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Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, March, 2004 by Vikki Krane, Precilla Y.L. Choi, Shannon M. Baird, Christine M. Aimar, Kerrie J. Kauer
The findings of those two studies (Krane, Waldron, et al., 2001; Russell, 2002) piqued our interest to understand further how female athletes negotiate social expectations of femininity and their athleticism. Specifically, we investigated relationships among body image and perceptions of muscularity and femininity in female collegiate athletes. Our research question was: How do female athletes negotiate and reconcile the social expectations of femininity with their muscularity and athleticism?
METHOD
Participants
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Female athletes who were competing for a midwestern, NCAA Division I university participated in this study (n = 21). The college varsity athletes included three cross-country distance runners, two track athletes, one soccer player, two volleyball players, two gymnasts, one swimmer, one basketball player, three softball players, and three tennis players. Club sport athletes included one rugby player and two ice hockey players. One of the volleyball players also competed in club hockey. The athletes averaged 20.48 (SD = 1.83) years of age, had an average of 9.36 years of experience (SD = 4.31) in their current sport, and had been on their current team for an average of 2.76 years (SD = 1.26). Body size varied among these women, but, overall, they were quite fit with low body fat. Their average self-reported height was 66.88 in. (SD = 2.94) and weight was 141.7 lbs (SD = 21.03). Body mass index (BMI) averaged 22.22 (SD = 2.20, range 18.6-26.6); all but three athletes had a BMI of less than 24. All of the athletes were White. We did not ask them about their sexual orientation, but all of the athletes presented a heterosexual stance (i.e., no one identified as lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered).
Procedure
We obtained permission from the Human Subjects Review Board, the Athletics Department, and the coaches of each woman's varsity team to conduct this study. To recruit participants, a researcher attended team meetings and explained the purpose and procedure of the study. The athletes then were given an interest form that included a written summary of the study and a place to indicate whether they wanted to participate. This process allowed athletes to indicate their interest in this study confidentially and lessened the possible influence of other team members on their decision whether or not to participate. Researchers then contacted individuals who had responded positively and scheduled the interviews.
Focus group interviews were employed in this study for several reasons. Group discussions with other people who have similar experiences encourage self-disclosure and lessen the anxiety that is sometimes associated with individual interviews (Madriz, 2000). Previous research has shown that group interactions about the female body yield a dynamic dialogue in which the participants react to each other and freely express themselves (Krane, Waldron, et al., 2001). Focus groups also have been described as especially effective in feminist research (Madriz, 2000; Wilkinson, 1998). The participants have control over the direction and content of the discussions, and power is diffused among the participants and the moderator during the interview (Wilkinson, 1998).
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