The fitness boom of the last two decades has led to many people incorporating exercise into their lifestyles through activities such as jogging and aerobics. However, whilst many physical and psychological health benefits have been documented, far too few people actually take part in enough exercise to glean significant improvements, and this is much more a problem for women than men.Femininity and the Physically Active Woman explores one reason many women offer for their lack of involvement in sport and exercise - that they are not the 'sporty' type. Precilla Y.L. Choi argues that the 'sporty' type is masculine, and to determine how this notion might affect women's self-perceptions, she critically examines the experiences of women athletes, bodybuilders, recreational exercisers and girls' physical education. What emerges is the importance of visible differences between women and men, in terms of muscularity, strength and agility in order to maintain the gender order. Thus, if a girl or woman wishes to play the masculine game of sport she must do so in conformity with a number of patriarchal rules which ensure she is first and foremost recognised as a heterosexual feminine being.Contributing to a psychology of the physically active woman by examining women's experiences from critical feminist and gendered perspectives, Femininity and the Physically Active Woman will be of great interest to students, researchers, practitioners and teachers from a range of disciplines.Precilla Y.L. Choi is the British Association for the Advancement of Science's Joseph Lister Lecturer for 2000. She has co-edited, with Paula Nicolson, Female Sexuality (Prentice Hall).
Author(s): Precilla Y Choi
Edition: 1
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 121
BOOK COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 2
TITLE......Page 4
COPYRIGHT......Page 5
DEDICATION......Page 6
CONTENTS......Page 7
FIGURES......Page 9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 10
1 THE GENDERED NATURE OF SPORT AND EXERCISE......Page 12
How much physical activity do people participate in?......Page 13
Why are fewer women than men physically active?......Page 15
The ‘sporty’ type......Page 16
Hegemonic femininity......Page 19
Towards a psychology of the physically active woman......Page 20
Notes......Page 22
2 A HERSTORY OF SPORT......Page 24
Biology as destiny......Page 25
Protecting women as mothers......Page 26
Questioning biological femaleness......Page 29
Feminine appropriate sports......Page 32
Fighting women......Page 34
Questioning femininity......Page 36
The ‘masculine’ girl......Page 37
Notes......Page 40
3 THE SPORTING WOMAN......Page 42
Sportswomen as girls, wives and mothers......Page 44
Accommodation and resistance......Page 46
Women’s magazines......Page 48
The threat of the lesbian label......Page 50
Lesbian athletes......Page 52
Performing femininity......Page 53
Notes......Page 55
The sport of bodybuilding......Page 56
The female bodybuilding competition......Page 57
Resistance or compliance......Page 62
Flex appeal......Page 64
Sex appeal......Page 66
The beauty and the beast......Page 70
Notes......Page 72
5 THE EXERCISING WOMAN......Page 74
Pursuing beauty through exercise......Page 75
Beauty equals health......Page 76
Women’s imperfect bodies......Page 78
Reducing the body......Page 80
Body dissatisfaction......Page 82
Self-objectification......Page 84
Feminine appropriate exercise......Page 86
Empowering women......Page 87
Notes......Page 88
School experiences......Page 90
Perceptions of ability......Page 93
Negotiating femininity and physicality......Page 94
Predicting exercise behaviour......Page 97
A theoretical model of activity choice......Page 99
Notes......Page 103
7 FUTURE DIRECTIONS......Page 104
Alternative sport forms......Page 106
Redefining health and physical activity......Page 107
Rethinking gender......Page 108
Notes......Page 110
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 112
AUTHOR INDEX......Page 126
SUBJECT INDEX......Page 128
