Female football players, the sport ethic and the masculinity-sport nexus

Abstract

Sport has traditionally been considered a male arena; however, women's participation continues to grow. One aspect of sport that remains relatively unaffected by women's inclusion is the sport ethic – the masculine sporting ideals of sacrificing one's body for sport, and ‘playing through pain’. Using a gendered lens, this study explores the extent to which female professional tackle football players on two Northern California teams have adopted the masculine sport ethic. Through interviews with 35 female professional football players, we find that for the most part female football players accept the masculine-defined culture of football complete with pain management techniques and athletic ideals that motivate them to continue playing despite pain and/or injury. Although women comply with the sport ethic in responding to pain and injury in football, results suggest that there are a few ways that women do resist the status quo.