Why Top Female Athletes Stay in Male-Dominated Sports to an Elite Level

AbstractThis bring is wayed on why top effeminate person jockstraps extend in male-dominated sports to an elect(ip) aim and involves female athletes from different countries. Semi-structured interviews go away be carried out on 15 participants. The make water aim is characteristic onlyy instructive and qualitative, and involves a four-year timeframe.1. Background athletic competition is an institution that continues to create, reinforce, and maintain male hegemony. However, some of its aspects may also be seen as a product of corporal effort. gender diversity in sports are often placed in subtle, multi-level and ignored structures and behaviours embodied in sport organisations. Hence, there is a assume for continued work on the matter (Fink 2008). The troth of female athletes in male-dominated sports willing be formulateed by male hegemonic concepts as well as cultural and geomorphological concepts.1.1 What prompted the interest in the outcomeWhat prompted the in terest in the subject area was the questi whizrs own exposure in female sports where she was open to associate with elite female athletes of various ages from different countries, including those below Islamic rule and the Muslim region, such(prenominal) as Iran, Morocco, and Turkey. She has had worked closely with female competitors in over 50 members of the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA), and hence considers the publication a realisable whiz. Since the inquiryer is into sports herself and associates with the likely respondents of the fill, she finds the topic twain interesting and ch allenging.1.2 relevance to previous(prenominal) researchThe relevance of the topic to previous research is that it causes as a supporting material to what has already been claimed of the participation of female athletes in male-dominated sports. Previous research has indicated the prevailing role of cultural and structural systems that produce and throw up these spo rts as an single(a) realm of male athletes (e.g. Anderson 2008 Carty 2005). The present choose confirms these nonions, and as well as looks into patterns of possibilities whereby female athletes tin be generally accepted and recognised inwardly these once male-stereotyped sports.1.3 Contri butions to the investigate and the FieldThe studys contribution to research is determine in its investigation of conclusion, and somehow, of gender issues, in the participation of female athletes in male-dominated sports. Its contribution to the field is its introduction of certain theoretical concepts that can explain why female athletes continue to delve into male-dominated sports and an analytical explanation of their determination to stay or move out of the system.1.4 Research Aims and ObjectivesThis study aims to run across why top female athletes stay in male-dominated sports to an elite level the hurdles they face and how they overcome these hurdles. It also aims to draw out the alike(p)ities in challenges faced by these elite athletes and to see if such challenges are corresponding across nicetys and religions. The study purports to use this understanding to help support women to stay in a specific sport once they are already participating.The objectives of the research are as followsTo review the existing literature on the subject of Sports Sociology in relation to womens sports participation To conduct interviews and keep ups to elite female athletes from various countries To find out gaps in know conductge at bottom the field and To provide recommendations for future research. 2. Literature ReviewThis part of the research proposal identifies a range of works and studies related to the topic creation investigated. It aims to establish the theoretical framework for the study and provide evidence to the topic.2.1 Trends in the Literature Relating to the Research TopicIn their work, Krane, Choi, and Baird et al. (2004) stated that female athletes live in both refinings One that is characteristically virile and the other the larger accessible culture which celebrates femininity. The study was linked to feminist cultural studies and aimed to determine how female athletes talk over femininity-based mixer expectations with athleticism. It involved 21 female athletes who served as participants in focus group countersigns. Three themes comprised the info analysis, specifically the influence of physicality, femininity, and athlete as other. The data revealed that cosmos athletic is in contrast to being powder-puff and that the participants themselves matte up being marginalised as athletes and expressed that others perceive them as being different from typical women. Despite these, they were proud of their physical strength and true bodies and estimateed themselves as being empowered, which can be generalised beyond the scope of sports (Krane et al. 2004).The use of focus group discussions in the study aimed at encoura ging self-disclosure amongst female athletes with similar experiences and reducing the anxiety that might be felt in exclusive interviews. The authors also pinpointed the fact that focus groups are specially effective in feminist research (Krane, et al. 2004).According to Carty (2005), sport has been a social aspect that has traditionally prevented women from participating. Recent policy developments and broadening domain support enabled girls and women to participate dramatically in sports that had been typically limited however to men. Female athletes had come out from those sports that had been stereotypically designated only to them, such as tennis and gymnastics, and can now play male-dominated sports such as hockey, football, rugby, and so on. Of pair significance is the revealing of masculinity constriction and the concept of gender differences. Hence, Carty explored social changes accompanying the broadening popularity of women in sports and some opposing messages in ad vertisements initiated by these changes. The qualitative method is used in the study to explore all the issues covered by the aims and objectives, which were tackled through semi-structured interviews. It may be inferred that Cartys avouchment on the constraints placed against women in affect to participating in male-stereotyped sports is similar to the notion of Krane et al. (2004), specifically the marginalisation of female athletes and their being perceived as different from normal women. There is therefore congruence between the cardinal authors in reference to their view of the situation of female athletes in male-dominated sports.On the other hand, Pringle (2005) emphasise that issues linked to female sport and exercise can be examined via Foucauldian theories. However, the Gramscian theory, which is used to examine the concept of masculine hegemony, remains overabundant. The denomination made a similitude and contrast of the theoretical tools branching from Foucault an d Gramscis writings in relation to investigating sport and masculinities. It was indicated that masculine hegemony does not simply point to a prevailing concept of masculinity but also to specific understandings of power that may be problematic to some. The discussion is useful to the study as it focused on the concept of masculine hegemony that can address the prevailing male dominance in sports, as well as male sports in general, which had once been (and continuous to be) considered an exclusive field for male athletes. It is important to note that Pringles assertion provides the tail for the situation of female athletes, as explored by the concept of masculine hegemony that explains womens marginalisation, pinpointed earlier by Carty (2005) and Krane et al. (2004).Pringles concept of masculine hegemony was similarly exposit by Whisenant, Pedersen, and Obenour (2002) who cited the end of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as the bring forth for sport administrators to deal with reestablishing their place as athletic directors. The study aimed at assessing the success ratio of these directors, foc utilise primarily on gender. The initial results validate the expected findings that masculine hegemony is a well-established concept within inter-collegiate athletics. This is note-worthy in the topics exploration of the hurdles faced by female athletes in male-dominated sports.On the other hand, Vincent, Imwold, and Masemann et al. (2002) made an investigation of female athletes receipt of ingenuous insurance coverage in womens games. The study made a comparison of six selected newspapers from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States and how they dealt with male and female athletes during the 1996 Centennial majestic Games. The qualitative method and content analysis were used for the comparison of all articles and photographs of athletes on all newspapers involved. Albeit there were differences found, the results generally d emonstrated an equitable nub of coverage for both male and female athletes participating in the games. The study confirmed the idea that female athletes receive increased newspaper coverage when they participate in major competitions.However, analysing critically Vincent et al.s work against those of Pringle (2005), Krane et al. (2004), and Carty (2005), one may posit that the former tackled a rather neutral intromission of female athletes vis-a-vis male athletes, as demonstrated by the equitable newspaper coverage on them. Vincent et al. looked into the outward configuration of the male-female dichotomous beingness in sports, as against the internal focus made by Pringle (2005), Krane et al. (2004), and Carty (2005).2.1.1 The subroutine of Culture in SportsIn their study, Elling and Knoppers (2005) used a social-critical perspective to analyse symbolic sport inclusion/exclusion in relation to gender and ethnicity amongst adolescents. The findings suggested that dominant normat ive gendered images still influence young peoples preferences in sport participation. Sport can function as an integrating component as well as a differentiating and discriminating tool amongst the youth. With regard to gender, sport participation is less predictable because of such circumstances as ethnicity interactions. Albeit ethnic minority females had the least participation in sport, a comparatively higher value is placed on traditional masculine sports such as karate and soccer. Additionally, the potential circumstance of being labeled as nance serves as a powerful mechanism to exclude oneself from participating in conventional sports for girls. However, stereotypical images are continually challenged as well (Elling and Knoppers 2005). think the earlier notions of gender-based explanations of the uneven perception between male and female athletes (e.g. Pringle 2005 Krane et al. 2004, and Carty 2005), Elling and Knoppers patently provided a deeper explanation of the reaso n for such disparity.On the other hand, Pelak (2005) emphasised on how South African female football players negotiate ideological constrictions in participating in the stereotypically masculine sport. The author highlighted the micro-level experiences of situating athletes within social structures at macro level, such as apartheid. The study used a multi-method approach, including interviews, survey, observations, and documentary data. Various feminist sport frameworks and theoretical insights of B lose feminists contributed to the analysis. The findings revealed an ongoing creative resistance amongst female soccer athletes against exclusionary practices in the sport.Pelak evidently upheld the findings of Elling and Knoppers (2005) with regard to symbolic sport inclusion/exclusion, as exemplified by social structures that serve as constraints to female participation in male-dominated sports.Meanwhile, the study of Anderson (2008) explored the cultural and structural elements that contribute to the breeding of anti-feminine perspectives amongst men in team sports. The authors initially led the readers to the view that mens separation into a homosocial environment ascribes a limit to their social contact with women and promotes a hostile masculinity that induces the proliferation of Orthodox views about women. However, the study also suggested that when these same men participate in a gender-incorporating cheerleading sport competition, they tend to reinvent their perspectives toward women. The author used a range of theoretical concepts and linked them to grounded observations and interviews, upon which a theoretical model was established. He specifically used a socio-feminist theory of masculinity that holds gender as being formulated by an intricate interaction of organisational culture, institutional power, and individual agency. The study involved a sample of 68 male cheerleaders who determine themselves as heterosexual and who used to play football. Th e findings suggested that the socially negative outcomes attach to male sport athletes might potentially reduce through gender-incorporating sports (Anderson 2008). This study is relevant to the topic under study as it explains the male athletes propensities when participating in male and female stereotypical games, thereby contributing to its query on why women stay in male-dominated sports.2.2 Limitations and/or Gaps in the LiteratureThe existing literature on the topic is observed to accept works that are not very recent, which hence suggests a gather up for updated findings. There are not many academic studies delving into the issue of culture as a prevailing factor for certain sports to be perceived as typically male and most of which are discussed employ gender-based criteria.theoretic FrameworkBelow is the theoretical framework of the study based on the literature Figure 1 Theoretical Framework3. Research Methodology3.1 Research ParadigmThe interpretive and positivist f igure of speechs are utilised in this research. The interpretive paradigm states that social actors generate meanings about their interaction in the world. Social existence is hence interpreted as an attempt to interpret the world, thereby connoting a subscription to realist ontology (Scott and Morrison 2005). The use of interpretive paradigm is justified in this study as it attempts to gather interview data that are grounded on ascertaining perceived realities environ female athletes, as well as the meanings they append to these realities. The positivist approach, on the other hand, relies on the methods of the natural science (Lee 1991) and is seen in the studys use of survey to assist certain inferences suggested by interview data.3.2 Research Design and MethodThis study is characteristically mixed methods (combination of qualitative and quantitative methods) in its research design. Qualitative methods hold that findings about human interaction (e.g. female athletes) can be und erstood better and more systematically when canvass from the inside out rather than the opposite (Monsen and Horn 2008). three-figure methods, on the other hand, maintain that phenomena can be explained by collecting numerical data (for this study is the survey) that are analysed through statistical methods (Mujis 2011).3.3 ParticipantsThe research participants for both interviews and the survey are 13-35 year-old female athletes from different countries with whom the researcher has frequent association, including those under Islamic rule and Muslim religion, such as Iran, Morocco, and Turkey. The sample coat for the interview is 15, which is considered sufficient to generate findings. For the survey, the sample size is 35.3.4 Data CollectionPrimary and vicarious data shall be collected. Primary data shall be generated from semi-structured interviews and the survey whilst inessential data shall support the primary data and shall be obtained from books and academic journals. An interview schedule and a survey questionnaire will be constructed.3.5 Data abbreviation and DiscussionOnce the information has been established, data analysis will take place using the thematic analysis, which intends to find patterns/themes/meanings from a range of data sets (Hamdan 2009). The discussion will be towards addressing the research questions and will be backed by the literature.3.6 Weaknesses and LimitationThe study finds no weakness in its methodology. One limitation that can be identified is in terms of using interviews for data gathering, which is perceived to lack generalisability because of a relatively small sample (Ford 2012). This is addressed by using a larger sample (15 participants) (e.g. Waltz, Krumperman, and Zigmont 2011) and triangulation through the survey.3.7 Ethical ConsiderationsFirst amongst the ethical considerations that the study takes note of is the anonymity of the target participants, as well as the confidentiality of data to be collected. It is the researchers responsibility to ensure that participants provide inform consent prior to their participation and that they have the right to withdraw their participation at any point, without incurring any liability. The data collection shall take place vis-a-vis having informed the participants of the general purpose of the study and why their participation is being sought. Moreover, the data will be stored in a database using passwords that only the researcher knows, whilst the survey questionnaires will be put to safekeeping and disposed of upon the total completion of the research in put up not to be accessed by anyone. The proposal shall require approval from an morals committee.3.8 Significance of the ResearchThis study is significant in a number of ways, one of which is its contribution to the existing literature on female participation in what has been generally considered as male-dominated sport. Another is its confirmation of the prevailing role of culture and gen dered images in such perception, as well as the continuing crusade of female athletes to situate themselves in the realm of sports, thereby adding to the existing experience on the subject.3.9 TimelineThe research timeline starts on February 3, 2014 and ends on February 16, 2018. The first part of the survey will be done in May 2014. The various aspects of the research are shown in the Gantt chart belowFigure 2 Gantt chart showing the research timelineReferencesAnderson, E. (2008) I Used to Think Women Were Weak Orthodox Masculinity, Gender Segregation, and Sport. Sociological Forum, 23 (2), 257-280.Carty, V. 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