Sport = Male… But Not All Sports: Investigating the Gender Stereotypes of Sport Activities at the Explicit and Implicit Levels

Abstract

The main objectives of the present studies were to update the explicit gender stereotypes linked to sport activities and examine whether they are associated with gender, age, personal practice, and general feminization rates of participation (Study 1, N = 690), as well as to investigate the potential effects of implicit gender sport stereotypes on the categorization of gendered names (Study 2, N = 53) and on perceptions of feminine, neutral, and masculine silhouettes (Study 3, N = 42). Study 1 indicated that explicit gender stereotypes are still attached to sport activities, with little variations according to personal characteristics but with a strong association with actual feminization rates. In Study 2, which focused on implicit stereotypes, we observed a slower identification of male names when participants were primed with feminine sport activities. In Study 3, neutral silhouettes were more frequently categorized as women following a feminine sport, but as men following a masculine sport. Our research suggests that sport activities are still gendered, both at the explicit and implicit levels, which may lead individuals to adjust their own participation even outside their consciousness.