingly challenging the failure of feminist scholarship to take account
of the different experiences of oppression among women. Conflicts around
the politics of difference within both the wider women's movement and
academic feminism during the 1980s have drawn attention to the need to
deconstruct many of the unexamined categories employed in feminist
social science; 'woman', 'gender', and even 'feminism' itself.
As with the writing on feminist epistemological theory, there is a
diverse literature that explores the possibilities of a feminist methodologi-
cal approach. Stanley and Wise (1990: 37) point out that there is also
resistance to the idea of specifically feminist methodologies based on criti-
cisms of separatism and concerns about such claims ensuring that feminist
research is relegated to the academic margins. Their criticism of feminist
24 Researchillg Womell and Sport
epistemological debates noted that there was generally little effort made to
translate 'theory into practical research sets of research principles. Cook
and Fonow (1986, 1991) studied issues relating to feminist methodology
over a nine-year period and observed that despite tensions between differ-
ent approaches, four common threads were apparent in feminist orientated
research. These themes include: reflexivity of the research process (includ-
ing consciousness raising); an action orientation; attention 10 the affective
components of the research (insights arising from emotionality within the
process); and the use of the situation at hand.
The following discussion draws upon ideas about feminist research
outlined above. In seeking to operate from a feminist perspective, I
attempted to engage with the historical roots of 'feminist' research as
well as some of the wide ranging debates about its constitution. In the
process of doing this, I found myself further than I had anticipated from
arriving at clear philosophical answers, but at the same time developing
my ability to question assumptions previously taken for granted. Fuelled
by my readings about how to incorporate feminist principles into the
research process, I approached my task with great eagerness. The
demands of attempting to translate theory into practice made significant
inroads into that energy; the research experience was not without contra-
dictions, some of which became sources of insight while others remain
unresolved.

FEMINIST RESEARCH ON THE WOMEN'S SPORTS

FOUNDATION UK

My research, undertaken for a Master's thesis, involved a case study of the

Women's Sports Foundation UK (WSF), a women's sport advocacy
organisation. My rejection of positivism led me to adopt an approach
based on the ideas that have emerged from feminist standpoint epistemolo-
gies. The commitment to generating knowledge from lhe perspectives of
women went b~yond merely adding women into the picture. I believe that
research which begins from the experiences of women in sport, with a
resolve to improve that experience, has the potential to uncover the social
processes that construct sport as male territory. The implications of this for
social transformation are greater than merely improving sport for women.
They rest with the analysis of sport 'as a set of selected and selective
social practices that embody dominant meanings, values and practices
which are implicated in the creation and maintenance of hegemonic social
relationships' (Dewar 1991). The feminist cultural studies perspective that
 Researching a Womell's Sport Orgallisatioll 25
informed my analysis of the WSF draws connections between sport as a
cultural institution and gender inequality in all areas of social life. I
I conducted tape-recorded interviews with eleven women from the WSF
in September 1993. Eight months later, after an initial analysis of data had
been undertaken, I conducted follow-up interviews with four of these
women. In identifying appropriate interviewees, I concentrated on women
who had been involved in the active running of the organisation, in one or
more of the following capacities; committee member, regional or special-
ist sub-group member, and employee of the organisation. I was able to
interview all of the four women who had served as WSF chairs during the
course of the organisation's history. From discussions with. my inter-
viewees about the diversity of women who had been involved with WSF, I
judged my 'sample' to be fairly representative of the cross-section of
women who have served on WSF committees and sub-groups. The women
I talked to were heterosexual and lesbian, from different class back-
grounds, working in public, private and voluntary sectors. women with
international sporting experience, and women who enjoyed physical activ-
ity on a non-competitive basis. All of the women that I interviewed were
in full-time work; it is significant that at the time they joined the WSF,
they all had professional connections with sport. The interviewees ranged
from academic women with a research interest in sport, to women working
in sports management and sports development, to a woman who had
played a pioneering role as a female professional sports photographer.

THE CHOICE OF TOPIC AND METHOD

Feminism emphasises the importance of linking the personal and the polit-
ical, and of drawing connections between theory and practice. I endeav-
oured to make these connections in my choice of topic and also the way
that I proceeded during the research process. The starting point for my
thesis was wanting to make a contribution to understanding gender issues
in sport that would proceed from studying women's experiences. Behind
my decision to step into the world of graduate studies was a need to make
theoretical sense of the complexity of the issues I was increasingly facing
in my practical relationship with sport. My interest in researching the WSF
arose largely from my experiences as a volunteer on the executive com-
mittee between 1988 and 1992.
A case study of the WSF was a good way of being able to focus
specifically on the organisation and the women involved, while at the
same time incorporating an historical and contextual perspective. The
26 Researching Women and Sport
choice of semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection tech-
nique reflected my commitment to trying to understand the WSF from
the position of those within the organisation. I saw my own previous
involvement with the WSF as part of this and therefore a help rather
than a hindrance. I was prepared to deal with conceptual baggage
(Kirby and McKenna 1989: 51) as part of the research process in an
attempt to keep my inside knowledge as a positive contribution to the
study. The interviews were semi-structured by my interest in three
themes that are outlined below, but I also wanted to get at the organisa-
tional issues as seen by the interviewees themselves. This was some-
times difficult. On the one hand I wanted to let the interviewee guide
the discussion, while on the other I wanted to explore aspects of the
organisational dynamics that related to the key themes. The degree to
which interviewees wanted, or were able, to talk about the themes
varied, depending on their particular experience and their level of
comfort with both the issues and myself.
My analytic strategy involved subjecting the interview and documentary
data to a content or textual analysis. My analysis therefore aimed at grasp-
ing the meaning of what was being described or recorded, and at exploring
the underlying subtleties of the text, as well as building up a comprehen-
sive picture of what was being done by the organisation and its members.
This reflected my concern with contributing to understanding about how
and why particular issues have evolved rather than just providing a
detailed history of organisational events. The research process is neither
value-free nor objective, because there are always assumptions shaping
the research design - whether these are made visible or not.

EXPLORING KEY THEMES

In preparing this research, I drew upon my experience as a committee

member of WSF as this had given me a number of ideas about organisa-
tional issues that I felt were important and worthy of study. I identified
three key themes from these issues. The first of these centres on what
appeared to me to be the rather ambivalent relationship of the WSF to
feminism. It had seemed to me that women who were serving the organ-
isation with a great deal of energy and commitment to the aim of improv-
ing women's lives were reluctant to adopt either the identity, or the
discourse, of feminism. A number of executive committee members
expressed concerns about the damaging effect on the WSF image of being
associated with feminism. The organisational anxiety surrounding fem-
 Researching a Women's Sport Organisatioll 27
inism is an interesting contradiction in view of the WSF description of
itself and its aims:
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) was founded in 1984 by a
group of women working in sport who were concerned about the dis-
crimination that women faced in sport and recreation ... WSF aims to
promote the interests of all women in and through sport and to gain
equal opportunities and options for all women. (Women's Sports
Foundation 1992: I)
Not all WSF committee members were reluctant to identify as feminists.
At the time I was active in the organisation, the women I worked along-
side appeared to include liberal and radical feminists. The tensions
between these different positions seemed to further complicate the organ-
isation's relationship with feminism. I felt that a closer examination of this
relationship was important in understanding the organisational dynamics
and also the gap that exists between feminism and sport.
The second theme, the politics of sexuality, is closely connccted to the
preceding one. I felt that it warranted exploration in its own right, pre-
cisely because it is an issue that is generally obscured in other debates, if
indeed it is addressed at all. This theme centered on exploring the implica-
tions of the gender structure (women-only) of the WSF and organisational
anxiety about lesbian visibility. As a WSF member I had been aware that
many members were not totally supportive of the fact that the WSF was a
women-only organisation. I perceived that perhaps this attitude and also
the anxiety around the 'feminist' label was actually a fear of being labelled
lesbian. The strength of this fear was sufficient to prevent the issues from
being addressed by most of the WSF members, as far as I was aware. This
was despite the fact that a number of the women in our midst were known
to be lesbians, were welcomed and respected members of the organisa-
tion, and were not in themselves construed as dangerous people to be
avoided at all costs. Within our committee this apparent fear did not seem
to be discussed or analysed. While I was a member, it seemed that we did
not try to understand why it was so powerful, and what its implications
were for the WSF's aim of reaching out to women from all walks of life.
Although it was a sensitive subject, I hoped to be able to gain an under-
standing of this issue from different member's perspectives.
The third theme that I felt was significant in the organisation relates to
issues of difference. This was characterised by the difficulty the WSF
encountered in attempting to work towards a common goal for women in
sport, while at the same time attempting to maintain a commitment to dif-
ferences among women. During my volunteer years, I was aware that the
28 Researchillg Womell and Sport
various execulive committees over the years had largely comprised white,
professional women and that this was a matter of concern to the WSF.
Although the work of the organisation reflected its commitment to pro-
moting and valuing the sporting involvement of women of colour, women
with disabilities, and women of all ages, we were far from being represen-
tative in our organisational structures. This issue was often clouded by
conceptual difficulties; should we assume a similarity about women's
inequality in sport so that we may proceed in a united way with our cause?
Or should we look at how we are different and what needs to be done
about this, at the risk of losing our unified efforts to improve sport for
women? We found it difficult to address issues of power among women
and the processes at work that privileged some women's needs, while
making others invisible. This contlict is not a new one for women joining
together to fight against sexism; it has been a particular characteristic of
debates in the women's movement during the 19808 (Lovenduski and
Randall 1993). I wanted to try and understand what lay behind the ten-
sions and confusion that surrounded dealing with differences among
women.

INSIDER STATUS

One of the particular things about this study was that I was known to most
of the women I interviewed, albeit not particularly well, as I discovered
when doing the interviews. To those who had been involved in the WSF
before my time I was a stranger, but one with a great deal of inside know-
ledge. I generally felt that my insider status was a bonus, the fact that I had
been involved in the WSF helped me to be trusted and to be seen as
Brenda-who-is-now-a-student, rather than some distant academic who had
come to slice up the organisation without having a clue about what it was
like trying to struggle along in difficult circumstances. Reinharz (1992:
26) notes the controversy that exists in mainstream and feminist research
about the comparative benefit of being known to one's interviewees.
Although I felt my insider status was beneficial to my project,
as an element of the research process it was undoubtedly the source of
more anxiety and greater reflexivity than any other. In this section I
want to discuss the relationship between myself as researcher and the
women I interviewed, with particular attention to the dynamics of power.
I was committed to the feminist principle of sensitivity to issues of
power in the research relationship and tried to find ways of reducing, or at
least acknowledging, where I held relative power. I felt the key to this was
 Researching a Womell's Sport Orgallisation 29
reciprocity and self-disclosure; I gave continual recognition during the
interview that I too had been part of the WSF and was therefore involved
in the issues we were discussing. Sometimes I was worried that parts of
the interview were more like a conversation than an interview. While tran-
scribing, I felt reassured that these moments often contributed greatly to
building rapport in the interview and encouruged my interviewee to talk
more comfortably about what wcre sometimes very personal and difficult
issues. Some women shared feelings and thoughts that were obviously
painful, and even told me things that had not been spoken about with
IInyone else. Although I wus attempting to acknowledge the issue of rela-
tive power within our relationship by deVeloping an atmosphere of mutual
trust, I became uware that this IIctually made the research subjects more
vulnerable.
The control over converting the information I was collecting into
research findings gllve me a particular form of power as the researcher.
Even though all my interviewees were quite aware that they could with-
draw from the project at any time and were able to chose what they told
me, giving me an interview meant that they had to trust me to treat what-
ever they said appropriately. The authority dimension of power was actu-
ally quite variable. I made a point of locating myself in the same critical
plane as my interviewees; after all I was ollly a student doing a research
project and had recently been one of the group. I tried to make it clear I
didn't see myself as having superior knowledge which authorised me to
study the WSF.
A number of the women with whom I spoke I saw as having greater
authority thlln myself, in terms of their life experience, political know-
ledge and personal achievements. An example of the shifting power
dynamics in my researcher/interviewee relationship was my experience
of interviewing women who were well established in their academic
careers. Here the tables of power seemed turned completely. I was more
than conscious that their co-operative involvement in talking to me was
accompanied by a professional scrutiny of what I was doing; I was the
vulnerable partner in the relationship now. One of the academic women
whom I interviewed began the conversation with a casual question,
'What is your hypothesis for investigating the WSF?' I was temporarily
thrown, having assumed that an established femillist academic would,
like myself, have rejected positivist research strategies. I nervously
gulped out my reasons for approaching the research in the way that I
was, wondering how far my loss of credibility was going to detract from
the interview, only to be met with a chuckle and 'Thank God for that'. I
presume I passed the test.
30 Researching Women al/d Sport
My methodological stance which underpinned my project seemed fairly
clear in my mind as I set off enthusiastically to conduct my interviews. By
the time I was bogged down with analysing the data, I began to have some
sharp moments of self-doubt about what I thought I was trying to do.
Much of this revolved around how to use my interview material in a way
that let the women's voices speak for themselves, while also respecting
my promise of confidentiality. Most graduate students have a well founded
suspicion that no-one will ever read the product of their academic toil
except their research committee. I had every intention of providing the
WSF and all the women who were kind enough to be involved in the
project with a copy of the final work, in keeping with my feminist princi-
ple of reciprocity. In this sense, it was potentially going to be a very public
document, and those who looked at it would very likely, at the very least,
skim the thing to see if they were obviously visible and if so, how they
were portrayed. My beneficial insider status brought with it the particular
pressure of facing the judgement of my work by my peers. I was con-
tinually aware of this while writing up the project in terms of dealing with
different realities.

THE MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENT REALITIES AND

UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE RESEARCHER

Feminist epistemologies reject the positivist view of the researcher as

value-neutral, pointing out that the researcher's particular social and his-
toricallocation affects what they can know, and how they can know it
(Nielsen 1990; Roberts 1981; Stanley and Wise 1983). Part of my
responsibility in representing other people's reality in writing up the
research involves acknowledging my particular social experience as
white, middle-class, able-bodied and heterosexual. In choosing to
address issues of difference and the politics of sexuality in my research,
my analysis attempts to deal with the experiences of women of colour,
lesbians and women who are differently abled. This created a problem-
atic dimension to the research. The 'issues discussed in the study focus
on the dynamics of power both in gender relations and also among
women who experience differing social and economic status. My own
a
position as women of relative privilege not only shapes my ability to
understand the issues, but inevitably affects the political credibility of
the analysis. I was constantly aware of this contradiction while writing
about the WSF's struggles over lesbian visibility throughout its history,
and while arguing that the WSF had a key role to play in challenging
 Researching a Women's Sport Organisation 31
homophobia in sport. I feel that my attempt at exploring issues of power
as one who has not experienced the oppression does not invalidate the
inquiry, but it does undoubtedly raise questions about the ownership of
the problems and potential solutions.
In addition to these issues, I knew that some of the women that I inter-
viewed held very different political positions from me. I had to find a way
to represent the experiences of other women in my work, whilst making it
clear I speak not on their behalf, but from the point of view of someone
with a dissimilar background. My 'intellectual autobiography' (Stanley
and Wise 1990), that is the process by which my understandings and con-
clusions have been reached, is considered in my discussion of reflexivity
of the research (cf. Grace 1995). I endeavoured to make it clear that the
'results' of this research are not a representation of the organisation as
such, but a construction of the reality of WSF that has been shaped by the
researcher.

REFLEXIVITY OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Cook and Fonow (1991: 2) describe reflexivity as 'the tendency offem-

inists to reflect upon, examine critically, and explore analytically the
nature of the research process'. The importance of reflexivity arises from
the feminist assertion that all aspects of the research process are of interest
and importance, because they all affect the way that the knowledge pro-
duced by the research is constructed. (Bowles and Klein 1983; Scraton
and Flintoff 1992). I see reflexivity as a source of insight as well as a
means of opening up the research process.
Stanley and Wise (1983) suggest that emotionality is an important
aspect of reflexivity for the researcher. My experience suggests that this
process begins with the initial contact with the research subjects and,
rather like an echo, has a delayed reaction that carries its effects on beyond
the completion of the project. Even while writing up this thesis. I found
myself looking again and again at my reaction to some of the material and
events. continually trying to make sense of it all. The interviews were
highly personal interchanges and contained moments of great hilarity. but
also some bitterness and a measure of sadness. The sheer energy given by
women. slogging away to keep the WSF growing over the years. was
clearly discernible in the interviews. together with evidence of the toll in
burn-out that such commitment often takes. I had witnessed this in my
own involvement. but was powerfully reminded of the problems by the
interview conversations. It was moving to hear the personal histories of
32 Researching Women and Sport
women struggling to make changes to improve their own and other
women's lives.
I believe that it is impossible not to have an emotional involvement in
interactive research. For me it created a sense of enormous responsibility
towards both my research participants and the WSF, and became the
source of growing anxiety as I approached the end of the thesis project.
This sense of responsibility goes beyond my rationalised ethical stance of
keeping the research subjects informed of what was going on, giving
assurances of confidentiality and making it clear that they were able to
participate on their own terms. The comment of one WSF member struck
a particular chord, 'You won't write anything in your thesis that might
hurt the organisation will you?' At the time it was easy tO'respond reassur-
ingly. I saw myself engaged in an undertaking that was intended to be
helpful to the WSF. That comment has come back to haunt me on a
number of occasions. What did the question (and my reassurance) imply?
That I should not make any references to conflict? That I should not create
a negative overall impression of the WSF? (I had assumed uncritically that
my previous connection and my research interest indicated that I valued
the organisation.) That I must not write about lesbianism, or feminism, in
a way that might damage the WSF?
As I thought through these problems, 1 became very aware that what I
think is useful in the analysis of the organisation, others may find uncom-
fortable. My intention is not to offend and I hope that I have treated the
opinions of all the women who helped me to conduct the research with the
respect that they deserve. That is not to say that I share the same perspec-
tive or political interpretation of events as each woman with whom I
spoke. I have endeavoured to address how this has shaped the research. In
trying to understand why this caused me so much concern I find myself
considering the problematic issue of organising around the monolithic cat-
egory 'woman' which takes no account of the power dynamics at play
between us.
For me, one of the most difficult things to reconcile emotionally is what
I perceive as the great sense of disappointment felt by women drawn
together for a common cause only to find that their differences divide them
more than their commonalties unite them. By this I do not mean that dis-
agreements, or personality clashes, threaten the organisation, although of
course every organisation has such ups and downs. I am referring more to
differences and commonalties in the sense of women's social and political
location. The emotion runs deep when conflict centres on individual's very
sense of themselves and their world; their way of relating to others around
them. Such conflict may not always be dramatic, nor even visible, but the
 Researching a Women's Sport Organisatioll 33
tensions are experienced just as strongly when competing needs or politics
are tidied away in the interests of organisational harmony.
The emotions that surrounded my research experience related to these
problems. I was moved by the women's intense commitment to working
collectively towards the goals of WSF, saddened by the experiences
recounted that suggested this had not always worked, and desperately won-
dering how [ was going to deliver a thesis that addressed the politics of this
without alienating anybody within the organisation. One thing is for certain;
my relationship with the women I interviewed, and the organisation, has
shifted to new ground and cannot return to its previous location. Some of the
women in the organisation will be less than comfortable with my political
analysis, others will feel disappointed that I did not go far enough.
The final comment concerning my analysis of the 'feminist' research
process concerns consciousness raising. Ongoing reflexivity throughout my
project has made me realise how the project has affected my own under-
standing of the WSF, the women who work for it and the issues at stake.
Because I approached the research as a feminist project, perhaps it is not
particularly surprising that my consciousness has evolved as a consequence.
Cook and Fonow (199 t: 3) discuss the process of consciousness raising
that can occur through reflexivity of the research:

.,. consciousness of oppression can lead to a creative insight that is gen-

erated by experiencing contradictions ... transformation occurs, during
which something hidden is revealed about the formerly taken-for-
granted aspects of sexual asymmetry. Thus, in this model, previously
hidden phenomena which are apprehended as a contradiction can lead to
one or more of the following: an emotional catharsis; an academic
insight and resulting intellectual product; and increased politicisation
and corresponding activism. (Cook and Ponow 1991: 3)

Por me, likewise, the process of analysing the issues that I chose to
explore and of engaging with a wide range of feminist literature has given
me a new position from which to analyse and articulate those issues. It is
perhaps significant that this perspective is considerably more radical than
the one from which I started.

Notes
My study of the WSF drew from feminist cultural analyses of sport which
theorise sport as a cultural institution playing a fundamental role in the
social production and reproduction of unequal gender relations. The theories
34 Researching Women and Sport
demonstrate how ideologies of natural difference present socially-
constructed meanings of masculinity and femininity as rootcd in biology,
and therefore immutable. Because sport is located in bodily practiccs, those
who control it hold a great deal of cultural power over what it means to be
male and what it means to be female. It is not just a coincidence that the
interests of those who rule sport (and society) are served by the maintenance
of ideologies of natural difference. Exploring the implications of social rela-
tions being shaped by the cultural institution of sport also raises questions
about relative privileges held by different women, and how these are repro-
duced through sporting practices.

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3 Playing a Part: The Lives of
Lesbian Physical Education
Teachers
Gill Clarke

The diversity and complexity of the lives of lesbian physical education

teachers in secondary schools in England are the focus of this research,
which begins from the standpoint of women. Like Smith (1987) I seek to
make women the subject and not the object of analysis. The intention is to
reveal something of their lived experiences and to challenge the oppres-
sive structures that 'force' them to conceal their lesbian identity within
the schooling context, and through this process give voice to their silenced
voices (see Dewar 1991). At the same time it is acknowledged that we are
all differently positioned and privileged and that this impacts on how we
view and interpret our own lives as well as those we seek to understand.
Thus, whilst I am arguing for the need to begin from the standpoint of the
lives of these lesbian teachers, and to make their lived experiences central
such a stance should not be viewed as a panacea and unproblematic. It is
imperative that the differences between women are not obscured, nor any
commonality falsely universalised. Such an approach for me involves a
commitment to lesbian feminism, since as Jeffreys (1993: xii) aptly com-
ments ' ... [it] transforms feminism by calling the naturalness of heter-
osexuality into doubt, by pointing out that it is a political institution and
seeking to bring that institution to an end in the interests of women's
freedom and sexual self-determination. Most importantly lesbian feminism
sees the creation of a world fit for lesbians as a world in which all women
will be free'. Like Dewar though (1993: 211), I believe that we have been
guilty of developing theories in which white, middle-class women's expe-
riences are falsely universalised as representative of all women's experi-
ences. Further to this, I make no claim that this group of lesbian physical
education teachers is representative, indeed I believe there is no generic
lesbian woman. As Harding (1991: 266) notes, even the term' ... "lesbian
Jives" is a cultural abstraction; race, class, sexuality, culture, and history
construct different patterns of daily activity for lesbians as they do for the
lives of other'. This research lies within the critical interpretative para-
digm (see Sparkes 1992) and is grounded in the voices and experiences of

36
 The Lives of Lesbian Physical Education Teachers 37
the lesbian women interviewed. It accepts that no research is ever final
and that it is only the present frozen in time, therefore the experiences
relayed here need to be located within their social, cultural and herstorical
contexts.
The research is openly ideological for, like Lather (1986) and Sears
(1992), I believe that all research is value-based, hence this research is
committed to the challenging of the status quo, rejection of compulsory
heterosexuality, and to the building of a more just and equitable society.

THE CONTEXT OF THE CONCEALMENT OF LESBIAN IDENTITY

If we are to begin to understand the lives of lesbian teachers then they

must be understood within a social and political context that often renders
their presence both invisible and marginal. Invisibility often becomes a
measure of survival and avoidance of harassment and discrimination
within the classroom, rarely is sexual orientation placed 011 the educational
agenda unless it is where a teacher's employment is about to be curtailed.
For example, teacher Austin Allen was sacked after admitting, when asked
in a classroom, that he was gay. His job was saved only after his Union
threatened an all-out strike (see Vallee et al. 1992). Another example of
the hostile climate for homosexual teachers was demonstrated by Hackney
Council, who sought to suspend lesbian headteacher Jane Brown after she
refused to allow her pupils to attend a ballet performance of Romeo and
Juliet. This controversy began in January 1994 when one of her reasons
for not allowing this visit was singled out and ridiculed by the national
press, namely, her wish not to reinforce the notion that passion is the
exclusive property of heterosexuals. 'IN FACT a lot of other good reasons
were put forward when the original offer for the seats was made. Many
Kingsmead parents could not afford the £7 they would still have to con-
tribute towards the trip. The hire fee for the coach would have cost the
equivalent of a full term's swimming lessons .. .' (Kingsmead Support
Group Newsletter 1994: I). Despite these other reasons the press contin-
ued to' harass Jane Brown and to besiege her home. Such was the harass-
ment that she was forced to go into hiding to escape media attention and
death threats, meanwhile she continued to go into work. In March of the
same year 'the school suffered a graffiti attack of homophobic abuse lev-
elled at Jane' (Kingsmead Support Group Newsletter No.3 March 1994).
In March 1995 the school received a glowing report from the Office for
Standards in Education (OFSTED) which singled out the 'strong and sup-
portive' and 'committed' leadership provided by headteacher Jane Brown.
38 Researching Women and Sport

June 1995 saw the Governor's inquiry find Jane Brown innocent of blame
over the ballet trip (The Times, June 10 1995). Lesbian, gay and bisexual
teachers' professional existence are threatened by such examples of homo-
phobia and heterosexism, it is no wonder that most 'choose' to keep their
identity hidden and that many now feel even more threatened and vulnera-
ble by what has happened to Jane Brown. The introduction of Section 28
of the Local Government Act (1988) serves to legitimate dominant dis-
courses of compulsory heterosexuality through making unlawful the pro-
motion and acceptability in school of homosexuality· as a 'pretended
family relationship' and continues to function to keep many teachers
afraid of revealing their real identity. Colvin and Hawksley (1989)
describe the legislation as an oppressive and retrograde piece of legislation
which threatens to undo hard-won advances in equal opportunities aware-
ness and anti-discrimination practice. They comment further: 'Section 28
is also a bad law. Imprecisely drafted and dangerously open to misinter-
pretation, its implications are potentially far reaching. Already operating
to encourage damaging self-censorship, Section 28 strikes at the civil lib-
erties of us aU' (Back cover). This then is in part the backdrop in front of
which these lesbian voices must be heard and read.

RESEARCHING LESBIAN LIVES: ISSUES OF ACCESS AND

CONFIDENTIALITY

The data for this chapter are drawn from in-depth interviews conducted
with fourteen white lesbian physical education teachers during 1993/4.
Access was difficult due to the prevailing climate of fear of exposure and
loss of employment that surrounds lesbian and gay teachers and forces
many of them to remain an invisible and silent presence within our
schools. Making contact was problematic, however this was made initially
through lesbians known to me, who made contact with other lesbians, to
see if they were willing to talk in confidence about their lives. This created
a 'snowballing' effect where one woman put me in contact with another
and so on. Contact was also made in this manner because such are the
silences that it is not always possible to identify with any degree of cer-
tainty those women who are lesbian (see Squirrell 1989b). The interviews
generally took place in the women's homes. Each was sent a letter prior to
the interview outlining the research aims, plus a copy of the interview
schedule and information about the procedures that would be adopted to
protect their identity. All the women were given a pseudonym, the first
woman interviewed chose a,name beginning with the letter 'A' ,the second
 The Lives of Lesbian Physical Education Teachers 39
a name beginning with 'B' and so on. (I refer to the interviews as the
'alphabet interviews', after Sue Grafton's on-going alphabet series of
detective stories featuring the female private eye Kinsey Millhone.) The
interview focused on four main areas for discussion: lesbian identity,
activities of teaching, relationships with pupils and relationships with col-
leagues. These discussion areas arose from my reading of other
researchers' work on lesbian teachers, (see Griffin 1991 and Khayatt
1992) together with my own experience of teaching physical education in
secondary schools. Permission to tape record the interviews was also
sought. All were happy for this to occur, except for one woman who pre-
ferred not to have the interview recorded as she felt uncomfortable with
the tape recorder on, and another woman who chose to write about her
own life. The interviews generally lasted for approximately ninety
minutes. When I first started the interviews in September 1993 they tended
to last for a much shorter period, but as I became more confident in talking
and listening so they became progressively longer (see Clarke 1994). The
interviews were then transcribed and returned for comments, corrections,
deletions and so on. Following this, the transcripts were analysed accord-
ing to the main topics of the interview as outlined in the interview
schedule.

LOCATING THE WOMEN

The women interviewees were white, able-bodied and aged between

twenty three and forty seven. Some were single, some had been married,
some were currently in long-standing lesbian relationships, none had chil-
dren, they came from a variety of 'working and middle class backgrounds.
The length of time that they had taught for varied between just over a year
to twenty five years. At the time of the research they were teaching in a
variety of establishments: mixed comprehensive schools, girls' schools,
church schools and independent schools, these being located in inner
cities, urban and lor rural areas.
At all stages it has been my desire to keep the women invol.ved in
the research but also in the subsequent dissemination of it. Throughout
this process they have had the power of veto over their voices and
how they were and are to be used and represented. Thus, where I have
written about their lives I have sent them copies for their comment.
However, it would be simplistic and naive to assume that these small
collaborative actions have solved the problems of exploitation and
(mis)repl'esentation.
40 Researching Women and Sport
MANAGING A LESBIAN IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF
SECONDARY SCHOOLS

There has been virtually no research in England that has focused

specifically on the lives of lesbian physical education teachers. Sparkes
(1994) has written the life history of a lesbian physical education teacher.
His research records the daily experiences of oppression that she faces and
highlights the range of identity management strategies that she employs to
protectagainst threats to her substantial sense of self. Squirrell (l989a. b)
has written more generally on issues of teachers and sexual orientation
and Epstein (1994) has edited a collection of articles under the title
Challenging Lesbian and Gay Inequalities in Educatimt. Griffin (1991).
writing in the United States. records that fewer than ten studies have
focused, at least in part. on the experiences of gay and lesbian educators.
Her pioneering research (1992) has illustrated how teachers manage their
gay or lesbian identities in school, and she outlines four categories that her
research participants described that they employed: passing, covering,
being implicitly out and being explicitly out. These were seen as being
part of a continuum, from passing being the safest strategy to explicitly
out which involved the most risk. Woods (1992) (who was a Doctoral
student of Griffin), in describing the experiences of lesbian physical edu-
cators in the United States, shows how the majority of her participants
conceal their sexual orientation. From her data two identity management
techniques emerged: strategies to conceal one's lesbian identity and risk-
taking behaviours that could disclose one's lesbian identity. She sub-
divided the strategies that they used to conceal their lesbian identity into
three categories: (i) passing as heterosexual, (ii) personal censoring I self
distancing from students. teachers and administrators; and (iii) personal
censoring I self distancing from any association with homosexuality. The
following sections illustrate how a lesbian identity is concealed from
teaching colleagues and pupils alike within secondary schools in England.

CONSTRUCTING BARRIERS TO CONCEAL A LESBIAN IDENTITY

All the women built barriers around themselves in order to conceal their
lesbian identity from both colleagues and pupils. Elaborate boundaries and
mechanisms for deceiving were thus established and entry into their 'real'
world was not allowed for fear of exposure and I or disclosu,re and in their
views the possible loss of their jobs. Whilst building these self protective
barriers the women wanted to be valued for their teaching effectiveness, yet
 The Lives of Lesbian Physical Education Teachers 41
they were worried that if their lesbian identity was revealed then they would
be perceived, particularly by their colleagues, in a different and non-positive
light. The following comment by Caroline illustrates how she fears losing
her job and how she believes that if her sexuality were public knowledge she
would be viewed differently by her colleagues. She feared this would lead to
her becoming isolated in the staffroom, and she expressed it as:
Fear, of ultimately losing my job, ... I pride myself that I could pro-
bably have a conversation with anyone at the moment in the staffroom
and I would be scared that people would not actually talk to me ... You
become more of a victim in school than you do of your home life.
In connection with this, another of the teachers, Deb, reported that if her
head found out, she thought that she could make someone's life hell if
they were gay, particularly if they were a woman. Thus, we can see how in
order to be seen to be at least pseudo-heterosexual different scripts have to
be adopted within school, as opposed to those that might be adopted in the
private home world, as we shall see later in this chapter. The school script
requires the lesbian physical edu'cation teacher to be above reproach and to
live a double life, as Ethel revealed:
I am two people ... it's not easy to remember to say the right things in
one place and the right things not to worry in another ... you slip into
two modes depending on where you are and what you are doing.
Barbara also talked about the difficulty of remembering what she'd said to
people in the staffroom and how she'd got herself 'legged up so many
times'. ('Legged up' is slang for getting confused or muddled.)
Conversations in staffrooms with colleagues become the site for the
possible revealing of lesbian identity. Hence conversations about home
life are often avoided, or where they focus on partners and children they
are steered by the participants to less threatening frames of reference. As
Ethel commented,
I don't tend to join in conversations when they talk about other halves
or if they ask me a question related to that or related to their children I'll
usually turn it around by saying 'my brother's like that' if they're
talking about their husbands and if they're talking about children then I
say 'my god children' .
Barbara also talked of worrying about what they (colleagues) might ask.
She safeguarded her identity by not saying too much about home. But she
also felt that it was hard that she couldn't mention her partner, but they
could mention their husbands and children. It is clear then how the self is
42 Researching Women and Sport
thus further censored and denied. Despite these concerns Barbara felt that
her lesbian identity was relatively safe:
... because I'm young, I don't think that they have thought about it, if!
was older and still wasn't married and still didn't have a boyfriend then
may be, but at the moment I can get away with it because I'm younger.
Compulsory heterosexuality remains the order of the day and these lesbian
physical education teachers were forced to comply with it, thereby main-
taining the status quo of dominant hegemonic femininity if their sexuality
was not to be revealed. Many of the women talked about how their teach-
ing colleagues were always trying to find them a boyfriend, for instance
Caroline remarked:
I'm getting older ... a lot of them are desperately trying to find me a
fella. Even going as far as saying you're your own worst enemy,
because if you will play netball which is a female sport you will never
meet someone, 'take my husband, I met him at the Catholic Ramblers,
that's what you need to do' ... sometimes I can laugh it off and some-
times I feel if only you knew. I've got a better relationship than you'll
ever dream about.
Ethel also made reference to one colleague who was always trying to find
her a man:
'" she's always been worried for me as far as finding a man is con-
cerned that I'm still single and she must be totally blinkered because
she's known me a long time and knows that I've shared a house with
two different women. It's not as if she doesn't know me but it just
becomes a joke.
In order to protect their identity they arc forced not only to listen to such
comments but in a sense also to take them on board and to receive them in
a positive way. Thus, in order to maintain an 'acceptable' heterosexual
identity these comments are not challenged for fear of exposure. Annie's
comments illustrate this claim .
... you don't think about it, you accept things and that's the way it goes.
Most of the time there shouldn't be anything to be scared of, but you are
frightened of losing friends and frightened of being exposed to people,
ridiculed I suppose ...
Anti lesbian or gay remarks made in conversations also had to be endured
for fear of it ' ... start(ing) to become painfully obvious that I was pro-that
type of sexuality ... ' (Ethel).
 The Lives of Lesbian Physical Education Teachers 43
Acceptance and non challenge of these remarks become a way of sur-
vival for these teachers, for as Ethel commented, if she was to challenge
these remarks then •... it might open a whole new can of worms that I
don't want to'.

CONCEALING PERSONAL IDENTITY FROM PUPILS

Not only does identity have to be hidden from teaching colleagues but it
also has to remain hidden from pupils in order to guard against possible
harassment and verbal abuse from them. All of the women talked in some
detail about how they avoided getting 'too close' to pupils so as not to
place themselves in at-risk situations. These so called risk situations
centred around a number of related issues to do with the body, sexuality
and physicality. However, it is beyond the scope of this chapter to do little
more than to allude to these issues here. Nevertheless, as the body is dom-
inant in physical education, there is much fear amongst the teachers over
both supervising pupils through showers and in changing rooms, and also
in supporting children during activities such as gymnastics. Barbara when
talking about making the children have showers commented:
I'm very wary of the kids thinking we're watching them ... we're start-
ing a policy now of all kids have got to have showers, I try and say to
the kids 'no one is watching you and we're all the same and if you do
think people are watching you I'm sure it's in your imagination, I'm
certainly not going to stand there and watch you have a shower.' I'm
very wary when they walk past and turn the other way if they've got
nothing on or just underwear on ... You're also very wary if you are
supporting them in gym ... where you hold them and you just think this
is completely stupid ... because there is no way you think anything like
that, or, but are they thinking that of you, ... you're on very dodgy
ground, they could accuse you of anything ...
The vl!ry physicality of the subject clearly poses an additional threat to
the revelation of the teacher's lesbian identities and leaves them wary as to
how they may be perceived by others when they have to support I touch
pupils. For some, these fears have become a living nightmare of victimisa-
tion and abuse. Caroline recalled in graphic detail how she had been
terrorised by a group 'of older youths' outside her house:
... they kicked the side of my door in. They would come down in a
pack of fifteen or twenty, some on bikes and running and they would
44 Researching Women and Sport

bang sticks on the window or kick the side of my car in. I went one day
and all the locks on my car had been polyfillered up. I came back from
the cinema in Barbara's car and they had put a brick through every
single one of my windows. There was cash in the car and they had not
made an attempt to take anything ... the terrorising all sort of came with
dyke and lezzie P.E. teacher and I thought these people actually hate me
and for nothing more than my sexuality or my job ...

The 'hassle', as Caroline described it, appears to have stopped for the time
being. In her anger and desperation she had tried to run the lads over, she
then went over to them and said sorry and told them that she'd had loads
of hassle with her car and asked them if they happened to know who the
lads were. She then asked them to keep an eye on her car as her boyfriend
worked away:

I really laid it on thick about having this boyfriend, being the damsel in
distress because I'd been left alone, and tried to evoke sympathy ...
This incident vividly illustrates how a lesbian teacher is forced into lying
about her identity in order to prevent further risk to her identity and life.
Reference here to a mythical (heterosexual) man seems to have been her
saviour. Whilst this example may possibly be extreme, what was not rare
were instances of name calling by pupils of these teachers within schools.
These were often either addressed directly to them or took the form of
snide comments as they walked past pupils within the school buildings.
The teachers responded by ignoring the comments as much as possible,
again for fear of bringing too much attention to themselves. Graffiti about
two of these teachers had also appeared in their schools. Ethel described
how she disliked intensely the name calling behind her back, she said:
I'd rather they did it to my face as the youngsters did when they were
obviously concerned and they asked me questions ... I could cope with
that. I don't like things shouted down corridors, that makes me feel
uncomfortable and unhappy.
These teachers also described how they were anxious not to get too
friendly with pupils for fear that they would be asked personal questions
about their lives. This fear also affected the relationships that they felt able
to construct during extra curricular activities - a time where traditionally
teachers have felt able to develop more informal and friendly relations
with their pupils.
All the teachers mentioned how, on occasions, they had been asked
questions by pupils as to whether or not they had boyfriends and who they
 The Lives of Lesbiall Physical Educatioll Teachers 45
lived with. In response to these probing personal questions they either lied
about having a boyfriend, some even going so far as to give names to
these non existent men, or they gave ambiguous answers that would keep
the pupils guessing as to their personal relationships. Deb commented:
I don't deny anything. I am ambiguous in what I say to them, just
because I don't want them knowing my lifestyle ... It's a sort of game
with the kids, when someone rings me up ... after school it just sparks
off 'oh Miss Henderson is on the phone to her boyfriend' and I will
play up to it. 'Oh, what makes you think I'm talking to him ... l'
Not only are these situations threatening to the maintenance of a pseudo
'straight' identity but other situations where they may be required to give
moral support to their pupils who may be wrestling with their own sexual-
ity or other personal problems often cause them alarm and distress.
Barbara described how she had often ended up 'shoving a kid away who
probably needed her' because she was afraid of what the situation might
lead to. That is, that the pupil might find out about her sexuality, and
hence she was afraid that the ultimate scenario would be dismissal from
her job. Two of the other women reported how pupils had come out to
them but they had been afraid to counsel them further because to do so
might be to run the risk of having their cover blown and also because of
their fear of losing status and their job. Neither felt comfortable about this,
indeed Caroline saw the steering away of one pupil from homosexuality to
heterosexuality as being ' ... not very loyal advice, not very loyal to my
sexuality'. Caroline, like the other participants, felt far too vulnerable to
get involved.

THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE PUBLIC WORLD OF THE

SCHOOL AND THE PRIVATE WORLD OF THE HOME

As we have seen, the participants in this study were fearful of both col-
leagues and pupils discovering the reality of their carefully concealed
lesbian identities. The scenarios portrayed earlier illustrate some of the
strategies they have employed in order to distance themselves from not
only their pupils but also their colleagues. In comparison to this the private
world of the home was somehow seen as sacrosanct and entry to it either
verbally or physically was rarely allowed, primarily for fear of disclosure
of a lesbian identity. Hence, in schools, if these lesbian teachers had part-
ners then they were rarely mentioned, nor were they often taken to school
functions. Barbara said that she was afraid of being 'sussed' by staff and
46 Researching Women and Sport
pupils if she took her partner to school events. For all of the teachers there
were occasions when they would never talk about how they had spent their
weekends away from school. Severely censored and acceptable vignettes
devoid of any reference to homosexuality were all that might be recounted
after the break from school.
Some of the women had visited lesbian and gay clubs in the past, a few
continued to do so on an infrequent basis. Part of the reason for visiting
these social clubs infrequently was due to fear of bumping into people that
they might know, people whose very presence in the club could threaten
their concealed identity. Again these were not just imagined fears,
Caroline recalled how when coming out of a gay club the police intimi-
dated them and how she was frightened of being arrested and the conse-
quences that this might have for her job. Further to this she described two
chance meetings whilst she had been at a gay club. The first involved a
pupil and the second a parent. She described the first as harrowing, this
was when a sixth form pupil turned up at the gay club. Caroline's main
fear was' ... of upsetting her (the pupil) and scared of her blowing up and
blowing my cover literally'. This same pupil came to see her on the
Monday after the meeting and asked her not to tell anybody about it as she
said that she would die if the sixth form got to know. Caroline admitted
that she was glad that the pupil had approached her first, and that she'd
told the pupil to ' ... be very, very careful and to think long and hard
before she visited places like that ... ' What is apparent from these com-
ments is the way that compulsory heterosexuality and homophobia traps
many women and thereby has the potential to push them into narrowly
prescribed and socially acceptable gender roles. We can see too how
pupils are denied lesbian role models, and how lesbian teachers are denied
the opportunity to be themselves. The second incident that caused
Caroline concern was when she met the mother of one of her pupils in
this club. Again, it was the fear of disclosure of her lesbian identity, that
might eventually result in the loss of her job, that caused her so much
worry. In fact, it turned out that though the woman had told her daughter
she was lesbian, she had not told her that she went to clubs. Thus, Caroline
felt that her secret identity was safe with this parent. She said' ... I think I
actually trust her, but the consequences could have been dire'. Caroline's
fear of being discovered and sacked, was such that she could visualise

... this sort of scenario of our Headmistress, I'm convinced she's gay,
... one of the teacher Governors I know is gay and two more of the
senior teachers are gay, all women ... I have this awful idea ... they
would get rid of me basically so they wouldn't blow their own cover. I
 The Lives of Lesbian Physical Education Teachers 47
think that I would get a far less sympathetic response than I would from
heterosexual senior teachers. I think they wouldn't want to be seen sup-
porting something that I'd done, [and] privately they did.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

This chapter has revealed a partial picture of the lives and lifestyles of
lesbian physical education teachers in England. It is not so dissimilar to
the picture described by Woods (1992) of lesbian teachers' existence in
the United States, in so far as this preliminary analysis has illustrated how
these teachers employed strategies to pass as heterosexual, and in so doing
engaged in self censorship about their 'real' lives and distanced them-
selves from any association with homosexuality. All concealed their iden-
tities within school to a greater or lesser extent. However, to attempt to
place their experiences further within the framework used by Griffin
(1992) or Woods (1992), at this stage, would I believe be in danger of
being reductionist and run the risk of objectifying their experiences. That
is not to say that they did not, at some stages of their teaching careers,
employ some of the identity management strategies that Griffin and
Woods identified in their research. A fuller picture of their lives may
however be revealed on completion of the data analysis.
What is clear is that within a heterosexist and homophobic world these
teachers are afraid to reveal their lesbian identities. Thus, we have seen
some of the strategies that they are forced to employ in order to survive
and conceal their identity. We have seen how they feel unable to join in
staffroom conversations about families and partners and how they are fre-
quently urged to find a boyfriend. Not only are their relationships with
colleagues stunted by these pressures but they also feel the need to dis-
tance themselves from pupils, again to preserve and protect their lesbian
identity. They are forced to lead double lives, one for school and another
at home. Indeed Ethel said that she felt like Jekyll and Hyde, and that such
was the pressure to be seen to be heterosexual that her actions had become
almost subconscious and virtually automatic and that she was nearly
unaware of doing it, as it had become such a conditioned part of her life.
In addition to these double lives we have also seen how some of these
women have been victimised and harassed by their pupils. What is also
evident is that this group of teachers are oppressed by patriarchy and com-
pulsory heterosexuality. That is not to deny that there are other multifari-
ous factors that contribute to their oppression and marginality within the
teaching context and the world at large. (See Pharr's (1988) analysis of
48 Researching Women and Sport
homophobia, for she clearly demonstrates the common elements of
oppressions, through showing how each is terrible and destructive.} Thus
it is important that we see and read these lives within the context of many
interconnected oppressions.
This research continues to seek to give voice to their silenced voices
and in so doing to render visible their oppressions and to challenge and
change this unjust social order which leaves these teachers caught in the
closet of the classroom. The words of Caroline when asked how she felt
about being involved in the research provide a fitting and moving conclu-
sion to this chapter:
... it is something that is very important ... I know that I would like to
read it because I would be fascinated to know what other people's experi-
ences have been and what their thoughts are ... I think it is extremely
important and it's probably not given the respect it deserves ... there are a
lot of people living an extremely lonely inner existence and they are
living a lie at school and often they are living a lie at home as well, and
where do these people find out how other people are feeling, and equally
there are a lot of ... staff that you live a lie to, who don't know you are
living a lie. It would be nice to say if only you knew, and I think this is an
opportunity to let people know, and people do need to know.

Acknowledgements

I should like to express my thanks to the women who have shared their life
stories with me.
This chapter is a revised version of a paper presented at the North
American Society for the Sociology of Sport Annual Meeting, November
3-6, 1993, Ottawa, Canada.

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4 Islam, Well-being and
Physical Activity:
Perceptions of Muslim
Young Women
Hasina Zaman

Islam is not a mere belief system, an ideology or a religion in the usual

sense in which these words are understood. Rather it is a total way of
life, a complete system governing all aspects of man's existence, both
individual and collective. (Hanifa 1974: 9)
Centuries of conflict between the 'Christian West' and 'Islamic East' have
led to the development of misconceptions about Islam. Most of the nega-
tive stereotypes and even fabrications appear, I would suggest, largely as
the result of systematic efforts by the West to 'demonise' Islam and
Muslims. According to Edward Said (1978, 81,93), this 'demonisation'
was a partial step in the West's efforts to subjugate and control the
Levant. J
One area in which these misconceptions about Islam have persisted is in
the West's perceptions of the role, status and needs of Muslim women (see
Abu Odeh 1993). Consequently, most well-intentioned attempts to deal
with issues confronting British Muslim women have failed essentially
because of the West's misunderstandings and inability to challenge past
prejudice. Instead of trying to deal with the real issues around Muslim
women's needs, both non-Muslims and feminists appear often as anti-
Islamic crusaders. Their approach is essentially limited and its con-
sequences may be the exacerbation rather than resolution of the problem
for Muslim women.
Halstead (1991) clearly exposes the dichotomy confronting radical femi-
nism when it engages with Islam and Muslim women. In attempting to come
to terms with the ideological conflict Islam presents, most feminists appear
to end up championing Western male prejudices against Muslim women.
This situation has not been conducive to any kind of co-operation and leaves
little space for some feminists to contemplate that they might share some-
thing in common with Muslims, such as the case for single-sex education.

50
 Perceptions 0/ Muslim Young Women 51
Some leading Muslim women writers, however, have recently been
requesting more understanding. Ali (1992), for instance, has argued that
the issue confronting Muslim women should not be reduced to 'dress',
because 'Islam provides a fascinating example of how ethnicity, commu-
nity and gender can collide in strange and unexpected ways ... Islam can
provide the intellectual strength and cohesion' (Ali 1992: 113). Con-
sequently, I argue that in looking to the needs of Muslim women we must
take seriously the Islamic framework which informs Muslim women's
sense of self.
Moreover, the eurocentric and hard-line position taken by some femi-
nists has had undesirable results for Muslim women who are concerned
with changes in their society. This is so for Kabbani who notes that due to:

... increasing repression, coupled with the reactionary and colonial

views of western feminism and the so called other progressive group-
ings in Europe, I, like a lot of other Muslim women, have been pushed
into positions that I don't necessarily want to adopt ... I find it
absolutely insulting and contemptuous to be told by the West how I
shoul~ feel about my religion, how I should be as a Muslim ..• I chal-
lenge that to the very end, and I challenge it not as a secularist, but as a
Muslim. (Kabbani 1992/3: 43)

MUSLIM YOUNG WOMEN'S NEEDS AND PHYSICAL

EDUCATION

Physical education, sport and physical activities do not take place in a

vacuum. The creation and provision of facilities are normally the result of
a wide variety of factors. These include prevailing political attitudes,
available resources and, most important of all, the existing power structure
and any accompanying mechanism of patronage. In Britain, physical edu-
cation for 'minority' groups is frequently considered under the auspices of
all-pervasive but largely ineffectual equal opportunity policies. Regardless
of the political background of the commentators on the matter, the needs.
issues and problems of physical education are invariably pinned on the
banner of 'equality'. Three distinctive models appear to have emerged in
this pursuit of equality; assimilation, integration and separation.
The assimilation model is based on the notion that minority groups need
to be absorbed into the dominant culture. Evans (1990: 144) critiques this
model arguing against a 'version of equal opportunities which. with its
emphasis mainly on the issues of access. has little to do with egalitarian
52 Researching Women and Sport
concern, with social justice, or the structure or structuring of opportunity
both inside or outside schools'. One manifestation of this approach,
according to Nelligan (1991: 12), would be a situation whereby netball
'was played by most boys in the same enthusiastic way as they play the
other games, with few adverse comments'. Logically, this model would
support the teaching of physical education in both mixed and single sex
classes and would consider it natural for men to teach girls in such activi-
ties as dance, educational gymnastics and so on.
The assimilation model presents several fundamental problems in rela-
tion to Muslim pupils. Carrington and Leaman (1986: 222) observed that
for Muslim pupils:
'" mixed physical education will not be an option available to staff ...
Muslim parents raise objection to it on both religious and moral
grounds, arguing that mixed physical education may bring their daugh-
ters into direct contact with males in what is regarded as a shameful and
potentially compromising situation ... staff should take cognisance of
the value and beliefs of Muslim girls and their parents when planning
both curricular and extra-curricular activities.
A major shortcoming of this approach, for Muslim girls, is its narrow
concept of 'equality' which depends merely on access. Religious prefer-
ences are generally ignored and so go unacknowledged.
Caroll and Hollinshed (1993) attempted to understand how the religious
beliefs of Muslim girls impinged on their experiences of physical educa-
tion by focusing on four so called 'problems' or areas of apparent
'conflict' concerning religious values. Problems which emerged related to
the inadequacy of clothing for physical education, truancy due to commu-
nal showers, participation in sporting activities during the fasting month of
Ramadan and daughters returning home late from school after extra curric-
ular activities at school.2 Siraj-Blatchford (1993) criticised the study
because it was 'problem' led. She claims that it is eurocentric in its under-
standing of the teaching of physical education. In conclusion, she points
out that the 'study takes as its "foundation" the very racist and sexist struc-
tures that the research professes to understand and undermine' (Siraj-
Blatchford 1993: 90).
The integration model is the outcome of multicultural notions of equal-
ity. Its aim is to encourage integration into the dominant society whilst
maintaining facets of the original subculture. Essentially the model reflects
a tendency toward 'multiculturalism'.
A major criticism of the model, according to Figueroa (1993: 90), has
been its obsession with cultural tokenism and its inability to problematise
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Women 53
racism. Moreover, he suggests that any attempt at anti-racist education
which might address these issues has been attacked for being 'negative'
and ideological. For Muslim girls, the model offers a limited understanding
of their position. The suggestion that Muslim girls might be allowed to
wear tracksuits instead of regulation shorts during physical education
classes is merely symbolical as it fails to take account of issues around
'respect' andlor 'equal treatment of difference'. The needs of Muslim girls
- based on their faith and culture - go much deeper and are more extensive
than mere 'dress' instructions. For Muslim girls, as Daly (1991: 31)
reminds us, 'religion means a whole way of life not just worship or beliefs.
It detennines how to dress, what to eat, how to behave' .
Carrington, Chivers and Williams' (1986) study revealed the dangers
of succumbing to stereotypical conceptions of Muslim cultures and of
gender relations in Muslim society, in particular. According to this study
Muslim girls will continue to be disadvantaged in physical education
unless physical education teachers and policy makers challenge these
stereotypical misconceptions and confront structural racism.
The separation model is based on the principal of gender differentia-
tion. Most of its support has come from feminist writers such as Talbot
(1988), Scraton (1986) and Sfeir (1985). Scraton (1986) outlines the his-
torical basis and assumptions underlying this model. Notions of 'separate'
and 'different' physical opportunities and experiences were the basis of
the traditional separate and distinct physical education for girls which untit
recently was a central concept in schooling. Talbot (1988: 32) argues that,
for women, 'achievement or so called equality does not consist merely of
being free to do whatever men have done, but first (it is necessary) to
question the moral and human consequences of the structures and proce-
dures which have been created by a patriarchal society'. She argues that
women should not be seen as the 'problem', rather it is the social struc-
tures which constrain women's sporting activities which need to be prob-
lematised. In this chapter, I am arguing that these structures are not only
patriarchal but also racist.
According to Sfeir (1985), Muslim women in the West can participate
in a sport only within a secular context, but never as a 'Muslim'. She
also blames this on the 'patriarchal' nature of Muslim societies and male
chauvinism. The most profound deficiency of the separation model is
that while it does attempt to understand Muslim women as women, it
fails totally to appreciate that they are first and foremost Muslims. Hence
the gains made in gender terms become insignificant when compared to
the loss Muslim women suffer because of the denial of their Muslim
identity.
54 Researching Women and Sport
It is important to recognise that Muslims in Tower Hamlets, where
this research was undertaken, are, like Muslims elsewhere, becoming
more aware of their Muslim identity. Part of that identity search entails
considering how they should look after themselves. Thus to make sense
of the perceptions of young Muslim women, physical educationalists and
physical activity providers need to understand and respect the way in
which these women shape and are shaped by Islam and their Muslim
identities. The overemphasis upon 'constraints' acting on Muslim girls
and women, rather than attempting to understand the girls' perceptions
of health and well-being, has led to the creation of limited conception of
these issues in both physical education and sports provision. This
chapter attempts to go beyond previous research concerned with Muslim
young women and physical activity by locating them within their faith
which is practised within the structures of dominant Western ideologies.
In so doing young Muslim women's perceptions of health and well-
being are illuminated. Consideration is also given to the ways in which
Islamic ideology defines well-being in the context of physical health, the
connections between 'Islamic ideals' and 'Muslim realities' for Muslim
young women and their particular experiences of physical education and
physical activity.

ISLAM AND THB BODY

According to the Islamic world view, the human being - man or woman -
is created by God in a naturally good and pure s~ate, free from sin. The
concept of fitra (the primordial norm), is at once the measure of truth in
our actions and being, and at the same time the quality of harmony
between ourselves and the cosmos. This is the Islamic framework· of the
purpose for oneself, and in connection to this Muslims have various
responsibilities which they have to carry out in their daily lives.

Islam, Physical Activity and Physical Education

The Prophet Mohammed (may peace and blessing be upon him) (pbuh)
himself prayed for God's protection against laziness and incompetence.
He stressed physical activity and exercise and regularly participated in
horse-riding, swimming, archery, wrestling, running and mountaineering.
It is interesting to note that all the sports recommended are endurance-
based, apart from archery which is classified as a fine motor skill sport.
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Women 55
The Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) said the following about the human
body: 'In the body there lies a small piece of flesh; when it is good the rest
of the body is good also, and when it is corrupt the rest of the body
becomes corrupt: it is the heart' (Imam AI-hadad 1989: 15). The emphasis
here is on the heart, therefore it can be argued that a fit and strong heart is
central to the well-being of a Muslim.

Prayer and Physical Exercise

Islam has prescribed exercise as part of a daily routine for Muslims. This
takes the form of five obligatory daily prayers. The prayers, which are per-
formed at five different times during the day, consist of seventeen circles
of body movements. The Qur'an (Ali 1989) says (verse 77 sura 22) 'bow
down and prostrate yourselves and worship your Lord'. According to
Dayyab and Qarqaz (1982) it is 'part of God's wisdom that slhe who
undertakes devotions in answer to the call of hislher Lord shall at the same
time be engaged in an excellent set of exercise'. During prayers Muslims
have to stand still, bow, kneel and prostrate. The movements are con-
trolled and synchronised and exercise most of the large and small muscle
groups in the body. Fleming and Khan (1994) suggest that the daily
prayers for Muslims act as spiritual exercise which refreshes and they
argue there is a close relationship between sport and Islam.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

This research was undertaken as the project aspect of my physical educa-

tion degree. As a consequence of my own experience as a Muslim
woman concerned with physical education and Muslim women's
well being, I wanted to illuminate Muslim· women's experiences.
Consequently, tape recorded interviews were undertaken with Muslim
girls and young women from a school in the East End of London which
has a 96 per cent intake of Muslim girls. Seventeen Muslim Bangladeshi
and Indian girls and young women were interviewed. The interviews
involved ten year-eleven girls, three year-thirteen girls and four ex-
pupils, whose ages were between twenty one and twenty four. I wanted
to develop trust and respect with those whom I interviewed. and the
interviewees needed to feel safe and comfortable in order to share their
views with me. To do this, I had to create a situation in which there was
a two-way relationship. As I wanted to be able to probe more deeply
into their views and go beyond surface issues, I therefore chose not to
56 Research;tlg Wometl and Sport
use a rigid-schedule interview scheme because many issues were
complex and needed disentangling.
Not only was I an ex-physical education student teacher at the school,
but also I belonged to the same community as my research participants.
These connections had both advantages and disadvantages. One of the
advantages was that I could empathise more closely with the young
women because of our shared identity. For example, when certain words
or terms were used in Arabic or Bengali, I could relate to the participants
and assist them to express themselves. The potential disadvantages were
that the participants might think that, being of the same background and
community, I might use the information against them in some way. I was
also conscious of the power relationship between me as the interviewer
and the girls/young women as the informants (Oakley 1982). There were
times when I felt'l had to be provocative and (re)focus the discussion
because I wanted to challenge the stereotypical image of Muslim girls.

The Interviews and Participants

Ten Muslim girls (Halima, Ruksana, Jamila, Ayesha, Sabiha, Aliya,

Rahima, Anisa, Kaleema and Latifa)3 from year eleven were interviewed
in two groups of five during lunchtime, which lasted for thirty minutes. As
these girls had experienced five years of physical education and would
soon be leaving school, 1 felt that they would be in a position to think
about how they might continue keeping fit or looking after their pbysical
health. Initially the participants were very nervous as they did not know
what to expect from the interview. The content of each interview was not
always easy to tackle as some of it was fairly complex and difficult for
both myself and the participants to grapple with, particularly with groups
of this size.
Three year-thirteen Muslim girls (Jabin, Nafida and Nporee), who were
currently studying A levels were interviewed for fifteen minutes, during
youth-club time. Due to its location, the interview had many distractions
and was diffic,ult to carry out. .Consequently, the participants did not
appear to grasp the issues easily, not because they were incapable but
because there were too many external factors affecting the discussion. 1
also ran out of time. We attempted to continue the discussion the next day
but they felt that there was nothing more to add.
As regards the ex-pupils, Salma was in her final year studying for a
degree in Social Policy. The interview took place at her house and lasted
for fifty minutes. This interview was one of the most successful as Salma
was able to examine the social structure in relation to her Muslim identity,
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Women 57
Islam and wider gender issues. Rukia was an ex-pupil and is studying for
an MSc in Information Technology whilst working part-time as a lecturer
at the local Further Education College. Initially Rukia did not want to be
interviewed, as she felt she had nothing to say. However, she agreed and
the interview took place at her house and lasted for about forty minutes.
The interview was full of rich, detailed personal experiences as she
explained how she had attempted to keep fit but had, along the way, faced
many problems.
Farida and Mymuna were two ex-pupils who were best friends at school
and still continue to be so. Farida graduated from university after undertak-
ing a degree in biology. She now works part-time as a youth/nursery
worker. Mymuna works for the local authority as a Road Safety Officer.
Both participants were known to me from their childhood. The interview
took place during lunch in a noisy cafe. It was difficult to concentrate and
develop issues fully as there was too much noise. However, many contrast-
ing views and experiences were aired. This chapter illuminates some of the
views and experiences of these young women.

PERCEPTIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE CONTEXT OF

THE MUSLIM FAITH

Halima was asked how she would feel if physical education was made
available within the context of Muslim religion. She commented:
Well, if it was part of your religion I would be more motivated, but it
isn't. It is about looking after your body, it doesn't necessarily mean
going out and jumping about, because it depends what type of fitness
you want. So, I think I would do it anyway because it is enjoyable, but I
am not so regular with doing my exercise. Maybe if it was part of my
religion I would be regular.
Halima could not see the connection between her Islamic faith and the
benefits of physical education, but she stated that if regular exercise was
part of her faith she would be more likely to try to be more fit.
However, Salma said that as a 'Muslim or as a human being', the
importance of being healthy and sustaining good health outweighed other
achievements in life, such as material wealth or gaining careers-related
qualifications and happiness. She remarked:
I mean it is very important to look after your body. Cause your body is
you really you. If you are not healthy then you can't live life and enjoy
it, because if you are unhealthy you might have the money, you might
58 Researching Women and Sport
have everything else materially. You might have the qualifications you
can never be happy, but if you are healthy you feel happy don't you. As
a Muslim it's part of your religion that we should be healthy, isn't it? In
order to live as a full human being you have to be healthy. So I think as
Muslims it is important for us to be healthy.
Another ex-pupil, Rukia, shared similar perceptions about the importance
of looking after the body:

... 'cause if you are not healthy ... well you have to be healthy to have a
lot of vitality in you ... don't you ... if you are healthy, you feel good
about yourself, as a Muslim .... I am a Muslim, but I don't know how
it's related to my religion, I don't know anything about that. But I
assume that all human beings have to be healthy. so they have to do
things for their well-being ... I don't think Islam disagrees with
peoples' good health and looking after the body.

In Islam. holistic (mind, body and soul) well-being is an obligation and

there are numerous exhortations, advice and guidance on how an individ-
ual should attempt to achieve well-being whilst recognising the person as
an integrated whole. Islam sees no dichotomy between the spirit, the mind
and the body. Attempting to achieve well-being is an Islamic responsibil-
ity for every Musli.m. However, for a Muslim the human body is not per-
ceived as a 'temple' but rather as a manifestation of respect and love for
God. The obligation to be well was identified by Halima when she com-
mented: 'It is our duty to keep ourselves fit and look after ourselves'.
A healthy body and mind, in Islam, are viewed as gifts from the
Creator. In Islam there are 'duties that you owe to yourself and rights your
body and mind have upon you' (Hamid 1989: 25-6). It is the body that has
a right over you and not the other way round. Ayesha, a pupil, expressed
similar ideas but pointed out the practical benefits of looking after the
body as a gift.
... people who are really religious they might think that God gave your
body as a gift, you should try your best to look after it. It is your duty to
be healthy and try to have a longer life expectancy.
Salma. Rukia and Mymuna felt that Western media portrayed a fitness
culture which is inherently un-Islamic because it is dominated by a 'body
beautiful' image, that is, it is a particular physique or shape of the body
which is paramount and in this sense the body becomes treated like a
'temple'. Arguably, the fitness industry has concentrated on improving the
outer image, placing particular value on looking good. Unfortunately, this
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Womell 59
displaces the prime aim of regular physical activity for health benefits.
Consequently, keeping fit is often associated with slimness for women and
a muscular body shape for men. For Farida, an ex-pupil, the world of
fitness is associated with vanity.
What do you mean look after the body, ... if you are talking about
fitness and training, doesn't that mean it's vanity almost. I don't know
what the Muslim rule is set down for exercise and looking after the
body, but I do think it (fitness) is maybe vanity. But you are supposed to
keep yourself clean, obviously for prayers and other things ... keep
yourself clean and that's as far as I know about keeping your body well.
In reality, Muslims have not had the opportunity to develop Islamic
notions of what the physical education curriculum should consist of,
neither from an ideological nor a practical perspective. Therefore, for the
Muslim young women interviewed, involvement in physical activity and
sport was a difficult struggle. It was difficult for them since Western soci-
etal values have divorced physical fitness and health from Muslim reality.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MUSLIM YOUNG WOMEN'S

DILBMMAS

The young women and girls who were interviewed took part in various
types of physical activities and sports. In some cases, as we can see from
the following comments, they were positively influenced by their experi-
ence of physical education.
Latifa: I really like doing PB, because it keeps your body really healthy,
it relieves stress, it's really good. We usually sit around all day.
But, if I do PB once a week and then after all my body aches. It's
because you don't do it regular that is why your body aches. The
only other exercise I have is my three minutes walk to school and
that's it.
Many times the issue of regular exercise was raised, for example Salma
expressed her interest in rock-climbing and remarked,
Rock-climbing that's something that I am really enthusiastic about. I
only went once and I really, really enjoyed it, I just can't explain it, it's
like I really felt good, it's like you forget about everything and you just
concentrate on you know ... climbing that rock and it was really enjoy-
able, I just really enjoyed it and I suppose it is partly to do with the
60 Researching Women and Sport
environment, as well ... you know the open air and everything, I would
like to do more of that and everything. I would like to do more of that, I
wish I had the money and the time.
However, most Muslim young women experienced a variety of dilemmas
in relation to their participation in physical activity. These dilemmas are a
consequence not only of living in a non-Islamic society, but also because
of the perceived conflict between their cultural traditions and Islam. These
dilemmas are illustrated below.

Salma: Islam allows us (to participate in) sports, but Bengali culture
does not allow it I think, because it's a patriarchal culture isn't
it. It is also very influenced by colonialism. During colonialism
men had to protect the women didn't they, so the men had to
exercise and be more strict on purdah4 and along with that
women were not allowed to participate in any sort of outdoor
activities. I mean sport is one. She was too busy doing cooking
and cleaning that happens in an agricultural society, she does
not really have the time to exercise. Also in Bangladesh,
lifestyle is different, she does not need to be all covered because
she would be in her own village and she has so much space to
roam around. There won't be any non-related males around for
her to totally hide herself. In Britain or in any industrial society
as soon as you walk out of the door you are in front of
strangers, strange men that you have to start wearing purdah,
you can't go anywhere without the men feeling that you are
unprotected. So I think that Asian people and Muslim men in
particular are very protective about the women and it can
become negative only when you come into a setting where they
have to protect you too much.

Salma here clearly identifies the impact of colonialism upon Muslim cul-
tural traditions in general and Muslim women in the West in particular.
She also highlights the problems for Muslims and in particular for Muslim
women of having to fit their lives into a non-Islamic society. This means
that if women want to participate in sports, they tend to have to give up
their Islamic values in order to adopt a Western lifestyle. Salma also high-
lights some cultural and structural factors that make it difficult for Muslim
women to be involved in physical activity.

Sal rna: I think it is very difficult living in a non Islamic society, because
the society is not structured so you can live as a Muslim. I mean
you can't be in purdah as a woman and take part in the social
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Women 61

activities of that society. You can't really 'cause it's always

mixed, so that's a lot of factors that work together to stop a
Muslim woman from taking part in sports. First of all, she can't
go into any sports centre unless its got facilities that are access-
ible for her, which they don't have. The second is that Muslim
women around here tend to be Asian women who have a lot of
family responsibilities, 'cause the family is structured where they
don't have the time ... culturally it's not encouraged either. So
there are three factors that all work negatively, that stop her. I
think all these factors worked in my situation.
Family responsibilities, cultural values and a lack of understanding of and
respect for Muslim women's views and needs in local leisure and physical
education provision are pertinent considerations which can inhibit their
involvement in physical activity. This lack of understanding of Muslim
women's values is highlighted by Rukia who vividly describes her dis-
tressing experience when going along to what she thought to be a women-
only swimming session.
Rukia: I don't think that being a Muslim woman should prevent you
from doing sports. I go to 'women-only' ... because you know
that my religion says that I shouldn't expose my body to men,
but you know that when I went to women's night, I assumed
that it will be all women and even lifeguards or the safety
people would be women and I was shocked that it was men. But
I tried to get into the pool as soon as I could, that is the only
thing that ruined my swimming apart from that I like
swimming.
Rukia had a similar uncomfortable and off-putting experience when
changing in communal changing rooms. She said,
... that's what puts a lot of girls off because you know in our school ...
you were supposed to get showered in a communal thing and a lot of the
girls didn't like doing that, the Muslim girls', cause they didn't like
showing their body ... shall I tell you that once I went to this dance
workshop, that was the first time I saw ladies all naked in front of each
other (laughs) and I was so shocked. Until then I was thinking of taking
up dance and we went to that workshop ... after seeing that I didn't
want to go anymore.
A number of the young women interviewed also spoke of conflict between
cultural traditions and Islamic views. They believed Bangladeshi culture
tended to disapprove of women doing sport:
62 Researching Women al/d Sport
Nooree: Well - culturally it is not really encouraged, you know
Bangladeshi culture doesn't really encourage women to partici-
pate in physical education. It is looked upon as being
'unfeminine' .
Jabin: It's the men, who stop them. Some are just too sexist and think
that sports are for men and why should women do it. They think
why should girls play football, if I watch football, my brother he
goes 'why are you watching it? you shouldn't be interested in
these kinds of things'. They think we should just do sewing, knit-
ting and housework. If I ask my brother to do any housework, he
tells me to shut up (laughs).

There is clear evidence from the young women that whilst their parents
may be trying to maintain their cultural values in their expressed concern
over their daughters' involvement in physical activity, some young women
wish to look to the teaching of Islam rather than their parents' views.

Salma The Qur'an and Sunnah have the framework, whereas culture and
tradition don't. That is the main clash that is going on with
parents and their children, 'cause the parents see their culture as
important, 'cause they can't apply it here.

The concern of parents has partly developed because physical activity is

presented in a Westernised leisure form which falls outside of religious
and cultural activities. Jamila commented.
'Cause they [parents] are always worried about 'people' and what
people will say, you know. They [parents] say if you go on your own
and you travel or walk, what are people going to say. They are worried
about people and not themselves. Especially if it's mixed.
Even when the activities are women-only, Sabiha suggests that some
Muslim parents perceive it as inappropriate for their daughters,
Then they are going to say you are going to get too Westernised or
something like that. They will say always something to prevent you.
They will say why do you need to exercise? Why don't you stay at
home and do it? Why do you need to do all that to your body? Do you
want to show off to men, you are alright like that. That's what parents
are likely to say. I don't think my parents will say that, but others might.
Thus even with women-only sessions, there is a belief that physical activ-
ity is a Western activity and that daughters may lose their Muslim values
as perceived by their parents, as we see in the following discussion:
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Women 63
Halima: Parents don't allow girls to do it, it's something that is not
expected.
HZ: Because it is not Islam is it?
Aliya No it's not Islam, it's the culture actually. It's the culture. People
want to say it is religion, they would just say it. They [parents]
get Islam confused with culture, that's what I think. That's why
we tend to get the wrong end of the stick and [people] misunder-
stand Islam and make Islam look bad. Parents twists things
around to suit themselves rather than what it [Islam] actually is
saying. They might not allow girls to go out, so they just say
Islam says this. They don't really know the facts, they just have
their own opinions and tell us it as Islam.
It appears also that an interrelated issue, constantly on parent's minds, is
one of safety. Green et al. (1987) point to women's considerable concern
over safety and its influence on their leisure activities. Tower Hamlets has
suffered from a long history of racial and sexual attacks and Muslim
parents require reassurance that their daughters will not come to harm if
they go out to a sports centre. Furthermore, they are worried about the
reaction of their neighbours in the community, as it is not accepted or
expected that Muslim young women take part in any sports with serious
intentions in case of any potential injury. Ruksana says,
I wanted to go into sports but my parents are not very happy about that.
I suggested to my mum that I take up badminton. Partly she didn't want
me to, you know its a cultural thing, ... women taking part in sports -
it's not really encouraged. She [mum] starts telling me what are the
people going to say if they know that you play sports. They are to think
that it's not very feminine is it. She thinks that I might hurt myself as
well (laughs).
What is apparent from this research is the awareness of the young women
of differences between the teaching of Islam and their parents' cultural
views shaped within a non-Islamic racist and sexist society.

REDUCING THE BARRIERS - V ALVINO DIFFERENCE

For Salma there is much to be done to enable Muslim women to parti-

cipate comfortably in physical activities,
I think it is really good thing to get Muslim women to take up physical
activity more, it's very important for them, but I really don't see how
64 Researching Womell and Sport
you are going to do that. Because it's really difficult, because the factors
are so wide, ... you know in order to eradicate that problem you have to
attack everything ... that goes along with it.
Clearly, Salma sees Muslim women's participation in sport not merely as a
problem of access but also as a consequence of the racism deeply embedded
in societal structures. Nevertheless, despite these factors, Anisa suggested
various practical solutions which could enable greater participation by
Muslim women and girls in physical activity. She suggests the following:
Cover up more and have things like separate swimming pools for males
and females so it doesn't matter. You won't have men watching you or
anything. You can wear leggins or tights and a T-shirt and you can't
then see the shape. In Bangladesh the women do it [swim] with their
clothes on.
Modest dressing and behaviour for both men and women in Islam needs to
be seen in context. There is a paradox here that has been cultivated
because non-Muslims perhaps either find Muslim women's dress threaten-
ing or believe Muslim women are oppressed and made subservient
through it. However, Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab see it
as carrying out the duties of the Islamic code of dressing. Muslim women
and their dress have been attacked particularly by the media. But it is a
logical step for the Muslim community to defend their rights: for Muslim
women, modesty is an important attribute. However, Western thought
often perceives such an attribute as showing deficiency and acquiescence.
In a sense, in Western society, modesty is largely equated with shyness,
passivity and weakness. For Muslims modesty is seen in terms of humil-
ity, a positive attribute which for Muslim women provides them with the
freedom of not having to conform to Western styles and fashion and pro-
vides them with liberation from the male gaze.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

This chapter has sought to raise awareness of Islamic ideology and physi-
cal activity. It has raised the issue of the Islamic notion of 'rights of the
body' in the context of physical health and well-being. 'Sport' as it is
made available to Muslim women is largely perceived as both Western
and masculine. The Muslim, young women interviewed revealed a variety
of factors which inhibit thei~ involvement in physical activities. These
included family responsibilities, cultural values and the lack of under-
standing of, and respect for, Muslim women's views.
 Perceptions of Muslim Young Women 65
It is clear that a major problem surrounding participation is the ways in
which sport, physical activity and physical education are organised and
made available and not necessarily the activities themselves. If we gen-
uinely want to increase the participation of Muslim young women, then
Muslim values need to influence and inform the context in the way activi-
ties are structured and accessed.
A starting point lies for both sport providers and physical educational-
ists in their willingness to recognise and genuinely address their anti-
Islamic views, particularly in relation to Muslim women. This may be
addressed through the development of training awareness programmes for
sport professionals in collaboration with members of the Muslim commu-
nity, particularly women. This is a crucial process as it can bring providers
and users together to debate Muslim needs and enable Muslim women to
be actively involved in structural change. For example, the training of
providers in consultatic:m with Muslim women could inform and influence
the design of new sportslleisure centres, such as exclusively women-only
provision with total screening, creche facilities, changing and shower
cubicles and access into activity areas where women are not exposed to
male staff/user gaze. Furthermore, local authorities need to work in con-
junction with educational establishments to develop National Governing
Body coaching awards for Muslim women. This would enable Muslim
women to become positive role-models as sports coaches within the
Muslim community. It is not any 'passivity' on the part of Muslim young
women which inhibits their participation in physical activity, rather it is
the racist aod sexist society in which they live. If people can overcome
their deep-rooted prejudices and encourage Muslim women to take leading
positions in sports development and careers within the PH field, then some
headway can be made in meeting the needs of Muslim young women and
girls in sport, physical activity and physical education.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the Muslim young women who took part in this
study.
In addition Muslim women mayor may not subscribe fo the particular
standpoint highlighted in this chapter.

Notes

I Levant refers to the Bastern part of Mediterranean countries.

2 Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam. Ramadan or fasting lasts for thirty
days. In order to fast a Muslim must. between sunrise and sunset, abstain
66 Researching Women and Sport
from eating, drinking, smoking, use of bad language or thought and sexual
intercourse.
3 All the names are pseudonyms.
4 Hijab and purdah are modest outer covering. Women cover all parts except
the hands, face and feet. Clothing has to be loose and non-transparent.
Recently thc term 'hijab' is used to denote the covering of hair.

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5 Self-confidence and
Self-esteem in Physical
Education and Sport
Jan Graydon

Probably one of the most important factors for people, men or women,
striving for excellence in sport, or trying out new activities, is the issue of
self-confidence. It has been shown that self-confidence is linked with con-
tinuing sports involvement (Feltz and Petchlikoff 1983) as well as with per-
sistence in physically demanding tasks (Weinberg, Gould and Jackson 1979).
Various terms have been used in the sports literature to cover similar
phenomena, including self-confidence, self-efficacy, perceived com-
petence and self-esteem. Self-confidence and self-esteem have usually
been regarded as general beliefs about one's own capabilities, while self-
efficacy has been used by Bandura (1977) to indicate a belief about one's
abilities to perform a specific activity or achieve a specific outcome.
Perceived competence (Harter 1985) is also specific and refers to one's
ability at a particular skill or field of endeavour (for detailed definitions
and a thorough review see Feltz 1988). Clearly in sport and physiCa'l activ-
ity we are concerned with specific activities in the physical domain.
To date much research has suggested that females frequently lack
confidence in their ability to perform sport-oriented tasks as compared to
their male counterparts (Lirgg 1991). Lirgg and Feltz (1989) have sug-
gested that female lack of confidence only occurs under certain conditions
and have outlined various strategies for enhancing female confidence in
the sporting domain. There is a growing body of work which suggests that
these strategies are needed and can be successful. It is therefore the inten-
tion of this chapter to examine some of the research in the related areas of
self-confidence, self-esteem and their enhancement. Finally the value of
this mainly quantitative research is discussed with reference to recent
critiques of the value of sport psychology research to women.

SELF-CONFIDENCE AND THE EFFECTS OF GENDER

The low self-confidence experienced by many females anticipating

physical activity is well documented. A recent meta-analysis (Lirgg
68
 Self-confidence and Self-esteem 69
1991) showed that, compared to males, females tended to display less
confidence in their physical ability, although this effect was not large
and was more pronounced in those tasks normally considered to be
masculine oriented. This finding provided support for Lenney's view
that females would display 'situational vulnerability' in that females'
lack of confidence was not general, but particular to certain situations
(Lenney 1977). Unfortunately, many of these situations tend to be
sporting situations as many sporting tasks are deemed to be masculine
in orientation. A recent study by Clifton and Gill (1994) into percep-
tions of confidence when contemplating the activity of cheerleading, a
generally feminine-oriented task, has shown no lack of confidence on
the part of women.
Lirgg (1992) has called for a systematic study of the psychological
antecedents of lack of confidence in girls and how socialisation affects
these. This would seem an ambitious task, but one which should help to
provide girls and women with more positive experiences and thus
expectations.
What is clear is that there are gender differences appearing in self-
confidence and perceived physical competence quite early in life. Work on
10-1 t year old boys and girls in primary classes (Granleese et al. 1988;
Fazey and Keely 1992) has shown that at this age girls report their per-
ceived physical competence to be lower than boys. The analysis by Fazey
and Keely went further and examined children's perceived physical com-
petence with respect to the reported gender appropriateness of the activity.
The children were asked to rate the gender appropriateness of several
activities and then to indicate how they perceived their athletic compe-
tence with respect to male-appropriate, female-appropriate and neutral
activities. Evidence from this study indicated that boys showed higher
levels of perceived competence than girls, but that the gender appropriate-
ness of the activity affected the outcome. Boys indicated higher levels of
perceived competence than girls on male-appropriate and neutral activi-
ties, whereas there were no gender differences on the female-appropriate
tasks. These results are instructive and further support Lenney's notions of
situational vulnerability, in that girls felt selectively disadvantaged in
boys' activities. However, what is arguably of more concern is that activi-
ties classified as neutral (swimming, tennis, rounders) also resulted in
lower perceived competence on the girls' part. This finding is in agree-
ment with the work of Petruzello and Corbin (1988) with undergradunte
students. Despite the suggestion by Lirgg and Feltz (1989) that one strat-
egy for enhancing females' self-confidence would be to avoid sex-typing
activities, Fazey and Keely's findings would indicate that this may be of
limited value.
70 Researching Womell and Sport
Furthermore, for boys in the research there was no evidence of situ-
ational vulnerability, since there was no significant difference between
boys' and girls' estimates of competence on the female-appropriate activi-
ties (netball, skipping, hopscotch). It is worth noting that only one of the
female-appropriate activities, netball, is taught in school and likely to be
carried on into adolescence and beyond. This is patently not the case for
the masculine-typed activities (boys' own ratings) of cricket, and rugby.
This may raise issues about the girls' continued involvement in, and
enjoyment of, physical activity in later years.
In summary then it can be seen that there is a growing body of evidence
to support the notion of situational vulnerability in females in sport. Male-
appropriate activities tend to elicit lower levels of self-confidence from
females than female-appropriate activities. However, what is probably
worth emphasising is that female-appropriate sporting activities result only
in female estimates of confidence equalling those of males. Female esti-
mates of higher levels of self-confidence are conspicuous by their absence,
except in physical activity settings (for example, the cheerleading study by
Clifton and Gill 1994). Sport may therefore be seen to be a particularly
problematic area of achievement for females.

COMPETITIVE STATE ANXIETY AND SELF-CONFIDENCE

The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens et al. 1990) is a

multidimensional measure which consists of three subscales, namely cog-
nitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence. It is frequently used to
assess pre-competition levels of anxiety at various times leading up to a
competitive situation,· for example the study of Jones, Cale and Kerwin
(1988). When used with undergraduate students, Jones and Cale (1989)
found that females differed from males in the patterning of the pre-com-
petitive anxiety and self-confidence in the period leading up to a presti-
gious competition. Females were found to experience a decrease in
self-confidence on the day of competition. Such a decrease was not found
for the males. This finding could have serious consequences for the com-
petitive performance of the females and could bear some serious investiga-
tion into its antecedents.
Given the levels of 'situational vulnerability' of schoolgirls in sporting
activities outlined above, it may be expected that one consequence of these
low levels of perceived competence may be elevated levels of competitive
anxiety in gender-typed activities. This could be important when attempt-
ing to introduce children to new activities.
 Self-confidence and Self-esteem 71
This issue was addressed in a recent study (Graydon et a\. 1995) which
examined levels of pre-competitive anxiety in schoolchildren aged 13-14
years of age. The activities chosen (netball and soccer) were those taught
exclusively to boys or girls within a particular school. The boys were
overall less anxious and more confident than the girls irrespective of the
activity. With respect to the effect of participation in the activities it was
found that the boys were less confident before the netball than the football
task, whereas the girls were less confident before the football task. Of
significance psychologically, if not statistically, was the finding that there
was little difference at all between the boys and girls anticipating the
netball task, whereas for the football task this difference was large, with
the girls' anxiety being much greater. These results support those of Fazey
and Keely (1992) and give cause for concern.
It could be argued that these feelings reflect the proposal of Lirgg and
Feltz (1989) who noted that self-confidence levels increase as skill
proficiency increases. It is likely that the girls in the study would not have
any grounds for feeling competent about football skills as they do not play
any kicking games. On the other hand the boys do play ball-catching
games, possibly even basketball, and so would therefore have grounds for
feeling reasonably confident. These findings have obvious implications for
planning the introduction to unfamiliar activities.
The results from the anxiety subscales largely mirrored those for self-
confidence with the girls showing the greatest anxiety before the football
task. A further analysis of this study looked at the children's heart rates
prior to participation. Although no significant effects were found there was
a noticeable trend in the data. This showed a rise in the boys' heart rates
pre-netball, and a rise in the girls' heart rates pre-football.
Again support is found for the 'situational vulnerability' idea with respect
to self-confidence, but to this is added the findings about anxiety and the
feelings of the children when confronted by different sporting activities. We
tend to avoid what makes us feel fear and anxiety. It would seem that teach-
ers should be aware of the possible feelings of anxiety experienced by chil-
dren and monitor their teaching style accordingly. One of the suggested
strategies advanced by Lirgg and Feltz (1989) is also targeted at reducing
the feelings of anxiety experienced by girls in some sports settings.

PHYSICAL SELF-PERCEPTION

An issue related to self-confidence is the concept of physical self-

perception documented and operationalised by Fox and Corbin (1989).
72 Researchillg Womell and Sport
These authors constructed a multidimensional scale which comprises four
subscales: perceived sport competence, physical strength, physical condi-
tioning and body attractiveness. Together these subscales combine to give
an estimate of general physical self-worth or physical self-esteem
described by the authors as an important contributor to global self-esteem.
Given the results of the work already outlined on perceived athletic com-
petence in schoolchildren, it is not surprising to find similar gender differ-
ences in responses to the Physical Self-perception Profile (PSPP).
Pountney and Graydon (1993) used the scale to study a group of 105
schoolchildren aged 13-14 years. On the overall general physical self-
worth scale the boys gave significantly higher estimates than lhe girls, a
result which was mirrored in all the subscales. This is clearly of great
concern and is further compounded by the finding that almost 40 per cent
of the girls considered themselves to be overweight. Only 6 per cent of the
boys felt themselves to be overweight. A further analysis revealed that
scores on the PSPP were related to attitudes towards sport and physical
education for the girls but not for the boys. This showed Ihat, for the girls,
the higher the feelings of physical self-worth, the more positive the aui-
tudes towards sport and physical education.
Clearly a correlational study of this nature cannot imply causality, but it
would appear that many girls are locked in a self-destructive spiral. Low
perceptions of physical self-worth are associated with negative attitudes
towards sport and physical education in school, which in turn probably
reinforce low estimates of perceived athletic competence and physical
self-worth. The problem would seem to be how to break out of this
negative spiral. .

INTERVENTION STUDIES

One obvious method might be to create an environment in physical

education classes which is designed to enhance perceived competence,
whether this be for girls or boys. Such an environment might be found by
examining the achievement-motivational climate of the class, in particular
the way in which the achievement goals of the children are fostered.
Briefly, two achievement goal perspectives have been described. These
are task and ego orientation. Nicholls (1984) has described a person
having an ego orientation as being a person who judges their perceived
ability in comparison to others, that is; success means being better than
someone else. A task-oriented person is someone whose goals are self-
referenced, that is, they are concerned with task mastery and improving
 Self-confidence and Self-esteem 73
their own performance irrespective of others. Task orientation is believed
to be linked to positive achievement behaviours (Nicholls 1984) and is
generally held to be favourable and to be fostered.
Linford and Fazey (1994) conducted a study with 11-12 year old boys
and girls being taught in regular physical education classes. The aim of the
study was to examine if teaching style (interpersonal competition oriented
versus individual improvement oriented) would affect the physical self-
perception of the pupils. They were able to demonstrate that those children
taught in an environment which emphasised 'individual improvement, per-
sonal bests and skill development' (Linford and Fazey 1994: 199) were
able to show significant increases in physical self-perception. This effect
was particularly pronounced for those children who initially scored lowest
on the self-perception measure. Whether this increase would be main-
tained after the conclusion of the intervention, and whether it would lead
to increased enjoyment of, and participation in, physical activity is not
known, but at least this important work has shown that it is possible to
break the links creating this destructive spiral.
Teaching strategy was also addressed in some recent work by Lirgg
(1993). Working with middle school and high school students of a similar
age to those of Linford and Fazey (1994), Lirgg's study examined the
effect of changing students who had been taught in mixed (co-cd) classes
to same-sex classes over to units of basketball. It was found that the boys
in the same-sex classes decreased significantly in their confidence in learn-
ing basketball. The girls on the other hand did not change significantly in
their confidence levels, although there was a visible trend in the direction
of increased self-confidence in the same-sex classes and decreasing self-
confidence in those students continuing in mixed classes. Little indication
is provided with respect to teaching style, although it may be assumed to
be fairly task oriented as it is stated that there was' ... little emphasis on
competition between students' (Lirgg 1993: 327).
With much current debate and opinion about the relative merits of
mixed versus single sex physical education it would be well to consider
carefully the possible effects on self-perception, particularly for the girls.
It appears from these studies that for adolescents self-confidence, or
perceived physical competence, is somewhat fragile and changing.
However, the learning environment we provide may have important
effects on how adolescents see themselves and therefore possibly on how
they view physical activity.
The issue of physical self-perception has been previously addressed
with respect to adolescent schoolchildren. It is well documented however
(Cash et al. 1986) that many women suffer from feelings of physical inad-
74 Researching Women and Sport
equacy and dissatisfaction with body image. The search for slimness, or
thinness, has spawned a multimillion pound industry which appears to
flourish on the feelings of inadequacy that society seems to impose on
many women.
The phenomenon of 'social physique anxiety' has recently been docu-
mented (Hart et al. 1989), and has been shown to influence attitudes
towards exercise participation (Crawford and Eklund 1994). Not surpris-
ingly, if women are anxious about their bodies they are not likely to wish
to exhibit them in public wearing flimsy or figure-hugging clothing.
With these issues in mind a study was designed (Graydon and
Farrington 1993) to investigate the effects of a women-only programme of
aerobics or weight training on the parameters of the PSPP (Fox and Corbin
1989), and on subjects' views of body image as depicted by portrait analy-
sis analysed by an art therapist.
It was found that both exercise programmes resulted in positive changes
in aspects of the PSPP. These changes were unrelated to any measurable
morphological changes resulting from the programmes. The self-portrait
analyses provided valuable insights into the processes which had occurred
for many of the women, and provided a useful addition to the quantitative
data. It appeared to the art therapist that the women were becoming more
aware of their bodies and that many women were 'looking at themselves
for the first time' (Graydon and Farrington 1993: 124). Some, however,
showed striking positive changes in their views of themselves, becoming
more relaxed and confident.
Again it would appear that women's often negative perceptions of
themselves can be challenged. However, for exercise promoters the
problem with this work is to attract women to the programme in the first
place. Work with schoolchildren may be easier in that they are captive
participants!

CRITICISMS OF TRADITIONAL RESEARCH METHODS AND

FUTURE STRATEGIES

The focus of this chapter has been chiefly concerned with estimates of
self-confidence and self-esteem in women and girls and possible ways in
which this can be influenced. The research outlined has used the concepts
and methods of psychology, mainly quantitative and located frequently
within the context of gender differences. These issues have come in for
frequent criticism from feminists and from feminist psyc,:hologists (see, for
example, Squire 1989). The criticisms of gender difference (or sex differ-
 Self-confidence and Self-esteem 75
ence as it used to be known) work have been chiefly that such an approach
has merely served to reinforce gender stereotypes without offering mean-
ingful explanations for either theorists or practitioners (Fasting 1993).
The viewpoint advanced in this chapter is that an approach based on
gender differences as outlined by Hollway (1991) is useful in identifying
the position of women and girls within the sporting arena. Hollway has
described a gender-difference approach as:
... explanatory rather than descriptive, relational rather than compara-
tive, emancipatory rather than normative and dynamic rather than static.
(Hollway 199 I: 32)
The challenge for sport psychology is to ensure that the above conditions
are met and that we are not merely reinforcing stereotypes of sex differ-
ences. This task is not to be underestimated, and it is not claimed here that
we have all the answers yet, nor even all the right questions! However,
given the importance of feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem for
women's continued participation in sport, it would seem important to
examine how women feel about different sporting contexts, and how situ-
ations can indeed be made more 'dynamic'.
It has been clearly shown that feelings of competence and self-worth are
not static. They can be influenced in children by teaching style (Linford
and Fazey 1994), mixed or single-sex teaching (Lirgg 1993), and for adults
by the provision of programmes of physical activity which, while having as
an ostensible aim the modification of physical parameters, can influence
feelings about physical self-image (Graydon and Farrington 1993).
The issue of self-esteem, self-worth and the enhancement of these to
the benefit of women's and girls' psychological health comes close to the
popular issue, within feminist writings, of empowerment. Basically this
revolves around women being able to realise their own power and to use it
to challenge their positions in the world. In a critique of the notion of
power within psychology, Kitzinger (1991) has argued that this notion can
be dangerous in that it can often result in the victim blaming herself, or
himself, if disaster strikes or if things are not up to expectations:
The notion of the free, autonomous, self-fulfilled and authentic woman
possessed of a personal power innocent of coercion - an ideal which
informs most feminist psychological engagement with the concept of
power - is simply an individualist myth which actively obscures the
operation of power. (Kitzinger 1991: 24)
The operation of power as advanced by Kitzinger is generally seen as
involving the patriarchal structures and culture within which we are
76 Researchillg Womell alld Sport

obliged to operate, and which have to be challenged. Sport, with its

emphasis on masculine values, is often seen as the epitome of patriarchal
structure, thus it is not surprising that women frequently feel less than
confident in their interactions with it. If women are not to turn their backs
on the whole thing then it would appear that they have either to change it
or to use it for their own purposes and to grow from their experiences.
Very often women may use a mixture of these tactics.
Fasting (1994) has presented some examples, drawn from various cul-
tures, of how women have made their own particular sports or activities
more 'user-friendly', and tailored to their own needs. Evidence has been
presented in this chapter which would both support the need for these
strategies and show in some measure how· women and girls can grow in
confidence with appropriate sporting experiences. The autonomous
woman can grow in personal power, but on a collective level the power
structures can also be challenged. It should not be forgotten, however, that
it takes immense personal power to challenge an entrenched institution.
The issue of methodology, qualitative or quantitative, has been debated
in mainstream psychology for some time, with varying positions being
adopted. Sport psychology has usually opted for a quantitative positivistic
approach to data collection, with qualitative analysis being the exception
(Bredemeier et al. 1991). For Bredemeier et al. a qualitative approach was
adopted in order to get closer to ('inside the head of') the participants, as a
method of accessing the personal meanings of their sports experiences.
These investigators studied women who were involved in five fonns of
physical activity encompassing competitive and non-competitive activi-
ties, individual and team events. Data were gathered by semi-structured
interview in order to access the participants' epistemological perspectives
on their involvement. The results are too detailed to outline here, but it is
clear that this approach provides a very different, and fresh, perspective to
the traditional quantitative style much favoured by sport psychology. One
study mentioned previously (Graydon and Farrington 1993) used a combi-
nation of quantitative and qualitative techniques, as it was felt that the two
perspectives could complement and inform each other so that a fuller
picture would emerge. Both methodologies could then be seen as comple-
mentary, not in competition, with neither being of more value or more
worthwhile than the other. A recent article by Krane (1994) has drawn
attention to the need for qualitative studies in sport psychology to provide
'rich descriptions of mental states '" unobtainable through traditional
quantitative methods' (Krane 1994: 396). The application of new para-
digms could delve deeper to gain a fuller understanding of the mental
states associated with levels of self-confidence.
 Self-confidence arid Self-esteem 77
The area of self-confidence and self-esteem is held to be a crucial one
for girls and women involved in, or contemplating, physical activity. The
view that has been advanced here is that much has been learned using a
gender-difference approach. This approach is able to inform researchers
and practitioners interested in fostering a love of, and enjoyment in, physi-
cal activity for all. As Hollway (1991: 32) has argued, we must take care
not to 'throw out the baby with the bath water' . That is to say, knowledge
is advanced by both traditional and new approaches. The challenge is now
to go forward and to show how we can change the sometimes tentative,
sometimes negative, feelings of girls and women into positive ones which
will foster and enhance their enjoyment of the activities which have
brought so much pleasure to many of us.

Acknowledgements

With many thanks to Dr. Sandy Wolfson for her helpful comments on an
earlier draft of this chapter.

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6 On Pleasure and Pain:
Women Speak Out About
Physical Activity
Jan Wright and Alison Dewar

The idea for this chapter began over dinner in Vancouver when a group of
women, all with a background in physical education and sport, began
talking about the absences in the institutional discourses explaining par-
ticipation and non-participation in physical activity. The available dis-
courses in Australia and North America seemed to come, for the most part,
out of social psychology and were primarily concerned with identifying
motivational factors which could be measured on various inventories (see,
for instance, Becles and Harold 1991). These inventories seemed to have
been administered primarily to college and school students and investi-
gated factors such as self-perception of ability, perceived task value
(Bccles and Harold 1991), self-efficacy (McAuley 1992) and sport com-
mitment (Scanlan and Simons 1992).
These explanations had few resonances with our own experiences of
physical activity nor did they seem to take into account the movement of
the body as a source of the kinaesthetic/sensual pleasures which we
described to each other. For all of us physical activity has been charac-
terised by intensely pleasurable experiences, descriptions of which were
rarely taken up in the literature. Moreover some of us had friends who foJ'
most of their lives had very little to do with physical activity, who would
have been regarded as non-participators in their youth but were now
finding pleasure in a diverse range of activities very few of which were
associated with the traditional activities taught in schools or taken up by
school-aged girls in the community.
There was clearly a need to talk and write about movement in ways
other than those that have hitherto been available. We believed that a fruit-
ful beginning might well be made with the experiences of adult women
who had sought out or constructed their own pleasure from physical activ-
ities. We were looking also for an engagement with movement activities
which could be transformative, which had the potential for changing sub-
jectivities and also women's social reality. Further we believed that the
documentation of women's experience required a research approach which

80
 On Pleasure and Pain 81
allowed for the expression of the participants' voice more directly than
that allowed by the quantitative approaches which had previously been
used to write about motivation.

THE BODY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

There has been an increasing focus in feminist work, in philosophy and

sociology, on the body as the subject/object of study. Central to this work
has been an understanding of the body as constituted within complex his-
torical and social circumstances rather than as a natural/biological phe-
nomenon which is given. Recent work in sociology from writers such as
Mike Featherstone (1991) and Chris Shilling (1993) has focused on the
ways in which the body is constituted as a commodity in an affluent
western consumer society which links pleasure with the display of the
products of consumption. In such a context the body becomes a bearer of
'symbolic value' where what is most highly valued is the youthful, trim
and sensual body. Such a body is clearly unavailable for most of the popu-
lation, despite the promises of the fitness, cosmetics and other industries
that their products if purchased will produce it. The body thus becomes a
project to be worked at and accomplished as part of an individual's self-
identity, a project which for many is endless, self-defeating and all-
consuming. This is a preoccupation which, according to Shilling
(1993), generates a constant sense of anxiety.
In contemporary consumer culture this has helped promote among
people the experience of both becoming their bodies, in the sense of
identifying themselves either negatively or positively with the 'exterior'
of the body, and of being regularly anxious about the possibility that
their body will let them down or 'fall apart' if they withdraw from its
constant work and scrutiny. (Shilling 1993: 35)
A discourse which links physical activity and work on the body with
fitness and health (Colqhoun 1990; Tinning 1985) also contributes to the
normalisation of this process. Health is taken to be evidenced by a slim,
slightly muscled body for women and a well-defined muscular body for
men, assumed to be achieved through frequent exercise and appropriate
diet. The corollary is to assume that if your body does not measure up
then you are unhealthy and in some way lacking - a strong moral impera-
tive towards thinness. Since health is taken to be an individual responsibil-
ity, to be fat or not thin suggests moral laxity, a lack of self-control, 'she's
let herself go'.
82 Researching Women and Sport
Although Michel Foucault has been criticised by Shilling and by femi-
nist writers (Bartky 1990) as being insensitive to gender issues and overly
deterministic, his work has still been taken up and used by feminists to
understand western women's preoccupation with their bodies and the
related prevalence of eating disorders. Susan Bordo (1989) and Susan Lee
Bartky (1990), for instance, use Foucault's notion of 'docile bodies' to
describe the meticulous processes of self-disciplining, the work women
do on their bodies to transform them for public consumption. Throughout
the literature this process is always characterised by a sense of lack, of
never being good enough, of never measuring up to the ideal (Chernin
1983; Smith 1988; Bordo 1989).
While it is clear from the feminist and other writings on the body that
bodily appearance is central to social identity and to what it means to be
appropriately masculine and feminine in a patriarchal society, far less
attention has been paid to the relationship between the moving body and
social identity. Feminists writing in the area of dance have begun to
explore how particular inscriptions of the body are developed or chal-
lenged in and through dance (Dempster 1988; Rothfield 1994). However,
it is the more direct connection between physical activity and feminine
and masculine identity taken up in the work of Iris Marion Young (1980)
and Bob Connell (1983) which has particular pertinence to this project. In
particular, Young uses the work of Merleau-Ponty to argue that it is 'the
ordinary purposive orientation of the body as a whole towards things and
its environment which initially defines the relation of a subject to its
world' (Young 1980: 139). It follows then that how we move is intimately
linked to relations of power both in terms of other people/subjects and our
environment. This would also suggest that changing the way we move,
the way the body is deployed in 'purposive' movement, can change our
relation with the world.
In general most of the recent literature paints a bleak picture, particu-
larly for women and girls where the body is couched as a deeply problem-
atic site associated with feelings of unhappiness, frustration and lack,
whereby bodies are experienced as constraining, as preventing them from
becoming all they would want to become (Shilling 1993). On the other
hand, Shilling also suggests that the potential inherent in the possibility of
changing the body - that is, that the body need not be taken as pre-given-
can also be a source of pleasure in the control that can be exerted over
one's own body and the opportunities this may provide to challenge social
definitions.
While this literature has acknowledged and indeed is primarily focused
on the female and male bodies as constituted within differing social and
 On Pleasure and Pain 83
cultural circumstances, and at least one writer has also taken up questions
of social class (Bourdieu 1986), few have gone beyond such parameters to
explore the multiplicity of diversity of bodies and experience. For
instance, most of the feminist literature dealing with body shape and
eating disorders has taken for granted the homogeneity of the female body
and women's desires, ignoring the diversity of women's experience.
While it has taken up difference in terms of fatness and thinness, it has for
the most part taken the female body to be young, white, middle class and
above all heterosexual - that is the female body constituted always with an
eye to the male Other.
This chapter then intends to problematise such notions of the body in
relation to women's participation in physical activity by listening to the
stories of lesbian and heterosexual women who are in their late 30s or
older, as they talk about their experiences, their pleasures and pains in
relation to their participation in physical activity. We began this project
tentatively. We shared our ideas with friends and colleagues. We 'played'
with our original ideas and tried to name, develop and construct themes
that would allow us to have conversations about our bodies, about pleasure
and pain.
We agreed that we would start by collecting women's stories. We began
with women who were interested in being part of this dialogue - women
who wanted to have a dialogue about their bodies and their relationships to
them. We did this by creating narratives about our experiences as a way of
beginning the process of naming the ways in which our bodies are critical
to how we construct and express ourselves as women, feminist, lesbian
and heterosexual, white, able bodied young and old, working class and
middle class, and as Australian and Canadian.
These narratives are our first attempts to explore connections as yet
unnamed and unexplored in the literature. They are a beginning and are
presented here as an attempt to begin to draw connections, to explore dif-
ference and to put bodies/our bodies into the conversation. The women
we worked with were not chosen to 'represent' particular realities; rather
they were willing to work with us to explore and learn about our bodies.
Together we were concerned about starting a process that might allow the
creation of rich conversations where we could explore layers of meaning,
question ourselves and each other about our bodies and our relationships
to and with our bodies in the context of our lives. This chapter is part of
that beginning.
We interviewed six women in Australia (Carol, Jillian, Tina, Cynthia,
Jenny and Val) and five in Canada (Diana, Mamie, Wendy, Michelle and
Claire) who were friends and colleagues or contacted through friends. The
84 Researching Women and Sport
women ranged in age from 35 to 78 and all of the women in Canada and
three of the women in Australia are lesbian, the remaining three in
Australia are heterosexual. All but two of the women would describe
themselves as feminists and have incorporated this into the way they
conduct their lives, including the way in which they take up physical
activity and the time they have to pursue it. Only three have children and
these are now in late adolescence or adults. This in itself makes the group
rather different from those usually researched. There was however an
important commonality, which emerged from the analysis of interviews,
which separates the experiences of this group from those experiences
described, foJ' instance, in the literature on women's leisure. In one way or
another these women have, through a combination of the circumstances of
their lives and their choices in terms of relationships and politics, a great
deal more freedom to take up leisure activities than many of their peers.
On the other hand, as Henderson (1989: 229) has pointed out, 'leisure
involvement for women may be a means of liberation from restrictive
gender roles and thus a means for empowerment'. With the women in the
study this has worked both ways - for some, changes in their identity
(coming out as a lesbian) have provided the catalyst for a radically differ-
ent relationship with their bodies while for others the more powerful sense
of embodiment arrived at through their participation in physical activity
has helped them to construct a different social reality. This is not to say
that for many of the women their relationship with physical activity and
their body was unproblematic. Quite the opposite, more than a few of the
women carried very negative baggage about themselves and physical
activity, which they often attributed to the alienating experiences they had
in school physical education.

PAINS AND PLEASURES: THEMES IN WOMEN'S

PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

These women are active and have been active in a variety of ways since
early childhood - certainly some more than others and some more consis-
tently than others. Very few of the women, however, have patterns of
activity that fit with those traditionally researched - that is, very few par-
ticipated in organised competitive activities/sports for any length of time.
For most, competitive sports were associated with school in ways which
left residues of anger and disenchantment with such activities. In contrast,
their sources of pleasure in physical activity, past and present, are more
likely to be associated with activities which are less likely to be competi-
 011 Pleasure and Paill 85
tive, less routine, more connected to sensual feelings of flow and rhythm
and participated in with friends or significant others. What is also apparent
is the very diversity of activities the women describe, both individually
and collectively. These range from the pleasure of being able to compe-
tently perform practical activities such as chopping wood to the different
and diverse pleasures from activities such as belly dancing, skating and
walking. One aspect of the difference in activities has to do with the very
different environments of Canada as compared to Australia - for instance,
the cold winters of Canada lend themselves to activities such as ice skating
and skiing, whereas the Australians were more likely to talk about swim-
ming and surfing.

STORIES ABOUT PHYSICAL EDUCATION

For most of the women physical education and school sport were either
barely mentioned or were described in very negative terms, with the
exception of Val for whom almost any kind of physical activity would
have had the potential for pleasure. However, even for Val her memories
of school physical activity seem to be primarily associated with one sport
and the fun of playing with and going away with her team. For the other
women the pleasures they eventually found in physical activity were rarely
connected with the kinds of physical activity they experienced at school.
And for some of the women their school physical education experiences
left strong negative feelings, including feelings of humiliation, anger and
anxiety about their physical ability. For some, such feelings left them with
long term feelings of inadequacy which have influenced their ability and
desire to participate in physical activities generally; for others, it has been
more specifically directed to the rejection of those activities most closely
associated with their school physical education experiences, namely com-
petitive games and sport.
Part of the problem was that their physical education teachers did not
seem interested in those students who were not top performers; they felt
that they were invisible or marginalised in physical education classes.
Some of the women also felt that there was very little sympathy (or
perhaps empathy would be a more appropriate term) with those students
who did not fit the appropriate body shape or, in Diana's experience,
whose performance did not measure up to those expectations which her
long, lean body shape might have suggested. In the following quotes a
number of specific practices are described which have provided for each
of the women their own specific sources of humiliation or fear. For
86 Researching Women and Sport
instance, the very common phenomenon, which still seems to survive
despite its obvious destructive effects, of the process of team selection
whereby student captains are left to choose their teams, one by one, from
their expectant and often very anxious peers. Several of the women also
contrasted the negative experiences of most of their formal physical edu-
cation and sport with the enjoyment experienced from more play like activ-
ities in less structured settings both inside and outside school. The
following quote from Claire takes up a number of these points.
Claire: Well I can think of when I was really young thoroughly enjoy-
ing it (physical activity) like probably four, five, six, the first
couple of years of school and because it was pretty unstruc-
tured and it was great, I would do this, that and the other and
sports day was the highlight of my life when I was that age, but
then subsequent to that if you want brief glimpses, I'd say, one
thing that recurs frequently is clearly the idea that kids would
pick teams; I mean talking about somebody like myself who is
tall, skinny, awkward, not very physically adept.
Alison: So you felt that when you were in ...
Claire: Well just basically, if you want sort of highlights I can think of
standing there and always being the last one picked for a team
and I think that is the cruellest way to get kids to play organ-
ised sport, where they used to have two teams and get some
young kid who is pretty good to pick her mates for the team.

Some of the women also mentioned feeling invisible or marginalised

because of teacher preferences for the better performers, for those who
most resembled the teachers themselves.

Carol: Yes and from high school we had a sports mistress who was a
woman to be seen. She represented Australia or New South
Wales (one or the other but I think it was Australia) in hockey
and a couple of other things as well. Very keen and only inter-
ested in young women who were athletic and interested in
developing and all those sorts of things. She couldn't come to
grips with anybody who had any different approach to sport
and consequently I think the vast majority of us (young women
I am talking about because we had segregated physical educa-
tion classes) turned the vast majority of us off sport.
Consequently, I used to wag sport almost from I'd say halfway
through first year but certainly by the end of first year, every
sports day I would be gone.
 On Pleasure and Pain 87
There was also the sense that the activities in physical education in no way
assisted students to like their bodies, to feel more connected with them.
This came particularly with hindsight as some of the women, having now
found activities from which such feelings of bodily connectedness are
available, looked back at their school experiences and found such pleas-
ures notably lacking. For instance, in the following quote, Carol describes
the immense pleasure she experienced from her tap dancing when what
they did and how they did it was motivated by the enjoyment of making
up dances to radical music with her feminist friends. She compares how
this changed and how she left tap dancing with the arrival of a new teacher
who was concerned primarily with quality of performance.
Carol: Not long after that we were going to organise the next show and
the teacher stopped; she said she couldn't come for that period,
and so we thought we would use another young woman who
was a tap dancer and she came along and within two lessons, a
week's span, everybody had stopped going because she was just
'oh, no you can't do that, it would be embarrassing' and it was
just awful and I couldn't bear to be in the same room with her
after that. She got another woman to dance with her and they
danced at the next one themselves and they were very good, they
were excellent but nobody enjoyed it in the same way that they
had enjoyed the others. The Steel City tappers we were. It was
because they were perfectionists, the same ethos, you know, you
do it to show people how good you are. A waste of time. We
were there for the social and the political and the enjoyment type
aspect and they (the women who performed to demonstrate vir-
tuosity) completely missed the point I think.
Jan: That is an important thing. I think school is incredibly guilty of
missing the point.
Carol: I think they completely missed the point in terms of trying to
connect people with their bodies and their bodies with their
lives. It's like 'okay now get into this, this is all physical', with
no concept that the physical is also connected to a whole lot of
other social stuff as well. I think sometimes that's why rap
dancing and stuff like that has been really successful because
it's integrated those two really well.
The fear of failing, of being incompetent, of not measuring up, is a recur-
rent theme in connection with physical education or sport experiences. The
legacy of such experiences for some of the women is an ongoing fear of
being too scared to try because of the burden of expectations of standards
88 Researching Womell and Sport
to meet which, if not met, leave one feeling discouraged and useless.
Diana, for instance, described her experiences on a long and challenging
canoe trip where account was taken of those who had very little experience
of canoeing. The respect shown by the more experienced canoeists for
those who were less experienced is contrasted with her experiences in
physical education where she felt forced to do tasks which terrified her.
Diana: For two people who really have barely been in a canoe, I
mean it was really ...
Michelle: And it was done at a pace, you see I think the difference is,
it was done in a very respectful way that. ..
Diana: And it wasn't all up to you ...
Michelle: No, right, and you go at the pace of whoever is the slowest
so it doesn't feel then like, you know, like some people are
just madly paddling and within ten minutes they're off in the
horizon and you say 'just forget it, I can't do it'.
Diana: Yeah, I would have been really discouraged.
Michelle: It's too bad in a way that phys. ed. I mean what it does I
think is two things; it not only doesn't teach girls that but I
think it leaves this lasting fright?
Diana: I think I have exactly the feeling with the high jump over and
over again, a million things, and if a teacher had been percep-
tive enough you might not be having them as badly I think.
Despite or perhaps because of these early experiences most of the women
in the study have found pleasure in other forms of movement. In speaking
about these pleasures, they provide insights into subjective experiences of
physical activity of which those involved in the provision of physical edu-
cation, recreation and other sites of physical activity need to be cognisant.
We have chosen in the next section to focus on two main sources of plea-
sure, 'sensual pleasure' and 'empowerment', identified from the inter-
views. These by no means exhaust the possibilities of pleasure in
movement described by the women.

SENSUAL PLEASURE: 'I LIKED THE WAY IT MADE MY BODY

FEEL'

In one way or another, most of the women talked about the kinaesthetic or
sensual pleasure they experienced while participating in physical activity,
or the feeling of connectedness, the changed sense of embodiment that
was for them an important outcome of physical activity. Given that the
 011 Pleasure alld Paill 89
field of bodily feelings is not one commonly talked about or developed
within any specific discipline of understanding, finding a language to talk
about such an area was not easy for the researchers or the respondents. In
the translation of the subjective experience of bodily movement into words
we have only certain existing discourses and combinations of these dis-
courses to draw upon - this may lend itself to a certain homogeneity of
expression which belies the different resonances afforded by different
activities with different bodies. Nevertheless, it was clear from the inter-
views that the kinaesthetic/sensory experiences of movement were import-
ant to their pleasure in physical activity. Quite often this was associated
with 'flow' and 'rhythm', sometimes in relation to music and sometimes
not.
For Cynthia, for instance. the immediate bodily feelings associated with
movement were part of her early pleasurable experiences with dance as a
child and have since been associated in different ways with all her very
different activities:
I have always loved it. It has always been natural for me to move to
music and I just loved everything. I liked the way it made my body feel.
I liked what it did to my muscles. I liked the creative aspect. I liked
feeling strong. I think that set a tone because I think that it gave me an
expectation that movement would be part of my life and a confidence in
my body.

And from Carol:

So that was part of the tap dancing. I guess the other part of it in terms
of the rhythm was I really enjoy music and I like to dance but it was
music that I had chosen to listen to and to be with and stuff like that so
it was easy to get that enjoyment. I guess for the first time in a long time
I started to relate to my body again. learning coordination again and
things like that. even at a very minuscule level we still had to do that.
That was nice too because it was like a rediscovery of some things that
had been buried for quite a while, so that was good.
For Claire her bodily pleasure in movement is expressed in the 'feeling' of
'getting her heart rate up' and feeling good about it - that is, the immedi-
ate sensory experience rather than the instrumental purposes of weight
control and whatever else 'exercise is supposed to be good for' .
Claire: Hiking is my most pleasurable activity because you get to get
the heart rate really up there by ascending or climbing up high
and you tend to go for longer.
90 Researching Wornell alld Sport
Alison: So you like the feeling of getting your heart rate up?
Claire: Yeah, getting my heart rate up and getting the fresh air and just
not being sluggish; I don't see it as a form of weight control or
I'm trying to think what else exercise is supposed to be good
for; I see it more as I just enjoy being in the outdoors and I
enjoy getting my heart rate up and getting some feeling of well
being and I feel good after it, I enjoy all the endorphins or
whatever the hell they are, racing through my body.
Alison: Is there a particular feeling that you have in your body that
makes it feel good? I know sometimes it's hard to talk about
how we move.
Claire: I don't really know; I think that if I don't exercise, like if I go for
a couple of days I really miss it and I think what happens then is I
feel very sluggish, I feel kind of not heavy but just kind of lumpy
and you know, lethargic actually, whereas if I get exercise it
really ... I feel I sleep better, the feeling within myself, it's spiri-
tual as well as physical is what I would say, it's both and the
physical probably gets the heart rate up, you sweat a bit, but I
also think there's lot of spirituality to it which is that it feels good
to be out looking around seeing even the city, trees, flowers.
Many of the women talk in some way about a sense of connectedness
which, for Val, is also tied to being able to 'do things'.
Jan: What is it that motivates you to do that, to walk or to swim;
why do you do it?
Val: Because I think it's just a [inaudible word] energy levels as well;
you feel cooped up if you're inside a lot; just being outside is
important and being in touch with the natural elements.
Jan: Can you say that again? Be in touch with the natural elements?
Val: Yes and just trying to keep fit.
Jan: Why do you want to keep fit? What does it do for you? What
does fitness actually mean to you?
Val: I never really thought about it that much but I guess it's
keeping healthy; being in touch with your body; being able to
do things like run up a flight of stairs; being able to run along
the beach, that sort of stuff; it makes you feel really good to be
able to do that. I never really understood why.
Jan: What do you mean, 'in touch with your body'?
Val: Well, you know, if you are working hard with your head or
thinking too much; it's like you're off in another world and I find
physical effort can really bring you back in to yourself and
 Oil Pleasure and Paill 91
things like that, rather than just being out of your body, when
you look into what's in your mind or whatever.

EMPOWERMENT

In different ways the notion of 'power' and 'empowerment' emerged as

a major theme from the interviews. Again there was no one meaning
associated with these concepts. For instance, for Cynthia, Jenny and Val
their sense of power was directly associated with bodily strength and the
outward manifestation of muscularity. For Val and Jenny their compe-
tence in self-defence was also associated with those attributes of control
of space and implied threat that are identified by Connell (1983) in rela-
tion to hegemonic masculinity. For those others for whom power was
identified as a theme, it was more likely to be connected with the setting
and achieving of personal challenges and the ability to perform tasks
which require strength or endurance (some of which are traditionally
performed by men).
In comparison (though not necessarily totany in contrast) to Connell's
readings of power in terms of physical activity and masculinity, for the
women power has more to do with changes in personal identity: being in
control; identification with body and pride in its/their achievements;
having a responsive body which can respond to challenges; is capable and
able. This includes physical strength - not expressed so much in terms of
prowess or demonstrated as muscularity, but strength as a source of
confidence, personal security, the opposite to the vulnerability of patriar-
chal femininity.
Such a sense of empowerment seems to happen through redefinitions of
the body. This empowerment may occur through the realisation of new
capabilities when actively pursuing new, more chanenging goals or by dis-
covering or rediscovering capabilities when engaging in new or different
activities. For some, this may involve overcoming the legacies of feelings
of inadequacy left from their early physical education experiences. For
instance, when Wendy talked about how she now enjoys chopping wood
this has to be seen as a consequence of overcoming the feelings of inade-
quacy by setting sman goals - that is by chopping smaner pieces of wood.
Most of the women spoke of setting themselves challenges or achieving
personal goals. The achievement of such goals was in turn linked for some
with a deep sense of pride, while for others it seemed to provide meaning
to their lives through contributing to their sense of identity or by providing
an area over which they had some control.
92 Researching Women and Sport

The setting and achieving of challenges was for Cynthia a strong and
recurring motif as she moved into new areas of activity, particularly those
where achieving the goal meant pushing through pain, fear or the edge of
endurance. Each new activity that she described was characterised firstly
in terms of the challenge it provided.
Swimming was lovely and I took up swimming. That was a similar sort
of thing. Number one it was a challenge because when I took it up I
didn't even swim with my face under the water. I was a wonderful
backstroker but I didn't put my face under the water. I set myself this
little challenge that I'm going to be able to swim properly and then I
decided I wanted to be able to swim like these people that could go up
and down, up and down without stopping. I'm such a determined little
bugger. I set this goal that when I turned forty I wanted to be able to do
butterfly. So my daughter's coach used to help me and I emptied the
pool for weeks, beating everyone round the head.
The connection between knowing what you arc capable of and self-
identity through being stretched/stretching the body, doing things that
you never considered doing, testing how far you could really go if you
tried, is made more explicit in Jenny's comments about the exercises she
does for her self-defence training.
Jenny: You don't do (self-defence anywhere else other than there].
You do ten (kicks] left and ten right and it's just so unrelated
to anything else. Like you walk or you cycle elsewhere or
swim but it's not a thing that a lot of people do.
Jan: All those other things like the swimming and cycling, they are
all kind of, as you say, everyday activities and you are using
your body in very natural ways. When you describe it, are you
saying that you are actually stretching your body, you are actu-
ally using it in ways that are quite different?
Jenny: I find that really exciting actually, especially to think that I can
do it, because I never thought that you could lift your foot and
do a kick above the table - and now I can do all this; without
legs and hands. It would be pretty frightening I think, when
friends have come to sec us and just what we can do and the
situations we were able to get out of.
And Tina at 76 takes on the challenge of getting a medal in the various fun
runs in which she competes. The meanings however seems to lie less in
the simple winning of a medal than that her running and walking now
seem to define her to herself more so than her age or perhaps any other
 0" Pleasure al/d Pain 93
aspect of her life. Despite some pain from arthritis she has to run/walk.

Jan: So if you describe your pleasure, is your pleasure like the chal-
lenge, because it must be hard work?
Tina: It is, it is, it is but I am a real fighter. I know I can do it. It's the
challenge.
Jan: And is the pleasure in meeting the challenge?
Tina: Yes, both of them. I can't explain it but still I love to do it. I try
to get a place.

Some of the lesbian women talked about the particular spaces which were
available for them to feel strong and independent, which were less likely
to be available to heterosexual women. For instance, in the following
quote, Michelle talks about how it is possible as a lesbian to reject some of
the more constraining discourses about femininity and the body.

One of the things that I think, but I'm not really sure, if it's just that it's
what I want other than what really is, that having that sense of feeling
power and feeling good about your body, is something that traditionally
as women we are denied often or only in very circumscribed ways and
that one of the nice things about sorta having a sense of ... being a
lesbian and trying to reject a lot of that stuff, even though we carry a lot
of the baggage with us about fat and about those kinds of things; it's just
to allow ourselves a sense of feeling good and strong about our bodies so
that you don't need a man up here to chop the wood or to start the boat
or to sail fast or those kinds of things, and I just think there's something
about allowing yourself to feel that. Your body actually feels physically
stronger when you use it, like there is something to it. It actually does
feel physically stronger; you're more present in your body, you're more
engaged with your body and it works better; you sleep better.

The women's stories are not simply a celebration - the pleasures they now
find in physical activity have often been preceded by very negative and
alienating experiences leaving residues which continue to colour their
relationship with their bodies and physical activity. Moreover, discourses
linking health with moral imperatives about exercise, body shape and
weight are not totally absent from their stories. Several of the women,
some more explicitly than others, refer in some way to participating in
physical activity as a way of managing their weight, or creating a body
shape with which they feel comfortable.
Living in a western society it is unlikely that such discourses would be
totally absent from the women's thinking about their bodies. However, it
94 Researching Women and Sport
is clear that such discourses intersect with other ways of thinking about the
body, and with bodily experiences, to produce feelings about one's
self/one's body which are pleasure-giving rather than debilitating. A sense
of embodiment then is complexly woven, as sensory and sensual experi-
ences are linked with body shape, with controlling weight and with health
- the interweaving of the sensory and the social.

CONCLUSION

In this chapter we have attempted to describe the ways in which women's

participation in physical activity has provided pleasure (and some pain)
and to show how participation in physical activity may provide a connect-
edness which seems to challenge what Bartky (1990: 37) has identified as
the 'self-estrangement which lies close to the heart of the feminine condi-
tion itself'. We acknowledge that these women, by virtue of their life cir-
cumstances - their sexuality, their radical politics or even their age - are
able to make different choices about physical activity than is the case for
many women. However, we would argue that the articulation of the plea-
sures they have found in physical activity, by their exception and special-
ness, helps to confirm the oppressiveness of the dominant discourses
which link femininity, physical activity and the body for most women.
In the context of a consumer society, where the body that is valued is
'the young, slim and sexual body' (Shilling 1993: 35), these women arc
free/have freed themselves from these compunctions by their age, but
also by their subjectivities, their positioning in relation to feminist dis-
courses and material conditions. In contrast to the emphasis on pleasure
through objective work on the body as machine, rationalised work that
has often in some way been purchased, their activities are for the most
part free, connected more with natural settings and with collective action
than with the pursuit of changes in body shape/image. They provide a
window through which we might view alternative ways of thinking
about physical activity and movement that challenge the hegemony of
traditional games and sport. Their stories also suggest that while social
circumstances assist in taking up alternative forms of physical activity
which are self-enhancing, participation in physical activities which
provide opportunities for empowerment and sensual pleasure may also
provide alternative ways of thinking about our embodied selves and so
shift our relationship to the social.
 011 Pleasure alld Pain 95
References

Rartky, S. L. (1990) Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of

Oppression, New York: Routledge.
Bordo, S. R. (1989) 'The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity: A Feminist
Appropriation of Foucault' in Jagger, A. M. and Bordo, S. R. (Eds)
Gender/Body/Knowledge: Feminist Reconstructions of Being alld Knowillg,
New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
8ourdieu, P. (1986) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgemellt of Taste,
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Chernin, K. (1983) Womansize: The Tyranny of Slenderness, London: The
Woman's Press.
Colquhoun, D. (1990) 'Images of Healthism in Health-based Physical Education'
in Kirk, D. and Tinning R. (Eds) Physical Education, Curriculum and Culture:
Critical Issues in Colltemporary Crisis, London; Falmer.
Connell, R. W. (1983) Which Way is Up? Essays 011 Sex, Class and Culture,
Sydney: George Allen and Unwin.
Dempster, E. (1988) 'Women Writing the Body: Watch a Little How She Dances',
Writings 011 Dance 3: Of Bodies alld Power, pp. 13-25.
Eccles, J. S. and Harold, R. D. (1991) 'Gender Differences in Sport Involvement:
Applying the Eccles' Expectancy-value Model', Jourtlal of Applied Psychology,
3, I, pp. 7-35.
Featherstone, M. (1991) 'The Body in Consumer Culture' in Featherstone, M.
Hepworth, M. and Turner, B. (Eds) The Body: Social Process and Cultural
Theory, London: Sage Publications.
Henderson, K. A. (1990) The Meaning of Leisure for Women: An Integrate,
Review of the Research, Journal of Leisure Research, 22, 3, pp 228-243.
McAuley, E. (1992) 'Understanding Exercise Behavior' in Roberts, G. C. (Ed.)
Motivation ill Sport and Exercise, Champaign,IL: Human Kinetics.
Rothfield, P. (1994) 'Performing Sexuality, the Scintillations of Movement'. Paper
presented at the Performing Sexuality COllference, Institute of Modem Art,
Brisbane, Australia.
Scanlan, T. K. and Simons, J. P. (1992) The Construct of Sport Enjoyment in
Roberts, G. C. (Ed.) Motivatioll in Sport alld Exercise, Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics.
Shilling, C. (1993) The Body and Social Theory, London: Sage.
Smith, D. E. (1988) 'Femininity as Discourse' in Roman L. G. and Christian-
Smith L. K. (Eds) Becoming Femillille: The Politics of Popular Culture, Lewes,
UK: Falmer Press.
Tinning, R. (1985) 'Physical Education and the Cult of Slenderness', ACHPER
Natiollal JOllrtlal, 107, pp. 10-13.
Young, I. M. (1980) 'Throwing Like a Girl: A Phenomenology of Feminine
Comportment, Motility and Spatiality' , Hilma" Studies, 3, pp. 137-56.
7 Working on the Body:
Links Between Physical
Activity and Social Power
Sarah Gilroy

Revealing 'insider' information about the research process is an area in

which feminist research has taken the lead. but such an approach, whilst
demonstrating the rigorous nature of the research. can also put the
researcher in a vulnerable position, as it reveals the research as it hap-
pened, with all its strengths and weaknesses. Stanley and Wise (1993).
however. argue that feminist work ought to be open, even if that openness
leaves you vulnerable to criticism. By mapping my biography onto the
research story, I am seeking to 'tell it like it was' (and is) rather than pro-
viding a sanitised and depersonalised account. In so doing I am seeking to
explore both the practical and theoretical problems encountered when
researching the links between women's involvement in physical activity
and their social power.
The openness advocated in much feminist work and other areas of
research is centred around an acknowledgement that in studying social life
we are studying ourselves. As researchers we can therefore simultaneously
be the researched. In effect. as we develop our understandings of the social
world we are changing ourselves, and therefore how we might view the
world as researchers. It becomes impossible to totally disentangle the me
as 'researcher' and the me as 'I'. There is a recognition that personal expe-
riences are an important source of knowledge which do not need to be
rejected as they would if a more positivist approach to social science was
being adopted. Personal experiences therefore do not need to be dis-
counted because they do not 'fit' the theory. but rather further theoretical
refinement is needed to make sense of experience. However, it is import-
ant to point out that whilst feminist research in particular advocates
drawing upon the experiential there is some tension between research
which 'lets the women speak for themselves' and research which seeks to
move beyond that by using theory to analyse what is being said. Like
Maynard (1994: 23-24) I believe that: 'Feminism has an obligation to go
beyond citing experience in order to make connections which may not be
visible from the purely experiential level alone' .

96
 Workillg olllhe Body 97
This chapter sets out to explore these issues by focusing on research
that I conducted as part of my PhD. Due to the restrictions of space in this
chapter, I have drawn selectively from the work in order to provide mater-
ial to explore some of the problems encountered when researching the
links between physical power and social power. It is a personal account of
research which critically reflects on the process of the research and consid-
ers some of the central methodological and theoretical issues arising out of
it. Knowing where to begin the story is not as easy as it sounds, logically it
could begin when the research began, but in reality that was not when the
ideas that culminated in the research began to form. The trail needs to go
further back to include some of my own experiences of being physically
active.
As a child and young woman, I led a very active sporting life supported
by a middle class background. Although both my parents had been actively
involved in sport in their youth, their later involvement was limited to
playing with me and my sisters. They encouraged us to be active if that was
what we wanted to do so long as we weren't going to come to any harm,
and as long as it did not interfere with our school work. A very supportive
school physical education (PB) department along with some senior clubs in
the area enabled me to develop with the help of specialised coaching. My
recollections as a child were of enjoying sport, I liked being outside: it was
to me very playful. As I grew older the action became more focused on one
sport (hockey) in which I seemed to show most promise. I still enjoyed my
sport, but it wasn't so playful: the outcome seemed to matter so much
more. Conversely, the other activities which I managed to keep going
became possibly more playful - they were light relief, a change from the
seriousness of disciplined training. Out of all these experiences I came to
develop a sense of physical competence and accomplishment - I could turn
my hand to most sports: it felt good. At school my sporting abilities were
recognised, I knew I could do something. As I entered my mid-teens I
began to sense a change in reaction to my participation: 'wasn't I growing
out of these things?' Although this was largely from some adults outside
the family I was also aware that fewer and fewer of my female class mates
were still as involved in physical activity as I was.
Choosing to train as a PB teacher meant that I moved from a school
culture in which I was in the minority to a women's PE college where I
was one of the majority: there was no longer any need to justify and
explain my involvement in sport. My experiences of being one of a very
small number of active young women at school could have been quite
threatening: I could possibly have succumbed to the norms for my age and
sex and reduced or given up sport- but for some reason I didn't. When I
98 Researching Wome" and Sport
later reflected on my involvement in physical activity, I sensed that at least
for me my confidence in my physical competence enabled me to operate in
a more confident, if not assertive, manner socially. I was also aware that
other women who had had quite different experiences of physical activity
may have had a different relation with their bodies and therefore with the
world round about them. My interest therefore began to centre around the
relationship between physical and social power and whether involvement
in physical activity had the potential to empower women socially.
The work of Connell (t 987) and De Beauvoir (1979) initially captured
my interest, because they touched on the connections between physical
and social power and their impact on men's and women's lives:
The social definition of men as holders of power is translated not only
into mental body-images and fantasies, but into muscle tensions,
posture, the feel and texture of the body. This is one of the main ways in
which the power of men becomes 'naturalized', i.e. seen as part of the
order of nature. (Connell 1987: 85)
The other [adolescent girl] simply submits; the world is defined without
reference to her, and its aspect is immutable as far as she is concerned.
This lack of physical power leads to a more general timidity: she has no
faith in a force she has not experienced in her body; she does not dare to be
enterprising, to revolt, to invent; doomed to docility, to resignation, she
can take in society only a place already made for her. She regards the
existing state of affairs as something fixed. (De Beauvoir 1979: 355)
These quotations illustrate that the common-sense view of power as being
'natural' is a very strong one. De Beauvoir argues that the adolescent girl
who has not been given an opportunity to explore the physical capacity of
her body, in effect sees no alternative than to fill the role allocated to her.
Connell's point is slightly different as he highlights the point that power
(and powerlessness) that is conveyed by the body tends to be seen as
natural and so masks the way in which power (both physical and social) is
socially constructed. Both these authors discuss the different ways by
which men and women may relate to their bodies.
The quotations encapsulated some of the ideas I had been considering,
but when I reviewed them in the light of my own experiences and other
material that I had read they also raised some questions in my mind. The
first major question centred around my unease with the seemingly univer-
sal categories of 'men' and 'women'. Was this the case for all men and all
women? Clearly whilst my own experiences of physical activity had
resulted in my feeling powerful in my body and able to have some impact
on the world around me, I suspected that this was not the case for many
 Working on the Body 99
others. Being white, middle class and able-bodied had, I felt, put me at an
advantage when compared to other women. The second question con-
cerned the nature of the connection (or connections if any) between social
and physical power. How could it (or they) be identified? To help answer
these questions I turned to work written about the body and power.

THEORISING ABOUT THE BODY

Whilst space does not allow me here to fully explore how social theorists
have conceptualised power, there are some questions that I feel it is important
to discuss about power and the body. When considering the value of theory
one of the things I do is test out what is being claimed against my own expe-
rience of the world. Does what is being said help me make sense of my situa-
tion? In reading about 'power' I became increasingly uneasy about the
difficulty I was having in placing myself, as a woman, within the power
nexus. By this I mean that the theories seemed too 'grand' and they were
often gender-blind (see Knights and Wilmott 1985). It was not that the theo-
ries did not make any sense, but rather that they did not help explain how
power (and powerlessness) was produced and reproduced at, and through,
the level of the individual. Another problem with many of the existing analy-
ses of power is the over-socialised view of men and women that is perpetu-
ated because of the neglect of the fact that although we are social beings we
are also physical beings. What I was fi~ding was, as others (Turner 1984;
Shilling 1991 and 1993) have found, that the corporeality of the body had
been neglected in social theory. It has only been in the last five years or so
that we have seen a burgeoning interest in the body in mainstream social
theory as well as in the sociology of sport and leisure. Central to this work
has been the writings of Foucault and Bourdieu, and it is to some of their
work that this discussion now turns.
One of the main attractions of Foucault's work was that, in line with
postmodernist thinking, he argued that the body was not 'natural' but that
it was produced through power and therefore was a cultural product. To
understand the body we need to understand the discourse within which the
body is constructed, and then operates. Weedon (1989) concisely outlines
the importance of discourse in Foucault's work:

Discourses are more than ways of thinking and producing meaning.

They constitute the 'nature' of the body, unconscious and conscious
mind and emotional life of the subjects which they seek to govern.
Neither the body nor thoughts and feelings have meaning outside their
100 Researching Women and Sport
discursive articulation, but the ways in which discourse constitutes the
minds and bodies of individuals is [SIC] always part of a wider
network of power relations, often with institutional bases. (Weedon
1989: 108)
The emphasis on the importance of language (which Foucault shares with
many poststructuralists) draws us to seeing the body within the histori-
cally specific discourse. For feminists this clear rejection of a biological
essentialism was perceived to be particularly useful in terms of its ability
to challenge theories which assumed a naturalised body. Linked to this,
Foucault therefore saw the body: ' ... as the point where power relations
are manifest in their most concrete form' (McNay 1992: 16). In conceptu-
alising power as being something invested in, and constructed through,
bodies, Foucault was also saying something different about how power
was distributed, which moved beyond the traditional liberal or Marxist
view of power as being something which a group or individual did or did
not have. In proposing this alternative, whereby power was seen as being
dispersed among people, Foucault's work was seen as being potentially
very useful to feminists trying to explain women's power as well as their
powerlessness. However, this swing away from seeing power as resting
with groups is in itself problematic, as is his view that power does not rest
with particular groups and is therefore, in a sense, everywhere. As the
back cover to Ramazanoglu's (1993) book asks: 'if this is the case, why
don't women exercise more of it' (power)?
Bordo (1990), also drawing upon Foucault, explores women's relation
with their bodies by focusing on how they have been represented in the
media. Of particular interest to her is the way in which the current obses-
sion with slenderness is represented and internalised by women. In her
analysis she draws upon Foucault's notion of the 'intelligible' and 'useful'
body to make sense of the way in which women are normalised through
body management. Bordo argues that the preoccupation with fat, diet and
slenderness may be:
.. , one of the most powerful 'normalizing' strategies of our century,
ensuring the production of the self-monitoring and self-disciplining
'docile bodies', sensitive to any departure from social norms and habit-
uated to self improvement and transformation in the service of those
norms. (Bordo 1990: 85)
She argues that what some women regard as power, for example having a
slender body which suggests good self-discipline and control of the body,
in fact demonstrates a lack of power, in so far as these women occupy
 Working Oil the Body 101
very little social space, which contrasts sharply with the amount of space
men take up. She also notes that:
Increasingly, the size and shape of the body has come to operate as a
marker of personal, internal order (or disorder) - as a symbol for the
state of the soul. (Bordo 1990: 94)
Whilst she contends that it is permissible for even women to have weight
and bulk, so long as it is tightly managed, I would argue that the degree of
acceptance is mediated by cultural norms. Bordo has fallen into the trap of
seeing all women as having the same relation with their bodies regardless
of ethnicity, sexuality and able-bodiedness. In terms of class distinctions,
Bordo (1990: 94) does suggest that a well-muscled body no longer sug-
gests working-class status, but rather it has become part of yuppie
iconography.
Although Foucault has been criticised for not exploring the gendered
nature of bodily discipline and control and for presenting a rather passive
view of the body, the work of Bordo and others has served to give some
indication of the way in which his work may be of value in developing our
understanding of the connections between physical and social power.
Although not as frequently drawn upon as Foucault in discussions of the
body, Bourdieu' s (1992 [1979]) work is of interest because of the connec-
tions he explores between social location and bodies. His work primarily
focuses on social class and how class is embodied by the way people
develop their bodies, how they relate to them and how they produce a
certain pattern of physical, cultural and social capital. As Shilling (1993:
128) argues, Bourdieu: ' ... recognizes that acts of labour are required to
turn bodies into social entities and that these acts influence how people
develop and hold the physical shape of their bodies, and learn how to
present their bodies through styles of walk, talk and dress'. By centring on
the body Bourdieu moves beyond Foucault's social constructionist view to
develop a more corporeally-based analysis of people's social location. In
analysing lifestyles Bourdieu explores the extent to which what the body
does and what it consumes is linked to a person's social location. Not only
does he argue that the bourgeoisie's sporting habits are different to those
of the working classes, but that their taste in clothes and food, among
other things, are different. Of particular value for the discussion here on
power and physical activity is Bourdieu's view of the way in which the
physical capital acquired through involvement in activities such as sport
can be converted into cultural, social or economic capital. He argues,
however, that the ability to convert this capital is not as great for the
working classes as it is for the bourgeoisie. Shilling (1993) develops this
102 Researching Women and Sport
idea and offers several examples of ways in which the ability to convert
physical capital is often partial and transient for the working classes.
Indeed, Shilling goes further than Bourdieu and illustrates some ways in
which the conversion of physical capital is gendered. The exchange value
of physical capital not only changes over time but it is also differently
valued. It is harder for most women to convert physical capital, in terms of
sporting prowess, into economic capital. An example of this is the lack of
opportunity for women to turn their sporting prowess into a professional
career in sport. A recent report about female jockeys highlights some of
the problems that women face compared to men when trying to move from
'stable-lad' to jockey (The Observer, 20 August 1995).
Although there is not space in this chapter to go into greater detail about
Bourdieu's work it is worth raising some of the problems that may be
encountered when utilising this work to help make sense of women's
experiences of physical activity. Two of the concerns which Shilling
(1993) and others have with Bourdieu's work is that firstly, due to the
emphasis on social class it is hard to understand the different forms of
capital that men and women can develop, and secondly, the degree of
agency that individuals have seems lost in ' ... the corporeal trajectories
assigned to them by their social location, habitus and taste' (Shilling,
1993: 146). Finally, I would add that there is little evidence of exactly
how people convert their physical capital into any other form of capital.
Work which directly concerns women, their bodies and their involve-
ment in physical activity and considers the question of agency is that by
Miller and Penz (1991). In their study of female body builders they con-
cluded that women's colonisation of the pose side of the sport could be
seen as a poaching of territory from the men. Women were therefore seen
as powerful because they were challenging the legitimacy of men's claims
to the sport of bodybuilding. They argue that:
By giving voice to the suppressed meaning of bodybuilding, women are
able to reclaim its female possibilities and hence establish their right to
participate in it. (Miller and Penz 1991: 153).
An alternative reading of this script would suggest that women's focus on
the pose side of the sport is a form of apologetic, rather than resistance.
The pose side of the sport is the more aesthetic and hence the most stereo-
typically female-appropriate aspect of the sport.
Theberge (1991) also considers the extent to which involvement in
bodybuilding can challenge dominant images and interests. To do this she
uses the work of Schulze who explores the discourse of bodybuilding in
popular accounts as well as through the experience of lesbian body-
 Workillg 011 the Body 103
builders. In the media accounts Schulze (cited in Theberge 1991) argues
that the potential for female bodybuilders to challenge conventions about
gender categories is subverted by the translation of muscle into 'Hex
appeal'. Similarly. the challenges that the lesbian bodybuilders perceived
they made, by shaping their bodies in ways women are not supposed
to, were equally regarded by Schulze as being ' ... a slippery sort of
purchase ...• (cited in Theberge 1991: 130). As Theberge comments:
The confusion of images and meanings - maleness. emphasized femi-
ninity. heterosexism. and appeals to conventional notions of fashion -
renders the readings problematic. (Theberge 1991: 130)
I would argue that the same could have been said of the Miller and Penz
(1991) study, however. both these readings highlight the potential for
physical activity to be empowering, even if we still are unsure about the
extent to which this happens and how it happens.

ASKING CRITICAL QUESTIONS

These questions concerning the relationship between physical activity and

women's power and agency were to be central ones in my research as I
began to plan how to conduct the field work. The starting point was to
look at where I wanted to get to as a result of the research. At the end of
the research I wanted to be able to say something about the contribution
that involvement in physical activity made to women's social power or
empowerment. Although 'empowerment' is often mentioned in the litera-
ture there are few definitions that come to hand. I have regarded empower-
ment as concerning the process by which women gain more power over
their lives. This power enables them to do things for themselves rather
than sacrificing themselves to the needs of others. It enables them to resist
pressures to adhere to gender-stereotyped notions of what they should and
should not do. It also enables them to be more socially assertive. In
essence becoming empowered enables women to become more pro-active
in terms of what they do with their lives; they become active agents.
Whitson (1994:354) uses empowerment in a more specific sense. and sees
it as being: •... the confident sense of self that comes from being skilled in
the use of one's body ... '. By adopting a wider definition of empowerment
I am remaining open to the possibility that women may become em-
powered through modes other than the physical.
I suspected that for some women their involvement in physical activity
would be connected to empowerment, but that for others their involve-
104 Researching Women and Sport
ment may have little impact on existing relations or may actually repro-
duce relations of relative powerlessness. What needed to be explored was
a range of women's experiences to see if there were any key factors which
contributed to (or inhibited) empowerment. Another problem of which I
was well aware was that even if there was some type of evidence that a
woman had been empowered following her involvement in a keep-fit
class, to what extent was the physical activity itself a contributor as
opposed to the social benefit of getting out of the house and mixing with
others? The area was fraught with methodological problems - how was I
going to 'get at' power, and what was the best method of uncovering the
role that involvement in physical activity played?
One of the first aspects to consider was who to include in the sample,
was it going to be just the women concerned, or was it also of value to
include their partners (if there were any). Pilot interviews were conducted
with women and their partners, both separately and jointly, to explore the
potential for this approach. At that stage of the research I decided that.
interesting though it was to interview couples together, or both parties sep-
arately, I found that it was not particularly fruttful in terms of getting at
how the women viewed their involvement in physical activity, what they
felt about their own physical potential. It was very useful, however, in
revealing information about the dynamics of the partnership in terms of
household matters and the woman's leisure. At that stage of the research, I
decided to focus on just interviewing the women and thereby relying more
on their perception of household dynamics, rather than generating other's
accounts as well. Looking back on the research, were I to embark on
similar work, I would probably alter my approach and broaden the source
of data by seeking to interview other household members. In saying this I
am partially acknowledging the value of a broader set of data, but I am
also indicating that as a result of doing the study that I did I would now
shift my focus of attention slightly.
Whilst not having the space here to document in detail how a variety of
women were contacted, it is sufficient to say that some were approached
through their work and some through their leisure activities (both physi-
cally active ones and passive recreational hobbies). A questionnaire was
used to make initial contact, after which interviews were conducted with
twenty eight women.· I used the questionnaires in two ways. Firstly, the
quantifiable data enabled me to build up a picture of women's leisure
which was not too dissimilar to that illustrated by the Milton Keynes and
Sheffield studies. 2 The main reason, however. was to create a point of
contact with a range of women and to use their questionnaire responses as
a basis for the subsequent interview. Having already gathered data about
 Working on the Body 105
their social circumstances and about their degree of involvement in physi-
cal activity this enabled me to explore the reasons behind what they had
done (01' not done).
Following the pilot study, I had intended to interview the women indi-
vidually, but there were several reasons why this was not always the case.
In several instances the women were looking after young children, some
had relatives or friends dropping by who stayed in for the discussion, and
some had partners returning home who joined in. One woman suggested
that I meet with a group of women whom she thought would be interested
to talk about their involvement in physical activity. In this sense, this
research illustrates the way in which as a researcher you need to remain
flexible and open to alternative ways of operating. I had considered group
discussions with women about what it meant to them to be physically
active, but felt that would lead me to having a less disparate group of
women. If they knew each other already, the chances are they would be
relatively similar, either in terms of their social backgrounds and interests
or possibly even body types. As it turned out, the group of women that I
did meet with only knew each other in passing, due to being members of
the same fitness gym. Other than their involvement with the gym, they
had very little in common, and only came together to meet with me.
The interviews built on each woman's questionnaire response and
explored the following general areas: reasons for participation or non-
participation in activity and feelings about their body and its capabilities;
influence of PE, the impact of work and personal relationships on activity.
In addition to this the women were asked to talk about the household
arrangements, how these were organised and how these affected their
involvement in physical activity.
Although there were many problems that I encountered during the inter-
views, one of the main problems was that of exploring how the women felt
about their bodies and their own physical competence and any sense of
powel' they had, both physically and socially. During the period when I
was conducting the interviews I read Haug's (1987) work on the body
project, in which she and the collective she worked with wrote about their
bodies, and how they felt about particular parts of their bodies, for
example their legs and breasts. Whilst I found this work focused on
women writing about themselves, I still found it useful insofar as it gave
me some ideas about the type of questions I could ask women about them-
selves and their bodies that would be non-threatening. I also considered
the possibility of asking some women to write about themselves if it
seemed that that would be a more suitable option. Had I had more time to
get to know the women I might have asked them to write about them-
106 Researching Women and Sport

selves, but as I only met with the women up to five times at most I did not
feel that I had built up a sufficient rapport to ask them to do this.
The following sections draw upon some of the data generated through
the research. They are snap shots of the whole which serve to illustrate
some of the complexities of exploring the relationship between physical
power and social power.

DISCIPLINING THE BODY

Several women talked of how they took on board 'feminising' practices

and actively sought to reproduce these ideas, even though they were aware
of their problematic nature. As a result of going to Alexander Technique3
classes Sue had come to realise that the best posture for sitting was one
where the legs were loose and apart, but it was a posture she had been
trained to avoid: ' ... I must admit, although I've been, its been brought
home to me in a sort of conscious way with Alexander Technique, I still
find in company I don't like sitting in a masculine sort of, I mean it
relaxed me but it would be thought of as a masculine way, so I haven't
totally (laughs) been able to ... I still am aware socially that I, I'm sup-
posed to be a lady (laughs)'.4 Sue clearly felt unable to change what she
was doing, partly because it would mean going against years of socialisa-
tion: ' ... I would feel it's inelegant to sit as a man sits, but that again
would be years and years of behaving or being expected to behave in a
lady-like fashion, and I don't think one throws that aside, you know what I
mean?' In rationalising why she continued to sit with her knees together,
and not challenge this particular construction, despite what she had
learned about a healthy posture, Sue said that society would be too big for
her to take on. Similarly, for this reason she said she would continue to
encourage a certain amount of modesty and restraint in her daughter's
posture. This illustrates the often entrenched nature of many ideas about
physicality and sexuality. It may also be, following Shilling's (1993) dis-
cussion of the conversion of physical capital into social and cultural
capital, that Sue felt that maximum social and cultural capital could only
be gained by developing a certain type of socially acceptable physical
capital. This raises the possibility that it may be easier to challenge certain
bodily practices when older, and possibly less reliant or less concerned
about the conversion value of personal physical capital.
Ideologies about femininity and masculinity continue to be reinforced
through a variety of means throughout women's lives. Several women
from the group I interviewed reported that people had tried to warn them
 Working OIl the Body 107
off weight-training by saying that they would get great big muscles, and
that as they got older and stopped doing the weights. their muscles would
sag. The message behind these comments was that such changes in their
bodies would be unfeminine, and generally therefore things that women
should avoid. One of the women said that people considered them 'butch'
because they weight-trained. That is perhaps why one of the women said
that she never told anyone she was going to do weights. she just talked of
going to the gym, a much more innocuous, and therefore appropriate-
sounding activity for a woman. What this means in terms of women's
bodies being disciplined is that it is both men and women who are disci-
plining women's bodies. A body which breaks the boundaries of what is
acceptable for men or for women is a threatening body because it chal-
lenges the status quo and questions the validity of the norms that many
people have lived their lives by. It is clear from what some of these
women have said that they were aware of the price they paid for revealing
what they did, that is by saying they did weight-training, as opposed to
saying they went to the gym .
. In discussing the ways in which women discipline their bodies, I have
explored some of the ways by which women struggle with notions about
what they 'should' do with their bodies and what they want to do with
their bodies. In the following section I argue that, for these women, disci-
plining the body is invariably about reshaping the body.

RESHAPING THE BODY

A common theme in the interviews was a desire on the part of the women
to change their body shape and possibly also lose weight. Several saw
their bodies as being the wrong shape and therefore they wanted to
remodel them. Jenny for example wanted to: ' ... get rid of my fat stomach
'" " whilst Hazel wanted to: ' ... lose weight off my backside (laughs)
that's where I've always got it ... '. These and other women seemed to be
striving to achieve their 'ideal' shape: ' ... you've got this image of
women, you know, we say, you've got this image haven't you, of women.
I think I've learned to accept it now that I'm not never going to be a sort
of size eight, but you do get this craving to be small and dainty'. For Jo it
had not been at all easy: ' ... I was always very conscious of it [her
weight1, and like going to dances and sitting there, I always envied my
slim friends and I remember trying desperately, trying to slim ... '.
It is important not to forget that 'shape' is closely linked to 'look', as
Jo's comment reveals: ' ... its always nice again, like if you've got an
108 Researching Women and Sport
appreciative husband you know, so and the fact that if you've got someone
who notices what shape you are or (laughs) I mean if you can get into
your bikini and still look good, I mean that pleases me (laughs)'. 'Look',
however, is not just about body size and being trim or flabby, it is also
about displaying certain impressions of yourself. 'I think I am fairly femi-
nine and I would like to look feminine ... I mean I don't worry about con-
forming to the norm in most respects, you know socially and that sort of
thing doesn't bother me, but I must admit, I would like to be slimmer and
maybe taller, although you know I accept myself as I am ... ' (Jane).
In these accounts there seems to be a recognition of the unreal nature of
the norms about female body shape and size, but there also seems to be a
desire to strive towards these norms. It seems that the problem for many of
the women lies not in the existence of a stereotyped norm, but in terms of
the unattainable nature of it (that is, a size eight). The desire to lose weight
or change body shape was often coupled with a desire to get fit. Many of
the women felt that the best way to eventually lose weight and shape up
was through some kind of physical exercise. As Anna put it: '... when
you diet you don't lose weight where you want to, whereas with exercise
you have a chance that something might work'. As with Miller and Penz's
(1991) study, the mirrors both at home and in the gym seemed to be used
for 'rational' rather than 'contemplative' reasons, to help women identify
how their body-work was going as opposed to admiring themselves. As
Carol's comments illustrate, mirrors were not the only means that were
used to identify how well the body was shaping up:· ... now I go in the
gym and I look in that long mirror and I think yuk, that's got to come off,
but at the moment I am nearly okay in proportion. I think jfyou, you know
if you look at yourself and you see the bits. Also if you jump up and down,
the bits that wobble need to come off (laughs) ... you can usually see the
bits round the waist, the top of the thighs, and know that those bits should
go'. As Bordo (1990) reminds us this is all part of 'bolting down' the body
and making it tight. Clearly, having body parts that wobble is not part of
the look that Carol is pursuing, yet by the same token she does not want to
.... look like Mrs. Universe. You know I want to be, I want to have a sort
of profile, but I don't want to be big and museley'.
Clearly then there are some contradictions in discourse of the body as
espoused by Carol. She wants to have a 'bolted down body', but not one
which is 'too much' so. It seems that either to bolt the body down 'too
much' and develop a well-muscled physique or to be 'too flabby' is equally
powerful in terms of the ability to resist dominant ideologies about what
women's bodies should be like. It could be argued therefore that shaping
the body and resisting through the body is related to the degree of shaping
 Workillg 011 the Body 109
and the extent to which it challenges dominant ideologies about what it is
to be a woman or a man. Bordo (1990) however, would argue that 'bolting
down' the body fulfils the pattern of gender normalisation and leads to the
creation of a 'docile' body. However, as Shilling's (1993) discussion of
physical capital reminds us, notions of gender normalisation must surely be
mediated by class and, I would add, ethnicity, age, sexuality and disability.
In challenging dominant gender ideologies, women are also invariably
challenging dominant ideologies relating to age, class and ethnicity.
There are some contradictions, therefore, in the reshaping of women's
bodies. Whilst on the one hand the shaping of a female body into a well-
muscled body can be seen as challenging, it can also be seen (as Bordo's
work outlines) as leading to gender normalisation and the creation of a
'docile' body. In making sense of this, I turn to Bourdieu's work and con-
sider what type of capital women can gain from (re)shaping their bodies.
As was argued earlier the exchange value of women's physical capital is
very limited. Women prostitutes have a limited time span before their
bodies lose their exchange-rate value. In a similar way it could be argued
that female gymnasts have a limited period of currency. As they begin to
mature and develop secondary sex characteristics, so they lose their cur-
rency in the world of sport. One key point to emerge from these examples
is that having the ability to convert physical capital does not necessarily
mean that those concerned are also empowered. To answer the question
ubout empowerment means that we have to look at the social context of
the activity as well as the activity itself.

PHYSICALITY AS A SOURCE OF POWER

My questioning therefore attempted to probe whether empowerment was

linked to physicality, or to other aspects of the activity, such as its loca-
tion. In essence what I was exploring was not only the extent to which we
could argue that there are different routes to empowerment, but also
whether there seemed to be anything particular about empowerment gen-
erated through physicality. Linked to this was the question of whether the
type of physical activity had an impact on the potential for women to
become empowered. I explored whether it was the activity per se that was
crucial, or whether it was the experiences that a woman has within that
context that was important.
Several of the women's stories are of help in clarifying this problem.
Claire felt strongly that doing physical activity offered something that was
unique:
110 Researching Women and Sport
if you do a physical activity it does somehow boost your
confidence, I think particularly if it is anything that involves speed or
accuracy or skill, if you know you can hit the target in archery, or be a
good tennis player it just washes over the rest of your life. Also, you
can't do anything like playing tennis which is competitive and driving
without being quite assertive and it probably, just if you are used to
asserting yourself on court, it's much easier to put double-glazing sales-
men in their place off court'.

Jo's confidence grew again when she took up windsurfing in her forties.
This confidence came partly from developing new skills, but also from
being the oldest woman out on the lake. These stories illustrate Bourdieu's
point about the potential for the conversion of physical capital into social
capital. It also raises a common feature of involvement in physical activ-
ity; the acquisition of skill. In the competitive situation that Claire
describes, she sees competitive sport as being particularly useful in
helping women become more assertive. Clearly, though, many other
leisure activities involve learning new skills, as Lucy did when she went to
upholstery classes. However, there was little evidence of women using the
skills, or capital gained through those activities, in other areas of their
lives.
Not all the experiences of physical activity were positive, indeed for
some the negative experiences served not only to close off a possible
avenue for future enjoyment, but also led to a lower self esteem and to dis-
empowerment. Whitson (1994) moreover questions whether it is possible
for empowerment through activities such as traditional team sports where
much is based on force and domination.

CONCLUSION

This chapter has sought to explore some of the practical and theoretical
problems I encountered during the research about women's involvement
in physical activity. In so doing I have illustrated that research is a living
thing - it changes as do we, the researchers, in the process of researching.
As I stated in the introduction research is spiral in nature and generates
new avenues for further work.
In considering the role of physical activity in the empowerment process
the research generated as many questions as it answered. Although there is
some support from my research for it to be argued that involvement in
physical activity can empower women socially, there arc still many ques-
 Workillg 011 the Body III
tions to be asked. The following areas need to be explored further: under
what conditions does the process of converting one form of capital into
another become possible; to what extent is the nature of the activity and
the context within which it takes place important; is the experience of
empowerment and how it manifests itself different at different stages in
women's lives; and, finally, under what conditions can involvement be
disempowering?

Notes

Questionnaires were distributed to 334 women, of whom 172 returned them.

They were mostly white and aged between 16 and 66. Social class was
difficult to assess as there was only a 52% response rate to the question on
household income. Of the 172 women who returned their questionnaires,
51 said they would be interested in talking further about their involvement
in physical activity. Of this number 28 women were finally interviewed.
2 The Milton Keynes and Sheffield studies conducted by Deem (1986) and
Green et a!. (1987) respectively were both large-scale studies into women's
leisure which involved the gathering of data through questionnaires and
interviews.
3 Alexander Technique is a form of movement education.
4 The names of the women have been replaced by pseudonyms.

References

De Beauvoir, S. (1979) Tire Second Sex, London: Penguin.

Bordo, S. (1990) 'Reading the slender body' in Jacobus, M., Keller, E. F. and
Shuttleworth, S. (Eds) Body/Politics: Women alld tire Discourses of Sciellce,
London: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1992[ 1979)) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgemelll of
Taste, London: Routledge.
Butler, S. (1987) 'Revising femininity? Review of Lady, Photographs of Lisa
Lyon by Robert Mapplethorpe' in Betterton, R. (Ed.) Looking Oil, London:
Pandora.
Connell, R. W. (1987) Gender and Power: Society, the Person alld Sexual Politics,
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Deem, R. (1986) All Work and No Play, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Green, E., Hebron, S. and Woodward, D. (1987) Leisure al/(I Gender: A Study
of Sheffield Womell' s Leisure Experiences, London: Sports Council and
ESRC.
Haug, F. (Ed.) (1987) Female Sexualizatioll: A Collective Work of Memory,
London: Verso.
Knights, D. and Wilmott, H. (1985) 'Power and identity in theory and practice',
Sociological Review, 33, I, pp. 22-46.
McNay, L. (1992) Foucault and Feminism: Power. Gencler alld the Self,
Cambridge: Polity Press.
112 Researching Women and Sport
Maynard, M. (1994) 'Methods, practice and epistemology: the debate about femi-
nism and research' in Maynard, M. and Purvis, J. (Eds) Researching Womell's
Livesfrom a Feminist Perspective, London: Taylor & Francis.
Miller, L. and Penz, O. (1991) 'Talking bodies: female body builders colonize a
male preserve', Quest, 43, pp. 148-163.
The Observer, 20 August 1995.
Ramazanoglu, C. (Ed.) (1993) Up Against Foucault: Explorations of Some
Tensiolls Between Fouca/llt and Feminism, London: Routledge.
Shilling, C. (1991) 'Educating the body: Physical capital and the production of
social inequalities', Sociology, 25, 4, pp. 653-672.
Shilling, C. (1993) The Body and Social Theory, London: Sage.
Stanley, L. and Wise, S. (1993) Breaking Out Agaill: Femillist Olltology and
Epistemology, London: Routledge.
Theberge, N. (1987) 'Sport and women's empowerment', Women's Studies
[nternational Forum, 10,4, pp. 387-393.
Theberge, N. (1991) 'Reftections on the body in the Sociology of Sport', Quest,
43, pp. 123-134.
Turner, B. (1984) The Body and Society: Explorations in Social Theory, Oxford:
Basil Blackwell.
Weedon, C. (1989) Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory, Oxford:
Blackwell.
Whitson, D. (1994) 'The embodiment of gender: discipline, domination and
empowerment' in Birrell, S. and Cole, C. (Eds) Women, Spor, ami Culture,
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
8 Elite Women Wheelchair
~

Athletes in Australia
Tanni Grey

Elitism in disabled sport is still a relatively new concept. Many people in

both the sporting and academic worlds do not fully understand the
changes disabled sport has gone through in the last fifty years in moving
from a method of medical rehabilitation to truly competitive sport. Over
this period of time Adapted Physical Education and Adapted Physical
Activities have increased in popularity as academic subjects within
Further and Higher Education, but they have only tended to portray sport
for disabled people from one of its distinct angles - the mostly non-
competitive participation level. The elite end of the spectrum has been
given little exposure academically. This is particularly so for women
athletes. In track and road racing improved methods of training and tech-
nology have all contributed to new levels of achievement in disabled
sport, where an extensive international competitive circuit exists along-
side Paralympic and World Championship Competition (Banks 1992).
Since wheelchair racing first developed in the 1950s, it is now a suitable
time in the development of the sport for the changes that are occurring to
be tracked, so that sport can be further developed for the future for all
levels of ability. As a consequence of my being awarded a Winston
Churchill Fellowship, I was able, in 1993, to investigate wheelchair
track and road racing in Australia.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

As both a student and a wheelchair athlete, I decided for my Churchill

Scholarship to look at the provision available for wheelchair athletes in
track and road racing at an elite level. A central aim of the Churchill
Scholarship Scheme is to enhance not only the knowledge of those who
qualify but also their overall learning experience, thereby looking to the
development of the research process as much as the actual findings.
Australia was chosen as the location for the study for several reasons.
Since wheelchair racing is still developing, there are few centres of

113
114 Researching Women and Sport

excellence in the world. In recent years the standing of Australian ath-

letes has improved markedly, with high world rankings for both male
and female competitors, and I wanted to examine the reasons for their
successes. This has been achieved partly by reformulating the system of
coach education, but also by providing more opportunities to enable ath-
letes to progress from the grass-roots level to the top of the athletic
pyramid. As a result of the broad parameters of the scholarship, the goal
that I set was to get a feel for how elite athletes found the system that
they were operating in. By looking at the overall system and the solu-
tions that the Australian Wheelchair Athletics Section found to some of
their developmental obstacles, it was hoped that some new ideas could
be put back in to the British system to ultimately improve available pro-
vision. From the perspective of a competing athlete, the scholarship also
provided the opportunity to train with a squad of athletes and compare
the training schedules that Australian coaches and athletes utilised to
those which are generally accepted in Britain. I spent the majority of my
time in Perth, not just because of the extremely hospitable weather in
Western Australia during the British winter months (although that admit-
tedly played a part), but because the wheelchair squad and coaches that
were based there at that time enabled me to set up a base from which to
carry out my work.

METHODS

Since there is a lack of literature on the structure of the National Disability

Sports Organisation (NDSO) around the world, virtually all of the research
had to be carried out by interviewing and discussing issues and themes
with athletes and administrators to build up a picture of Ihis working
system. Athletes were randomly selected, and interviewed at training or
competition venues. As the study progressed the focus turned more
towards female athletes. All athletes had competed in international compe-
titions, some as part of the official Australian team. A small percentage
were 'club' standard athletes who had competed overseas because they
had self-funded their attendance at those events. The questions which the
athletes were asked were wide-ranging, and designed 10 allow the athletes
to talk about issues that they felt were important to their own sporting
careers, such as the initial problems that they had encountered when
getting into the sport, current issues such as financing and sponsorship,
employment or studying and training, and how they would like to see the
sport develop for the future.
 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes in Australia 115
THE RESEARCH PROCESS

During the research process every individual researcher is affected and

directed by their own personal experiences as well as their beliefs and atti-
tudes. I am influenced by the basic facts that I am female, use a wheelchair
for daily life, as well as sport, and am a student. As such it is hard, in each
specific area of research that I look at, to always be able to differentiate
what affects the work that I carry out. The most significant effect on my
work, which is common to all my research, is that as a competing athlete
sport is a central part of my life, and I place a high priority on training and
competition schedules. However, sport for people with disabilities is
perhaps unusual compared to able-bodied sport, in that not only are many
of the athletes actively involved in managing, or contributing to the
administration of, their sport, as well as organising their own individual
schedules, but more often than not competing athletes actually fill the
majority of the positions in the governing bodies. Whether their involve-
ment is an advantage in the running of sport, or is detrimental, is open to a
wide range of arguments. It is certainly not ideal for competing athletes to
either be in this position or involved in carrying out research because of
the time commitment involved. At the moment it is still seen as necessary
because of the organisational structure of the movement. While the sport-
ing movement is still growing the needs of the athletes should have a high
priority within the organisational structure, and ideally sport should be put
before any political manoeuvring - although this is not always the case.
Encouragingly, demand for athlete empowerment is coming from both the
athletes and the administrators. Governing bodies of sport have increas-
ingly seen the need for the athletes' mandate if they are to move forward,
but this brings additional problems in that there is increased demand on
the athletes' time. In previous years athletes have been reluctant to put
forward their ideas for a variety of reasons. Some are just not interested in
any political aspects of sport, while some athletes by choice wait until
their career is over before becoming involved. As with able-bodied
women, those that compete in sport have other commitments, such as a
family and/or a career, that understandably makes other involvement
difficult. On a personal level, at times it is extremely difficult to be
involved at different levels of either research or working in sports devel-
opment, but I continue to feel a responsibility to attempt to increase the
profile of the sport, and work to develop better opportunities for athletes.
In Britain, as in many countries around the world, the majority of the work
undertaken is done by volunteers, and I feel that it should be possible for
the athletes themselves to have a stronger voice in guiding and developing
116 Researching Women and Sport
their future. If athletes are empowered to· take a standpoint, then it is likely
that everyone will benefit from the closer working relationship.
Studying in Australia for three months gave me the opportunity to break
away from many of the commitments that I face at home and enabled me
to concentrate solely on the theme of the scholarship and setting training
goals. Travelling extensively through the competitive season (which lasts
for approximately eight months of the year) means losing a permanent
base, which can sometimes have a positive effect, but realistically has an
adverse effect on studying. During my school and college years, with the
inevitable clash between exams and the competitive track season. I got
used to carrying a pile of books with me. I have always found it a chal-
lenge meeting academic deadlines while trying to complete a training
schedule. aiming to achieve personal best performances and competitive
goals. Attending competitions can make study sometimes near impossible,
due to communal living, team commitments, or just the fact that in prepar-
ing for an event concentration and work seem harder to achieve. On the
positive side. being an athlete has provided me with opportunities (such as
the scholarship) that I would not have come across if I was purely a
student. It enables me to have a fair degree of freedom to plan my time
and occasionally being away from the distractions and commitments at
home can help my studies. As a considerable amount of time is spent in
airports or in transit. this time can be utilised. thanks to modern portable
computer technology.
In the case of looking at the development of disabled sport in Australia.
being an athlete actually provided an advantage all the way through my
research as it saved much valuable time establishing contacts. Through
previous international events, I met and became friends with many of
those whom I wished to interview. As a result of this, it was possible, prior
to the formal commencement of the study, to carry out some basic
research at European events which in turn made the research process
easier once established in Perth. Perth also offered a large population of
wheelchair athletes who. though rather dispersed geographicilily. were
able to come together to form reasonable early morning training groups to
beat the heat of the day. These sessions provided wide access to those
whom I had not previously met through international competition.
Many of the athletes involved in my research had experienced similar
types of conHict with their racing careers. As with able-bodied~port, for
the vast majority of wheelchair athletes there is not the prize money or
sponsorship to make it possible to afford to make racing a career. Most
relied on work (full- or part-time), or other non-regular commitments (for
example, public speaking) in order to subsidise their sport. Those who
 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes in Australia 117
were not in full-time employment were taking college courses at varying
levels, in order to give flexibility to their time, and give them increased
potential for a career once their competing days are over. At the same time
many athletes were also involved in programmes to increase general par-
ticipation in wheelchair racing, which added to their commitments, but
fulfilled a sense of responsibility that they felt to the sport.

HOW THE USE OF A WHEELCHAIR AFFECTS THE RESEARCH

PROCESS

Using a wheelchair for daily life makes its mark on the work that I do,
although for me it doesn't necessarily make the work any harder. I was
born with spina bitida, and although I could walk when I was young, by
the time I went to school my ability to walk had deteriorated to the extent
that I had to use leg callipers and a wheelchair to aid my mobility. I came
to see using a wheelchair as something very positive, because for the tirst
time it gave me freedom to charge around the playground with my peer
group. While being raised in a non-disabled environment was excellent
for my education, it did not teach me to be aware of my disability in a
social context or consider long-term effects of using a wheelchair, nor how
people outside my own school and home environment considered 'disabil-
ity'. However naive, I didn't realise that people considered being in a
wheelchair to be so bad. I just thought that I was the same as everyone
else, but just did some things differently' As I come into contact with
more disabled women, and also become aware of more disability research,
I realise that not everyone has been provided with the same tools to suc-
cessfully ignore these negative expressions, and that in fact my view of
being in a wheelchair may be atypical. In many cases women believe that
they cannot set goals, or that social and environmental barriers will bar
their success (Buscaglia 1994). Many women experience real barriers to
overcome to renew their self confidence and get on with their life, compet-
ing or working in an academic arena, but this is true of any woman. not
just those with a disability.
While having a disability affects the way that women are treated in
society, female athletes are also affected to a large degree by society's
perception of disability sport. While some fonn of participation has been
recbmmended for many years to aid the 'medically intinn'. competitive
sport for people with disabilities only really began this century. Prior to
the I930s the life expectancy and quality of life of spinal-cord injured was
expected to be extremely low, due to the medical complications associated
118 Researching Women and Sport
with such a disability. Many were told that after their injury they would
never recover to any form of 'normal' life, whatever that might be. The
Second World War resulted in a large number of spinal-cord-injured veter-
ans returning to Britain and the USA. This drove the advances in medical
science and care, which in turn resulted in increased life expectancy in
newly-injured paraplegics and tetraplegics. Stoke Mandeville Hospital (in
Buckinghamshire, England) was originally opened to deal with some of
those who were injured in the war, but became the centre where wheel-
chair sport began, and indeed today the sport still has many of its roots
there. Sir Ludwig Guttman, a doctor at the hospital. recognised that sport
provided an extremely effective tool for the rehabilitation of his patients.
He also discovered that those with a spinal-cord injury wanted. and more
importantly could exhibit, the same trends of competitiveness as those that
were considered able-bodied or non-disabled. People's previous assump-
tion of a disconnection or incongruity between competitiveness and those
with a disability competing in sport, as recognised by this 'discovery', set
many of the negative attitudes that are still prevalent today. Certainly the
image of disability sport is changing, and the growth in numbers of par-
ticipants and level of competition increases as the years pass on. Some
athletes felt that in the past society has considered them to be 'brave' or
'courageous' , because of competing with a disability. This attitude is start-
ing to change. Merklinger has stated that 'the ultimate experience in com-
petitive sport is the quest for an Olympic medal. Athletes with a disability
are no different' (Merklinger 1993: 3). Athletes who were asked to con-
sider the initial barriers they had to overcome when becoming involved in
wheelchair racing did not feel that discrimination was as much of a
problem as finding relevant information on obtaining chairs and advice, or
the monetary hardship with buying equipment (especially when an athlete
has no proven track record to help in obtaining sponsorship 01'
Government funding). Many of these findings were identified in the
Loughborough University of Technology Survey (Williams and Taylor
1992) carried out for the British Wheelchair Racing Association (BWRA).
While in Britain there has been increased awareness of disability sport,
and the attitude of those outside sport has been seen to be far more encour-
aging, there is still a long way to go in terms of gaining support and recog-
nition from the able-bodied governing bodies. Although recognition is not
essential to the continuation of disabled sport, being seen and accepted as
an athlete is a goal of many, including myself. Sport in fact has a positive
role to play and can do much to enhance society's perception of disability.
Part of the reason for the new image of disability sport is due to increased
success on an international level, and this has been brought about by
 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes in Australia 119
changes in the organisational structure. In the post-Seoul Paralympic era
many countries, including Australia and Britain, sought improvements in
the organisational structure of wheelchair racing to improve future medal
chances. Previous problems that had been encountered in both countries
and the new ideas that were formulated were put back into the sport at
grass-roots level to ensure that support would be given at a wide range of
levels and that more people would be encouraged to compete. Changes
occurred with the internal restructuring of the Wheelchair Athletics
Association in Australia when athletic bodies (for all disability groups)
made moves for recognition within the non-disabled governing body. This
move has done much for wheelchair athletics by focusing on the athletes'
sporting ability rather than on the disability. The Australian Institute of
Sport now accepts participation by disabled athletes in its sports training
programme in Canberra.
At other levels the Australian Sports Commission has recognised
accreditation courses for coaching disabled athletes which is part of the
non-disabled scheme. The courses were developed by those that work
within the wheelchair division to ensure that an accurate picture of wheel-
chair racing was provided. The Australian Coaching Council runs a course
for high-performance coaches which is the highest level of accreditation
available and is only accessible to coaches that are internationally recog-
nised as being the best in their field. The first coach for disabled athletes to
be accepted for this course is a wheelchair racing coach, and also a
woman! On a pragmatic level these moves provide increased understand-
ing to all those involved in non-disabled athletics, and will enable the
attraction of further expertise. This in turn will increase the credibility,
and aid the development, of the sport, creating a more integrated network.
The athlete then becomes the main beneficiary. Experienced and well-
trained coaches are always an important part of any sports growth and
wheelchair racing is no different. There are differences in the way that
wheelchair athletes train (in racing this means that a wider range of dis-
tance can be covered), but many principles are the same, and some adapta-
tion is required. All athletes that took part in the study felt that these
moves were on the whole very positive, and wanted further work to be
carried out so that this potential could be maximised. Australia quite poss-
ibly provided a near perfect environment in which to work and carry out
my research. Using a wheelchair provided few barriers in a society where
many of the social and environmental barriers restricting access for every-
day living are removed. In a practical sense, because everyone I inter-
viewed was either in a wheelchair or employed by a wheelchair governing
body, all interviews look place in accessible areas, and there were plenty
120 Researching Women and Sport

to choose from. Quite simply it is expected that wheelchair users want to

utilise the same facilities for training and studying as non-disabled
athletes. I was able to experience at first hand the very positive attitude
shown towards wheelchair athletes, and the media coverage that they
received, which was very encouraging. In the period of time that athletes
had been competing at an international level, many felt that the attitude
towards disability sport has changed quite considerably. Since public
recognition of wheelchair racing has increased, more people understand
that it is possible to be an athlete if you use a wheelchair. This attitude
means that people view me very differently. I and other athletes are no
longer seen to be merely 'having a go' at Paralympic competition, and
there is far less stigma attached to being a disabled athlete as society'S
level of understanding has changed considerably. Today, when asked
about racing, the question is less likely to be 'Do you train?' , rather, 'What
phase of your training are you in?'. As I have always seen myself as an
athlete first, using a wheelchair as the tool of my sport, rather than a 'dis-
abled' athlete, this change is very much welcomed. This increased under-
standing has ensured that studying certain areas of the athlete's training
andlor coaching is less difficult. For instance, studying elite athletes in
Australia gave me insight into not only the work that was being done, but
showed me how differently the athletes are treated, and the benefits of
continuing to work to develop the sport. Undoubtedly one of the catalysts
for change was the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, which received in
Australia perhaps the most encouraging amount of media recognition in
the world, with wide daily coverage in all forms of the media which dra-
matically increased the profiles of the athletes and their sport. The Sydney
Paralympics (in the year 2000), and the environment in which the Games
will be held, should do even more to raise the profile of an already pros-
perous sport. If Britain is to consider further bidding for major cham-
pionships then there is much to learn from the Australian model
for integration.

ISSUES CONCERNING WOMEN IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS

While for many years the ability and aspirations of women to participate
in sport have been targeted as an area of concern by administrators and
academics, the area of women with disabilities has only been considered
more recently. As those who compete in disabled sport are small in
number compared to those who are able-bodied, the number that compete
at an elite level is even less. It is perhaps understandable that in the past
 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes in Australia 121
disabled women's concerns and issues have been considered less often. If
anything, elite female disabled athletes are caught in the middle of several
movements . .Tenny Morris has repeatedly pointed the finger at feminist
research, stating that it has failed to properly address the needs of disabled
women (Morris 1993) and that disabled women have in fact been caught
between feminist research and disability campaigning (Morris 1991). In
the same vein, the disability movement has failed to look at the changes in
disability sport, or the positive role it has had in gaining more public
recognition for those with disabilities. What is important to remember is
that disabled women cannot just be added on to existing research in the
hope that their needs will be served, or their demands properly addressed.
However, their concerns remain extremely valid in the changing world of
sport and as a competing female athlete I feel that the need to study other
women is one of the only ways that changes can be made to improve pro-
vision at the entry levels. Disabled female athletes must be considered not
only from a feminist perspective, to understand their needs as women, but
from a disability standpoint as well to ensure they do not continue to
remain invisible (Henderson et al. 1995).
As women are looked at more closely, it appears that there are many
negative connotations associated with having a disability. Barton (1993),
Morris (1991), and Buscaglia (1994) have suggested that those with a dis-
ability may be conditioned by society into a perception of inferiority, due
to the negative opinions associated with using a wheelchair for daily life.
It has even been suggested that women with disabilities experience a
double disadvantage in trying to achieve in today's world. However, I cer-
tainly cannot remember a time when I personally have felt this to be the
case. Although being a woman in disabled sport bears little effect on what
I am, 01' feel I am, able to achieve, it does cause me to look at certain areas
more closely. Researching in Australia did give me the opportunity to
spend a lot of time with female athletes to find out what they felt about the
issues that affect them, but with no pressure of having to prepare for a
competition. It taught me to consider a whole range of other opinions, and
to look for solutions to questions that are being asked in Britain about the
future of women's sport. It was useful to see the positive way that not just
women, but all disabled athletes are treated and also what can be achieved
if there is a concentrated effort to change structures and attitudes. Above
all it taught me more about disabled women in sport, and the way that
others are perceived that was so different to my own experience of being a
woman in a wheelchair.
One concern, when examining the participation of disabled women in
sport, is that the combined numbers of men and women who compete in
122 Researching Women and Sport
the recognised disability groups at ~lite level competitions are identified
rather than the actual numbers of women competing at this level. This
alone should be cause for considerable concern, but it also affects women
who are involved in sport. At the 1972 Paralympics Games in Heidelberg,
Germany, 27 per cent (273 out of 1004) of the athletes were women
(Labanowich 1989), although no mention is made of their physical disabil-
ity groupings even though that is how the sport is organised. In other
sports such as basketball (the largest wheelchair sport in Britain), only 7
percent of those registered in the National League are women (Perry
1994).
In both the UK and Australia the percentages (and number of women
regularly competing) are fairly similar and this allows favourable compar-
isons to be made. Before the number of women competing can be
increased, the ways in which women currently come into the sport need to
be understood. A high percentage of those that compete on a worldwide
base are injured as a result of a spinal-cord injury, and therefore generally
begin later in life. Women are also involved in fewer of the activities which
have been found to result in paraplegia in men, such as contact sports,
motorcycling and working in manual industry. The female-to-male split of
people coming through spinal units has been estimated as approximately
one in five (Ellis 1994), so the available population to compete in sport is
far smaller than that for men. Out of the smaller number available for com-
petition, not all will want to compete. A cause for concern in all countries is
the lack of junior (under 18) athletes coming through, and the lack of ath-
letes with congenital disabilities wanting to participate. This must lead us to
question the provision of physical education at school level, and also the
work that the governing bodies are doing to ensure that those who wish to
compete have the opportunity to do so. Because the number of women com-
peting is smaller than for men, the ladder of progression is very different to
that which men go through. Some would argue that if athletic promise is
shown then 'the top' can be seen to be reached far more quickly for women
than for men, with all the benefits that this entails, such as team selection,
sponsorship and media coverage. It can however often work the other way
and discourage some women who show less initial improvement but may
have higher long term potential. They feel that they will never be able to
compete with those at the top. However in both Australia and the UK there
are large gaps between those that compete at a recreational level, serious
competitors, and those that are considered ~Iite. It is especially hard on
younger athletes who develop at different rates, and have different levels of
disabilities. The International Paralympic Committee is moving to protect
women's sports by introducing a quota system to guarantee places at major
 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes ill Australia 123
games. Although this should protect the sport, on a personal level I do not
believe that this is the answer. All development should be done outside of
the Paralympic Games to ensure that they remain elite and all national
groups should take more responsibility for encouraging women and provid-
ing the opportunities for them to compete and improve. Most females will
welcome the policy of looking to ensure that women's interests are guarded.
However it could also be seen that favouring women in this way could
indeed become some form of positive discrimination, which would also
need to be held in check.
The majority of women interviewed would like to see the depth of com-
petition increase. It would add increased validity to the sport and also
make the competition more meaningful. However, even though there is an
unequal number of men and women competing in wheelchair racing,
many other areas of the sport appear equal. In road races where prize
money is paid, in the majority of cases the structure is equal. Many dis-
abled women in wheelchair racing also receive good media coverage com-
pared with the disabled men who compete, and comparable if not better
sponsorship deals (although in both cases not in the same league as non-
disabled athletes). This leads us to question whether this is indeed the
correct way to encourage womcn to compete, as it will be only the few
who benefit. There are certainly very mixed views as to how this will
effect the athletes who are competing. On one side it could be said that
because there are less women to compete for equal prize money they are
in fact advantaged over the men's division. This contradicts the idea that
women with disability experience a double disadvantage over men. For
there to be greater rewards it is recognised that the level and especially the
breadth of competition needs to be improved. However, some women ath-
letes feel that by encouraging more women to compete they may reduce
their own chances of maintaining the level of reward they currently
achieve. This may be a 'Catch 22' situation. Because of the disparity in
the breadth of competition between the men's and women's divisions,
some feel that a larger proportion of the prize money should go to the
men's division in order to maintain the same level of reward for the same
performance. For example, there is a race in the UK in which, in 1994,
fifty men and three women competed. Is it considered to be fair that the
first three placings in both men's and women's divisions were awarded
prize money? Because of the small numbers of women in the race, it could
be considered that there was a prize for coming last in the women's divi-
sion! Many women feel that the first place should be of equal value, and
then prize money should bc more dependent on the number of athletes
competing in the different divisions. This is an interesting way forward.
124 Researching Women and Sport
Although the immediate concern of attracting more women into sport
must continually be addressed, there also need to be efficient systems in
place in order to be able to develop those women to their full potential. In
this area there is still much work to be done in order to achieve this aim . .A
good nationwide structure must be in place to be able to support the
women who come into the sport. and using current athletes at a local level
will not only provide much-needed role models, but their experiences can
be used to guide the sport.

CONCLUSION

When I applied for the Churchill Scholarship, it was under the category of
Young Sports' Leaders. As well as aiming to gain benefit from the high
level of training I was able to experience in Australia, my academic aim of
investigating ways in which wheelchair racing in Britain could benefit
from the study of the organisational structures of other countries was facil-
itated. Once the Scholarship began I also became interested in looking
more specifically at the needs of women in disabled sport, and women
elite athletes' view of the sport that they are involved in. It was found that
women have strong opinions about the way their sport is changing but
need to feel able to express these opinions more fully, and need to be
empowered to playa fuller part in the way their sport is developing. This
research highlighted a number of key issues. but it was clear that it was
only scratching the surface. and that further work needs to be done to
assess more fully the needs of women in other countries and other sports.

References

Banks. J. (1992) 'Maximising Athletic Performance at the 1992 Paralympics·.

Stagecoach, July - September. pp. 18-24.
Barton. L. (1993) 'Disability, Empowerment and Physical Education' in Evans. J.
(Ed.) Equality, Education, and Physical Education. London: Falmer Press.
Buscaglia. L. (1994) The Disabled and Their Parellls: A Counselling Challenge.
New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated.
De Pauw. K. P. (1986) 'Research on Sport for Athletes with Disabilities', A(lapted
Physical Activity Quarterly. 3. pp. 292-299. '
Ellis. R. (1994), Superintendent Physiotherapist at Pinderfields Spinal Unit.
Persollal commullicatioll. September 1994.
Henderson, K. A.• Bedini, L. A.• Hecht, L.. and Schiller, R. (1995) 'Women with
Physical Disabilities and the Regulation of Leisure Constraints', Leisure
Studies, 14. pp. 17-31.
 Elite Women Wheelchair Athletes in Australia 125
Labanowich, S. (1989) 'The Paralympic Games: A Retrospective View',
Palaestra, Summer Paralympics, pp. 9-52.
Merklinger, A. (1993) 'Equity for Athletes with a Disability'. Paper presented to
tile International Paralympic Committee Athletes Committee, Manchester,
England.
Morris, J. (1991) Pride Against Prejudice: Trans/orming Attitlldes to Disability,
London: The Women's Press.
Morris, J. (1993) 'Feminism and Disability', Feminist Review, 43, pp. 57-69.
Perry, G. (1994), Development Officer for the British Wheelchair Basketball
Association. Personal communication, September 1994.
Scruton, J. (1979) 'Sir Ludwig Guttman: Creator of a World Sports Movement for
the Paralysed and Other Disabled', Paraplegia, 17, pp. 52-55.
Steadward, R. (1990) 'Excellence - The Future of Sports for Athletes with
Disabilities, in Williams, T., Almond, L., and Sparkes, A" (Eds) Sport and
Physical Activity: Moving Towards Excellence, The Proceedings of the AIESEP
World Convention July 20-25, Loughborough University.
Swain, J., Finkelstein, V., French, S., and Oliver, M., (Eds) (1993) Disablillg
Barriers - Enabling Envirollments, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Williams, T. and Taylor, D. (1992) Wheelchair Racillg: Disability Sport
Participation Studies, Loughborough National Sport Development Centre.
9 Sexual Harassment and
Sexual Abuse in Sport
Celia Brackenridge

'Monsters don't get near to children - nice men do'. This quotation comes
from a television interview in 1993 with Ray Wyre, Director of the
Gracewell Clinic for the rehabilitation of sex offenders. It sums up neatly the
myth surrounding sexual harassment and abuse, that such behaviours are the
result of stratlger danger when, in reality, just the opposite is the case. It also
reminds us that myths or expectations can mislead or distract us and that
research about what we think we know is just as important as research about
what we think we don't know. This chapter draws on my own experiences of
carrying out preliminary research into sexual harassment and abuse by sports
coaches: in particular, it explores the methodological and ethical difficulties
faced when researching such sensitive and emotive topics. My intention is to
challenge some of the traditional approaches to research and to demonstrate
that there is a rich vein of material to be tapped by those who are brave
enough to 'enter the field' in this way (Whyte 1984). Most importantly, the
chapter argues that, as feminists, we should be willing to work in difficult
areas of research, to ask difficult questions and to voice unpopular messages
if we wish to make a positive contribution to the betterment of women's
experiences of sport and physical activity. Throughout this chapter, following
the advice of Kirby and McKenna (1989), I refer to those who assisted in
interviews as participants and not as subjects or interviewees since I have
tried to recognise the shared process of the research. Oakley (1981) has also
urged us, as women researching women, to avoid the hierarchical relation-
ship which often arises between the interviewer and the interviewee. All
engaged in this research have been changed by the experience and some par-
ticipants have kept in regular contact since we first met, either to seek reading
or further help or to offer advice, contacts and ideas. Arguably, then, the
research is collaborative, even though I am the named 'researcher'.

WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT ANYWAY - WHY STUDY SEXUAL ABUSE'?

There is a view that sexual abuse is just another moral panic and that, if
ignored, it will go away. There has also been a backlash against the child

126
 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport 127
protection movement (see Finkelhor 1994) stimulated by those, including
aggrieved parents and falsely~accused teachers, who' are worried that the
rights of the child have become highlighted too much. However, Finkelhor
suggests that the backlash, which he likens to 'social problem fatigue', is
not sustainable since the issue of child welfare has an enduring moral
authority. He also suggests that the child protection movement will be
strengthened by the rise of women in the workforce, the growth of fem-
inism as a social movement and the fact that the rights of the accused are
now also on the research and professional agenda, which has effectively
taken some of the steam out of their criticisms.
In sport, far from being a new problem, sexual abuse almost certainly
has been around for centuries but, until recently, has been ignored. As
feminism has permeated sport so the research agenda has started to shift to
embrace questions of gender equity, gender power relations and sexual
violence in sport. Since sexual abuse is a form of sexual violence it was
only a matter of time before it came to the attention of sport researchers.
One might almost argue then that this research arose at a point of histor-
ical and political necessity. Indeed, researchers in several different coun-
tries began, quite independently, to study sexual harassment and abuse in
sport; for example, Tod Crosset in the USA (1986), Celia Brackenridge in
England (1987; 1990) and Helen Lenskyj in Canada (1992). From these
overviews there has now begun a differentiation of studies into more
specific questions about the nature of sexual harassment and abuse, which
sports or individuals might be most susceptible, what role parents, admin-
istrators and the law might play in child protection and how sexually
abusive behaviour is linked to other abuses like nutritional control or
physical violence in sport.
My motives for starting this research were clearly articulated from the
start. After more than ten years of researching and writing about women
and sport, I felt that I had failed to make any real impact upon the experi-
ence of discrimination which women in sport face. Moreover, a kind of
immunity to women's issues had begun to develop amongst the media and
many sport organisations as the backlash against feminism felt in the
1980s (Faludi 1991) started to permeate sport in the early 1990s.
Investigating sexual abuse in sport was not only a logical progression for
me as a feminist researcher but it also helped to revive media interest in
the general issue of sex discrimination in sport. Sexual abuse is a perni-
cious social crime which has attracted widespread media and academic
attention in the 1980s. I had little doubt that the exposure of this problem
in sport would not only shock but also stimulate the attention and moral
repugnance of the particular publics I was trying to reach. My tactic was to
128 Researching Women and Sport
get these publics to admit that, if sexual abuse in sport was morally wrong
and should be stopped then, logically, the same should apply to sexual
harassment and sexual discrimination. In other words, I adopted an overtly
political approach in choosing to do this research. On this basis, it might
be argued that I was myself gUilty of exploiting the victims of abuse who
participated in the work since I was using them to further a broader fem-
inist agenda. However, I would refute that since I regard those who helped
me as collaborators 'from the margins' (Kirby and McKenna 1989), that is
they were marginalised in terms of their power to change the structures
and processes of sport and needful of alliances to help them in this task.
Whether the work has had or will have any greater positive impact on
sport than my earlier projects, such as those concerning women in team
sports (Brackenridge 1985) or women in coaching (West and Brackenridge
1990), remains to be seen.

TACKLING TABOOS - DEFINING THE PROBLEM

Any study of sexual behaviour inevitably encounters a set of social taboos

about the body in our society. These include irrational fears about such
things as contamination and menstruation (see Clarke and Gilroy 1992).
the sexual identity crisis or so-called role conflict of the female athlete
(see Allison 1991), the sexual confidence of the male athlete (Klein 1990)
and so on. Taboos are not helpful to us when they block research access
but they are fascinating because they reflect ways in which society has
tried to come to terms with and rationalise dissonance in social behaviour
(see, for example, Douglas 1970; Hearn and Morgan 1990; and Shilling
1993). Some of the myths which have influenced this research are that
sport is a morally pure category of behaviour, that the authority of the
coach is inviolable and that sexual behaviour, of any kind, is outside the
normal discourse of sport (Brackenridge 1994). Whilst most of us might
agree that sexual harassment occurs in sport, just as in other areas of life,
there seems to be a deep reluctance to accept that sexl4al abuse of children
could possibly occur in the sports setting or that there is a need to do
anything about it.
Table 9.1 offers a working model of what I have called the sexual
discrimination/sexual abuse continuum which attempts to show the rela-
tionship between sex discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual abuse.
This model is based on the assumption that sexual discrimination. sexual
harassment and sexual abuse are all discriminatory behaviours which
include both institutional and personal components. The model is intended
 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport 129
Table 9.1 The Sexual Discrimination /Abuse Continuum

Sex Discrimination Sexual Harassment Sexual Abuse

INSTITUTIONAL ................................. PERSONAL

'the chilly climate' 'unwanted attentioll' 'groomed or coerced'

- vertical & horizontal - written or verbal abuse - exchange of reward or
- job segregation or threats privilege for sexual
- lack of harassment - sexually oriented favours
policy and/or officer comments - rape
or reporting channels - jokes. lewd comments or - anal or vaginal
- lack of counselling or sexual innuendoes, taunts penetration
mentoring systems about body, dress, marital by penis. fingers or
- differential payor situation or sexuality objects
rewards or promotion - ridiculing of performance - forced sexual activity
prospects on the - sexual or homophobic - sexual assault
basis of sex graffiti - physical/sexual
- poorly/unsafely - practical jokes based on sex violence
designed or lit intimidating sexual remarks, - groping
venues propositions, invitations or - indecent exposure
- absence of security familiarity - incest
- domination of meetings,
play space of equipment
- condescending or patronising
behaviour undermining self-
respect or work performance
- physical contact, fondling,
pinching or kissing
- vandalism on the basis of sex
- offensive phones calls or
photos

to offer a clear, semi-objective but flexible approach towards defining

what is a very unclear, highly subjective set of experiences. By listing
behaviours associated with each of the 'categories' I have been able to test
out the usefulness of the model with participants in the research, and to
ask them to point out inaccuracies, ambiguities and gaps.
Sexual discrimination, frequently defined as 'less favourable treatment
on the basis of sex', is evidenced in organisational settings where women
have a tougher time than men - what the Canadians call the chilly climate
(Lenskyj (994). For example, women generally occupy lower status posi-
tions, do lower status jobs and receive less pay than men (Lovenduski and
130 Researching Women and Sport
Randall 1993). Sexual harassment, usually defined as unwanted behaviour
or unwelcome advances on the basis of sex, is rather more personal in
nature but is facilitated by an institutional climate which permits, rather
than sanctions, such behaviour. Sexual abuse is a direct attack upon a
person's sexual being by another, on the basis of the abuser's greater
power. Both abuse and harassment constitute what I call invasion without
consent. Sexual abuse may be same- or cross-sex but always involves
interpersonal relations and is usually perpetrated by a figure having, andlor
desiring, power. It usually arises from a carefully groomed situation in
which the perpetrator gradually wins the confidence and co-operation of
the victim. Table 9.1 gives examples of each type of behaviour on the con-
tinuum. My purpose in proposing this model is to point out that (a) dis-
crimination and abuse are linked and (b) it is not possible simply to
dismiss sexual abuse as the ravings of sexually depraved individuals. By
failing to prevent abuse, institutional cultures are responsible, in effect,
for giving permission for abusive relations in sport: therefore, sport organ-
isations have an important role to play in regulating and preventing such
behaviours. This model was refined through a number of stages and is still
under review. It began from a combination of my own knowledge and
hunches and from my reading of social work literature and was developed
with the help of my research participants, indirectly through their own
stories and directly through feedback about it in andlor after interviews.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW - WHAT COUNTS AS

KNOWLEDGE?

I could have chosen to start my research by using a survey of clubs, ath-

letes or coaches to see what was 'out there'. However, in my view, the
questionnaire survey is a doubtful research method for this kind of topic -
like taking a blunt instrument to unpick a delicate and tangled set of
issues. It might also have caused untold harm by raising fears or com-
pounding the pain of abuse which some athletes had already suffered. I
therefore started my empirical investigation with athlete interviews and
intend to interview coaches and parents of athletes at some future point in
order to triangulate my data (see for example McFee 1992). My interest is
in the interpersonal relationships between these various actors and how
they define their situation in different ways. I have also employed a
research student to study the organisational aspects of child protection in
sport through an investigation of governing bodies of sport and other
major sports agencies. Selecting the right individual for this post was, in
 Sexual Harassment arid Sexual Abuse in Sport 131
itself, an exercise in deconstructing power since research students are tra-
ditionally subordinate to their supervisors: we have attempted to negotiate
this issue together by agreeing to adopt as open a communications style as
possible, by promising mutual critique on whatever we write and by taking
different but complementary perspectives on the research theme. My own
work focuses more on the interpersonal aspects of sexual abuse in sport
and hers more on organisational cultures and attitudes towards child pro-
tection. Within a couple of years we hope to have a fairly comprehensive
map of the issues and be well-placed to work practically with organisa-
tions wishing to strengthen their child protection policies and practices.
Prior to interviewing athletes, I felt it was important to develop a
working definition of sexual abuse but this needed to be problematised.
For example, some studies of child abuse have included looks and gestures
in their definition whilst others include only physical contacts: some
studies include sexual abuse by same-age individuals, whereas others only
count abuse where there is a minimum of five years difference in ages
between the abuser and the abused (see Fisher 1994 for a discussion of
definitions). So we can see immediately that measurements of the inci-
dC3nce or prevalence of sexual abuse will vary depending on precisely
which definition is adopted. My working definition, as presented in Table
9.1, was based on a review of relevant literature from the cognate fields of
sociology and social work and was tested against the experiences of my
participants. Even before starting to read or arranging any interviews I
spent time talking with an experienced child protection specialist who was
able to outline the issues and point me towards key material. This proved
to be an invaluable move: it helped me to select which questions to begin
with, alerted me to likely problem areas in the practical management of
interviewing and accessing data and, most important of all, gave me a
mainstream account into which I could begin to fit my sport-specific work.
I have returned to my notes of this encounter again and again and, each
time, feel more strongly that sport science has much to learn from its pro-
fessional partners and its discipline roots. What I brought to the research
was a deep knowledge and understanding of sport with an applied knowl-
edge of sport psychology and sport sociology. What I lacked, and what I
was able to compensate for in some measure by this approach, was knowl-
edge of the child protection and social work systems in which most
research on sexual abuse has been done.
In addition to problematising both my definition of child abuse and my
research approach to it, I also had to discard my previous conceptions of
what counted as 'data' in this study. For example, notes from a telephone
call from an anguished parent, or cases of abuse reported in the media or
 Table 9.2 Sexual Harassment in Sport - Risk Factors I..)
tv

COACH VARIABLES ATHLETE VARIABLES SPORT VARIABLES

- sex (male) - sex (female) - amount of physical handling required for coaching
- age (older) - age (younger) - individual/team sport
- size/physique (larger/stronger) - size/physique (smaller/weaker) - location of training and competitions
- accredited qualifications (good)
- ranklreputation (high) - ranklstatus (potentially high) - opportunity for trips away
- previous record of SH - history of sexual abuse - dress requirements
(unknown/ignored) (unknown/none) - employment/recruitment controls and/or vetting
- trust of parents (strong) - level of awareness of SH (low) (weak/none)
- standing in the sport! - self-esteem Oow) - regular evaluation including athlete screening and
club/community (high) cross referencing to medical data
- relationship with parents (weak) - education and training on SH and abuse (none)
- chances to be alone with athletes - medical problems especially
in training. at competitions and disordered eating (mediumlhigh) - use of national and sport-specific codes of ethics
away on trips (high) and conduct (weak)
- commitment to sport/national - existence of athlete and parent contracts (none)
coaches association codes of - climate for debating SH (poor/non-existent)
ethics and conduct (weak/none)
- use of car to transport athletes
(frequent)

(Note: Comments in brackets indicate emerging trends from interview data.)

 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport 133
sports literature, all became data for me. Indeed, it proved so difficult to
find people who were prepared to speak out and be interviewed about
experiences of sexual abuse in sport that I resolved to collect cases from
any available source to expand the range and depth of my material. I cata-
logued cases in two ways: the first was a list of direct cases comprising
those with whom I had personally conducted interviews and the second a
list of indirect cases comprising those culled from the media, books or
articles, with all sources carefully recorded. In this way my total list of
cases grew fairly quickly.
What is clear from the work done so far is that conventional notions of
'sampling' go out of the window with this kind of research. Because of
this, it would not be feasible to pursue research questions about incidence
and prevalence, nor to seek to establish any descriptive statistics about
child abuse in sport. This means that the 'evidence' base may look some-
what thin. However, the first question I am always asked by the media and
by major sport authorities is 'How widespread is it?'. The point of my
interviews was to check out with participants whether the emerging model
of risk factors, shown in Table 9.2, resonated for them and whether the
discrimination/abuse continuum proved to be a useful organising frame-
work. The analysis of risk factors is certainly tentative at this point: it will
be expanded and adapted as the research progresses and will also need to
be verified repeatedly in order to develop its predictive power.

GETTING IN TOUCH - FINDING SOMEONE TO INTERVIEW

Victims of sexual abuse do not simply step forward from nowhere.

Finding individuals to interview was the first practical problem. My first
breakthrough came through a friend working in leisure management who
knew of my research interest and also knew someone who might be pre-
pared to talk with me. My friend acted as mediator and, after protracted
and carefully planned negotiations, made a rendezvous for a meeting
between me and the contact.
Further interviews were set up after a telephone help line which fol-
lowed the BBC TV On the Lille programme in August 1993 about sexual
abuse called 'Secrets of The Coach': from the 91 callers another 12 people
volunteered to talk to me, some only briefly by telephone and others
during in-depth interviews. From there I used the snowball technique
(Arber 1993), often used in research on marginal popUlations (Lee 1993),
which involved asking each contact to let me know if he or she had any
further ideas about who might have information for me. This served me
134 Researching Women and Sport
well for about a year and generated another handful of possibilities but
the response eventually dwindled and many such potential interviewees
failed to come forward.

BEING HONOURABLE - ETHICAL GUIDELINES

Kirby and McKenna (1989) stress the importance of being honourable

when doing research with the oppressed, in other words being completely
open and honest at all times and not doing anything which might com-
pound the marginalisation of the oppressed group. such as using sub-
terfuge in order to get at data. This principle might present some
difficulties for those doing participant observation but for my work it fitted
perfectly. With a topic of this sensitivity it was important to give the par-
ticipants as much control over the interview as possible. Some pulled out
of telephone calls or meetings through sheer fear or panic. In the absence
of any clear guidelines (thanks to a colleague. I later discovered those of
the Social Research Association which would have helped enormously
(Wearmouth 1994». I established my own parameters for the interview
process. Each person was given my name and address through an indepen-
dent third party and invited to get in touch. If and when they chose to do
so I replied. offering to meet at a time and venue chosen by them. At the
start of the interview. they were assured that they could leave at any time
or ask me to refrain from using their story. Complete confidentiality was
assured and the process of rendering anonymous and securing the data
from the interview was outlined. In addition. my background as an athlete
and coach was sketched out to help establish common ground and. I
hoped. put the participants at their ease.
There is no doubt that the most difficult aspects of my research arose from
the ethical dilemmas which confronted me. Whilst I was able to protect my
participants from recognition by rendering anonymous all the interview
material. I also had to bear in mind that their identity. or more likely the iden-
tity of the coaches they were discussing with me. might be revealed if I
described their sport. For this reason I decided to anonymise both the individ-
ual and the sport when transcribing the notes from interviews. In doing so.
something of the context was lost but I felt that this was a necessary sacrifice
in order to protect the participants and their coaches. I also 'lost' some data
by choosing to work with notes rather than a tape recorder but this was a
deliberate decision as I was certain that audio equipment would have scared
away some of my participants. With hindsight I could have used a recorder
with certain participants and I may consider doing so in the future.
 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport 135
I spent a considerable amount of time studying ethical codes for
research from the British Psychological Society '(1978). the British
Sociological Society (1984) and from various universities. I was disturbed
to find that neither of the institutions which employed me during my
research had human consent forms or ethical committees. Seeking to
change this became. in itself. a supplementary task. It is indeed ironic that
a study about ethical behaviour should have been carried out without any
institutional ethical guidelines! In the absence of these I had to set my own
boundaries and use self-censorship (Lee 1993: 189). The process of moni-
toring these boundaries became a regular one. Almost like remembering to
turn on and off a switch when using the computer. I had to turn on and off
my ethical gaze each time I worked on the project.
Additional ethical pressures arose from the media who, at times, were
hungry for results. Their insistence on statistics. names, places and precise
details had to be carefully deflected not only to protect the identity of indi-
viduals and organisations but also to avoid preempting the findings of the
work. Although publicity was important since it helped to generate more
cases it was not always worthwhile. After the making of the BBC pro-
gramme, during which the programme researchers. interviewers and
camera crew behaved in exemplary fashion, I refused certain media inter-
views because of fears of exaggeration or sensationalisation of the issues.

KEEPING TRACK - THE RESEARCH DIARY AND OTHER

RECORDS

For me, engaging in feminist research meant that I kept a record of the
process as well as the content of the research (Kirby and McKenna 1989).
This then helped me to see how my ideas changed over time and how my
'results' developed. Keeping a diary also helps enormously with contin-
gency planning, for example moving to a different source of data if access
to one source is blocked. I made the mistake of starting the diary for this
research very late on and had to draw on memories rather than contempor-
ary events and impressions for much of it. On reflection I think this may
have happened because this was not a formal 'project' as such, with
funding and a definite start and end date, but an ongoing investigation to
which I kept returning whenever I had the time. However, once I got
started I wrote using almost a stream-of-consciousness style since the
ideas flowed so fast: the diary became long and intricate but now, when
interrogated, shows clearly how issues like entering the field, overcoming
inertia and building the trust of participants have been dealt with.
136 Researching Women and Sport
Separate from the diary were my files, one for correspondence with
outside agencies, professional and academic contacts, one with all the data
from interviews and correspondence with participants and several more
with newspaper clippings, articles and other relevant documents. The file
of participant data was always kept separately from the rest, in a locked
drawer, to optimise confidentiality. Once notes from each interview had
been transcribed I could safely make them public. I tried to ensure
confidentiality by substituting pseudonyms for every person, place and
sport mentioned. I indexed each transcript, listing and numbering each
statement on a separate line and then undertook an analysis across the
various transcripts. As a theme or issue emerged it was checked against
the table of risk factors to see whether it was consonant with what was
there or not, drawing theory out of practice (Glaser and Strauss 1967).
There was a certain amount of trial and error with this stage of the analy-
sis, testing out the degree of fit between different themes and different
combinations of statements but, overall, the mapping exercise proved
remarkably easy as the data seemed to tumble out of the transcripts. Any
uncatalogued items were kept to one side to be checked as possible lines
of further enquiry. Nothing was discarded.

HELP OR HINDRANCE - WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

The people willing to be interviewed for my research frequently revealed

that they had suffered emotionally, psychologically and often also physi-
cally. On the other hand, I found that, once the initial fears and anxieties
of being interviewed had been overcome, participants were determined to
make their stories heard and only too willing to talk to someone who took
them seriously and wanted to do something about the problem. Almost all
the participants I talked to recognised that they were helping to safeguard
the future of others in sport and that their own history, however painful,
had to be heard in order to achieve this end. As a researcher I recognised
that there was an element of the counsellor in me: participants occasion-
ally broke down in the middle of an interview and needed reassurance and
comfort. This required extremely sensitive handling in order not to com-
promise my role as researcher, violate the trust that I had established or
take me into realms of professional behaviour which were beyond my own
expertise. It was vital for me to remember at all times that I was not a
qualified counsellor or psychiatrist and that, with the best will in the
world, I could not offer those specialist skills to someone in a research
interview. However, the comfort level established at the start of the intcr-
 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse ill Sport 137
view was vital if I was to maximise trust in the relationship and get the
most from the conversation.
I prepared for the eventuality of 'victim dependency' by securing a
copy of a national directory of counselling and support agencies and offer-
ing to refer participants who wanted specialist help to their nearest agency.
In several cases, participants tried to draw me into their struggle to obtain
redress against abusing coaches. However, I knew that my credibility as a
researcher would be jeopardised if I became involved in any individual's
case and that my prospects of gaining access to interview coaches later in
the research would be seriously undermined if I was seen in any way to
'take sides'. In reality, of course, I was taking sides because the whole
research project was about empowerment for the disempowered. I gave
participants as much infomlation as I could about mechanisms for report-
ing abuse and I gave advice, where it was requested, about how to docu-
ment experiences and where to seek redress but I did not intervene directly
with any sport organisation on behalf of my participants. The handling of
what Fetterman cans 'guilty knowledge' (cited in Miles and Huberman
1994: 294) was, and will continue to be, my most difficult ethical
dilemma.
Many of my participants have continued in correspondence with me. I
may return to them for further discussions as the framework for the
research emerges and the models of abusive relationships become clearer.
In the meantime it is also likely that these individuals might wish to make
contact with each other to form their own support group. Should this
happen then confidentiality would be maintained by contacting each indi-
vidual to ask whether they wished to be put in touch with anyone else. I
would, initiany, act as a conduit for replies and would then withdraw from
the group, unless asked specifically by members to take an advisory or
advocacy role.
There is always a balance to be struck in working on an issue like this,
between seeking to explore and understand the experiences of those who
are 'victims' of child sexual abuse and trying to represent those who might
be accused falsely of perpetrating such a crime. The progress of my
research would have been much easier had I received support from the
major sport authorities in this country, not just financially but in terms of
opening doors, encouraging debate and demonstrating commitment. As it
was, not only could I not raise research funding but, for several years, met
with obfuscation and denial from key sport organisations. I would classify
this type of resistance as inertial (Finkelhor 1994); that is, arising from
absence of co-operation, delay, apathy and bureaucracy, rather than oppo-
sitional; that is, through systematic, organised blockage. Examples of iner-
138 Researching Women and Sport
tial resistance to my research included: failure to ,reply to letters (some-
times after two or three had been sent), assurances that 'something was
being done' when no action was evident after several months, and rejec-
tion of requests for funding on the grounds that the work was too contro-
versial. The fear of a witch hunt was so strong that I was 'cooled out' by
certain sport organisations who thought that I was making blanket accusa-
tions about coaches. I recognised that I needed access to these groups in
order to develop the research so my strategy to deal with this difficulty
was to offer detailed information about my work together with constant
reassurances that it would benefit coaches as well as children.

WITCH HUNTS AND MORAL PANICS - CONCLUSIONS

There is no such thing as proof in this kind of research. The best that can
be hoped for is repeated confirmation of hunches or expectations to the
point that reasonable confidence may be placed in the predictive power of
any speculated models. Although there are theoretical accounts of sexual
harassment and abuse in the literature of sociology, psychology and psy-
chiatry, the most compelling accounts of sexual harassment and abuse per-
petrated by males on females in sport come from pro-feminist or feminist
analyses of patriarchal power (Crosset 1986; Brackenridge 1994; Burton
Nelson 1994). Despite the appeal of these explanations there remain some
important puzzles. Social work research (see Morrison et al. 1994) indi-
cates that abuse by females, of both females and males, does occur. So
even though there are currently very few recorded cases in sport, the ques-
tion of female-on-female and female-on-male abuse must be addressed at
some future point. The confounding issues of sexuality and sexual
preference of the abuser also need careful examination, particularly in
view of the widespread myths about homosexuality, especially lesbian-
ism, in sport which are exacerbated by media revelations such as those by
Mewshaw (1993). We simply do not know yet what the facts are. Rather
than starting new moral panics, or fuelling old ones, we should be pre-
pared to engage in research which challenges not only what we once took
for granted but also how we think about the world.

WARNING

Whilst I have tried in this chapter to encourage qualitative research by

women with women I am acutely aware of the problems that 'lifting
 Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport 139
stones' can cause. I prefer to err on the side of caution and advise that
researchers should not move into this field of enquiry without very clear
advice and guidelines from experienced tutors. As a further safeguard, I
also advise that any researcher wishing to do work on sexual harassment
or sexual abuse in sport works, as I did initially, in collaboration with a
qualified social worker or therapist.

Editors' Notes

The Times (28 September 1995) reported on its front page that:
An Olympic swimming coach was jailed for 17 years yesterday for
raping and abusing girls who trusted him to make them stars.
Paul Hickson, the British team coach at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul,
was sentenced after a judge described his assaults on 11 swimmers,
including two rapes, as dreadful and filthy. He had denied abusing girls
aged 13 to 20 between 1976 and J99 t, while he was coaching in
Norwich and Swansea.

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10 Time and Context in
Women's Sport and Leisure
Margaret Talbot

The use of time profiles in researching the relationships between time and
context in women's involvement in sport has been negligible. However, its
use is described here as an aspect of a larger piece of research (Talbot
1991), where the major data source was interviews with forty Yorkshire
women. Twenty were league club hockey players and twenty were
'casual' players of badminton, all recruited from the same sports centre in
West" Yorkshire where they played on a Thursday evening. All the women
were white. The age ranges of the hockey players (between 18 and 41
years) and badminton players (between 21 and 43 years) were similar, but
the distributions of ages differed, with the majority of hockey players aged
between 25 and 33, while the ages of the badminton players stretched
fairly evenly between 28 and 43. The family situations of the two groups
of players were markedly different, with more of the badminton players'
families in the 'later establishment' stage of the family life cycle
(Rapoport and Rapoport 1975). Of the badminton players, fourteen were
married (all but one with children), three were single and three were
divorced with children. Two of the three single women lived with their
parents and one lived alone. Eleven of the hockey players were married or
in stable heterosexual relation~hips, only four with children: none was
divorced. Only one woman lived alone; four lived with parents, one with a
woman friend and her father, one with a female tenant and two with
female partners. Of the badminton players, four were full-time mothers
and. houseworkers, eleven had part-time jobs and five were in full-time
paid work. Only one of the hockey players was a full-time mother and
houseworker; three had part-time jobs; and sixteen had full-time paid
work, seven as physical education teachers.

TIME

The overall research focused on the women's own retrospective accounts

of their participation in sport and leisure, in relation to their work and
family activities. However, in order to provide a contemporary context for

142
 Time and Context in Women's Sport and Leisure 143
the women's sports activities, it was desirable to find some way of elicit-
ing and recording their patterns of time use, and the shape of their rou-
tines. Time is one of the two crucial currencies for women's
out-of-the-home leisure, the other currency being personal money (Pahl
1989). I have identified elsewhere the flaws in the commonly-used resid-
ual definitions of leisure as 'time free from work' (Talbot 1979a, 1979b,
1990).
The purpose of the research was to situate the women's physical activi-
ties in their temporal and social contexts. It was therefore not felt that
detailed analysis of time use, such as that produced by time diaries, was
appropriate. Quite apart from the fact that keeping a diary in itself changes
time use (Szalai 1975), it is also very time consuming: a research instru-
ment which would take as little time as possible to administer, and which
would not endanger the relationships between the women and their sports
activities, was required.
A further consideration was that the women lived very different lives,
with a range of time, work and family commitments: to construct a time-
use schedule which would have allowed any comparability would have
been difficult, if not impossible. Rather, the intention was to situate the
women's activities in context - to understand the constraints and relation-
ships framing the activities, their meaning (Talbot 1979a, 1988), rather
than comparing patterns of time use. Therefore, the women were being
asked to generalise their own patterns of time use, rather than having
imposed upon them categories and time slots by which they should
describe their lives. The hope was to avoid categorising by activity, so
often used in questionnaires and interview schedules, and which so many
respondents find irrelevant, meaningless. or irritating, because their expe-
riences fail to 'fit' researchers' models.

WEEKLY TIME PROFILES

Piloting confirmed that most women did have, despite elements of unpre-
dictability, mental weekly schedules which they routinely used to cope
with the competing pressures for their attention and time, and to accom-
modate other family members' needs and schedules. From discussion with
the women who helped with the piloting, a very simple. one page form
(see Figure 10.1) was developed so that the researcher and the women
interactively could record weekly time profiles, outlines of time use during
a 'typical' week. It was clear from the discllssions that the women saw the
week as a recognisable and useable unit of time, distinguishing weekdays
144 Researching Women and Sport
from weekends, and with aspects of a relatively predictable routine distin-
guishing one day of the week from another. Women almost always, when
asked to talk through the shape of their weeks day by day, defined their
days by the time they got up in the morning and when they went to bed,
and these times were often what distinguished one day from another. The
time profile form therefore allowed for recording these times at the begin-
ning and ending of each day. Space for each day was divided into
morning, afternoon and evening, which accommodated both distinctive
and transitional parts of the day and uses of time. Most important, the
forms allowed for recording multiple uses of time during any section of
the day or week.
The women were also asked to indicate the extent to which the weekly
patterns they had described were predictable. In the event, the only adapta-
tion which was needed was to allow for winter and summer seasonal
schedules. This seasonality stemmed mainly from hours of daylight and
the weather, which were in turn translated by the women into the opportu-
nity or chance to 'get out' • other than being at work or performing essen-
tial chores like collecting children from school. The hockey players also
saw their lives in two distinct winter and summer seasons, corresponding
to their playing and closed seasons, in which their time schedules were
very different, even if they were involved in other, summer activities. The
back of the form was therefore used to record the relevant season, and the
variations of time use cited by the women between the two seasons. The
use of a matrix format without hourly categories, but using hours of the
day as markers, allowed for flexibility and accuracy in recording the
women's descriptions of their activities. The weekly time profile forms
were easily completed, easily augmented or qualified with the women's
comments, and 'user-friendly' because of the way they were completed
interactively, between respondents and the researcher. The intention was
to ensure the active participation of the women who were research part-
ners in this process, by placing the form between us during the conversa-
tion. While I actually filled in the form and led the questioning, my
research partners were able to shape the construction of their weekly time
profiles, by pointing to omissions, adding qualifications or changing
entries. The process was an iterative and interactive one, with me as
researcher dependent on my research partners for the infOimation which
constructed the profiles, and they being able to review the overall shape of
the profile to check that it represented their 'typical' weekly time schedule.
The information obtained from these weekly time profiles turned out to
be far richer, and to offer far more possibilities for further use and
application, than had been anticipated. They had been intended to be used
 Time and Context in Women' s Sport and Leisure 145
Figure 10.1 WEEKLY TIME PROFILE
Given Name:_ _ _ __
Code No:
Morning Arternoon Evening
8 9 10 11 12 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II

Monday .--J

I
Tuesday
r-I
C
Wednesdny
~

I
Thul1lday
r-I
I
Friday
~

I
Saturday
.--J

I
Sunday
--.J

I
as a backcloth of time use and distribution - a temporal context for the
women's accounts of their current lives. But the detail and level of infor-
mation which were provided, in my research partners' determination to
ensure that I properly understood the nature of their weekly routines, was
an unexpected bonus.
146 Researching Women and Sport
FAMILY OBLIGATIONS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

The time profiles provided an unexpectedly rich picture of the interrela-

tionships of family members' uses of time and their influences on each
other. The centrality of many of the women to the nexus of family life
came through in their own time profiles; but the way the women refined,
delimited, qualified and allocated their own time use also implicitly indi-
cated their concern for, and responsibilities within, their households and
beyond, into the extended family. There is exciting potential for employ-
ing this simple instrument with all the members of a household or family
group, so as to understand better the nature of these relationships, the
background to the negotiations which go on in all such groups, and the
ways individuals perceive the same event or time slot (see Finch and
Mason 1993). This would allow more sensitive collection of information
about the way different family members define and experience common
activities within time slots, and help to show how inappropriate is the use
of the term 'family leisure', without regard for the distinctions between
different family members' experiences (Scraton and Talbot 1989).
While patterns of kinship and friendship may vary (Allen 1979), the
time profiles clearly indicated that women depended on their social net-
works, and that they were depended upon by others. This was especially
the case for the less formal, non-institutionalised activities which seemed
to represent commitments as firm as more formal activities, even when
allocation of particular time slots to them was more variable. Indeed, the
way time slots were allocated to visiting parents revealed their priority.
Precious weekend time, sometimes whole or half days, were allocated to
family visits, especially when elderly parents lived some distance away or
were beginning to have problem with mobility. Taking mothers to get their
shopping in the car was a common way in which these women, often
heavily time-committed, helped to extend their mothers' mobility and
support them in ways which would be valued and acceptable. Several
women allocated time, usually part of an evening or weekend, simply
'spending some time with my mother' or 'his father'. While parents-in-
law were less often alluded to than own parents, it was clear that in-laws
still did figure in the women's itineraries of family commitments and
obligations, and accounted for very considerable time slots when they
lived a distance away.
These types of commitment were not only extended, but dominated
women's lives when elderly members of the family were ill or in hospital.
Shirley (43, married with two children) qualified all the entries on her
wee"ly time profile, by telling me that this routine had been re-established
 Time and Context in Women's Sport and Leisure 147
quite recently. While she had begun to play badminton six years pre-
viously, the time profile led her to qualify this by referring to her uncle's
stroke which had virtually suspended her usual routine for two years. She
had done all his housework, washing and shopping while he had been well
enough to be at home, which meant very large blocks of time spent in his
house; after he was taken into hospital, she still kept his house 'aired and
dusted' and visited him twice every day, and organised the rest of the
family's visits to him. This underlines the importance of using the time
profiles with some reference to the period of time for which routines are
established, and highlights the impact of some overwhelming family
obligations, which are so often seen as women's responsibilities, on their
leisure opportunities.
Sometimes, the timetabling demands of formal activities meant that the
time slots of visits to family members or other informal activities were
dependent on the timing of the formal activity. Joan (28, single, living
alone), for example, allocated Monday and Tuesday evenings in tandem
with basketball and going to do her father's washing. The specific night
for each depended on when basketball matches were, but the allocation of
these two obligations to those two time slots did seem to be absolute. This
emphasises the centrality and utility of the concept of relationality (Bella
1989) to women's leisure. Relational perspectives require researchers to
take more account of hegemonic relationships between the genders,
between different social and economic groups, and of the different ways
they frame work, leisure, free time, sport and recreation. This relates not
only to interpersonal relationships influencing women's leisure, but also
the trading-off of different times and activities for commitments which
may be differently valued but nonetheless important in their own right.
The concept of relationality, used with this kind of information, may help
researchers to understand better how overloads and conflicts are resolved.
Similarly, al1ocations of time slots were made, not just to 'outings', but
as Carol (25, single, living with parents) said, to 'taking my mother out
because otherwise, because of her arthritis she can't get out'; not just to
family visits, but as Linda (28, single) reported, to 'spending some time
with my friend's father, even though we live with him'. Despite their adult
status and the demanding nature of their jobs and sport commitments,
those women who were living in their parents' home also recorded time
slots into which they fitted chores and other contributions. These reflected
the reciprocity which seemed to be built into these patterns of time use,
like Sue (30, single, living with parents) doing the ironing for the family
on Wednesday or Tuesday evenings to free her mother. The single women
mentioned activities with their mothers most often, with the use of time
148 Researching Women and Sport
qualified and defined by that form of companionship or service. This
emphasises the importance to women of their relationships with their
mothers and was supported by women's accounts of the devastating
effects on them when their mothers died (Talbot 1991).

THE INFLUENCE OF OTHERS

Many of the players' recorded activities were framed, not by where they
were taking place, but with whom and in what form. Christine (31,
married, no children), for instance, referred to the Thursday evening bad-
minton with her sister, followed by going to the pub 'with the girls' - the
other badminton players and their sisters or sisters-in-law. Similarly, Pat
(36, married with two children), who played badminton twice a week,
described her Thursday evening badminton as 'with friends' and the
Monday evening badminton as 'at the club which I run myself', although
both activities took place in the same sports centre. In this case, both her
companions and the nature of her relationships with the activity - the type
of experience and the level of her involvement and role in it - defined the
activity as both different and similar.
Many of the hockey players made the same kinds of distinctions
between the different occurrences of their participation, between, for
example, mixed hockey which they saw as not serious, and the Saturday
afternoon match, which was always the hockey commitment which was
most absolute. However, the distinctions with regard to different types of
hockey did tend to refer more to characteristics of the activity itself, or the
women's own relationships with it, than to the people with whom they
played. Pauline (26, married, no children, physical education (PE) teacher)
filled the whole of her Saturday afternoons in her profile sheet with
hockey, because she felt she had to arrive early and leave last for all
matches because she was club Chair. However, when the hockey players
were helping me to construct their time profiles with reference to activities
other than hockey, then they did often refer to the same kinship - or
friendship - defining contexts as the badminton players used. Kay's (28.
married, no children) Monday evenings were spent playing league darts
with her husband, while Margaret's (30, married, no children, PE teacher)
early Wednesday evening swim was 'with a few of the staff from school -
not all the PE department, just people who'll come along'.
The number and centrality of references to others (people with whom
the women had some kind of dependency relationship), in these women's
weekly time profiles provided unexpected insights into women's activities
 Time and Context ill Women's Sport alld Leisure 149
(see Table 10.1). In future research, more systematic application of this
instrument with the companions with whom, or with reference to whom,
people allocate time, could provide enhanced understanding of interacting
individuals' perceptions and definitions of leisure activities. However, in
the context of this research, the degree of 'otherness' was even more strik-
ing, because it had not been directly sought. The data was illuminating, for
example, in terms of the domination by young children of their mothers'
free time and accountability, and the ways in which informal activities
were themselves defined by the people with whom they were undertaken.
'Others' figured not only in activity terms, such as the traditional female
role of servicing others' activities (Morris 1990; Talbot 'I 979b, 1989;
Thompson 1990) by driving children to their classes, clubs and teams,
watching them and/or waiting for them to bring them home, but also in
thinking for others. Examples are Iris (43, married, two teenage daughters)
'getting the girls' things ready for school' on Saturday mornings; and Pat
(38, married, three children) setting aside most of Mondays for washing,
not only as a matter of routine. but because her husband and both her sons
each played two rugby matches during the weekend and there would be no
way she could 'catch up' if she did not do. Table 10.1 shows the instances
and totals of time allocations referenced by others. Research using this
instrument with a larger sample should produce identification of some pat-
terns of othemess among different women (for example, at different stages
of the family life cycle, or with different family groupings), and possibly
some bases of comparison between them. While this sample was small,
the frequent references by the full-time houseworkers to other people to
punctuate their routines support the observations made by many
Table 10.1 References in Weekly Time Profiles to 'Others'

Badminton Hockey

Children 62 40
Husbands 43 37
Whole family 5 6
Friends/kin 31 46
Parents 12 16
Parents-in-law 5 2
Boyfriends 13 8
Babysitters 14 8
TOTAL 185 163
150 Researching Women and Sport
researchers, from Hannah Gavron (1966) to Erica Wimbush (1988) about
women's expressed needs to identify markers in the day to make some
kind of structure for their time when they are at home, when their
activities are relatively undifferentiated or fused.

HOUSEWORK AND SHOPPING

The time slots allocated to housework by the women who were full-time
houseworkers differed markedly, as would be expected, from those allo-
cated (when they were even mentioned) by women with full-time paid
jobs. Whereas details about cooking were given by several of the women
who did not work outside the home, those women with full-time jobs,
especially those who had children, would mention meals and food only in
relation to someone else relieving them of the responsibility for the
evening meal. Meals were necessary events for which they had to cater,
but the work involved was hidden in the weight and rush of other commit-
ments which they bore. Similarly, none of the women with full-time jobs
mentioned routine gardening and none of the older women set aside the
mythical whole evening to wash their hair: only a few of the younger,
single women did that. Clearly, the weekly time profiles provided evi-
dence that for many of the women, chores were marginal, even though
recognised as necessary.
The larger number of hockey players having full-time jobs, and the
number of them who were teachers, was represented in the hockey
players' time profiles. These showed more formalised activities, and more
time related to their paid jobs, with chores, especially for the single
women, relegated to weekday evenings, as Karen (22, living with male
partner) put it, 'to keep the weekends free for hockey'. Shopping, except
where it was defined by companions (usually children or female relatives),
was much more likely to happen on their way to another commitment,
rather than as a separate activity.
Shopping was one activity which the time profiles showed taking on a
number of forms and purposes, depending on the ways it was framed, with
whom and in which time slot. Contrary to popular myth, only one of the
women said that she routinely went shopping on Saturday afternoons with
her husband. But 'shopping' featured in a variety of ways: taking mothers
shopping, or going shopping with older daughters; clothes shopping,
always with a friend, mother or sister; shopping to get out of the house,
usually by women at home with young children, and always accompanied
by their children; routine daily, or several times a week, shopping for
 Time and Context in Women's Sport and Leisure 151
specific types of consumables (especially by the women who tended to
spend more time cooking); shopping on the way elsewhere or as con-
venient, usually for food, as a matter of urgency and alone; the 'weekly
shop', depending on a car, and sometimes accompanied by husbands and
children, or freed to go alone by husbands looking after children; and
'snatched moments' of free time, for the women with the use of a car who
could 'slip into' town or city. The variety of experiences expressed by
these women illustrated the range of possible relationships between them
and their activities and shows how problematic is the labelling of activities
as either 'leisure' or 'chores'. It also highlights the ways in which the pres-
ence of others can transform and redefine activities.

THE INFLUENCE OF CHILDREN

There are clear patterns of others dominating weekly time profiles, particu-
larly those'of the women with very young children. Three individual exam-
ples will illustrate the richness of the data represented by individual time
profiles, especially when they are used in relation to the context of the stage
of life cycle and social/cultural position of the women concerned.
First, the time profiles provided examples of the way the demands of
young children intersect and dominate the lives of their mothers, prevent-
ing any allocation of block time during the periods when they are solely
responsible for them. Sandra's (33, married) weekly time profile shows
how, in weekdays, her life was ruled by her two children (ages one and
three), and that she depended on her husband to relieve her from these
pressures. During all five weekdays, time was cut across by 'taking
Richard to play school', 'playing with Edward', 'collecting Richard from
play school', 'Richard's sleep', 'going out for a walk' ,'husband home for
meal', 'bath and bedtime - husband helps', 'story for elder child', and
feeding both children three times each day, before she could negotiate for
'free' time at home, or for commitments outside the home.
This pattern framed her evening and weekend hockey commitments
(Monday evening selection committee, Wednesday hockey training,
Thursday indoor hockey, checking the pitch on Saturday mornings and
Saturday and Sunday afternoon matches). Her time use was a triumph of
organisation and a reflection of the amount of support provided by her
husband through helping and babysitting. It also clearly demonstrates the
strength and depth of her commitment to hockey. Other women played or
contributed to their clubs as much as Sandra, but none did so within the
framework of this kind of commitments and demands on their time.
152 Researching Women and Sport

At a practical level, the weekly time profile form allowed for vertical
recording across several days, as in the case of Sandra, whose weekdays
were so shaped by her children's needs. Sandra was one of the three
hockey players to list no other leisure activities. Her time profile explains
why. Discussing it also extended her list of commitments to include com-
mittee work; since she had not mentioned this in that part of her interview
relating to activities, the timc profile provided a useful checking device for
understanding the range of her commitments.

THE INFLUENCE OF SPORT

Beryl's (41, married, four children aged 10 to 18) time profile form, on the
other hand, illustrates the well ordered slots of time during different days
of the week which accrue from an established family routine, where
family members have similar, and even shared, interests. It shows the
importance of sport in the lives of Bcryl and her family: sport permeated
their whole week, and her family's relationships were reciprocally re-
inforced and framed by sport. Merely listing the same instances during the
week when sport and members of the family or the whole family related,
is to appreciate the salience of sport in this family's life and relationships,
which could not have been illustrated as simply or vividly without the
weekly time profile.
Plotting the week from Monday, Beryl's 'leisure' timc slots wcre as
follows:
Monday: 6-7 p.m. jogging with the whole family, sometimes with Beryl's
brother's family as well, followed by tea with her brother's family, fol-
lowed by television at home.
Tuesday: 7-8 p.m. hockey training, followed by drink in the bar while
selecting teams, until around 9.45 p.m.
Wednesday: 3.30-5 p.m. squash with a friend; evening spent ironing and
watching telcvision at same time.
Thursday: 5.30-7.30 p.m. takes Tracey (daughter) to athletics training,
other side of city; 7-9.30 p.m. every third week, indoor hockey.
Friday: 6.30 p.m. onwards visiting friends with husband.
Saturday: 9-10.30 a.m. watching, with husband, Ncil (son) play football
for school; 10.30 a.m.-12 noon (husband stays watching Neil) watching
Tracey and Gill (daughters) play hockey for school; 2.30-5.30 p.m. play
hockey match (daughters in same tcam), or watch Gill when schools
county or territorial match; evening 'night in', including 'Match of the
Day'.
 Time and Cofltext in Womell' s Sport and Leisure 153
Sunday: morning, jog as family; most afternoons play hockey match (with
daughters), or family car outing, or family visit to sports centre; evenings
may watch television.
Beryl's other commitments included a part-time paid job two days per
week. She was determined that she would always 'be there' for her family
when needed; but the way in which she had enmeshed those family
members' needs with her own and her husband's sports interests was
remarkable.
In contrast, Angela (21, single, living with parents) spent much more
time at her paid job working in her father's shop, which left her 'free' all
day on Mondays, Saturday afternoons and alternate Sundays or after-
noons, and evenings from Tuesday to Thursday. Her allocations of time
slots were just as shaped by the needs of relatives as Beryl's, but were
very different in character and in terms of the place of sport in her week.
She was still in the process of working out her Mondays, only having
had four Mondays off up to that point, but she listed her uses of that day as
shopping, day trips to Bridlington or the Dales, or staying at home, with
no companion mentioned; 5-6 p.m. squash with a friend; after evening
meal, 8.30-11 p.m. paid babysitting for a friend she met playing squash.
Tuesday: 6.30 p.m.-12 midnight television at home with boyfriend, or
watching him play squash, or go out with him in his car for a drink.
Wednesday: evenings (alternate weeks) watching television at home with
boyfriend, or paid babysitting for someone who knows her 'through the
shop';
Thursday: 6.30-8 p.m. badminton with sister, then 'out' with old school
friends including squash partner;
Friday: 8.30-11 p.m. babysitting with boyfriend;
Saturday: morning shopping (personal) with mother, and eating lunch out
together; evening after work play squash, or watch friend or boyfriend
play, followed by pub with boyfriend and other friends.
Sunday: alternate half days, out for the day if weather good, or watch or
play squash, or stay at home; evening bath and watch television before
going out for drink with boyfriend.
Angela's week shows squash threading through her life and other activi-
ties, even introducing her to clients for babysitting, as well as extending her
and her boyfriend's network of friends. Her Thursday badminton with her
sister was part of the routine, as were her Saturday mornings and lunches
with her mother. But it is striking how often and in how many different
ways she managed to spend time with her boyfriend. Unlike many young
women who lack leisure activities of their own, and have little choice but to
154 Researching Women and Sport
support those of their boyfriends (see, for example, Green et al. 1990;
Griffiths 1988; Leonard 1980), Angela had established that she was a squash
player and, although she watched her boyfriend play, she certainly had not
stopped playing herself. Having met him playing squash, her identity as a
player was established. She does not record, however, that he watched her
play! Her mention of her boyfriend's car as a crucial factor in some of her
commitments does illustrate how boyfriends can actually extend young
women's mobility, albeit within a dependent relationship.

BADMINTON AND HOCKEY PLAYERS

The weekly time profiles suggest that the hockey players generally appear,
especially in their relationships with their sports activities, to have been
markedly less 'other-directed' than the badminton players. More of the
badminton players had dependent children and this offers a partial expla-
nation. Although the hockey players collectively made a total of forty-six
references to friends and kin, fifteen more than the badminton players,
these refer not to their hockey but to the more informal activities revolving
around families, like visiting parents, babysitting and spending evenings
with friends. Furthermore, the profiles demonstrate that, even for the same
person, the term 'playing sport' encompasses a wide range of degrees of
formality, commitment and relationships to 'others'.
The distribution of references to 'others' was remarkably similar for
both badminton and hockey players, except, as might be expected given
their different family circumstances, in regard to husbands and children.
The badminton players made between them sixty-two references to chil-
dren in both weekly and daily time slots; the younger the children in the
family, the more frequently did they shape women's time allocations. The
hockey players made only forty references to children between them,
almost all from those women with their own children. The demands on
women are indicated by the routine way mothers set aside time for chil-
dren's meals, naps, bedtimes and journeys to and from school or play
school, which were repeated every weekday. As Rowena (34, badminton
player, married, with two boys aged five and thirteen) put it, 'You're much
more tied when they're at school'. She was referring to the lack of flexibil-
ity in the allocation of her time which school hours (which differed for her
because of the boys' age difference) imposed on her; school holidays at
least allowed her to plan her days with more variety and flexibility.
This is a significant point, because it questions the belief that sending
children to school 'frees' mothers to undertake their own activities. The
 Time and Context in Women's Sport and Leisure 155
popular programming of public sports facilities during school times for
mothers of young children may not be as appropriate as it seems to the
sports facility managers who are trying to make such provision. This
research indicates that the times when more women are actually free to
participate in sport is when other people, usually male partners. are avail-
able to take over child care for the block time required for sports playing -
in the evenings, during peak times.
The time profiles of the other women who had pre-school-age children
graphically showed the intermittent nature of their time commitments.
Times of children's waking, napping and sleeping. as well as feeding,
taking them to and fetching them from play or nursery school, constituted
landmarks in the day and were liberally. albeit routinely, scattered across
these women's days, with respite apparently only at weekends and on the
evenings when they had commitments to play their chosen sport. The
accountability of these women during the times (most of their waking
hours) and places they were responsible for young children was accompa-
nied by lack of any other activities, even housework - let alone 'leisure'
activities - recorded in the spaces between these intermittent commit-i
ments: neither the blocks of time available, nor the place they were'
located, nor the level of vigilance or physical control required for these
young children. allowed women to programme or even 'sleal' other activi-
ties into these times.
This is borne out by findings from other studies about the effects of
young children on mothers' leisure opportunities (Oakley 1974; Wimbush
1988), Even though national and local policies (Sports Council 1988,
1993) have identified women with young children, first as being a 'target
group', and then as having special needs, it is doubtful that public
providers really appreciate sufficiently the nature and effects of these time
and place constraints to enable them to cater adequately or sensitively for
women and their children.

WORK AND FAMILY

Intermittent distribution and use of time was also a marked feature of the
profiles of those women who had part-time jobs. and who balanced more
finely family and work commitments. When there were also small chil-
dren, or even primary school age children who had to be fetched from and
taken to school, the punctuation of the women's days was even more fre-
quent and invasive.
156 Researching Women and Sport
Women's accountability to their families for much of the time was also
demonstrated by those women's time profiles which recorded certain of
their husbands' evening activities which took them outside the home, with
the result that the women were 'stuck' at home to look after the children.
But it has to be said that the references to husbands in relation to the
women's allocation of time were more complex than that, with support in
child minding and feeding being among the most valued forms of help
from male partners.
There were also instances of women making these restrictions into
something more positive. Sylvia (41, hockey player, married with two
children) described how two out of three Thursday evenings were her
husband's 'night out with the boys', when she was responsible for the
children; she used that time for 'my own things - writing letters, washing
my hair and so on'. It is also relevant that every third Thursday was her
indoor hockey night, which took precedence over the 'boys' night out'.
Some women used their husbands' night out with the boys as a parallel, or
legitimation, of their 'nights out with the girls', often with their mothers
babysitting. Another response was to plan deliberately for these slots,
'getting on' with essential chores which apparently irritated their hus-
bands, for example using the sewing machine.
The badminton players made a total of forty-three references in their
weekly time profiles to husbands, while the hockey players mentioned
them only thirty-seven times: those hockey players who were married but
without children accounted for more of these references than those who
did have children, and there were far more references to joint (couple)
activities during the week than there were among the badminton players.
This pattern may well be related to the later age of marriage of the hockey
players, and the fact that some had met their partners through their inter-
ests in sport. There may thus have been later (and longer) periods of joint
leisure - an example of the distinction between the influences of age and
life cycle stage.
Reference to husbands also affected the time allocated to the evening
meal by several of the women: because of lack of predictability about hus-
bands' return home, time slots of between two and three hours could be
allocated, with alternative uses of time limited. The women obviously felt
that they had still to be there, just as they were when children came home
from school, with the meal ready or almost ready, and not doing anything
else. This was a time of day when husbands apparently expected attention
and service, which their paid jobs 'earned' them (Green et al. 1987, 1990).
This time of the day, however, is also one of the times when there is most
leisure or sport opportunity available.
 Time and Context ill Women's Sport and Leisure 157
It was noticeable that on the evenings when they were committed to
playing badminton or hockey, the allocations of time to meals by
women were markedly less. sometimes because on those evenings hus-
bands would expect to feed themselves and in some cases the children
as well, or to have arranged to eat a cooked lunch at work, or were
playing badminton with their families and delaying a meal until
afterwards. The women had in these cases negotiated or bargained
for time and space for their activities, helped by their regular
commitment.
Husbands' activities affected or influenced both their wives and their
families in a variety of other ways. Pat (36, hockey player with two
children) allocated one evening each week to doing the books for her
husband's business, an example of the way Finch (1984) has described
women's support of their husbands' work. Christine (26, hockey player,
no children) spent at least one evening each week on activities related to
being a member of her husband's football club social committee, a for-
malised form of the general servicing of men's sport by women (Talbot
1979b, 1989; Thompson 1990). Like the runners researched by Barrell
et al. (1989), the activities of husbands could also become, or act as a
focus for, a whole family activity. Where the family is not directly
involved. the location of husbands' activity becomes the starting point
or location for other activities by the family. Jean (36, two children)
mentioned the Sunday morning outings for her husband to go fishing
while the rest of the family went for a walk along the canal path. And
there were occasions for some of the badminton players, as on the regu-
larly programmed Thursday evenings at the local sports centre. when
the whole. family shared the same activity, consciously planned for that
purpose.
The need for couples and families carefully to organise their weeks to
spend time with each other was a recurrent theme, although it was
managed in a variety of ways. There were several references to 'spending
time together' as couples or families. or 'keeping time free' for the chil-
dren. The research was completed before the term 'quality time' was in
common currency; but it was clear that these women and their families not
only aspired towards it, but plimned carefully fOi' it in their busy schedules.
There were several instances of women saying, somewhat defensively,
that 'these days' it was important to 'work at' having enough free time
together. Iris's routine Sunday evening ironing was the context for an
opportunity to talk with her husband without being interrupted while the
children finished their homework. The single women, too, spoke about the
need to keep a few, precious time slots 'free'.
158 Researching Women and Sport

SUNDAYS

The weekly time profiles showed Sundays, whatever the family or house-
hold circumstances, to be a day when time could be set aside for more
diffuse purposes, often also related to the extended family. Sunday appeared
to be a day of relative lack of busyness and an opportunity for regrouping or
regeneration for the week ahead. There were repeated references, especially
by the women with young children, to 'peace', 'being all together', 'relax-
ation'. For the married women who allocated time to church on Sundays,
attendance was always qualified by whether they went alone or with other
members of the family; even then, they recorded on their time profiles what
the rest of the family were doing while they were at church. The two single
women for whom church activities were very important referred not only to
attendance at Sunday service, but to other church commitments during the
week, like the local synod of which Linda (28, hockey player, single) was a
member, but which she had not mentioned in her descriptions of her
work/family/leisure commitments; and the need of Irene (40, hockey player,
single), as a lay preacher, to prepare her address in advance of Sunday. The
time profiles thus provided useful additional information about the women's
non-sport commitments and relationships.
Sunday was the only day during the week for which newspapers were
recorded on the profiles: that is not to say that Sunday was the only day
when newspapers were read, but it was the only day when the activity
became worthy of mention. The specialness of Sundays was apparent, but
still tempered by the ways in which domestic ideologies and unequal share
in domestic chores impinged on the women's time and opportunities. Jean
qualified the allocation of Sunday afternoons for family outings by record-
ing that it always took her as long to prepare for and clear up after them as
the time spent on the outing. The notion of Sundays as the 'leisure day' of
the week is questioned by the differential experiences of different
members of the same family or household (Morris 1990; Scraton and
Talbot 1989, Talbot 1979b).

SATURDAYS

Saturday nights were also clearly seen as special. There was almost a
moral imperative to be out on Saturday evenings and, if not, alternatives or
their rationales were recorded. This was particularly the case among the
young, single women: Saturday nights were set aside, although activities
could vary. As Beverley put it, 'no set routine, but always out', whereas
 Time and Context in Women's Sport and Leisure 159
Joan, only three years older but with her own home, said: 'If I stay in any
night it's Saturday', when she had friends round to play cards, watch tele-
vision and have a drink. Jennifer referred to 'being committed to going
out'. and Mary qualified the occasional Saturday night badminton with her
husband with the availability on the same evening of her parents for
babysitting and a badminton court at the sports centre. Married women
without children would be out with their husbands, usually in pubs or
clubs, and often with other couples. Roz (28, married, badminton player).
a publicity manager with her own house, somewhat apologetically claimed
to have spent Saturday nights for the last year decorating.

TELEVISION

Television did figure in the Saturday night time allocations, even among
the women who went out: several aimed to be home in time for 'Match of
the Day', and several used the programme as a focus for inviting friends to
share the evening. Even though many of these women had very congested
weeks, given the domination of television in time budget and leisure
surveys (BBe 1994, Dixey with Talbot 1982), it was surprising how little
use of television was indicated by the weekly time profiles. Obviously, the
more time slots allocated to activities outside the home, the less likely it
was to see significant amounts of time being allocated to television. These
women appeared either to use it to accompany or enliven boring activities
like ironing, or in very selective ways, as in 'Match of the Day'.
Otherwise, television was most likely to be used by women on their own
in the evenings, usually when husbands were out and they were responsi-
ble for children who were in bed; even then, most mentioned simultaneous
activities like sewing or knitting.
Women's so-called 'dependence' on television is questioned by work
(Brunsdon 1981; Dixey with Talbot 1982, Wimbush and Talbot 1988)
which shows that they are by· no means uncritical of what is offered to
them. The interest in sport among the women in this research is certainly
not reflected in the scheduling of sport on British television, in which
women's sport accounts for less than 5 per cent (Women's Sports
Foundation 1994). David Morley's research (1986) on family members'
television watching confirms the differential experiences of different
members of the same family, even of the same programme. Valerie's ref-
erence to 'occasionally joining my husband watching the second half of
the rugby league' on Sunday afternoons implies, not only a different rela-
tionship with that activity, but also a different framing of obligations
160 Researching Women alld Sport
around that time slot. Andrea used television in a variety of contexts and
with a range of companions during the week (with her boyfriend, on her
own, with her parents, with friends and to accommodate her boyfriend's
patterns of free time associated with his shiftwork).

ROUTINES AND COMMITMENTS

The weekly time profiles, then, provided rich insights. They clearly illum-
inate some of the nuances of routines and are sufficiently flexible, if
undertaken interactively, to allow research partners to provide contexts for
their activities, and to contrast, say, winter and summer schedules. The
profiles outlined by these women indicated four broad degrees of routine-
ness: activities which were firmly committed into a particular time slot
and which appeared to have primacy over other activities, like Saturday
afternoon hockey matches; activities for which women were dependent on
others, such as for babysitting or booking a court, like Thursday evening
badminton; activities which were more or less frequent, less regular than
weekly, but nonetheless firmly committed, like dramatic societies; and
activities whose time allocation was flexible but to which there was firm
commitment - activities for which families and couples in particular
'made time', like family visits or outings together. The weekly time
profiles showed the interrelationships of activities, both pleasurable and
obligatory, which women grouped together within the same time slots, and
the ways commitment could be absolute, qualified, conditional or relative.
The centrality of skills and autonomy needed for the management and
organisation of time in this process of coping with home, work and family,
confirms the need for leisure researchers and sport providers to understand
better the background for women's choices, setting priorities and allocat-
ing time (Talbot 1988).

FURTHER USES OF TIME PROFILES

The time profiles provide further illustration of the need to take account,
not merely of the percentage participation so beloved by the Sports
Council (J993) and General Household Survey (1994), but of the salience
and significance of activities in people's lives, by having regard also to
frequency and intensity of participation (Veal 1979) and to the harriers
which people overcome to participate. The ways in which these patterns
might change if viewed and interpreted differently offer an exciting appli-
 Time and Context in Women' s Sport and Leisure 161
cation of the use of time profiles in research replicated some years after
the initial research; in comparing patterns of time allocation for different
cohorts of people at the same age; or in comparing groups of people with a
range of characteristics (age, social class, ethnic and cultural background,
sex and so on).
The lime profiles were used within more extensive in depth interviews,
and were not developed as free-standing research instruments. In order to
interpret the information provided. they would need to be supplemented
by other information, such as the circumstances of the people whose time
use is being recorded. The importance of the data relating to context and
the incidence and significance of others underline the importance of such
supplementary information.
With regard to the relationships between women and leisure and sport,
the time profiles offer a wealth of information about relationality and the
nature of perceived freedom - a central concept in leisure theory. I have
argued elsewhere (Talbot 1979b, 1991; Wimbush and Talbot 1988) that it
is necessary to distinguish between 'time free from' and 'time free to': but
the time profiles add a further dimension - 'time free for'. So often, the
women used this phrase with reference to 'others' taking on a responsibil-
ity, so that they themselves could 'get on with' something, or choose an
activity. In these cases, freedom is relative in both senses.

References

Allen, G. (1979) A Sociology of Friendship and Kil/ship, London: Allen and Unwin.
Barrell, G., Chamberlain, A., Evans, J., Holt. T. and Mackean. J. (1989) 'Ideology
and Commitment in Family Life: a Case Study of Runners', Leisure Studies, 8,
3, pp. 249-262.
Bella, L. (1989) 'Women and Leisure: Beyond Androcentrism' in Burton, T. and
Jackson, E. (Eds) Understanding Leisu,.e and Recreation, Philadelphia: Venture
Publishing.
Bott, E. (1957) Family Qfld Social Network, London: Tavistock.
British Broadcasting Corporation (1994) Ti,e People's Uses ofTime, BBC.
Brunsdon, C. (1981) 'Crossroads: Notes on Soap Opera', Sc,.een 22, 4, p. 2.
Central Statistical Office (1994) Social T,.ends, London: HMSO.
Dixey, R. with Talbot, M. (1982) Womell, Leisure and Bil/go, Leeds: Trinity and
All Saints' College.
Finch, J. (1984) "It's Great to have Someone to Talk to": The Ethics and Politics
of Interviewing Women' in Bell, C. and Roberts, H. (Eds) Social Researching:
Politics, p,.oblems, Practice, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Finch, J. & Mason, J. (1993) Negotiating Family Respol/sibilities, London:
Routledge.
Gavron, H. (1966) The Captive Wife, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
General Household Survey (1994) London: HMSO
162 Researching Women and Sport
Green, B., Hebron, S. and Woodward, D. (1987) Leisure and Gender, London:
Sports Council/Economic and Social Research Council.
Green, B., Hebron, S. and Woodward, D. (1990) Wometl's uisure, What Leisure?,
Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Griffiths, V. (1988) From 'Playing Out' to 'Dossing Out' in Wimbush, E. and
Talbot, M. (Eds) Relative Freedoms: Women atld Leisure, Milton Keynes: Open
University Press.
Griffiths, V., Humm, M., O'Rourke, R., Batsleer, J., Poland, F. and Wise, S.
(1987) Writing Feminist Biography 2: Using Life Histories, Studies in Sexual
Politics, Sociology Department: University of Manchester.
Leonard, D. (1980) Sex and Generation: A Study of Coul'lship and Weddings,
London: Tavistock.
Morley, D. (1986) Family Television: Cultural Power and Domestic Ideology,
London: Comedia Press.
Morris, L (1990) The Workitlgs of the Household, Oxford: Polity Press/Blackwell.
Oakley, A. (1974) The Sociology of Housework, London: Martin Robertson.
Pahl, J. (1989) Money and Marriage, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Rapoport, R. and Rapoport, R. with Strelitz, Z. (1975) uisure and the Family Life
Cycle. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Scraton, S. and Talbot, M. (1989) 'A Response to "Leisure, lifestyle and status: a
pluralist framework for analysis'" Leisure Studies 8, 2, pp. 155-158.
Sports Council (1988) Sllort ill the Community: Tire Next Ten Years, London: The
Sports Council.
Sports Council (1993) Women and Sport: A National Strategy, London: The Sports
Council.
Szalai, Z. (1975) 'Women's time: women in the light of contemporary time budget
research', Futures, 7, 5, pp. 227-281.
Talbot, M. (l979a) 'Meanings in Physical Activity: a Speculative Discussion'.
Momentum, 4, 2, pp. 28-33.
Talbot. M. (l979b) Women and Leisure. A State of the Art Review for the Joint
Panel on Recreation Research, Sports Council/Social Science Research Council:
London.
Talbot, M. (1988) 'Understanding the Relationships Between Women and Sport:
The Contribution of British Feminist Approaches in Leisure and Cultural
Studies' , International Review for Sociology of Sport, 23, I, pp. 31-41.
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Congress of International Association of Physical Education and Sporl for Girls
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Talbot, M. (1990) 'Leisure Studies - All Things to All Men and Women?' EI.rie
McFarland Lecture, University of Alberta, unpublishcd.
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Women into Sport', uisure Studies, 24, I, pp. 135-143.
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Adult Participation Pallems itl 1977, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies:
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Relative Freedoms: Wome" arId Leisure, Milton Keynes: Open University
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Leisu,.e, Milton Keynes: Opcn University.
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Womcn's Sports Foundation.
11 Gender Relations in
Physical Education Initial
Teacher Education
Anne Flintoff

Like many other feminist research projects, mine grew from the links I
began to make some years ago between my experiences and concerns as a
lecturer in initial teacher education (ITE) in physical education (PB) and my
developing understanding of, and commitment to, feminism.' Access to
feminist theories as part of my Master of Arts studies in 1984 helped me to
understand the processes by which gender inequalities are reproduced in and
through schooling. Importantly, I was also alerted to the critical role teach-
ers can play in chaJJenging and resisting these processes, and as a result
began to question my own role as a teacher educator. Without an awareness
and understanding of gender relations and how these may be transmitted
through schooling and PB, students will be unable to adopt strategies to
chaJJenge these in their own teaching. Certainly my own training in the late
1970s had not included any attention to these issues I I began to question the
extent to which my own institution of higher education was raising these
issues with students, given that there is now over a decade of feminist
research and writing on education and schooling on which it is possible to
draw. However, as well as recognising what intending teachers were taught
- the curriculum content - I was also very conscious of the ways in which
gender was influencing and structuring classroom illteractions at ITE level,
including those in my own teaching groups. I became increasingly aware
that many of the processes characteristic of coeducational school class-
rooms, such as boys dominating the teacher's time and attention (see, for
example, Mahony 1985), were often happening in my own classes.2
This chapter aims to discuss some of the methodological issues and
problems I encountered when undertaking my PhD research which
explored gender relations in ITB PB. It shows how feminist research
which focuses on men and institutions, as well as women, raises quite dif-
ferent issues and questions to research which focuses on women alone. In
doing so, I hope this chapter wiJ) provide practical help for those planning
research in similar settings, as well as contributing to the debate about
what it means to do feminist research.

164
 Gender Relations in Physical Education 165
The overall aim of my research was to investigate the extent to which
teacher education institutions constructed, confirmed or contested gender
identities in PE. I was interested in both the ITE curriculum content - what
counted as legitimate, professional knowledge - as well as the process of
teacher education. My interest in exploring both these aspects, together
with what I felt to be limitations of existing research on teacher education,
directed me towards an ethnographic study.3 It involved an in-depth study
of two case study institutions, chosen as typical of those currently
involved in the training of intending secondary PE teachers, and reflecting
the separate and distinct historical development of PE (see Fletcher 1984).
Hence the institution I have called 'Brickhill' had been a former women's
PE college, and 'Heydonfield' a former men's PE college. I spent a term
in each institution, observing the formal aspects of institutional life - lec-
tures, workshops, practical sessions - but also parts of the informal culture
too - the students' sports clubs or the bar, the staff common room and so
on. I also interviewed the key decision-make,rs such as the heads of depart-
ments and the course leaders, since they would be in powerful positions to
either support or resist equal opportunities initiatives. Analysis of course
documentation and other institutional literature formed the third method of
data collection used.

A FEMINIST ETHNOGRAPHY

From the outset, I was clear that the research would be feminist, although
at first, this raised more questions for me than it solved. As I will show
later, in many ways my research questioned rather than simply confirmed
many of the characteristics commonly associated with doing feminist
research (see also Barbara Humberstone's Chapter 13). It was only
towards the end of the project, and subsequently, that I have been able to
be clearer about where my research 'fits' in relation to the now wide-
ranging and well-established debates on feminist research. Whilst actually
doing the fieldwork, I experienced considerable uncertainty about what I
was doing or where I was going! Reassuringly, this is not an uncommon
situation for beginning researchers (see Skeggs 1994).
Before starting the fieldwork, I read everything I could find which
explored the process of doing social research, and particularly ethno-
graphic research. There were two main types of material: firstly, accounts
of educational ethnographies which, although not feminist, had useful
points to make about how the empirical work had been conducted and
166 Researching Women and Sport
some of the difficulties encountered (see, for example, Ball 1984); and
secondly, feminist literature on research. In the main, the latter consisted
of theoretical discussions about research, raising questions about what
makes research feminist and how this might be different from other kinds
of research (see Bowles and Klein 1983; Stanley and Wise 1983). There
were a few empirically based accounts which had explored aspects of
young women or girls' schooling (see Davies 1985; Griffin 1985; Scraton
1989) but none of these included a study of men and men's experiences, as
well as those of women - a disconcerting omission given that this was
something my study was clearly going to involve. 4 Smart's (1984)
reflective account of the methodology used in her study of the law and
marriage in England was a key exception, and reading this raised a
number of crucial questions for my own study.
Smart's study involved the use of a number of different research methods.
including documentation and interpretation of the historical legislation on
marriage, divorce and the family, but also in-depth interviews with solicitors
and magistrates, few of whom were women. Several of the orthodoxies of
feminist research which had been suggested in my reading so far were ques-
tioned by her research. For example, although she claimed that her research
was feminist, and aimed at improving the lives of women, it was not neces-
sarily about women's views or their experiences. It included quantitative
data as well as qualitative, and saw a place for both (much feminist writing
at that time inferred, if not actually stated, that quantitative methods had
little to offer in an exploration of women's lives). Finally, she questioned
the ideas about the power relationship the researcher holds over the
researched and the extent to which the researcher ought to make herself
'vulnerable' in the process of the research. She pointed out that when inter-
viewing powerful males, as she did, the power dynamics were reversed, and
making herself more vulnerable (sharing her own experiences and thoughts
for instance) would have presented her with huge problems.
Whilst this account reassured me that mine was an appropriate context
for feminist enquiry, it also alerted me to the potential difficulties of con-
ducting feminist research on men, and in male-dominated institutions. It
highlighted the possible effects this might have - not just in terms of the
kinds of data I would be able to collect, but also for my experience of actu-
ally doing the research. s What follows is a reflective account, written retro-
spectively, which describes some of the issues and problems raised in my
research. As Kelly et at. (1994) note, there has been very little debate about
what feminist research on men should entail. or how the research practice
might differ, if at all, from that in studies which have only included
women; this account aims to contribute to this area of feminist debate.
 Gellder Relatiolls ill Physical Education 167
Research on, by, and for Women?

The question of what makes research feminist has been central to the
development of feminist scholarship. A simplistic answer might suggest
that feminist research is that which recognises women's inferior position
in society, and is committed to the production of knowledge which is
useful in improving that position. Feminist research is fundamentally
linked to politics and its primary aim is to create change and improvement
in women's lives. However, this kind of response fails to reflect the
important and in-depth debates and questions with which feminists con-
tinue to struggle: namely, what kinds of feminist knowledge do we need;
how best can we produce this, and how can this knowledge be used to
bring about change in women's lives for the better?6
Few would dispute that feminist research should be about making
women's lives and experiences central. As Roberts (1981: 15) suggests,
'feminism is in the first place an attempt to insist upon the experience and
very existence of women'. However, as debates about what makes
research feminist become increasingly sophisticated, the principle that it is
research 'on, by and for women' no longer suffices. Whilst there is no
agreement among feminists about the extent to which we should be
involved in researching men and masculinity, I share with Smart (1984)
and Kelly et al. (1994), the view that to research women's oppression
necessarily involves the study of men and male-dominated institutions. As
Kelly et al. (1994) have noted, while much feminist research does focus on
women, and on creating knowledge about their experiences, if we are to
understand women's oppression we must also research how this is struc-
tured and reproduced. Women's accounts cannot provide us with every-
thing we need to know about the strategies and practices which men use to
maintain their power. Nevertheless, as they and others (see, for example,
Canaan and Griffin 1990) argue, there needs to be a very clear aim to any
research specifically to do with men and masculinity:
While studying the construction of masculinity is of key importance,
what needs to be explored is not so much how men 'experience' this, or
explicating different 'masculinities', but ... the connections between the
construction and practice of masculinity and women's [and children's)
oppression. (Kelly et at. 1994: 34)7
My research was not exclusively 'on' women, but involved working
with both men and women, as well as analysing the gendered policies
and practices in two very different, but nevertheless male-dominated
institutions. 8 As well as researching individuals' attitudes and practices,
168 Researching Women and Sport
I was involved in building up a picture of the 'gender regimes' of these
institutions. 9 This necessarily involved researching the attitudes and
behaviours of men as well as women. For example, detailed and extens-
ive observation in both the fieldwork settings enabled me to build up a
picture of the strategies male students used in their gender identity
'work' in PE, and how these operated to control and limit the experi-
ences of both women staff and students (see Flintoff 1993b).10
Whilst institutional ethnographies provide detailed, 'rich' accounts, they
can, nevertheless, only present partial pictures, and my focus on men and
masculinity, as well as women and femininity, meant that there were very
clear areas of institutional life which I could not research. Early in the
fieldwork I realised that there were important aspects of male PE culture I
would not be able to observe - for example the interactions between male
students in the changing rooms. As Curry's (1991) study shows, the male
locker room is one of a number of important, male-only, sites where
important 'gender work' predominates, and where more research is
needed. 11
Another important aspect of male student life which I could not observe
was the initiation ceremony for new male students at the beginning of the
academic year at Brickhill. This event was to take place in a pub some
miles out of town, where the students had hired an upstairs function room
to ensure privacy. Short of posing as a member of the bar staff (unethical
and, I suspect, something I would not have been able to cope with
anywayl) I was left with little choice other than to conclude that here, too,
was another aspect of male PE culture which would have to be left to a
male l'esearcher to document and analyse. Skelton's recent (1993) bio-
graphical account suggests such initiation ceremonies form essential con-
texts for the reproduction of an informal, but nevertheless extremely
powel'ful, male PE culture, which can operate to undermine formal course
philosophies. Importantly, he also notes how the informal male staff
culture might encourage, rather than challenge, such processes.

Beyond Experience, Towards Interpretation

Ethnography aims to produce an in-depth study of one or a small number

of cases, with the researcher often spending lengthy periods of time 'in the
field'. As Willis (1981) notes, ethnography allows the researcher to learn
about 'the cultural viewpoint of the oppressed, their "hidden" knowledge
and resistances as well as the basis on which their entrapping "decisions"
are taken in some sense of liberty, but which nevertheless help to
"produce" structure' (Willis 1981). I was interested in the ways in which
 Gender Relations in Physical Education 169
gender relations impacted on the lives and experiences of women students
and staff in ITE in PE, and how they negotiated an identity within PE ITE
culture. Data collection in ethnographic research usually involves a range
of techniques, but particularly those which enable the actors' meanings
and interpretations of situations to be understood (Hammersley and
Atkinson 1983; Hammersley 1989). In this sense, ethnography as a theory
of research shares aspects of feminist research: in both, there is an attempt
to build up theory which is 'grounded' in people's everyday experiences
and lives, through the use of appropriate methods. In both kinds of
research, the issue of interpretation is critical, and in feminism particu-
larly, there have been extensive debates about this issue. As Maynard
(1994) notes, some feminists have argued that to do anything but let
women 'speak for themselves' would constitute violation. Feminist
research must be more than simply a description of women's lives. Whilst
women's experience might constitute a starting point for the production of
feminist knowledge, it is not sufficient for understanding the processes and
practices through which this is organised. It is the ways in which women's
lives are interpreted by feminists (rather than simply by women) which
allows feminist knowledge to be built up; by using theory to interrogate
practice.
One of the key features of feminist research is the acknowledgement
that the production of knowledge is a social and political process, in which
the researcher herself plays an important part. As Holland and
Ramazanoglu (1994: 131) argue,

Each researcher brings particular values and particular self identities to

the research and has lived through particular circumstances. While these
values, identities and experiences do not rigidly determine particular
points of view, they do give researchers variable standpoints in relation
to subjects of the research.

In this sense, they suggest that the process of interpretation is always a site
of struggle. The researcher must be open to continual reHection about her
standpoint, and to the possible silences and absences in her data. 12 Current
disagreements amongst feminists about what kind of feminist knowledge
is needed, and how best this should be created, centre on the way in which
some women's standpoints and experiences have been ignored or silenced
(see Stanley and Wise 1990). The on-going struggle for feminists is to
produce knowledge which adequately accounts for the differences between
women, and yet does not lose the overall goal of challenging women's
shared oppression. 13
170 Researching Women and Sport
The process of reflection is not a static one, and very often constitutes
a learning process for the researcher. Kelly et a!. (1994) for example,
recount how their understanding of research was radically altered as a
result of working with women with disabilities. Changes in our political
understanding and commitments, they argue, influence 'what we notice,
what we take account of, and what we see as needing to be accounted
for' (Kelly et al. 1994: 30). Similarly, in my own research there were
changes in the process (both in interpretation and focus) as a result of
both my expanding theoretical understanding, and my on-going observa-
tions in the field. One example of this interrelatedness between theory
and data is my eventual analysis of 'masculinity' within PE. Observing
the ways men used homophobic comments as a form of 'put down' to
one another led me to read a whole new area of theory around the social
construction of masculinity (see Brittan 1989; Connell 1987). As a con-
sequence, I began to appreciate the central role which heterosexuality
plays within gender relations. The production of all social research
involves interpretation; whilst this is not their sole prerogative, feminists
try to make explicit the process of decision-making which produces that
interpretation.

Power in the Research Relationships

An early assumption of feminist research was that it sought to minimise or

eliminate power relationships between the researcher and the researched
(see, for example, Oakley 1981). Oakley argued that it was impossible to
get to know about the lives of pregnant women if the researcher adopted
an 'objective', distanced stance. She argued that the personal involvement
of the researcher in the interview process should not be viewed as 'danger-
ous bias', but rather the 'condition under which people come to know each
other' (Oakley 1981: 58). However, these early debates about the impor-
tance of minimising power within the researcher-researched relationship
ignored the power differentials which can exist between women
(McRobbie 1982; Stanley and Wise 1990). Differences between women in
terms of their age, class, race or sexuality, for example, may be far more
significant that their 'shared femininity' (McRobbie 1982). Most feminists
would now agree that what is essential is to acknowledge power and dif-
ferences between women, and to show how these are influential in the
research process. Rather than abdicating the responsibility for the ethical
and political concerns of the research 'subjects' by writing the 'self' out of
research reports - thereby creating the illusion of 'objectivity' - the
researcher must be prepared to situate herself reflexively in the research
 Gender Relations in Physical Education 171
account, and provide an analysis of the social relations underpinning the
research process (Harding 1987; Stanley and Wise 1983).
However, when the research focuses on men or institutions, the issue of
power in the research process raises quite different issues and problems.
As Kelly et al. (1994) note, in this situation, it is often a case not of
'sharing it [power)' but of 'how to limit its potential use against us, and
how to conduct a study which reveals its surface and hidden forms in rela-
tion to the research question/topic' (Kelly et al. 1994: 38). My position in
the research was very similar to that of Smart (1984), who has suggested
that while feminism necessarily influenced the direction of her research
and structured the questions it asked, it could not enter into the practice of
the research. As she goes on to note, whilst it is generally recognised that
the researcher has an obligation to the reader to reflect on her position in
the production of the research, this has very different consequences from
the suggestion that feminist researchers should make themselves open or
vulnerable to the subjects of the research. Whilst feminism did enter into
the practice of my research, I could not say that this was in any consistent
or substantial way, and it played very little part in the majority of the inter-
views I conducted.
As with Smart's study of the legal system, a large percentage of my
research involved spending time with men, in this case, male lecturers.
For a large part of the time in interviewing these staff about equal opportu-
nities, I too, found myself in the frustrating position of having to 'hide' my
feminist values and opinions, and listen to overtly sexist (and sometimes
racist) views. However, I experienced similar frustrations in my interviews
with most of the women lecturers too, since few showed a commitment to,
or,an understanding of, feminism either. Far from having to make myself
'vulnerable' in the interview process I found that in all the interviews
except two, the control was very much with the interviewees, rather than
with me. For example, both heads of department 'talked' around questions
and gave me little opportunity to intervene and ask questions at all. With
some, it took me a long time just to summon the courage to ask for an
interview at all.
I made a considerable effort to make the interview as relaxed and as
unthreatening as possible - for example, by memorising the questions to
help spontaneity; thinking carefully about the time and location of the
interviews, and how to minimise the impact of the tape recorder. Looking
back on this now, I realise that this may well have had a significant impact
on the interview process - but not necessarily in ways which I had
intended. It may have reinforced my lack of status and control over the
interview process. I very quickly became aware of the limitations of semi-
172 Researching Women and Sport
structured interview schedules, as I struggled to stop staff avoiding the
question, or talking around it. I was surprised to find (perhaps naively on
my part) that the presence of the tape recorder in no way inhibited the
expression of some extremely sexist views and opinions by some men, no
doubt again a reflection of status differentials between us. The two inter-
views in which I felt most at ease, where I did feel I was able to adopt the
more open and sharing manner prescribed by Oakley (1981), were both
with women, one of whom had become one of my 'key informants', and
the other who had shared her feminist views early in the interview. 14

Research which Improves Women's Lives

Feminist research practice could also be said to be distinctive in terms of its

insistence on its political nature: it aims to challenge patriarchy and
improve women's lives, and in this sense is often described as researchfor
women. However, as Maynard (1994) notes, there are several different
kinds of change which might result from a feminist research project. Whilst
women taking part in the research might be empowered, including the
researcher herself, there is also the possible longer term impact which the
research could make to policy or legislation, and therefore to other
women's experiences in the future. Bringing about change is, however, not
a straightforward process, nor necessarily something over which the
researcher has full control. Consciousness raising has been suggested as an
important part of including women as subjects in the research process (see
Cook and Fonow J986), but can prove problematic in practice. Certainly in
my own research it was only towards the end of the fieldwork, and only
with some staff and students, that I felt able to interact with them in ways
which might facilitate any kind of consciousness raising. Whilst ethnogra-
phy is a style of research which allows for intense relationships to be built
up, within my fieldwork it was only possible to do this with some of the
individuals working there. Although I generally feIt more comfortable
spending time with women rather than men staff, I made a conscious effort
to avoid being seen to be spending too much time with one individual or
group, in an attempt to see as broad a picture of the institution as possible.
Nevertheless, I developed good friendships with several of the women who
invited me to their homes for meals on occasions. As with other ethnogra-
phies (see Ball 1981; Whyte 1955) I found I acquired 'key informants' in
each institution who were invaluable in helping me with the research. Both
these individuals were women, although neither would describe themselves
as feminists. It was with Anne, one of these women, that I felt I was most
able to work in ways which could be called feminist practice. IS For
 Gender Relations in Physical Education 173
example, we had long discussions in which we swapped stories about our
experiences of working in male-dominated PE settings. However, looking
back, the extent to which being involved in the research had a positive,
empowering impact on Anne is debatable. Whilst it may have given her the
opportunity for supportive discussions, it did little to change the oppressive
environment in which she (and the other women) had to work. I was very
conscious that at the end of the fieldwork I was simply leaving her to it, and
that I had probably benefited more than she from our relationship.
There were many occasions during the fieldwork where I did not feel
able to raise feminist issues. In fact, like Scraton (see Scraton and F1intoff
1992), I often specifically chose not to intervene when I observed sexist
comments or practices, unless this was in a very general way and I could
make comments which would not threaten individual staff. Despite this,
there was a sense in which I felt that I needed to be relatively open about
my feminism, because in the small world of ITE PE, I knew I was likely to
interact with these people in the near future, and I considered it unethical
to present a view of myself which was totally false. Like Greed (1990) I
felt that I could not indulge in what she has called the 'hit and run' mental-
ity of some research, since I knew I was likely to continue to live and
work amongst these people after the research had ended. Nevertheless,
finding some kind of 'balance' was extremely difficult, and I tended to
vary this, depending on how confident or comfortable I felt with the indi-
viduals or the context. On some days, I was just too tired to engage in
challenge, and chose to stay quiet, conserving energy for later situations
where I judged I might be able to make a better impact.
On one occasion at Heydonfield I was directly accused, by a male
member of staff, of 'staying too much on the sidelines', and of being in
danger of 'raping' (his word) the research setting, and taking information
without contributing anything in return. Concerned that my research prac-
tice was scarcely matching the principles of collaborative, consciousness-
raising feminist research, I volunteered to present some of my
observations and analysis about a particular aspect of the PE course at one
of their training days. I found the process of presenting the findings to a
mainly male group extremely daunting, particularly as I was aware that I
was questioning one of the established practices of the department. The
result was a very cursory dismissing of my findings by the male head of
PE, who disagreed with my analysis, and who later attempted to discredit
the work by suggesting that it no longer reflected the contemporary prac-
tice of the department. At the time, I remember feeling totally dejected
about the whole affair, feeling that I had done little to raise anyone's con-
sciousness about anything! However, looking back at this incident now,
174 Researching Women alld Sport
whilst I might not have been immediately influential in changing the
department's practice, what I did do was to raise questions and offer an
alternative analysis. The whole process was a good example of male
dominance and sexism within the department.

PRACTICALITIES AND ETHICS IN FEMINIST ETHNOGRAPHY

This final section deals with some of the practical and ethical issues of
doing an ethnographic research project. Whilst the general points raised
here will not be new to those familiar with this kind of research, I also
point out some of the specific issues raised by doing ethnography in a PE
context, an area of social life often excluded from other educational
ethnographies. 16

The Selection of Case Study Institutions and Gaining Initial Access

A major difficulty in the selection of the case study institutions and of

gaining initial access was explaining the purposes and intentions of the
research to gain 'informed consent'. I needed to explain the research in a
meaningful and open way, but at the same time in a way which would not
jeopardise my chances of having the proposal accepted, or affecting the
way in which people acted once I arrived. It is very easy to become
labelled as a feminist and therefore dismissed as 'biased' from the begin-
ning, simply by revealing that you are interested in gender (see Griffin
1985). It was for this reason that my initial introduction of the project was
in the broad terms of 'how ITE courses prepared students to take on board
issues of equal opportunities in their teaching'. Significantly, one course
leader at Brickhill interpreted the fact that I was interested in equal oppor-
tunities to mean that I would only want to talk to women staff and
students.
The role of 'gate keepers', more often men, in determining whether
research into particular contexts is sanctioned or funded is often crucial.
Although I had a clear list of criteria for the kinds of institution I would
have preferred for the research (including for example, institutions which
had both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in PE; different kinds of
institutions, ideally with a different historical background, and so on) the
selection process was always one of negotiation and compromise. 17 It was
important that staff were responsive and generally supportive of my
research if observation and data collection was to proceed smoothly. Six
institutions were approached by letter with a very broad outline of the
 Gender Relations ill Physical Educatioll 175
research, with a follow-up visit made to five (one institution did not reply
to my letter). Staff in four of the institutions welcomed me and seemed
supportive of the research, but in one they made it clear they were uneasy
about the possible involvement of their department. The immediate
concern of the head of PE was one of confidentiality - that my research
might lead to future developments in course design being 'leaked'. Since a
course leader, a few moments earlier, had assured me that they didn't have
a problem with equal opportunities because they had recently got mixed
changing rooms (!) I felt another plausible explanation for his reluctance
might have been to do with concern over what the research could reveal
about the department's practice in this area. Reluctantly, I decided not to
choose this institution for the research.

An Observational Role?

'Gaining access' to the many different groups and social situations I

wanted to observe was never simply a question of getting the initial per-
mission and acceptance of the official 'gate-keeper', in this case the head
of department. It was always an on-going process which was never com-
pleted and needed continual attention. Factors such as the importance of
the researcher's appearance and dress, and being 'placed' by the research
subjects, have been identified as important aspects in gaining access to
research settings (see, for example, Benyon 1983; Finch 1984).
Since I wanted the fieldwork to be sufficiently flexible to allow me to
learn about both staff and students' views of institutional life, I chose to
adopt an observational rather than a participative role, declining offers to
be involved in any teaching. 18 By distancing myself from the authority
structures of the staff, and declining to participate actively in the practical
activities in which the students were engaged (as a 32-year-old, a PE
student's timetable, once so attractive, appeared quite daunting) I avoided
much of the role conflict which can be a major factor in choosing to adopt
a participant-observer role (see Woods 1986).
However, it soon became clear that it would be impossible to simply
observe. My presence in classes always had an effect on both the lecturer
and the students, even though I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.1 9
Like other educational ethnographers, I ended up manufacturing a
'special' role within the institutions for myself, where, to the students, I
became an informal counsellor, chatting over issues, or suggesting ideas to
help them plan lessons, and to the staff, the emergency helper,
occasionally agreeing to help out with the interviewing of prospective stu-
dents, or supporting students on teaching practice.
176 Researching Women and Sport
Nevertheless, there were ethical issues which arose from adopting this
kind of role, particularly because I was able to move between the two
quite separate groups. Whilst I chose to introduce myself to student groups
as a postgraduate research student, rather than as a lecturer from Leeds
Polytechnic, as some got to know me better they were keen to know more
about my background - whether I had been a PE teacher and so on. On a
one-to-one or small-group basis, I felt more able to be open about my
involvement in teacher education, yet doing this meant they would then
invariably ask me to comment on what I thought of their course, and how
it compared to those at Leeds! Similarly, staff would ask me how students
were responding to particular aspects of their course, and I found I had to
become very good at giving rather vague answers, or talking around the
question.

Dress

The importance of the correct dress in PE culture has been noted clsc-
where (Scraton t 989), and it was important in my fieldwork too. For
example, I deliberately wore a skirt rather than my more usual trousers
for the one day initial visits, very conscious of the initial 'imagc' I was
presenting. During the fieldwork, the different research contexts necessi-
tated a particular dress, and this sometimcs posed problems fOl' me as I
moved from one research setting to another. For example, a day's pro-
gramme might involve me in observation of a practical soccer session on
the fields in thc rain, a course-planning meeting in the staff room, and a
session in the swimming pool. Few accounts mention the necessity of a
thermal vest for ethnographic study in PE contcxts, 01' how bcing chilled
to the bone can have a negative effect on onc's ability to concentratc!
Since a large percentage of the observation focused on studcnt lectures
01' seminars, I wore a rather conservative track suit which was both appro-
priate for the context, and allowed me to 'blend in' with the student body
as I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. However, since staff at both
Heydonfield and Brickhill wore formal dress except when they werc
teaching practical sessions, I had to changc dress if I knew I would bc
working mainly with staff. On more than one occasion, the importance of
correct dress was made explicit to me. For example, whcn arriving to
observe an indoor athletics session, the lecturcr commented to mc 'atlcast
you bothered to get changed, not like our previous visitor who tllrned lip
late, in tatty jeans and outdoor shoes!'. The staff toilct bccamc an
important and well visited venue for me, not just for scribbling down field
notes unobtrusively, but also for frequent dress changes.
 Gender Relations ill Physical Education 177
Heterosexuality in the Research Process

Feminists have argued that the researcher must make open the processes
involved in data collection as a crucial part of the research itself. However,
these accounts rarely address issues of heterosexuality. Warren (1988) has
suggested that given the lack of credibility often attributed to women's
research, it is perhaps not surprising most women choose to deliberately
conceal such fieldwork problems. On a number of occasions, I had to deal
with difficult situations in this respect. More often, it was a 'relatively
harmless' comment, or 'only ajoke', or a touch on the knee. For example,
one male member of staff, despite not knowing me very well, felt able to
make a comment about my bra size; another asked me whether I would
like a 'dirty weekend' away with him, waiting to see my embarrassment
before adding that he meant a weekend with staff and students on an
outdoor education venture. On another occasion, I had to change my
planned schedule of observations, for several days, to avoid the attentions
of a particular male member of staff. So much for 'objective' research!
Whilst these were annoying and irritating incidents - which I suspect
few male researchers have to deal with - twice I was reminded of the pos-
sibility of more significant hazards of doing research as a woman. During
the fieldwork, I often stayed late at the university to use the library, a prac-
tice I reconsidered as a result of two specific incidents. Walking to the
station from Heydonfield one night, I was struck on the cheek by a piece
of chalk thrown from a van full of men who jeered and clapped as the
missile successfully reached its target. Later that week, a woman student
was assaulted in the same area. As a result of these two incidents, I felt
pressurised into bringing my car back to the fieldwork in order that I might
feel safer travelling at night.

CONCLUDING COMMENT

This chapter has described some of the issues and problems associated
with doing a feminist ethnography of PE ITE within two institutional,
male-dominated, settings. It has been argued that doing feminist research
in male-dominated settings raises quite different issues and questions to
those which focus on women and women's lives alone. Adopting a fem-
inist research practice which, for example, may include consciousness
raising, or attempting to reduce the power differentials between the
researcher and the subjects of the research, become much more problem-
atic and questionable when researching men. If we are to understand
178 Researching Womell alld Sport
women's oppression more fully, we do need much more critical research
which focuses on men, masculinity, and their institutional power. What I
hope this chapter has done is make a contribution to on-going debates
about how such research might develop.

Notes

Whilst recognising the diverse ways in which the term feminism has been
used and defined, I am using the term here to describe a political practice
which places women's experiences as central, and which seeks to challenge
and change their oppression by men.
2 I am using the term PE 'classroom' broadly to include practical sessions in
the gymnasium, on the playing field, and so on, as well as theoretical ses-
sions in lecture rooms.
3 The EOe's (1989) study, for example, relied heavily on data gathered from
a structured questionnaire, and could not capture the ways in which gender
can influence classroom practice, and the specific ways in which this might
happen within ITE in physical education.
4 But see Humberstone's work (1986; 1990) which has explored the impact of
gender within coeducational outdoor activity settings.
5 I also read two other accounts of doing feminist research with men - Scott
(1984) and Stanley and Wise (1979) both of which raise similar points to
Smart.
6 See Ramazanoglu (1989) for an excellent discussion of these questions.
7 I cannot do justice to feminist critiques of the emerging new field of
'Men's Studies', and concerns that this may simply become yet another
area of academic life dominated by men (see, for example, Canaan and
Griffin 1990).
8 The two institutions were very different in terms of the gender profiles of
staff and students. Nevertheless, even at Brickhill, where these were skewed
in favour of women, the ethos remained male-dominated - see Flintoff
(1993b).
9 Kessler et a!. (1987) have used the term 'gender regime' to describe the
process by which particular kinds of masculinity or femininity become
hegemonic within an organisation.
10 Brittan (1989) uses the term 'work' to stress that gender identity is never
something which is achieved, but has to be continually worked at in every
social situation.
II There is now a developing body of research which is beginning to explore
the social construction of masculinity (masculinities) through and within
sport (see, for example, Messner and Sabo 1990; Messner 1993).
12 It is only recently that I have been able to reflect, in any great detail, about
the production of my research knowledge, and its epistemological position.
There is no space here to explore the different epistemological positions
which feminists may adopt (sec, for example, Harding 1986; 1987; Stanley
and Wise 1990).
13 Postmodern critiques, of course, question the very existence of women's
shared oppression: see Weiner (1994) for a good overview of the develop-
 Gender Relations in Physical Education 179
men Is and shifts in feminist theories in education, and Scraton (1994) for a
discussion of post modernism and leisure.
14 Ethnographers often acquire a 'key informant' to help them with their
research - someone who can help the researcher understand the organisation
of the institution, provide knowledge and information on specific areas, and
who is generally supportive of the research.
15 This name, like others in this chapter, is a pseudonym.
16 Ball (1984), for example, notes that he specifically excluded PE from his
observational schedules.
17 Practicalities such as cost or ease of travel have also to be taken into account
when choosing the research locations.
18 At Brickhill, I was asked whether I would like to teach the second year unit
of work on equal opportunities.
19 Comments from lecturers such as 'I don't know what you think Anne', or
'I'm sure you would do this differently Anne', suggested that I had quite a
significant effect on the research selling.

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12 The Sporting Lives of
Women in European
Countries: Issues in
Cross-national Research
Sheila Scraton

The project which is discussed here has been underway for three years
and our collective experiences of the research process have been exciting,
stimulating, at times frustrating, but above all have raised important ques-
tions for the whole research team about doing research into women and
sport. This chapter discusses some of the methodological, practical and
personal challenges encountered in engaging in a cross-national research
project into the experiences and meanings of sport in the lives of women
in England, Germany, Norway and Spain.
These questions revolve around research into sport that is feminist,
qualitative in methodology and cross-national. This chapter focuses on the
process of doing the research rather than a discussion of the research
findings. The research is still in progress and it is the process that has pro-
vided the research team with many challenges, both political and personal.

BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

The research team came together through contacts and networks in the
'world' of women and sport with a co-ordinator in each of the four partici-
pating countries. The first meetings involved intense discussion and the
sharing of experiences as we progressed, from the initial broad aim of
wanting to look comparatively at the experiences of women who partici-
pate in sport to the following key areas of attention:
I An exploration of the ways that women integrate sport into their lives.
2 Their experiences of physical activity and the effect sport has on their
body image, their concept of self and their social relations.

183
184 Researching Women and Sport
The sorts of questions we were raising included:
- What role does sport play in the lives of women?
- How does sport influence women's lifestyle?
- How does lifestyle influence women's sporting involvement?
- How do women's sporting experiences relate to their experiences and
understandings of their body, physicality and sexuality?
These questions emerged from a sharing of our own understandings and
experiences of sport and a 'brainstorming' around ideas. The research team
are not only academic researchers committed to the theoretical and practi-
cal analyses of women and sport but also are, or have been, active partici-
pants in a range of physical activities, some to a highly competitive,
representative level and others through participation in their recreation and
leisure time. As women who are, or have been, active sportswomen, we
wanted to know more about the positive experiences that we feel we have
gained through being physically active as well as to identify the barriers
that we have had to hurdle in order to play, compete or share in sporting
activity. In line with Bredemeier et al. (1990: 4) we were enthusiastic to
'explore and describe "women's ways of knowing" ... their ways of ascer-
taining and verifying truth ... in the domain of physical activity'.
Traditionally research in sport has been dominated by the natural sciences
such as medicine, physiology, biomechanics and so on. Although work in the
social sciences has gained increasing importance it has been primarily andro-
centric, concentrating on men's sport from the perspective of male
researchers (Hall 1988). It is only during the past two decades that women's
involvement in, and experience with, sport has been critically addressed (see
Hargreaves 1994). Much of the early empirical work on women and sport
focused on sex-role differentiation, dispelling the myths of women's physio-
logical inferiority in relation to sport (Dyer 1982; Ferris 1978) and the histor-
ical development of women's sport (Hargreaves 1994). The emphasis in
much of this work was on the constraints women face in the world of sport
and their experiences of discrimination and prejudice. It is only more recently
that research has begun to explore the positive gains that spot't and physical
activity can bring for women in relation to increased confidence, bodily
control and the positive influences that sport can have on the rest of women's
lives (Lenskyj 1986, Talbot 1990). Our research extends the existing work by
providing rich qualitative data on how women experience sport in their lives,
focusing on intrinsic factors such as their concept of self, body awareness,
the culture of the body, and more extrinsic factors such as sport in relation to
lifestyle, social networks and their future life plans. These qualitative experi-
ences of sport in the lives of women will provide crucial knowledge about
 The Sporting Lives of Women 185
how women themselves experience and define their participation.
An exciting aspect to the research is the cross-national data that has
been generated. There is no space in this brief outline of the research to
discuss in detail the rationale behind the cross-national study. However. as
colleagues with distinct cultural backgrounds and experiences we were
keen to break from the ethnocentricity of much research (not only that
focusing on women and sport) and awaken understanding of the situation
and experience of women in different sporting cultures and to enrich
theoretical debate around possible universal structural constraints in rela-
tion to cultural resistances and diversities.
To summarise, therefore, the research team decided to conduct sixty in-
depth qualitative interviews in each of the four participating countries, that
is England, Germany, Norway and Spain. This includes ten interviews in
each of the three sports selected for study - soccer, tennis and gymnastics
- and with both recreational and highly competitive participants. The
interviews on average have lasted between one and a half and two hours.
They have been fully transcribed and have taken place over the same
period of time in each country.
The research schedule was developed after many hours discussing the
key issues that we identified originally by sharing our own experiences
and which developed out of our main research questions. The themes that
eventually structured the research schedule were identified as:
• Sportbiography
• Sport and Social Networks
• Sport in Everyday Life
• Sport and Life Plans
• Sport and Self
• Femininity and Masculinity
• Sport and the Body.
These were broad themes which we wanted to explore in as open a way as
possible with the women we interviewed. The need for the structuring of
our interviews in order to allow some degree of comparability across the
different countries, and the problems this raises for research that we define
as feminist and qualitative, will be discussed later.
As our research focus developed we applied for funding from a variety
of agencies in each of the countries. Each of us secured some funding,
although to different levels. The main outcome was that research stu-
dents/assistants were employed in England, Germany and Norway, with
Spain receiving some financial support but not securing a specific post.
Immediately our research team grew, which not only widened our team
186 Researching Women and Sport
and gave depth to our discussions, but raised, also, major questions for the
process in terms of working collectively. This will be discussed in the final
section of the chapter.
In order to reflect on the research process, Denzin and Lincoln (1994)
provide a useful identification of five moments or phases of the qualitative
research process. These they suggest are:
The researchers - our histories, who we are, how we came together
and the ethics and politics of the research process.
2 Theoretical paradigms and perspectives.
3 Research strategies - the design of the research and the identification
of research questions.
4 Methods and data management.
5 Art of interpretation and analysis.
Denzin and Lincoln's stages or phases are useful to encourage reflexivity
and a reassessment of the research process. However, what becomes
apparent is that when this neat structure is overlaid with issues raised in
conducting qualitative research that we define asfeminist and research that
is cross-national and involves a research team, then the whole process
becomes less ordered, and more messy, contradictory and confused. In
fact, the true experiences that, I suspect, underpin the majority of research.
For we are engaged not only in producing understanding and knowledge
based on empirical and theoretical 'findings' but also understandings and
knowledge about how the research process intersects, relates to and is a
part of these 'findings'. In other words epistemological, ontological,
methodological issues are all integral to theoretical and empirical
questions.
The following section, therefore, focuses on Denzin and Lincoln's first
three phases of the research process, considering who we are as
researchers and what we have brought to the research process; the theoret-
ical perspectives that inform our understandings; the strategies that we
have adopted in order to respond to some of the practical and political
challenges that we have faced during the research process. It is clear,
however, that these phases overlap, at times run concurrently and most of
all influence the research while it is in progress.

THE RESEARCHER

In the research it has proved important that the researchers are not only
women but also women who are, or have been, keen sportswomen
 The Sporting Lives of Womell 187

themselves. Our histories as women and as sportswomen are an integral

part of the research and as such have informed the questions we have
asked and the methods that we have adopted. It was our experiences as
feminist academics working in the area of women and sport that initially
drew us together. Issues around what constitutes 'feminist' research con-
tinue to be debated and remain controversial and on-going (see Holland
and Blair 1995). Certainly the mid-1990s provide a wealth of discussion
about epistemologies, methodologies and whether there can be any univer-
sal label attached to feminism. At the outset of the research process,
although acknowledging disciplinary differences, we had agreement
around our shared commitments. Our shared understandings accepted that
feminist research is fundamentally linked to feminist politics with a
primary aim being to contribute directly or indirectly to change and
improvement in women's lives. It is research for women which will
provide new understandings that, hopefully, will inform policy initiatives
and perhaps contribute to new meanings and definitions of sport.
The research developed, therefore, out of our experiences as sports-
women and as feminist academics. Liz Stanley and Sue Wise (1993: 32),
writing about feminist methodology, argue that it is important for those
engaged in feminist research to have a 'feminist consciousness that is
moted in the concrete, practical and everyday experiences of being, and
being treated as, a woman'. In our research it has proved important that we
have an awareness and understanding of being, and being treated as 'a
sportswoman' and some understanding of the subcultures of different
sporting activities.
We are interviewing women in gymnastics, tennis and soccer who play
or perform at a recreational level as leisure and those who play or perform
at a highly competitive level as representatives at Regional or First
Division club level. We have chosen these sports because they represent
activities that have been defined traditionally and stereotypically as 'fem-
inine' (gymnastics), 'masculine' (soccer) and gender-neutral (tennis),
although we do recognise the potential cultural differences in definition
and meaning attached to each of these sports. For eltample, soccer in
Norway has a far higher and more acceptable profile for women than in
Spain. However, each of these sports carry with them gendered expecta-
tions that relate to presentation of self including dress, behaviour, the
spatial setting of the sport, for example, the tennis club, soccer pitch or
gymnasium, and the specific characteristics of each sport that are inherent
in the rules, regulations, organisation (individual 01' team) and language.
Our understandings and awareness of these sporting contexts and cultures
informs how we present ourselves at interviews, what we wear and so on,
188 Researchillg Womell al/d Sport
and it allows some degree of shared experience that enhances the
confidence and trust of both the researcher and the researched.
However, although the researchers may share some common experi-
ences this does not mean that the power differentials within the research
process are eliminated. As Caroline Ramazanoglu (1989a: 55) argues
'Since, by and large, people do not choose to be investigated, they are
logically the objects of the research chosen by the feminist for the pur-
poses defined by the feminist'. At most these power differentials can be
reduced by a heightened sensitivity and by acknowledgement within the
research process that they do exist.
Who we are as researchers and our cultural backgrounds and histories
have been central Lo the research process from the first phase. It is vital
that the research is located culturally and historically: our own back-
grounds and our current status and experiences arc central to this process.
A key issue is that we are working in four different 'mother' languages.
Any cross-national or cross-cultural research has the problem of language
and the u~e of non-equivalent concepts and meanings of key terms and
definitions. As feminists we are dealing with not only patriarchal language
and 'male' definitions but also cultuml variations. Terms such as 'gender',
'leisure', 'housework', 'motherhood' do not easily translate across lan-
guages without variance in meaning and context. This problem of equiva-
lence of terms and concepts became apparent at the first meeting when we
attempted to define and use the term 'sport' lit was obvious that historical
and contemporary cultural contexts affect recognised meanings and
definitions and that sport in different cultures cannot be divorced from the
political and economic context of particular societies in which gender rela-
tions are articulated, experienced and structured in specific ways. It has
been important, therefore, to research into the institutional setting of sport
in each of the four countries and to provide some evidence of women's
status through statistics on women's employment, domestic division of
labour, violence, education and so on. Furthermore, it became apparent
that considemble time must be set aside for full consideration of key terms
and concepts and that any interview schedule must be thought through
carefully in relation to both male-defined language and culturally specific
meanings. Feminist, cross-national research is time-consuming for it must
allow for a full consideration of these issues. It is problematic because, as
women researchers, we are not divorced from the patriarchal structuring of
our own lives. Some of us have children and domestic responsibilities, we
all work within a patriarchal system of paid employment and most of us
have to constantly juggle the many commitments that we face. It is no
coincidence that very few women have been involved in cross-national
 The Sporting Lives of Women 189
research that is very time-consuming and involves a considerable amount
of travelling. As a research team we have to be aware of the structural
constraints that we individually face and ensure that the research process
acknowledges and deals with these issues.

THEORETICAL PARADIGMS AND PERSPECTIVES

Having come together as researchers and recognised the separate histories

and cultures that we have brought to the process, we acknowledged that
the research is grounded in our shared experiences as sportswomen and is
underpinned by a broadly shared notion of feminist research. Our initial
theoretical considerations reflected oUr thoughts and knowledge in the late
1980s/early 1990s in that we took as our starting point the social construc-
tion of gender and gender relations, with political action and change an
inherent part of our research intentions. We wanted to learn more about
women's sporting lives to help us understand more fully physicality, the
pleasures and problems of being physically active and how women incor-
porate sport into their lives. From this we might perhaps develop new
definitions and meanings of sport. These issues have implications for
future policy planning and thus the intention was to gain information that
ultimately will open up and improve women's sporting experiences and
opportunities.
The research, therefore, started from the premise that women's personal
experiences are valid and constitute a legitimate and important source of
knowledge. The women who are engaged in sport are the 'knowers' in
their 'everyday worlds' (Smith 1987) and are not the 'objects' of the
research with us, the researchers, the 'experts' or holders of knowledge.
However, at an early stage, we discussed the problems of resorting to a
relativism that individualises experience and loses the social and political
agenda that is at the heart of feminist research and theory (Scraton 1994).
Our research aims to address questions of difference through focusing on
experiences, while placing these experiences within the material context of
a sports world at a specific historical moment in time. That moment within
each nation state, remains dominated and largely defined by men and is
within an economic context of market forces and consumerism. This
context was confirmed by an initial investigation that we made into
women's position in sport in each of the four countries, using existing
research, statistics and survey material.
Thus, from the outset, our fundamental research question was con-
cerned to explore how far women's everyday worlds are influenced and
190 Researching Women and Sport
constrained by the material world and an institutionalised sporting
context. To what extent do individuals (the women engaged in sport)
have the influence and freedom to define their sporting contexts and
experiences? This structure-agency debate. which continues to engage
social theorists (Giddens 1991) and has informed the malestream
sociology of sport (Gruneau 1983 and Hargreaves 1986). has largely
been a theoretical debate with little supportive empirical work and. as
Jenny Hargreaves reminds us in her recent book Sporting Females. has
failed also to look specifically at the complexities of male hegemony in
sport. Within these analyses gender remains secondary to a class
analysis. Jenny Hargreaves has pioneered the way within sports sociol-
ogy for a sports feminism that challenges through exploring and under-
standing male hegemony and centralises gender relations (Hargreaves
1994).
However, our research started from a recognition that rigid disciplin-
ary boundaries have created barriers to a full exploration of the interface
between the individual and the social. Sport has tended to be researched
and studied within relatively rigid disciplinary boundaries. for example
physiology, sociology, psychology, education. Furthermore, more
recently postmodernist discourse has challenged these rigid, disciplinary
boundaries and argues that foundationalist theories are 'old' voices of a
past modernity. Sport, within this discourse, must be understood within
the 'new' conditions of postmodel'llity in which the 'old' structures on
which modernity was based are no longer relevant to the 'new' world of
fragmentation, dedifferentiation and hyperreality (Baudrillard 1988).
The feminist analyses of the 1970s and 1980s (that is the taxonomy of
liberal, radical, marxist and socialist) are seen in postmodern discourse
as an unachievable and inappropriate attempt to provide universal expla-
nations fOi' all women's experiences of exploitation and subordination.
They seek to discover the cause of women's oppression be that defined
as the structures of patriarchy, of capitalism or of some combination of
the two such as a capitalist patriarchy. Postmodcl'Il feminism emphasises
deconstruction, subjectivity, the significance of language, semiotics,
diversity and difference. As a research team we acknowledge that many
of the claims of postmodernism are linked to, and are compatible with,
some radical claims of feminism, for example the significance of differ-
ence as highlighted throughout the 1980s by black feminists and women
of colour (bell hooks 1982, 1989; Hill Collins 1990); the inadequacy of
'grand' theory (malestream of knowledge) and the rejection of dualities
such as public/private, rational/emotional, mind/body.
 The Sporting Lives of Women 191
However, as Liz Kelly, Sheila Burton and Linda Regan (1994: 30)
argue:
Postmodernist concerns are discussed at a level rather far removed from
the practical questions which preoccupy researchers: how to get access;
how to build a sample; what methods to use; what questions to ask and
how to word them; how to make sense of the information we have
collected.
However, we have not been so preoccupied with the practical and method-
ological concerns of 'doing' feminist research that we have failed to
engage with current theoretical debate or have neglected to try to locate
our research within a theoretical perspective. There is little doubt that the-
oretical debate did inform, and to a certain extent underpin, our research
process, including the questions we ask, the methodology we explore and
the methods we have adopted. We began our theoretical discussions from
the stance of a socialist feminism that situated our research within the
structures of a capitalist patriarchy. We thus locate our research interests
around: the sexual division of labour in the home and paid employment;
sexuality and questions relating to physicality and the body; sport as an
institution that structures gender relations and is structured by such rela-
tions; and the significance of ideologies of gender. As the research has
progressed, our own understandings remain influenced by 'new' theoret-
ical debates within postmodernist discourse. It is an on-going engagement
with the intersection of theory, research and practice, in that we did not set
out with a grand theory to 'prove', rather we have addressed theoretical
debates and continue to develop our theoretical understanding not only as
we conduct the research and new questions emerge from the data/material
but also as we, as researchers, develop through the experiences of being
part of the research process.
We are constantly, therefore, exploring the interface of practice, experi-
ence and theory. The research team has a range of disciplinary back-
grounds in sociology, history, social psychology and education. Therefore
the research set out from a rejection of the restrictions of disciplinary
enquiry and an enthusiasm to attempt to transcend the traditional distinc-
tions and boundaries of disciplinary-based research. We want to recognise
individual subjectivity, locating the possibility of responsibility and power
within the individual while acknowledging the social, political and econ-
omic determinants of power and oppression in a capitalist patriarchy. We
are not content solely to theorise around issues such as difference and
diversity nor to be content with universal concepts such as 'women'.
These theoretical debates are important and continue to be reflected in our
192 Researching Women and Sport
research practice and focus as the research unfolds. However, in addition,
we want to find out more empirical detail about women who participate in
sport in order to contribute to the challenge to male hegemony in sport and
to support the development of sport and physical activity as a liberating,
pleasurable medium providing women with a potential forum for the
development of bodily confidence, collectivity and support.

THE PROCESS: POLITICAL AND PRACTICAL CHALLENGES

The main methodological debates that have arisen relate to the traditional
'problems' encountered in conducting qualitative research, our attempts
to work collectively in feminist practice and the implications of attempting
feminist comparative research across different European countries. The
following are some of the issues raised, but through necessity they are
selective and do not discuss all the methodological debates that have
emerged in our research.

Working Collectively

A major issue for any research team, particularly on a project that involves
researchers from different countries and is extensive in terms of data gath-
ered and time used, is how to work collectively. Feminists are concerned
not to conduct work that is exploitative, which raises issues of working
within a system that revolves around the hierarchies of power, status and
responsibility. These problems have not been resolved for us. The struc-
ture that has financially supported the research in Britain is a higher educa-
tion structure that, to its credit, has financially supported research that is
overtly feminist and concerned with women and sport (none of these -
feminist, women or sport have much status traditionally in a competitive
research atmosphere where there is little money available). However, the
structure of higher education in the 1990s produces, also, massive con-
straints on all those within the system. One example is that it is difficult to
limit hierarchies and status when, in the words of Liz Kelly, Sheila Burton
and Linda Regan (1994: 42) struggling with similar debates neither ...
'good intentions nor feminist research practice change differential wage
structures, formal status or the ways we were constructed by others'.
Issues of time, confidence, experience, accountability, giving papers and
academic lectures are all complex, especially within a formal structure that
gives differential status to certain activities and certain positions.
Thus the outcomes of the research in terms of publication and confer-
 The Sporting Lives of Women 193
ence presentations are afforded higher status than the research process
which involves interviewing women, literature searches and so on. These
issues are on-going struggles which to some extent highlight clearly the
tensions at the interface of practice and theory. Problems can become indi-
vidual and interpersonal yet reflect broad political, economic and social
structures.
For feminists it raises a fundamental debate that has raged since the
1970s within feminism, that is the liberal notion of working within the
system, emphasising reform and change from within, versus a more
radical strand which argues that incorporation reinforces the system and
that 'real' change must come from alternatives outside the status quo.
Working within the system means that we are working within a dominant
research culture that reinforces hierarchies and quantifies outcomes in
terms of traditional academic criteria. The structure-agency debate about
how much we are constrained by and reproduce the structures, that is a tra-
ditional male research culture within a 'new' University, and to what
extent we can be agents within a process to recreate new structures that
challenge the existing power relations, is a question for the research process.
As yet we have few answers to these real dilemmas that many of us
face in our research. We need to reflect and act on the problems that arise
in the day-to-day situation of 'doing feminist research'. Personally this
involves reflecting on my situation as a professor whose status and experi-
ence have helped the research progress, who ultimately carries the
accountability and responsibility, and who gains kudos from the 'outside
world' for the research. I have, however, no official work time given for
the research in an over-committed schedule of teaching, development and
research responsibilities, yet recognise the considerable personal and acad-
emic power which is held within the traditional hierarchies and the very
real potential to exploit research colleagues. These issues need to be in the
public forum as they become the lived experiences of those engaged in
collective, collaborative work. Most research reports on a 'nice', organised
process which involves aims, methods, analysis and findings. However,
this neat process rarely, if ever, exists and it is important to recognise and
debate the anomalies.and difficulties that are ever-present.
Our research, therefore, faces the challenge of working collectively as
feminists but is supported too by the solidarity and strong networks that
have developed between women committed to women and sport.
Networks are an essential feature of cross-national research and our net-
works in the field of women and sport, in all four countries, together with
existing European networks, were fundamental to both the instigation of
the project and the ongoing support and dialogue developed in the
194 Researching Women and Sport
research process.

Researching Sensitive Areas of Experience

There is a growing literature on researching sensitive issues that tends to

be outside the mainstream debates in sport research methodologies (see
Ellis and Flaherty 1992; Rallzeui and Lee 1993). Much feminist research
could be defined as research into sensitive issues, especially when the
focus is on women's own experiences. It is only with the development of
feminist sport research focusing on areas such as physicality and sexuality,
for example Helen Lenskyj (1986) and Pat Griffin's (1990) work on
homophobia and heterosexism in sport, that these questions have been
transferred onto the sport research agenda. (See also Gill Clarke's Chapter
3, in this collection.)
In our research we are asking women to reveal personal and sensitive
information. Although we have spent hours debating how we should ask
questions, the structure and format of the interview, and so on, a major
difficulty arises because we are conducting comparative work that requires
translation into German, Norwegian and Spanish. The debate around how
open-ended we should have our interviews is a serious one which has been
compounded by doing comparative, cross-national research. In order to
'compare' we have been pressurised to create a structure that can be repli-
cated in all the interviews across the four countries. Yet there is a problem
in defining themes and questions so closely that they do not allow women,
as 'subjects' rather than 'objects', to make their own experiences visible
and defined in their own terms. This delicate balance is one that remains
an issue in cross-national research (Oyen 1990).

Interviewing Women

There is much written in feminist literature on the interview as a method

of allowing women's experiences a voice (Oakley 1981; Roberts 1981).
We have attempted to address some of these issues which involve a
concern to reduce the power differential between the researcher and the
women being interviewed, allowing women some control in the process in
that they dictate the time that they have available and where they wish to
be interviewed. However, as discussed earlier the issue around power dif-
ferentials remains complex and there remain many areas where power
remains unequally distributed in our research process (see Scraton and
Flintoff (1992) for further discussion).
Within the interview situation the issue of self-disclosure has been
 The Sporting Lives of Womell 195
debated. We would argue that sharing our experiences of sport or our per-
sonal lives and responding to questions asked to us provides an open
agenda where women seem to gain the confidence to express an opinion or
feeling. Rather than biasing the data, it builds trust in the research
relationship.
However, building this research relationship is very dependent on the
interviewer, on how questions are asked and on how we interact in the
interview situation. No two interviews or interviewers will be the same.
As feminists and, in fact, many qualitative researchers have agreed, the
process is not and never can be 'objective', 'neutral' or 'hygienic' (Stanley
and Wise 1993). Again this raises interesting questions for our analysis
and interpretation of the material, particularly in relation to cross-national
research which traditionally has been premised on notions of comparabil-
ity, generalisability and equivalence (Oyen 1990).
We set out with little understanding of the issues raised in attempting to
do cross-national work that is both qualitative and feminist. We are now
more acutely aware of some of the issues! Constantly we have to question
whether we are being led by traditional methodologies that are within a
malestream tradition of research. Although we may have no 'answers' it is
important to question some of the traditional assumptions. Our research is
as much about experiencing and reflecting on the process as it is about
providing empirical data. That does not mean that the empirical data is
unimportant, for what we have as we reach the interpretative stage of the
research process is a wealth of data generated by 60 in-depth interviews,
each lasting approximately two hours, in each country, that is 240 qualita-
tive interviews, that give us a privileged and unique insight into the lives
and experiences of women who participate in sport.
At the stage of interpretation and analysis, it is important to recognise
what the women themselves have prioritised in their responses. We have a
huge amount of detailed, qualitative information and to a certain extent we
have to enter the research by prioritising issues, identifying themes and
interpreting the material. At this stage we need to question the validity of
us as academics interpreting other women's worlds. We are back to the
debate about 'experience as knowledge' and how far our particular stand-
points will inevitably determine our interpretations. In agreement with
Janet Holland and Caroline Ramazanoglu (1995: 133), when addressing
the 'art of interpretation' in their research:

Feminists have had to accept that there is no technique of analysis or

methodological logic that can neutralise the social nature of interpreta-
tion. We cannot read meaning ill interview texts, allowing them to
196 Researchi1lg Women and Sport
propose their own meanings, without also reading meanings into them,
as we make sense of their meanings. Feminist researchers can only try
to explain the grounds on which selective interpretations have been
made by making explicit the process of decision making which pro-
duces the interpretation and the logic of method on which these deci-
sions are based. This entails acknowledging complexity and
contradiction which may be beyond the interpreter's experience, and
recognising the possibility of silences and absences in their data.
These are important points that reflect the commitment of feminists to an
acknowledgment of their own position in the research process, including
the recognition that all research is based on value judgements and there-
fore cannot be the objective and neutral process that traditional research
has laid claim to.

CONCLUSION

Inherent in our research is the acceptance that sport is a gendered world

where sporting knowledge is not neutral but founded on relations of
power. In the world of sport most knowledge has been presented by men,
validated by them and constructed such that it is represented as neutral
and applicable to all humanity. Our research argues that sporting knowl-
edge must be ontologically based, grounded in 'the interests, competen-
cies, experience and understandings of knowledge-producers' (Stanley and
Wise 1993: 191). In other words we need to recognise that women who
participate in specific sports are the 'knowers' and that their experiences
are not only 'legitimate knowledge' but are a vital source for our under-
standing of sport. However, care must be taken not to deconstruct social
categories, such that 'woman', or indeed 'sportswoman', loses political
and social relevance. This theoretical starting point is implicitly tied to
methodological debates about the research process and the decisions taken
about the methods used for gathering data.
Cross-national research means working with colleagues from different
countries, cultures and, in this case, with different academic backgrounds.
We have had the privilege of visiting countries involved in the research,
gained immense experience from integrating with people interested and
involved in our academic areas and, in particular, with women involved in
sport and those politically committed to an increased understanding and
support of women and sport.
Cross-national research demands time and extensive discussion. Oyen
 The Sporting Lives of Women 197
(1990: 17) poses an interesting question when she asks: •Are cross-
national studies simply so time- and energy-consuming that they are
incompatible with the combined role of mother, wife and comparatist?'
There is no doubt that there are few women involved in this area of
research and that gender is central to an explanation of why this is the
case. My experiences of the research process have reaffirmed that gender
relations must be central to our social analysis and theorising for this
research exists within a context of higher education, paid work, family
responsibilities, leisure, relationships and emotions, all of which are gen-
dered and impinge on our research experiences.

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13 Challenging Dominant
Ideologies in the Research
Process
Barbara Humberstone

This is an autobiographical account which narrates particular resistances,

dilemmas and struggles in the production of knowledge. It considers ten-
sions encountered throughout an ethnographic research project on physi-
cal and outdoor education. Through the 'telling' of this account, I intend
to explore briefly some of the emergent 'issues' which have been and are
part of on-going debates around research/theory within contemporary
feminism. This account raises and revisits a number of aspects and
dimensions which were embedded in, and are a consequence of. my
commitment to ethnographic research. The chapter is concerned with my
first major research project, which involved me in intensive field work
for three months as a participant observer in an outdoor education
centre. I The autobiographical account given here focuses upon two
issues. Firstly, I examine my dilemmas as a feminist researcher in the
process of analysing data with regard to conventional/orthodox feminist
theories of that time. Secondly, I highlight my experience in challenging
specific research assessment criteria which arguably have their roots in a
positivistic (masculinist?) paradigm. Through this exposition of personal
experience, I hope to reveal something of the struggles at the interfaces
between active agent (woman as research medium) and diverse ideologi-
cal frameworks.
In the research project, I was committed to the concept of reflexivity.
Reflexivity is generally seen as an important aspect of ethnographic
research involving in-depth reflections upon and critiques during the
whole research process by the researcher (Hammersley and Atkinson
1983; Stacey 1988). It is through these written comprehensive reflexive
accounts that readers of the research may make a more informed interpre-
tation of the findings. Reflexivity is thus a form of intellectual autobiogra-
phy (Stanley 1993). Since ethnographic and feminist research challenge
traditional notions of objectivity in research and argue that all research is
in some way SUbjective, then the authenticity of the research product may,
in part, be ascertained by readings of autobiographical accounts of the

199
200 Researching Women and Sport
research process. Thus my unpublished research thesis, like many other
ethnographic and feminist dissertations, consisted of a high percentage of
detailed autobiographical accounting of the research process, discussing
my feelings and the dilemmas which I encountered before and during the
collection of the data and whilst analysing it (Humberstone 1987).
Throughout the research I followed the process of 'grounded theorizing' in
which theory is generated during the process of the research. 'Generating
theory from the data means that most hypotheses and concepts not only
come from the data, but are systematically worked out in relation to the
data during the course of the research' (Glaser and Strauss 1967: 6).
Stanley (1990a) similarly advocates the importance to feminist theory of
its derivation from the experience of the research process. She argues,
... feminist theory would be directly derived from 'experience' whether
this is experience of a surveyor interview or an ethnographic research
project, or whether it is experience of reading and analyzing historical
or contemporary documents. Thus its analysis would centre on an ex-
plication of the 'intellectual autobiography' ... of the feminist
researcher/theoretician: it would produce accoulltable knowledge, in
which the reader would have access to the details of the contextually-
located reasoning processes which give rise to the 'findings', the out-
comes. (Stanley 1990a: 209)
Consequently, for both critical ethnographers and feminist researchers, the
visibility of the researcher's personal experience and a self-interrogation
of their own values and motivations embedded in the particular research
process are pivotal. Such reflexivity not only provides the reader with
some access into the ways in which the researcher constructed (theoret-
ically, methodologically, emotionally and perceptually) the research and
analysed the findings, but also it can provide some insight into the ways in
which webs of power work in both the culture under exploration and
within the particular research process. Researchers' struggles to avoid
compromising their principles and their dilemmas surrounding relation-
ships of power within the research are now becoming more available
through such written reflexive accounts of research. 2

(RE)-CONCEPTUALISATION OF POWER IN THE DEVELOPMENT

OF FEMINIST THEORIES

Feminist sociology of sport, and perhaps to a lesser extent feminist sociol-

ogy of physical education (PE), have until recently. I would suggest,
 Challenging Dominant Ideologies 201
tended to adopt and legitimate 'traditional orthodoxies and aspirations of
the women's movement' (Cooper 1994: 435) in both theoretical frame-
works and conceptualisation of power. 3 Yet, more widely, many fem-
inisms have developed which challenge some of these orthodoxies.
Embedded in many of these contemporary approaches is a reconceptual-
isation of power (Cooper 1994; Weedon 1987).4 The importance for me of
this reconceptualisation is that it acknowledges the idea that power lies
not only in structures, but also at the centre of social relations and prac-
tices. Furthermore, it allows for the conceptualisation of possibilities for
radical social transformation which I, like many others, have found prob-
lematic and absent within conventional feminisms (Humberstone 1995).
Power is a contestable concept which nevertheless realises its effects
through historically specific forms. These forms are mediated as ideolo-
gies embedded in language, cultures and knowledge' and are central to the
ways in which power works both productively and relationally.6 Cooper's
(1994) work reconceptualises power and resistance in feminist theory
through an engagement with the writings of Foucauldian feminists.
Significantly, she argues that she is concerned not to categorise rigidly but
rather to construct a framework, albeit fluid, which can apply to 'issues of
agency, inequality and social change' (Cooper 1994: 449).7 In this recon-
ceptuatisation, power is constituted as all-pervasive.8 Moreover, she
reminds us that the relationship between the physical and the social is
dialectical, both aspects influencing and informing each other. Power thus
op~rates throughout particular sites such as institutions and the body.9
From these perspectives, power is seen to permeate the research process
and is implicated in the knowledge constituted by any research.
The production of 'valid' knowledge from research takes place through
its legitimisation by various dominant ideologies. Knowledge constituted
by research becomes acceptable/unacceptable, valid/invalid depending
upon whether it 'fits' with the values, assumptions and ideologies of those
in a position to legitimate its credibility. Many feminist researchers and
critical sociologists are concerned with the question: 'What constitutes
valid knowledge and in whose interests does it operate?'IO This critical
awareness of the all-pervasiveness of power and the wish not to abuse the
possession of power has led to a greater emphasis by many on personal
narrative in the research product (see, for example, Stanley 1990b). But
desJlite this oJlcnness through autobiographical accounting in some ethno-
graphies lind feminist research, rarely are issues to do with power, such as
ideological struggles, made visible during the processes of analysis of the
data or at the level of assessment of the credibility of research. Seldom are
the processes sllrrounding sensitive issues to do with research credibility,
202 Researching Women and Sport
validation and legitimisation made available for scrutiny. At such junc-
tures, institutional knowledge meets 'new' knowledge whose epistemol-
ogy may be built on alternative paradigms from those which the former is
charged with crediting. II
By presenting this autobiography, I am making visible expressions of
power at particular times and junctures and exploring mediating processes
and practices. Clearly, by the very nature of this presentation, these are my
views, values and assumptions which are exposed and which are open to
scrutiny as well as those underpinning the ideologies which I critique. In
the following, for each case which I raise, it is the ideological form of
knowledge which is being contested. But in one case it is institutional and
malestream, and in the other, I make visible my own struggles within the
counter-ideology of traditional feminisms. I make no apologies for
drawing attention to the latter struggle. Feminism(s) is now credible and
powerful and has clearly influenced Western society at many levels, even
if not to the practical extent feminists would want. 12 As such feminism(s)
(and so society) can only benefit from entering into critical dialogue both
with 'outside' agencies and within its own traditions of thought (cf.
Kitzinger 1994). I shall begin with the latter.

IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE 1 - FEMINISM(S) AND

ETHNOGRAPHY

The issue of whether or not there can be feminist ethnographies was being
debated (Strathern 1987; Stacey 1988; Abu-Iughod 1990) whilst many
feminists from a variety of backgrounds, including PE, were adopting
ethnographic approaches to their research. Clearly, many of the chapters in
this book highlight ethnographic research undertaken by feminists.
Nevertheless, there seem to me, on occasions, to have been misguided
assumptions made by traditional macrotheorists that researching culture
and thence interaction through participant observation is in some way
'non-theoretical' and that such research cannot contribute to our
understanding of how inequality works or identify contexts in which
power relations or images may be challenged. The latter contexts, in
which there may be challenges to power relations, are perceived not to
exist or at best may be thought to be illusory by many adherents to tradi-
tional macroperspectives.
Ethnographers, and more recently critical ethnographers, have a history
of negotiating their position and world view within prevailing positivistic
paradigms and dominant sociological traditions. Sparkes (1992) gives an
 Challenging Dominant Ideologies 203
excellent overview concerning the various paradigm debates, including
that of feminist research. But neither he nor Scraton and F1intoff (1992)
appear to raise as problematic issues around the relationship between
ethnographic research from feminist perspectives and traditional feminist
theory. However, Chapter 11 (Flintoff) and other chapters in this book do
identify this as problematic. Here, I shall draw attention to this tension
through exemplifying my own dilemmas when faced with the limiting
effects of traditional macrofeminist theory while attempting to address
ethnographic research concerned with relations and agency.
I undertook my first major ethnographic research into outdoor education
for a variety of reasons, mainly as a consequence of my own experience in
teaching which included teaching physical and outdoor education. There
seemed to me to be a change in relations between teachers and girls and
boys, and between the pupils themselves, when involved in out-of-school
outdoor/adventure activities. Through 'valid' research, I wanted to explore
whether I was under an illusion or whether, if there were changes, what they
were and then to disseminate that knowledge. I also thought that any
findings would only be taken seriously if the research was given credibility
through being undertaken and subsequently evaluated for a PhD degree.
After much searching, I came across ethnographic research which
seemed to be most appropriate for the purposes of my research and to fit
with my values (see Humberstone 1987). I spent three months as a partici-
pant observer in an outdoor education centre collecting data, including that
concerned with forms of communication through a variety of methods.
Ethnography, for me, allowed for respect for the participants involved in
research, giving them a voice to be heard. That is not to deny that other
methodologies may have a similar capacity.
Furthermore, for Stacey (1988) ethnography is compatible with fem-
inism, which she argues is sensitive to issues of abuse of power and to the
amelioration of oppression:

... like a good deal of feminism, ethnography emphasizes the experien-

tial. Its approach to knowledge is contextual and interpersonal, attentive
like most women, therefore, to the concrete realm of every day reality
and human agency. Moreover, because in ethnographic studies the
researcher herself is the primary medium, the 'instrument' of research,
this method draws on those resources of empathy. connection, and
concern that many feminists consider to be women's special strengths
and which they argue should be germinal in feminist research.
Ethnographic method also appears to provide much greater respect for
and power to one's research subjects. (Stacey 1988: 22)13
204 Researching Women and Sport
The importance of a reftexive account for both ethnographic and feminist
research is that it makes visible the ways in which the researcher, who is
central to the research, inftuences and is inftuenced by it. It highlights the
ways in which the researcher weaves her way through the webs of power,
whilst attempting to remain true to her principles. As she navigates her
pathway through the research, different confticts may arise and need to be
negotiated. Clearly, then, such an autobiography will not try to hide 'prob-
lems' but will wish to explore and expose them. I described the stress, ten-
sions and dilemmas encountered during the field research in my dissertation.
Here I shall draw attention to the particular intellectual tensions and dilem-
mas which I contended with during the analytical stage of my research.
I collected vast amounts of data which I then categorised. Patterns began
to emerge concerning forms of communication which identified empower-
ing relations between teachers and pupils, and between girls and boys. Girls
appeared more confident in themselves and boys seemed to respect them-
selves and girls. I was in something of a quandary in relation to my recog-
nising and acknowledging structural inequalities and relations of power and
yet emphasising human agency, its constraints and potential for change.
My motives were to research teaching and learning in outdoor education to
see if there were challenges to social/gender relations and if so how this
shift in power relations operated. It seemed to me that, on occasions, I had
identified this shift. However, feminist theoretical frameworks, which I had
read prior to and during my research in the field, seemed to me to be over-
determinist. They appeared to exhibit little flexibility which might allow for
the possibility of change or emancipatory contexts. Like all critical femi-
nists I see, and at times experience, the realities of oppressive structures.
Yet I also believe that individuals, especially the less powerful, amongst
whom I include children and young people, should be given voice and
credibility. So it was something of a dilemma for me to develop my
research thesis beyond the conscious awareness of the participants in the
research. In addition, I was concerned, in a sense, not to impose a frame-
work upon the data. 'What right had I to claim superior knowledge to that
of the participants?' was something that I asked myself. In addition to this,
feminist theory at that time seemed unable to explain or provide concepts
with which to analyse my data. To me, then, feminism appeared to be fixed
in structural relationships which were inadequate to get to grips with
exploring the dynamic processes of communication which constituted the
relations emerging from my ethnographic research.
After the field research and during the second cycle of data analysis, I
began to read the works of feminist theologian Mary Daly (1973). As a con-
sequence of this reading, my thinking was able to shift. I could identify, at a
 Challenging Dominant Ideologies 205
personal level, with her values and her work gave me the confidence to
move from analysis at a microanalytical, interpersonal and interpretive level
and to enter into dialogue with broader theoretical issues. She legitimated
the possibility of empowerment and drew attention to issues surrounding
oppression, affecting men as well as women. At that time, for me,
Her work ... recognised oppressive machismo affecting both men and
women. At this point, [after the intensive field research] I felt it neces-
sary to engage in more depth with theoretical conceptualisations of
power: constraints and independence [empowerment] ... This formed a
critical period both in my own thinking and the development of the
thesis .. , My frame of reference which had located me largely within a
radical naturalist orientation had blocked me from moving beyond the
conscious awareness of teachers and pupils in analysis towards a struc-
tural perspective. (Humberstone 1987: 264)
I was then not only able to give voice to the girls' and boys' experiences-
the nuances and subtleties of the situation and contextual variation - but
also, in part, able to locate the research within wider structural frameworks
which allowed for an interpretation of process and for possibility, but
which did not fit neatly into conventional feminisms of that time (cf.
Humberstone 1987). The resulting conceptual model which I developed to
explore interaction and social change located communicative practices
within wider structural factors. These structures drew upon frame factors
(Evans 1982), but my model placed gender at the centre and provided for
the identification of empowerment at the level of communication and
interaction. 14 Arguably, in this way, it can be possible to compare ethno-
graphic studies of teaching and leaming in different contexts, framed by
various factors, and so identify and contrast subtleties and nuances of con-
textual variability (Humberstone 1995). By making these conceptual links
between studies in various areas of PE, we may develop further insight
into the criteria by which disparate forms of pedagogy may help to give
material substance to our feminist ideals of social change. Such research,
rather than creating 'closure', may provide the opportunity to open up
pathways towards equity.

IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE 2 - POSITIVISM; 'MALESTREAM'

CREDIBILITY AND ETHNOGRAPHY

Rarely are ideological struggles at the level of assessment of credibility of

research made visible. We perhaps assume that researchers, of either a
206 Researching Women and Sport
positivistic orientation or an int~rpretative orientation, are not easily
seduced by each other's world view. IS Correctly, in my view, it is argued
that the quality of research may only be judged from the criteria embodied
in whichever paradigm the research purports to belong to (Sparkes 1992).
Like Stanley (l990b) and Sparkes (1992), I agree that whilst quantitative
data can be part of research within an interpretive paradigm, it is unneces-
sary for such data to be used, through the imposition of positivistic crite-
ria, to confer 'validity' upon that research project as a whole. The problem
raised here is concerned, not only with resolving misunderstandings and
apparent antagonisms which may be created between antithetical academic
world views, but also about addressing issues of hierarchy and power
embedded within and between particular paradigms.
The positivistic paradigm is still very powerful, albeit highly contested,
not only in the world of PE, sport and leisure (Harris 1983; Sparkes 1992;
Hemingway 1995), but also more widely. It has held a position of consid-
erable dominance for many years and is underpinned by taken-for-granted
notions of hierarchy (Silverman 1985; Harding 1987). Its pervasion at a
fundamental level may still be effective in influencing an individual or
group's perceptions of what constitutes 'valid' research. 16 This I highlight
in the following account.
Like all who undertake research which is to be assessed for a doctorate
qualification, I had to attend a meeting at which I was called upon to
defend my thesis. Immediately after this, I was asked to wait outside the
room whilst the outcome was discussed and debated. After almost an hour,
I was called in again. There seemed to have been some disagreement
between the external examiner, who was a noteworthy professor of educa-
tion having worked for some considerable time within ethnographic para-
digms, and the internal examiner, a lecturer in education, early in his
academic career, who had come originally from a psychological (positivis-
tic) background. The latter had only relatively recently become interested
in ethnography and seemed to assume that he knew much of what there
was to know about this approach to research. The upshot of this was that
the internal examiner's view held sway and I was asked to make certain
brief additions to the thesis which would satisfy his positivistic leanings
and perhaps his machismo.
This I could not and would not do. I was committed to working within
an interpretive paradigm and could not resort to using positivistic criteria
to make the thesis ·valid'. Instead, despite much of the thesis already
being taken up with methodological issues and reflexive accounts of the
research process, I wrote an additional chapter in which I took the internal
examiner by- the hand through -
the research process, whilst spelling out
- -
 Challenging Dominant Ideologies 207
more strongly and in greater detail the various ways in which I had
attempted to provide for the credibility and authenticity of the research
within its ethnographic paradigm. I could indeed have compromised my
principles and provided an additional paragraph to an earlier chapter
which would have satisfied the internal examiner and saved me stress,
time and effort. Instead, I worked at helping him to understand the criteria
by which, I felt, ethnographic research might be authenticated. The aspects
which were of concern to him were to do with 'triangulation' and the use
of the quantitative data which I had collected.
During the participant observation, I had decided to collect quantitative
data concerning all the pupils who attended for the weekly residential
adventure courses in order to locate the case study pupils in terms of age,
sex and social class. I asked· all the pupils to fill in questionnaires at the
end of their stay at the centre. I had been hesitant about this as I did not
want to disrupt the pupils' experiences or distort the research. But I
needed this information and other details of the pupils, and thought I
would additionally use Osgood's Semantic Differentiation (Osgood 1975;
Thomas 1978) to compare pupils' perceptions of themselves, each other
and their teachers in the contexts of the centre and mainstream school. The
results from the questionnaire I then analysed using The Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). I excluded from the main body of
the thesis the results from this quantitative data but added a brief appendix
which included them. The internal examiner wanted me not only to utilise
this quantitative data to validate the qualitative data, but also to use trian-
gulation to identify 'objective' reality. \1 The final paragraph in the addi-
tional chapter, entitled 'Principled Enquiry - Epistemological Purity?',
which I wrote in order to guide the internal examiner through the thesis,
sets out the case against using triangulation positivistically and argues for
alternative ways of assessing credibility in ethnography:

Triangulation of participants' perspectives when used in attempts to

demonstrate objective reality can, I would suggest, foreclose under-
standing and stultify the emergence of insight. ... The pupil question-
naire data was used primarily to locate case study pupil characteristics
within the general characteristics of the pupils who attended .... Its
inclusion as a methodological tool ... touched a discordant note for me.
The data generated through Osgood's Semantic Differential technique,
T-tested for significance, supported my own subjective interpretation,
which I had held before entering the field, and the findings which
emerged from the various data sources (of difference between school
and the outdoor centre). However, it was the essence of this difference
208 Researching Women and Sport
and how it was accomplished in and through classroom interaction
which were my abiding concerns. The culmination for me of the research
'" was through the ways in which I was able through ethnomethodologi-
cal analyses to make available the complex and subtle processes in
which images and relations were accomplished, in lessons, on occasions.
By presenting the teacher's 'practical reasoning' as a topic of inquiry my
own analyses were made accessible. Ethnographically informing this
'practical reasoning' by presenting pupils' and teachers' accounts further
illuminated the ways in which message!! were received and understood.
This version of 'triangulation' is not incompatible with the philosophical
assumptions underlying a naturalistic paradigm since the intention is
enhancement of sociality and not verification. In this case, the method-
ological technique remains more epistemologically true to its naturalistic
paradigm since it is the making available of the reflexive awareness
which is attempted (not the verification of 'fact'). (Humberstone 1987:
275)
Despite being placed under tremendous pressure to utilise positivistic cri-
teria, in the form of triangulation of the data sources and methods, to make
valid the thesis, I was able to resist but under considerable stress. What is
more, the internal examiner, immediately after the viva, offered to help me
with the recommended additions. Needless to say, I declined this offer.
To me Ihis incident was not only an issue of paradigmatic corruption but
also an expression of oppressive gender power relations. In hindsight, I
think that this offer was made in good faith. Even so, the events highlight
the ways in which assumptions by some men and women whose back-
grounds lie in positivistic, 'malestream' paradigms may hold sway over
women and men ethnographers. This case exemplifies the processes by
which knowledge made available by 'woman as researcher', particularly
in ethnographic research in which the researcher is the primary medium of
research, can be considered insufficient to render that knowledge 'valid'.
For this male examiner, and perhaps for others with similar research
groundings, research can be authenticated only in positivistic terms.
Further, this arguably demonstrates the ways in which some academics
need to demonstrate their 'superior' knowledge and understanding of
research despite evidence to the contrary. 18
Clearly, this account shows that whilst some people may be seduced by
the richness and variety that ethnographic research can afford. it may still
be difficult for them to shed both their positivistic leanings and gendered
assumptions and identifications. This is problematic for ethnographic
research and for researchers. Such sensitive issues. like other dilemmas
 Challenging Dominant Ideologies 209
created and encountered during the research process, are significant and
rarely brought out into the open. 'Doing' research is about creating new
knowledge. Whilst much ethnographic research is concerned with the con-
struction of cultural contexts, critical and feminist research is about social
change. All forms of critical research, arguably, are overtly political acts
and as such they are embedded in ideological struggles. As is evident from
other contributions in this book, we need to be aware of and sensitive to
the ways in which power is realised at all levels throughout research.
Perhaps, in a sense, this latter incident provided the opportunity through
which the issue of ethnographic research credibility could be raised more
fully for the internal examiner and maybe the event had some influence on
his subsequent thinking and practice.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Through this feminist 'intellectual autobiography', I have drawn attention

to the importance of reflexivity, while data are collected, during and after
analyses. This chapter, I hope, comes some way to illuminating the dialec-
tic between ideology, structure and personal struggles. Merton (1988),
cited in Stanley (1993), argues that:

Among other things the sociological autobiography is a personal

exercise - a self-exemplifying exercise - in sociology of scientific
knowledge. (It is) The constructed personal text of the interplay
between active agent and social structure ... (Merton 1988: 19-20)

I have made visible aspects of research which are generally not made
visible and issues which are not generally open to debate or wider
scrutiny. Using autobiography to raise these discussions, I could be
charged with self-indulgence or even paranoia. This is for the reader to
judge. For a woman as ethnographer engaged in feminist-orientated
research, there seems a double bind. Not only is she the main instrument
of the research process and therefore, in a patriarchal society. vulnerable
in many ways. but "also as a feminist ethnographer she seeks a more
complex conceptual framework than orthodox structural feminism can
provide, a framework which can accommodate and examine social change
and transformation at both microanalytical and structural levels. This, I
suggest, requires feminist ethnographers and researchers of PE and sport
to critically engage with postmodern and poststructural feminist notions
and analyses of power.
210 Researching Women and Sport
Notes
Some of the findings can be found in Humberstone (1986; 1987; I 990a and
1990b). Detailed methodological discussions can be found in the accounts
given in Humberstone (1987).
2 Oakley (1981) was amongst the first to raise the issue of power relations
with research subjects. Flintoff in this book (Chapter II) covers this in more
detail. Farran (1990) draws attention, in her research of a water activity
centre, to issues surrounding commissioned research and the problems
created as a consequence of time restrictions placed upon her in producing
her results.
3 Scraton (1992) and Hargreaves (1994) give excellent overviews of conven-
tional feminist theories.
4 I draw upon the work of Davina Cooper (1994) for this discussion. She is
concerned with the ways in which Foucault's framework has been 'worked'
by Foucauldian feminists and she engages with their work, not with that of
Foucault directly. She carefully teases out the strengths and weaknesses of
these approaches, developing further ideas which enable a greater sophisti-
cation in rethinking an understanding of the ways in which power operates.
Importantly, she argues for the fluidity of frameworks which can adapt to
analyses of power which are infinitely more complex than previously
conceptualised.
S Other modes through which particular ideologies mediate the effects of
power are force, discipline and resource. Force constitutes physical strength,
which is less used publicly in Western societies but is still present in private
interaction such as abuse in the home. Discipline constitutes hierarchy, sur-
veillance, structure and discourse. Money, time, and legal rights are
resources.
6 The notion of power as productive and power as relational are discussed in
detail in Cooper (1994). A number of tensions and difficulties are raised. I
draw on the notion that power, rather than purely repressive, is also produc-
tive. Suffice it to say for the purposes of this chapter that by using the term
'productively' , I acknowledge the ways in which power at all levels shapes,
creates and transforms social relations, practices and institutional processes.
By using the term 'relationally' I recognise more than relationships of
inequality, subordination and domination. In this latter way, we can draw
attention to those exercising power and to the resistance which is almost
always an integral part of power. What is important in considering social
change, however, is that an emphasis only upon resistance rather than trans-
formation implies a form of closure.
7 I perceive these developments as something akin to the developments this
century in physics. Newtonian theory is still applicable to everyday life and
gives a valid understanding of the movement of objects, but the develop-
ment of quantum theory makes more complex and contradictory explana-
tions (see Hawking 1988).
8 Poststructuralist approaches which tend to emphasise social construction as
opposed to biological and material determinacy have been questioned by
some feminists for their 'idealism' and pluralism and apparent inability
to acknowledge the realities of oppression. An excellent critique of
 Challenging Dominant Ideologies 211
'postfeminism' is found in Scraton (1994). However, issues which focus
around the processes by which power operates and is all pervasive are not
yet fully addressed.
9 Shilling (1993) points to the body as·a significant site in social theory.
Gilroy, in Chapter 7, explores links between physical activity and social
power, highlighting women's possible empowerment through bodily control
and bodily skills.
10 See Bernstein (1977); Harding (1987) and Stanley (1990b).
II See the letter, 'Conspiracy of Silence' (name withheld) in the May 1993
issue of the British Sociological Association Newsletter-Network (p. 7).
This letter raises issues around PhD assessment by examiners from different
disciplines who apparently found sociological theory and method, at least as
utilised by the student, inadequate.
12 Despite the influence which feminism has achieved in Western society, we
cannot, however, ignore the resistances and challenges to these successes by
those whose privileges appear threatened by it (cf. Faludi 1992).
13 When researching those in positions of power, however, it is not desirable,
nor the researchers' intent, to provide them with greater power (see Anne
Plintoff's Chapter II which considers this further). There is recognition that
it is relevant to apply critical feminist perspectives to research into men's
experiences, to explore how forms of masculinity are constituted in and
through sport and PE (cf. Messner and Sabo 1990).
14 Evans (1982) draws upon the work of DahllOf (1971), Lungren (1981) and
Bernstein (1977) in the construction of a model which offers a conceptual-
isation of the ways in which teachers and pupils make sense of and act upon
the learning process within 'academic' classrooms. Space, time, resource,
physical and other features are seen as constraining action but also mediated
by teacher and pupil.
15 See Brenda Grace's Chapter 2, in which she discusses and critiques differ-
ent paradigms.
16 I emphasise this concern in relation to cross national research into outdoor
adventure education (see Humberstone 1996).
17 I am not suggesting that the use of triangulation is in any wayan inappropri-
ate research methodology. Rather, • am advocating care and understanding
in its use, together with greater awareness of epistemological issues.
18 Harrison and Lyon (1993) draw attention to associated ethical issues sur-
rounding 'intellectual autobiography'. Clearly, in presenting this section of
my account, I am exposing and interpreting relations with another person. I
do this to reveal the ways in which power is exercised and resistance to it
played out. My ethical concern here is to do with anonymity. However,' am
certain that the examiner to whom' refer cannot be identified other than by
those most closely involved with the viva who are least likely to read this.

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Peiformarlce: Journal o/Feminist Tlleory, 5, I, pp. 7-27.
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in Bernstein, B. Class, codes and control, London: Routledge, Kegan and Paul.
Cooper, D. (1994) 'Productive, Relational and Everywhere? Conceptualising
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Index
Abu Odeh, L. 50 bisexual 38
Abu-Iughod, L. 202 Blair, M. 187
access 38, 175 body,the 43,54-5,58,62,81,107
Acker, J. 19,21 body builders 102-3
adventure 211 body image 74,183
advocacy 1,13,17,24 body shape 85, 107
aerobics 74 Bordo, S. 82, 100, to I, to9
agency 190,102,103,201,203 Bourdieu, P. 83,99, 101. 102, 109.
Alexander Technique 106 110
Ali, A. 51,55 Bowles,O. 31,166
Allen, G. 146 Brackenridge, C. 1,2,3-5, 16, 127,
Allen, K. R. 21,22,23 128. 138
Allison, M. 128 Bredemeier, B. 76,197
analysis 26,133,136,195,204 Bredemeir, J. 187
androcentric 19, 184 Brown, J. 37,38
Arber, S. 133 British Sports Association for the
assimilation model 51-2 Disabled 8. 9
athletes 114, 115, 118, 119, 124 Brittan, A. 170
Atkinson, P. 169, 199 Brunsdon, C. 159
Australia 113, 116, 122 Burton, S. 191, 192
Australian Sports Council 119 Burton Nelson, M. 138
autobiography 31,199,202,204, Buscaglia. L. 117.121
209 British Wheelchair Racing
Association (BWRA) 118
badminton 142,147,148, 153, 154,
156 Canaan, J. 167
Ball, S. J. 166,172 Canadian 83
Bandura, A. 68 canoeing 88
Bangladeshi 55 Carr, C. II
Banks, J. 113 Carrington, B. 52,53
Barber, K. M. 21,22,23 Carroll. B. 52
Barrell, G. 157 Cash, T. F. 73
Barry, K. 19,21 Central Council for Physical
Bartky, S. L. 82,93 Recreation (CCPR) 7
Barton, L. 121 chauvinism 53
basketball 10,73, 122, 147 cheerleading 69
Baudrillard, J. 190 Chernin. K. 82
BBC 159 Cheung-Judge, M. 1
de Beauvoir, S. 98 child protection 130, 131
Bella, L. 147 Christian 50
Benyon, J. 175 Clarke, O. 2,39, 128, 194
Bernstein, B. 211 Clifton, R. 69
biography 1, 13, 96, 185 Colqhoun, D. 81

214
 Index 215

Colvin. M. 38 Esseveld. 1. 19
Connell. R. W. 82.91.98. 170 ethics 134-5, .174. 176.211
Cook. J. A. 17.24.31.33.172 ethnocentric 185
Cooper. D. 201 ethnography 20, 165-76. 199-205
Corbin. C. B. 69.71 eurocentric 51. 52
corporeality 99 Evans. J. 51. 205
counsellor 136
Crawford. S. 74 Faludi, S. 127,211
cricket 8. 70 Farran, D. 210
critical theory 18. 21 F"arrington, T. 74
cross-national 185, 188. 194, 195, Fasting, K. 75
196 Fazey, M. D. A. 69
Crosset, T. 127,138 Featherstone, M. 81
Curry. T. 1. 168 Feltz. D. L. 68
cycling 92 feminism 17, 26. 167. 178, 202
feminist 50,83,121,164,165,167,
Daly. D. 53 186
Daly, M. 204 black 23
dance 5.82,89,52.61 empiricism 21
Davies. L. 166 epistemology 20-24, 30
Dayyab,55 Foucauldian 201
Dempster, E. 82 lesbian 2, 23, 36
Denzin, N. 186 liberal 7, 13,27,36
Dewar. A. xiii, I, 14,24.36 methodology 17, 187
disability 8.9. 134-117. 121 politics 2, 17
disability sport 121 radical 13.27,50
discourse 81,99,38 research 167, 186. 199
discrimination 5. 127. 129 socialist 191
Dixey, R. 159 standpoint theory 22-3
docile bodies 82, 100 Ferris, E. 184
Douglas, M. 128 Figueroa. P. 52
dress 176 Finch, J. 146, 157, 175
Duelli Klein. R. 166 Finkelhor, D. 127,137
Dyer. K. 184 Fisher, D. 131
fitness 81
eating disorders 82 fitra 54
Eccles, J. S. 80 Flaherty, M. G. 184. 194
economic capital 102 Fleming. S. 55
ego orientation 72 Fletcher, S. 165
Eklund, R. 74 Flintoff, A. 22, 31, 168, 173. 194.
Ellis. C. 194 203
Ellis, R. 122 Fonow, M. M. 17,24,31.33.172
empowerment 17.75.91-4. 103. football 62
109,115,137,172.205 Foucault, M. 82,99,100,101,20\
epistemology 17-19.20-24.30, Fox. K. R. 71
186-7.202,205-6 frame factors 205
Epstein, D. 40
Equal Opportunities 51, 165 gate keepers 174, 175
Equal Opportunities Commission Gavron. H. 150
216 Index
gay 37,38,40,46 Hemingway, J. 206
gender difference 74, 75 Henderson, K. A. 84,121
gender regimes 168 heterosexual xiii,2, 10, 13,25,30,
gender relations 17, 53, 164-178. 40.44,83,84,93,170
. 188,189,190, 197,204 hijab 64,66
General Household Survey 160 hiking, 89
Giddens, A. t 90 Hill Collins, P. 190
Gill, D. 69 hockey, 2, 5, 6, to, 142, 144, 148,
Gilroy, S. 128 150, lSI, 154, 156
Glaser, B. G. 136,199,200 Holland, J. 169, 187, 195
Goodson, I. F. 2 Hollinshed, G. 52
Gordon-Kelter, J. 18 Hollway, W. 75
Gould,D. 68 homophobia 7,9,13, 15,31,37,38,
governing bodies t 30 46,48,170
Grace, B. M. 3 t hooks, b. xiv, 190
Grafton, S. 39 hopscotch 70
Granleese, J. 69 household dynamics 104,146
Graydon, J. 71,72,74 housework 62,150-151,188
Greed, C. 173 Huberman, A. M. 137
Green, E. 63, 154, 156 Humberstone, B. 1,2,178,200,
Griffin, C. 166, 174 201,203,205,208
Griffin, P. 39,40,47,154,166, 174,
194 identity management 40,47
Griffiths, V. 154 ideology 50,54,64,201
grounded theorizing 200 Imam AI-hadad 55
Gruneau, R. 190 Indian 55
Guttman, L. I 18 informed consent 174
gymnastics 43, 52, 185, 187 initial teacher education 164, 165,
169
Hackney Council 37 integration model 52-3
Hall, M. A. I, 17,20, 184 International Paralympic Committee
Halstead, M. 50 122
Hamid,A. 58 interpretation 169,206
Hammersley, M. 169,199 intervention studies 72
Hanifa, S. 50 interviews 2,25-26,38-39, 55,
harassment 37,43 56-57, 104-5, 114, 130, 133,
Hargreaves, Jennifer viii-ix, xiii, 136, 143, 171, 185, 194
184, 190 Islam 50-67
Hargreaves, John 190
Harold, R. D. 80 Jackson, A. 68
Harris, J. 206 Jeffreys, S. 36
Harrison, B. 211 Jones, G. 70
Hart, E. A. 74 Jones, J. 70
Harter, S. 68
Haug,F. 105 Kabbani, R. 51
Hawesworth, M. E. 21 Kanter, R. M. 18,20
Hawksley, J. 38 Keely, P. 69
health 57, 58. 81 Kelly, L. 166.167.170,171.191.
Hearn,J. 1,128 192
 Index 217
Kerwin, D. 70 media 37,58,64,100, 120, 122,
Kessler, S. 178 123, 135
key informants 172, 179 men 4,6,22,45,52,53,64,91,164,
Khan, M. N. 55 166,167,170,171,172,174,
Khayatt, M. D. 39 177,178,184,189,205,208
Kingsmead 37 Merklinger, A. 118,125
Kirby, S. 26, 126, 127, 134, 135 Mer1eau-Ponty 82
Kitzinger, C. 75,202 Merton, R. 209
Klein, A. 128 methodology 18,23, 183
Klein, D. R. 31,166 Mewshaw, M. 138
knowledge 201 Mies,M. 20
Krane, V. 76 Miles, M. B. 137
Miller, L. 102, 103, 108
Labanowich, S. 122 Millman, M. 18,20
lacrosse 3, 10 Morgan, D. 128
language 100,188,201 Morley, D. 159
Lather, P. 37 Morris, J. 121,158
Leaman, O. 52 Morris, L. 149
Lee, R. L. 133, 135, 194 Morrison, C. I
Lee, R. M. 193 Morrison; T. 138
leisure 149, 155 multicultural 52
Lenney, E. 68 Muslim 50
Lenskyj, H. 127, 129, 184, 194 myths 138
Leonard, D. 154
lesbian 2,4,9, 13,23,27,30, narratives 83,201
36-48,84,93, 103 Nelligan, C. 52
Levant 50, 65 netball 5,8, 10,42,52,70,71
life history research I, 3-13 networks 193
lifestyles 101 Nicholls, 1. O. 72
Lincoln, Y. 186 Nielsen, J. 22, 30
Linford, J. 73
Lirgg, C. D. 68 Oakley, A. 18, 19,56,126,155,
Lovenduski,1. 28,129 170, 172, 194
objectivity 20, 199
machismo 206 observation 175,176
Mahony, P. 164 Observer, The 102
management 10, 12 OFSTBD 37
Marshall, J. I oppression 47, 167,169,205
Martens, R. 70 organisations 1,6,7,12,17,27,32,
Marxist 19,21,22,100 130,131
masculinity 167, 170 Osgood, C. 207
Mason, J. 146, 149 Osgood's Semantic Differentiation
Maynard, M. xiv, xvii, 96,169, 172 207
McAuley, E. 80 outdoor education 199,203,204
McFee, G. 130 Oyen, B. 194,195,196
McKenna, K. 26,126,127,134,
135 Pahl, J. 143
McNay, L. 100 paradigm 19,20,186,206
McRobbic, A. 170 feminist 17
218 Index
paradigm continued quantitative xvii, 20, 207
interpretive 19-20 questionnaires 104, 143,207
positivist 199 Qur'an 55,62
paralympics 8, 113, 119, 120, 122,
123 race 36
participant observation 175, 199, racism 53, 63, 64
207 Ramadan 52, 65
patriarchy 19,47,53,60,75,76,82, Ramazanoglu, C. 100,169,188,
188, 191,209 195
pedagogy 205 Randall, V. 28, 130
Penz,O. 102,103,108 Ranzelli, C. M. 194
Perry, O. 122 Rapoport, R. 142
personal experiences 96 reflexivity 31-3,169, 170, 186, 199,
Petchlikoff, L. 68 204
Petruzello, S. J. 69 Regan,L. 191,192
Pharr, S. 47 Relnharz, S. 28
phenomenology 20 relationality 147
physical activity 59-63,80,81,98, religion, 52, 53
103, 110, 143 research diary 135
physical capital 102, 106, 109 resistance 137
physical competence 69,97 Roberts, H. 20,30, 167, 194
physical education 51 rock climbing 2, 59
college 97 Rothfield, P. 82
ITS course 173 rounders 8, 69
male culture 168 rugby 70
mixed classes 53, 73 Running Sisters Club 10
single sex classes 53, 73
stories about 85-8 Said, B. 40, 50
teachers 5,85, 142; lesbian sample 104, 133
36-48 Scanlan, T. K. 80
physical self-perception profile school 84
(PSPP) 72,74 Scraton, S. 22, 31, 53, 146, 158,
physicality 43, 106, 109, 189 166,173,176, 189, 194,203
positivist epistemology 19,20,21, Sears, J. T. 37
24,205,206 section 28 Local Government Act
postmodern 23,99,178,190,191, (1988) 38
209 self defence 92
poststructuralist 100, 210 self perception 73, 80
Pountney, J. 72 self-confidence 68, 70
power 20,28-9,56,75,91,98, sensual pleasure 88-91
100, 170-2, 188, 193, 194-5, separation model 53
201,209 sexual harassment 127, 129, 130,
prayers 55 139
Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) 54-5 sexual abuse 127,129,130, 131,
purdah 60, 66 139
Purvis, J. xiv, xvii sexuality 5, 27, 36, 4 1, 43, 45, 106
hetero-sexuality 37,42,45-47,
Qarquaz 55 177
qualitative 20, 184, 185, 186 Sfeir, L. 53
 Index 219
Shilling, C. 80, 81, 94, 99, 101, 102, task orientation 72
106,109, 128 Taylor. D. 118
shopping 150--1 teaching style 73, 75
Silverman, D. 206 televisions 159-60
Simons, J. P. 80 tennis 2,3,5,69, 185, 187
Siraj-Blatchford, I. 52 Theberge, N. 102,103
situational vulnerability 69,70,71 theory 20, 36, 99
Skeggs, B. 165 Thomas, K. C. 207
Skelton, A. 168 Thompson, S. 149, 157
skipping 70 time profile 143,144, 145,146,147,
Slade, T. 10-12,27 148, 152, 160
slenderness 100 Times, The 38, 139
Smart, C. 166,167,171 Tinning, R. 81
Smith, D. 18, 19,22,36,82, 189 transformation 24. 33, 201, 209
snowball technique 38, 133 triangulation 130, 207-8
soccer 8,27,62,70,185,187 Turner, B. 99
social class 83, 101, 102
social physique anxiety 74 validity 206
Sparkes, A. 19, 20, 36, 40, 202, Vallee M. 37
206 Vaughan, M. 2,8-10
Spender, D. 19 Veal. A. 1. 160
sport-psychology 75,76 victim dependency 137
Sports Council vii,4,5, 7,9,11,12,
13, ISS, 160 walking 90
Statistical Package for the Social Warren, C. A. 177
Sciences (SPSS) 207 water activity 2 \0
squash 10, 153 Wearmouth, H. 134
Squire, C. 74 Weedon, C. 99,100. 20t
Squirrell, G. 39,40 weight training 74, 107
Stacey, J. 199,202,203 Weinberg, R. 68
standpoint 36, 169 Weskott, M. 22
Stanley, L. 17,18,19,23,30,31, West, A. 128
96,166,169,170,171,187, wheelchair racing 113. 117, 118,
195, 196, 199, 200, 20 I, 206, 120, 123
209 White, A. I, 2, 5-8
Stoke Mandevil/e Hospital lIB Whitson, D. 103, 110
Strathern, M. 202 Whyte, W. F. 126, 172
Strauss, A. L. 136, 199,200 Williams, T. 118
subjectivity 191 Willis, P. 168
swimming 3,8,61,64,69,92,139, Wimbush, E. ISO, ISS, 159, 161
148 windsurfing 2, 110
Szalai, Z. 143 Winston Churchill Fellowship
113-4
taboos 128 Wise. S. 17,18,19,23,30,31,96,
Talbot, M. 53, 142, 143, 146, 148, 166,169,170,171,187,195,
149,157.158.159,160,161, 196
184 women
Tambrands 9 Asian 10,61
tap dancing 87.89 Black 10
220 Index
women continued Woods, P. 175
disabled 23 Woods, S. 40, 47
Muslim 50-67
of colour 23, 30
Young, I. M. 82
Women's Institute 13
Women's Sport Foundation vii, viii,
xvii, 1-15,24-39, 159 Zalk, S. R. 18