Nr. 3 - Lietuvos sporto informacijos centras

2012 Nr. 3(69)
41
Psycho-sociological conditions of women’s sports
Introduction
In modern societies, sport was usually reserved
for young men representing the middle and higher
classes (Heinemann, 1998). The post-modern culture
has broken those stereotypes, which contributed to
the democratisation of sport and thus let it become
more open and accessible also for other social layers
and groups, especially for women.
Prof. Halina Zdebska
University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland
Summary
As an element of mass culture, sport plays important social roles, creating an entire range of behavioural models.
Sportspeople represent the efficiency of actions, persistence in aiming at their goals, conscientiousness, diligence and
physical perfection. They are successful people and their success brings them fame, prestige and money.
What are the expectations towards women’s sports? Is it about encouraging competition among an ever-growing
number of women who would achieve results comparable to those of men? Or is it about gender competition, aimed
at showing that the idea of fight, traditionally reserved for men, may also become women’s domain? The answer to
those questions is quite simple – women want to win, too. The aims of women’s sports are exactly the same as those
associated with men’s sports: achieving better and better results, crossing barriers, generating the best show possible
in order to attract thousands of spectators. Apart from the morpho-functional conditions for women who practice
professional sports, the psychosocial context of the phenomenon also seems to be very important.
The hypothesis saying that sport belongs to the men’s world, quite popular in sociology and psychology, is
unjustified. For many years, an athlete has been associated with features typical for the stereotype of masculinity:
in a good physical shape, dominating, independent, focused on success, making decisions easily, charismatic, open
to the world of external events, rigid in his beliefs, demanding, cheerful. At the opposite pole, there is the stereotype
of femininity, picturing women mainly as sensitive, caring, thoughtful, gentle, coquettish, caring about their looks,
having a sense of aesthetics, affectionate, economical, emotional, sensitive to the needs of others, capable of making
sacrifices, soft, naive and gossiping (Kuczyńska, 1992). Therefore, the typical feminine features are not useful in
sports, whereas athletes represent what a “real man” should be.
The aim of this paper is to try to depict the selected aspects of women’s participation in today’s professional
sports, with a special focus on the following: cultural stereotypes that influence women’s situation in sport, gender
asymmetry in media broadcasting, becoming a professional sportsperson and the accessibility of the profession of
coach, as well as the specificity of women’s sports training (especially regarding the skills of coaches who work with
women). The paper analyses some Polish publications in the field of psychology, sociology, pedagogy and theory of
sports (among others, publications by Żukowska, Żukowski, Dąbrowska, Kamień, Dracz, Kuczyńska, Mikołajczyk,
Lenartowicz, Czerwiński), enhanced with the results of studies conducted by American psychologists (including
Knoppers, Humberstone and Staurowsky), as well as with the opinions by some eminent coaches who used to work
with the Polish national basketball and volleyball teams.
The basic research technique the subject of this paper was approached with is the content analysis, which was
defined by Berelson as “a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of manifest
content of communications” (Pilch, 1977, p. 145).
The results of the analyses confirmed that asking about the gender of sports, which is mostly the consequence of
cultural stereotypes, is unjustified, and also confirmed that it is necessary to continue to overcome them. This can be
done if countries adopt relevant social policies and laws in order to treat all people equally (regardless of their sex,
race, beliefs etc.).
Overcoming stereotypes is especially important for the social roles of women (especially to enable them to reach
self-fulfilment in sports and beyond sports) and their participation in sports groups dominated by men (which could
make their needs better articulated and understood). This stems from the fact that sportswomen have rejected the
model of a passive and subordinate woman, and the concept of femininity preferred by them can be reconciled with
sports. The asymmetry in the presence of both sexes in sports is the most visible in the employment of coaches. Female
coaches are the majority in very few disciplines, and in some they are not present at all. Their particular role is usually
highlighted in children’s and youth sports, as well as in sports disciplines dominated by women.
While educating coaches and instructors, it is very important to pay attention to the specificity of working with
women and to consider the expectations they have from their coaches (which differ from the expectations of male
sportspeople).
Keywords: sports, women, coach, psychology, sociology .
What are the expectations towards women’s
sport? The answer to those questions is quite simple –
women want to win, too. The aims of women’s sport
are exactly the same as those associated with men’s
sport: achieving better and better results, crossing
barriers and generating the best show possible in
order to attract thousands of spectators.