This art piece represents the balancing act female athletes face in their two worlds on campus: one of sports and one of gendered conditioning.
Female athletes live in two vastly contrasting worlds, one of sports and one of gendered conditioning (Krane 2004). They must exercise peak strength and endurance while simultaneously appearing feminine to comply with societal standards. Sports have been an integral part of my life since I was five years old; I’ve had the opportunity to personally experience and witness the majority of my teammates and mentors struggle with this balancing act. I have found that female athletes say and do things concerning their exercise and eating habits that our male counterparts simply do not partake in. I analyzed this contrast to better understand the duality of being a female athlete and the coping mechanisms used alongside it.
The Duality of the Female Athlete
In an attempt to better understand how the desire for muscularity differs between sexes, Steinfeldt and colleagues (2011) used a Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS). Astonishing results showed 100% of male athletes agreed they wanted to be muscular, while only 76.9% of female athletes said they desired it (Steinfeldt 2011). Although this is still the majority of women, their reasoning for muscularity starkly contrasts from the men. Male students sought external gratification (“e.g., to look good, for sexual appeal, conformity”). They lift because they think it will grant them the respect from others to be considered manly. On the other hand, female students reported health and performance as their driving factors (Steinfeldt 2011). Women lift for health reasons; they rate internal and external gratification extremely low (17.6% and 21.2%) (Steinfeldt 2011).
According to interviewed female athletes, “being athletic was equated with being masculine” (Krane 2004, p. 320). Collegiate female athletes believe that their muscular bodies prevent them from being seen as feminine in society’s traditional sense. Female athletes described buying clothes specifically to hide their muscles or recalled having difficulty shopping in women’s sections because their muscles had grown (Krane 2004). As a result of this stigma, female athletes feel as if they’re torn between being a woman and being an athlete.
How Athletes Cope with their Femininity
To reconcile these thoughts, female athletes compartmentalize their identity into “woman” and “athlete” as two separate versions of themselves (Krane 2004). In one world, they must be feminine and traditionally girly while simultaneously living in the other world where they are expected to be strong and performative. The interviewees acknowledged the advantages “normal” girls had without defined muscle and other “manly” characteristics of being an athlete (Krane 2004). Female athletes have grown accustomed to this inability to fit in both worlds at once and have learned to cope.
Some young women seek societal approvement by changing their bodies in unhealthy ways. From disordered eating to poor body maintenance for their sport, female athletes seek to find a middle ground where they can be both athletes and feminine women (Garner 1998). Many female athletes specifically find themselves experiencing anorexia athletica which is the limitation of calorie intake despite high intensity workouts (Seladi-Schulman 2020). These habits of disordered eating can ultimately lead to severe consequences for the athlete’s health beyond their abilities to perform on the court or field.
Looking at Female Athletes Through a New Lens
A majority of female athletes, especially those at the collegiate level, do not feel comfortable gaining the amount of muscle necessary for peak performance in their sport (Bowker 2003). This can lead to future problems for these athletes concerning their physical and mental health (Garner 1998). To fix this, one must look to change how the athletic world and normal society view and portray female athletes.
First, by acknowledging, addressing, and validating these issues of muscularity female athletes experience, we can begin to alter society’s response to feminine muscularity. Secondly, encouraging coaches, teammates, and trainers to talk and educate themselves on realistic expectations of an athlete could limit the number of unhealthy coping mechanisms female athletes use. Lastly, by pushing for female athlete representation in both the sport and feminine circles, women can feel less alone and relate their own struggles to others. The world can choose to see muscularity in female athletes as a powerful thing and not a hindrance to the social world
It will be at this time that they can finally embrace their identity as a female athlete rather than separating the world into the feminine one and the muscular one. It is when I will be able to tell my younger self that I have truly mastered the duality of being a female athlete and hopefully, the next five year old that comes along won’t deal with the same struggles of feeling out of place as a female athlete. Perhaps, one day, muscularity will be more than just a powerful term reserved for men. It will be both a sign of strength and femininity for female athletes.
Bowker, Anne., Shannon Gadbois, and Becki Cornock. 2003. “Sports Participation and Self-Esteem: Variations as a Function of Gender and Gender Role Orientation.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 49(1-2):47-58.
Garner, David M., Lionel W., Rosen, and Declan Barry. 1998. “Eating Disorders Among Athletes: Research and Recommendations.” Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 7(4):839-857.
Krane, Vikki, Precilla Y. L. Choi, Shannon M. Baird, Christine M. Aimar, and Kerrie J. Kauer. 2004. “Living the Paradox: Female Athletes Negotiate Femininity and Muscularity.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 50(5-6):315-329.
Read, Sofia. 2017. “Exploring Role Conflict and Perceived Expectations of Female Student-Athletes in High Performing Sports.” MS thesis, University of Connecticut. Retrieved from UConn Library, record 1076.
Seladi-Schulman, Jill. 2020. “What is Anorexia Athletica?” Healthline. Retrieved May 3, 2022. (https://www.healthline.com/health/anorexia-athletica).
Steinfeldt, Jesse A., Hailee Carter, Emily Benton, and Matthew Clint Steinfeldt. 2011. “Muscularity Beliefs of Female College Student-Athletes.” Springer Science & Business Media 64:543-554.Zimbalist, Andrew. 2019. “Female Athletes are Undervalued, in Both Money and Media Terms.” Forbes. Retrieved May 3, 2022 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewzimbalist/2019/04/10/female-athletes-are-undervalued-in-both-money-and-media-terms/?sh=7e9eca0213ed).
