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Being an out trans-athlete I've learned that you have to [be] mentally tougher than all of your competitors, and willing to sacrifice more and work harder to accomplish the same thing as your competitors. I guess that should make my accomplishments mean even more to me but I find it to be a double edged sword in that my accomplishments do mean something but I work and drive myself into the ground mentally and physically for track, and yet I am still seen as a nobody in track and field not because I can't throw but because I'm trans. There are days where I wonder if it is worth [it,] since being an elite athlete you sacrifice your life no matter your identity but when for me I closet my identity again. I continue to live in skin I can't even look at in the mirror to throw [sic]. People have asked me if it is worth it or why I sacrifice my identity. That answer is relatively simple. I love to throw.

In this study, we examine data from young girls spontaneously talking about what it is like to be a girl athlete. During ten focus group interviews, the girls' (n = 52) often digressed and their conversations provide rich insight into their lived experiences as girl athletes. In this article, we portray these girl athletes' negotiations as they enact, transform, transgress, and combine gendered expectations about being both a girl and an athlete. Using a narrative approach and creative nonfiction, we present vignettes exemplifying the themes of performing girl, performing athlete; gendered sport lessons; sport friends; and sport mentality. Not surprising, these girls' experiences reveal how gender permeates all aspects of their sport experiences. Gender performance was a continuous negotiation with myriad potential outcomes. One could be sporty and girly girl, sporty and not girly girl, a girly girl cheerleader, or one could even be sporty and a cheerleader. We believe that the strong friendships among the girls provided the space in which they could experiment with these multiple gender performances. The strong bonds developed among teammates created space for exploring gender performances and provided a safety net for their daily identity negotiations. By being skilled girl athletes, they are destabilising gender and gendered expectations. At the same time, they are creating fluid and hybrid identities that are personally meaningful yet flexible enough to allow further exploration.

Building on previous research in which we provided an opportunity for female college athletes to construct their own photographic portrayals, this study explored young female athletes' perceptions of the college athlete photographs. Fifty-two girls participated in focus group interviews where they viewed and discussed the images. The young athletes particularly liked images they perceived to show authentic athletes (e.g, in athletic settings, with appropriate sport attire), images they could relate to due to personal experiences, and images that reflected competent and passionate sportswomen. Images perceived as revealing a lack of motivation, poor sporting attitudes, and nonathletic poses generally were disliked. Images depicting multiple social identities (e.g., an athlete in a dress) were controversial and generated much discussion.

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