Gender-collaborative training in elite university sport: Challenging gender essentialism through integrated training in gender-segregated sports

Abstract

Competitive teamsport at university level is predominantly segregated by gender in many western countries, despite concerns that gender segregation in sport can perpetuate sexism and gender inequality. While policies and activities seek to challenge sexism and gender inequality, the use of gender collaboration within a gender-segregated system as a method to achieve this has received little attention. In this article, we draw on a year-long ethnography of elite sport and 48 in-depth interviews with elite male and female athletes at a British university to explore the impact of various forms of gender mixing during training, which we call ‘gender-collaborative training’. While men’s and women’s teams competing against each other in practice matches resulted in gender-essentialist narratives attributing difference to biology, gender-integrated practices and workouts provided opportunities for men and women to train together without the gendered sport-specific associations that can reproduce sexism. We call for gender-collaborative training to be adopted by gender-segregated teams, and suggest that where there is resistance to any integration, teams start with mixed physical workouts and progress to mixed sport-specific training and then mixed competitive training.

“A Group of Guys is Enough to Really Scare Me in General”: Sexual Minorities’ Vetting of Athletic Spaces

“…While we do not suggest that all spaces become mixed-gender, elevating the presence of and opportunity for such competitions may eliminate barriers to participation among SM athletes. Previous research suggests that the incorporation of mixed-gender practices and competition (e.g., men's vs. women's scrimmages, combined workouts) into traditionally segregated competitive sports can challenge sexist notions of gender differences while undermining heteronormative and patriarchal gender structures (Channon & Jennings, 2013; Ogilvie & McCormack, 2021). Our work provides further support that mixed-gender practices alter team norms that perpetuate and are supported by heterosexism and transphobia.…”

An investigation into masculinity among competitive road cyclists

“…This structure can influence individual behaviours and beliefs towards gender. For example, Ogilvie and McCormack (2020) found the structure of sport leads elite male and female athletes to focus on gender differences, which they attributed to biology, but when mixed-gender training was introduced, this belief was dissipated. Further, Magrath's (2017) research on homosexually themed chanting among football fans found that men use language in sport that they would not in other contexts and that may diverge from their own personal beliefs.…”

On the Periphery: Examining Women’s Exclusion From Core Leadership Roles in the “Extremely Gendered” Organization of Men’s Club Football in England

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