(Re)Assembling ‘Balance’

Abstract

In the present creative nonfiction, we draw on findings from a published study titled ‘Juggling Motherhood and Sport: A Qualitative Study of the Negotiation of Competitive Athlete Mother Identities’ (McGannon, McMahon, & Gonsalves, 2018). In this work, we explored competitive recreational athlete mother (i.e., women who compete in races outside of elite sport training and competition) identities in relation to strategies used to negotiate training and family spheres. Focusing on physically active mothers is important to learn more about how they navigate psychological, social, and cultural barriers that constrain physical activity (McGannon, McMahon, & Gonsalves, 2017). Once becoming mothers, women are subjected to cultural ideals that stress that in order to attain a ‘good mother identity’ they should place family needs above their own, including physical activity pursuits (Miller & Brown, 2005). These ‘good mother’ ideals are the product of individual, social, and cultural discourses, which create particular identity meanings and associated practices (Vair, 2013). To align with this conception of motherhood, we used ‘discursive psychology’ (McGannon & Mauws, 2000) to explore competitive athlete mother identities as interdependent with language and social action (McGannon et al., 2017; McGannon & Smith, 2015). Using this theoretical focus expands understanding of athlete mothers’ physical activity participation, within the context of work-leisure balance, and cultural discourses.