Able bodies and sport participation: social constructions of physical ability for gendered and sexually identified bodies

‘I just want to bemewhen I am exercising’: Adrianna's construction of a vulnerable exercise identity

“…According to Wellard (2006) 'exercise self' was not as strong as that of her peers, and could not fully embrace this as a social identity. Nevertheless, she continued to enjoy individual sporting activities that she could practice alone (running in the woods, swimming in the lake, and skiing), and so retained the value of an exercise identity, albeit as something that was more privatized and subjectively defined.…”

Representing valued bodies in PE: a visual inquiry with British Asian girls

“…between hegemonic masculinity and performances of proficient and strong sporting bodies 59 (Connell, 1987(Connell, , 1995Wellard, 2006) simultaneously marks female sporting bodies as 60 unfeminine (Cockburn & Clarke, 2002) or associates women's physical activity with 61 maintenance of a "not too muscley", shapely and aerobicised appearance (Gorely et al, 2003; 62 Markula, 1995).Theoretical framework 63…”

Gendered performances in sport: an embodied approach

“…Nevertheless, it does not mean that the ideas developed are not relevant, as they seek to explore issues that have yet to be fully understood. Exposing the constant conflicting interpretations of what sport should be (and to whom) provides a way of incorporating broader ideas, particularly so in the case of school sport and physical education, where participation is mandatory for young people, although the benefits or outcomes are not necessarily the same (Wellard, 2006). However, the point I am making in this article is that sport participation is not solely based on the actual physical ability to perform movements related to the specific sporting event.…”

“…Although I am aware of the conflicting tensions that emerge through the theoretical trajectories of these concepts (Pringle, 2005), prioritizing the body allows for consideration of how these knowledge systems and relationships of power impact on the individual body. Subsequent investigations (Wellard, 2002(Wellard, , 2006(Wellard, , 2009 convinced me that Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity, within the context of gender and sport, remained relevant particularly by reading these ideas through the body and body performances. Consequently, it is the lack of recognition of the embodied aspects of sport participation (and embodied experience) that is a telling gap within much of the sport literature and especially many subsequent critiques of hegemonic masculinity.…”

“…My point is that "becoming" a fully fledged member of a sports club requires conformity of some sort, which means adapting to further "rules" and codes of play, much like a "hidden curriculum" (Fernandez-Balboa, 1993) of sport that operates in addition to taken for granted prerequisites such as an ability to play the game. Seen in this light, it not only is the young person that is restricted by having to operate within adult discourses of what school-(or club-)based sport should look like, but also is an adult regulated in the way that they only have certain outlets in which to be able to experience sport pleasurably because of the way that many forms of club sport are internally "policed", for instance, age, ability, gender, sexuality, class and race (see Ismond, 2003;Caudwell, 2006;Wellard, 2006;Tulle, 2008;Evans and Bairner, 2013).…”