Sense of Gender Identity in Women Practicing Football with Consideration of the Formation

Abstract

Sense of Gender Identity in Women Practicing Football with Consideration of the Formation Introduction. Identification of gender is one of the most important dimensions of building a sense of self-identity; it is also one of the basic criteria for identifying individuals by society. The aim of this study was to determine the types of psychological gender football female players (taking into account the formation), i.e. the sport deemed "masculine". Material and methods. The research group was composed of the female players of the Polish national football team, seniors (n = 26), youth team under the age of 19 (n = 21) and the Polish extra league club athletes (n = 16). The tool research was the "Inventory to assess psychological gender (IPP)" by Kuczyńska. Results. Nearly 70% female football players were included in the androgynous type, while 20% were the persons representing the so-called specified psychological type. The most important feature identifying cultural gender patterns, selected by the female players was "tolerant" - feature of the cultural stereotype known to be neutral, as well as the characteristics attributed to both women and men: "friendly" and "nice". Conclusion. The studies allow for determining the dominant type of psychological gender of female players as androgynous, which is highly expressed combined male and female characteristics.