Being is to be perceived: an x-ray of the high-level w om en handball athletes’ body image in Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to research, within the scope of high-level women handball athletes in Brazil the body image of its athletes. Although the presence of women in the sports world has never before been so significant as it is today, a good deal of discrimination still troubles high-yield women athletes, especially discrimination concerning the image and shape of their bodies. Using a phenomenological theoretical reference, one seeks to understand the body from a non-dualist perspective. The tool used in the research was the “inventory for the evaluation of the body image of high-level women athletes in Brazil.” Starting with 65 statements, the study compares the athletes' real body image with that idealized by them. Hundred and fifty-six high-level athletes, aged between 14 and 33 (average 20.26 years) participated in the study. The results showed statistically significant differences between the real and ideal body images at 35 (= 54%) of the choices of the questionnaire, in several dimensions of the body image. This study corroborates previous international researches, which showed that women, to be able to stay in high-level sports, must keep stereotyped characteristics considered feminine, even if in conflict with the body requirements o f her sport modality