The hidden curriculum in leisure: An analysis of a girls' sport subculture

Abstract

Subculture studies in sociology have overwhelmingly concentrated on male activities while either ignoring or denying the existence of all-female gatherings engaged in leisure pursuits. The growth and expansion of organized sports opportunities for girls and women has facilitated the development of female ‘subcultures.’ While providing alternative leisure activities for girls, sport has also acted as both a challenge and a form of resistance to the traditional socialization patterns and cultural norms reflected in the ideology of feminity, the sexist structure and nature of the institution of sport, and the constraints of the roles and activities deemed appropriate for women. This article addresses the ‘hidden curriculum’, implicit in both education (formal and informal) and the socialization process, which perpetuates the attitudes that inhibit the participation of girls in sport. The results of an exploratory study, involving participant-observation and interviews, at a girls' Ringette camp, illustrate how even those girls who continue to participate in sport throughout their adolescent years, and at highly skilled levels, experience the tensions of the apparently contradictory roles of women and athlete. The implications of these socio-cultural attitudes and the accompanying practices extend beyond the realm of organized sport into the lives of all women. Girls' subcultures do exist, and it is important to acknowledge them and learn from them. While women's leisure has always been circumscribed by social constraints and cultural sanctions, there is within women's sport the seeds of resistance and the potencial for social change.