Pretty Tough Sports and the Promotion of Female Empowerment in Young Adult Sports Fiction

Heinecken, Dawn

doi:10.1353/uni.2015.0006

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…She is depicted as being uninterested in things like dolls and in a profession like teaching or nursing, and is discouraged by her father to play baseball, told to stop "acting like a tomboy" (p. 19). This is illustrative of the distinction between feminism and athleticism that is commonly made in the media about female athletes (Heinecken, 2015). Olsson and Martiny (2018) found that children's beliefs and behaviors about gendered occupations could be changed by showing them relatable individuals in counter-stereotypical or genderincongruent occupations over a period of time.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…This idea is representative of common stereotypes of female sports and thus, within this age category, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes was clear. Moreover, it fails to show sport as a context for female bonding and comradery (Heinecken, 2015). Throughout this grouping of books, the sport itself was largely deemphasized and simply represented a medium or context to illustrate the dynamics of female relationships.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the cultural ideologies that girls may acquire through books, the ideas represented in sports fiction and the general lack of representation of female athlete role models, may contribute to female learned helplessness (Weiller & Higgs, 1989), decreased perceptions of self-worth, and sport dropout (Boiché, Plaza, Chalabaev, Guillet-Descas, & Sarrain, 2014;Heinecken, 2015). This presents a concern considering that young females may be missing opportunities to acquire the potential physical and psychosocial benefits associated with sport participation (Boiché et al, 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Reading Between the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Sport-Based Books

Coletti

Allan

Martin

2021

Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal

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A child’s first contact with media and culture typically comes from books they are exposed to in the home and at school. The narratives presented contribute to the early reinforcement of gender roles and norms and can greatly influence the way that young girls perceive and experience sport. The purpose of this study was to explore the narratives within sport-based books geared toward a young female audience to determine the extent to which they promote the engagement of girls in sport. A pragmatic literature search was conducted to obtain books that met our inclusion criteria. Books (n = 28) were analyzed based on the age of their intended audience (aged 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12 years) using thematic narrative analysis. Although the authors promoted the engagement of girls in sport, underlying gender stereotypes were nevertheless salient. Across the books, themes involved the emphasis of “feminine” sports as a context for diversity and learning, the need to understand development as a process, the importance of relationships, and implications pertaining to perceptions of capability as female athletes. Most importantly, the application of a critical feminist lens enabled us to identify an underlying theme—the reinforcement of gender stereotypes—that permeated the storylines and served to undermine the potential adaptive messaging intended by authors. These findings suggest the need for greater attention toward the complexity of female sport and a cultural shift in thinking toward gender equity rather than simply increasing sport access for female participants.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Reading Between the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Sport-Based Books

Coletti

Allan

Martin

2021

Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal

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“…The ideal sportsman is tough, strong and aggressive. It is in the family -the first conditioning agency -where the boy learns very soon that to be a man he must perform and compete better than girls at least physically (Heinecken, 2015). To be a male child and be thought of as a sissy is a tragic experience.…”

Section: Role Of Socialization In Determiningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors That Influence Women’s Participation in Sports in Kenya a Critical Literature Review

2022

AJRS

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of sport in Kenya especially women sport in Nairobi. It seeks to understand the factors that affect women's sport performance in Nairobi as well as establish the background of the athletes and the impact of sport engagement on their lives. Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature review was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Findings: Boys and girls approach sport from different perspectives. Policy makers are urged to ensure that an equitable range of opportunities and learning experiences to accommodate the values, attitudes and aspirations of girls, be incorporated in programs to develop physical fitness and basic sport skills of young people. The study’s conclusion based on these findings is that socio-cultural factors do determine a woman's engagement in sport and her performance in it in Nairobi Kenya. Unique Contribution to Theory and Practice: The study recommends changes at both the institutional level and national level with regards to sport

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“…(http://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk) that challenge the hegemonic masculinity of sport by celebrating alternatives to the sexualized and hyperfeminine female athlete have been critiqued by scholars (Fullagar & Francombe-Webb, 2015) for the use of "Girl" in "This Girl Can" to represent women and the infantilizing and fetishizing of female flesh for the male gaze, and control over that body. Dawn Heinecken (2015) critiques the seemingly progressive fictional narratives of the empowered "tough" girl athlete who participates in all sports without restriction, develops close relationships with teammates and is unapologetically competitive. While the character presents a challenge to hegemonic feminine identity, Heinecken argues these "transgressions" are welcome only in the sporting environment, noting the underlying message that girls should "should keep their on-field identities separate from their real lives" (p. 28).…”

Section: Chapter 6 Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frozen Out: Audiences, Affect and Women’s Hockey

Gall¹

2021

Preprint

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Every four years, millions of Canadians watch women play hockey during the Olympics. Yet when it comes to regularly scheduled professional games, that audience dramatically decreases. In 2019, low audience numbers led to the closure of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and put the future of professional women’s hockey in jeopardy. As with many women’s sports, broadcasters argue the cost of production is too great, the value of airtime minutes too high to take the financial risk of televising the women’s game without guaranteeing viewers for advertisers. Activists and athletes argue that the audience must be built through broadcaster investment. While scholars have examined hockey for its representational power to define national and gendered identities, there has been shockingly little research into the hockey audience. This mixed method audience reception study seeks to explore the viewing inconsistencies of the audience for women’s hockey. Quantitative results from an online survey (n =685) provided data about viewing habits, perceptions and knowledge. This data informed qualitative focus groups (n = 25) that in turn provided contextualization and reasoning for the quantitative data. Mixed method analysis intersected grounded theory with audience reception, sport media, feminist studies and affect theory to identify a persistent discursive strategy framing women’s hockey as “pure” for resisting the crass commercialization, incessant violence and individualistic star system of professional men’s hockey. I argue that women’s hockey becomes the manifestation of the Canadian myth of hockey; men’s hockey as it used to be. As a nostalgic placeholder devoid of context, contemporary women’s hockey functions within a double bind; virtuous and elevated yet non-viable as a commercial enterprise. This ensures that the sport remains precarious at best. “Pure” women’s hockey also functions as a postfeminist essentializing discourse that solves the gender risk of hockey’s hypermasculinity while disavowing women’s physically aggressive play and sport media’s affective currency. Whereas Olympic women’s hockey relies on patriotic pride for audience affective engagement, professional women’s hockey is framed by cognitive contradictions, “pure” but commercial, gender normative but transgressive. Confused and disconnected from the game and players, audiences are left unaffected.

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Pretty Tough Sports and the Promotion of Female Empowerment in Young Adult Sports Fiction

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

Reading Between the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Sport-Based Books

Reading Between the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Sport-Based Books

Factors That Influence Women’s Participation in Sports in Kenya a Critical Literature Review

Frozen Out: Audiences, Affect and Women’s Hockey

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