Lone girls: exploring the experiences of girls who play on boys’ sports teams

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rationale Existing literature informing our understanding of youth sport experiences has predominantly involved investigations of homogeneous groups (e.g. same age, sex). There are however instances in sport where individuals enter situations that counter historically homogenous involvement trajectories. An example of such involves girls who engage in sport whereby the remainder of their teammates are boys – a phenomenon known as the “lone girl.” The purpose of this study was to critically explore lone girls’ sport experiences. The application of a critical feminist lens was applied to explore societal constructions and expectations of gender that influenced participants’ sport involvement. Methods/Results Through interviews with former “lone girl” athletes (n = 13) and the use of a dual-narrative analysis, we identified four narrative types: From Insider to Outsider, Boys’ or Bust, High School Hang-up, and No Road to the Show. Generally, these narratives show deeply engrained expectations of gender and implications pertaining to sport experiences that prevented these girls from thriving in sport. Implications These findings provide an understanding of the lone girl experience inclusive of important contextual elements and advance knowledge within the youth development literature by offering theoretical suggestions, future research directions, and practical recommendations for key stakeholders (e.g. coaches, parents, organizations).