ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH08
Balancing the Podium and Parenthood: The experiences of Elite Athlete who support their partners pregnancy and postpartum Pullen, E.1 and Massey, K.2 Loughborough University1, Liverpool John Moores University2 Introduction There is a substantial body of work on female elite athlete’s experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in performance sport. This research has provided important insights to date with implications for female athlete health, wellbeing and advancing gender equitable practices in performance sport environments. Fatherhood in elite sport has been shown to evoke identity tensions, require sacrifice to sporting and fatherhood responsibilities and to both improve and impede performance which, to a lesser extent reflects some of the experiences of elite athlete mothers [1]. However, there remains an absence of studies documenting the broader experiences of elite athletes who support their partner through pregnancy and postpartum. This current research seeks to fill this gap. Methods The research employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with 10 athlete partners including Olympic (n=5) and Paralympic (n=5) athletes (male n=8 / female n=2) from across Hockey, Cycling, Para Cycling, Wheelchair Basketball, Athletics, Marathon Running, Para Rowing, Judo. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim before undergoing a form of qualitative thematic analysis. Data analysis procedures were followed throughout the process to enhance coding reliability and empirical adequacy. Results The findings of the study are presented under the following thematic headings: Experiences of athletes who have supported their partners pregnancy, challenges throughout the pregnancy journey and postpartum and providing support for athlete partners. Subthemes within included decision making, communication and support, priority shift and motivation, parental pressure and managing expectations, parental guilt, support, health, wellbeing and performance. Discussion The experiences of British Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have supported their partners prenatal, pregnancy and postpartum journey are highlighted. Specifically, it documents how elite athletes respond to and manage challenges associated with supporting their partner during pregnancy and postpartum whilst. The athletes face significant challenges as they balance sporting commitments with supporting their partner prenatal and postpartum with implications on athlete health and wellbeing, performance outcomes and equitable gendered practice. Shared experiences were shown between athlete partners and female athletes who start a family within the performance environment that proceed from cultures of organisational practice in relation to family planning and pregnancy support. Importantly, opportunities for the development of athlete partner support and provision are highlighted (e.g., an athlete partner network). 1. Smith et al. (2024)
Read CV Kelly MasseyECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH08
INTRODUCTION From challenging mainstream assumptions about womens physical abilities(Saguy, 2013, 2022), to embracing fitness as a feminist alternative politics(Markula, 2003; Markula & Pringle, 2006), active critical attitudes and self-stylized fitness actions have become hallmarks of overweight women, who are identified as fat activists to resist embodied oppression. In the digital age, young plus size women take their movements to the internet. Functioned as performers, as Goffman(1959) indicates, they express their identities through body images. This study focuses on (1) What types of bodies do overweight women who exercise self-present on digital platforms? (2) What are the differences in the self-presented fitness body images of overweight women in the West and China? METHODS To answer the questions, Instagram, an online social media platform and social network service for photograph and video sharing with more than two billion monthly active users(Eldridge,2024), and Xiaohongshu, a popular interactive platform for life sharing in China and highly sought after by young people(Han, 2023), were selected. Using a total of 91 bilingual keywords and a two-level social network snowball sampling method (Browne, 2005; He, Zhang & Su, 2022 ), 1442(Instagram) and 1497(Xiaohongshu) pieces of posts were crawled. Using content analysis method, after stratified sampling, two coders manually coded 200 posts. RESULTS Three fitness body images were found, namely victorious body, confrontational body and diverse body. By losing weight and overcoming underlying diseases associated with obesity, Chinese women(56%) are more likely to show their victorious bodies, while western women(44%) see weight loss as a journey. Compared with the women on the Xiaohongshu who show their struggle against obesity stigma, the women on Instagram are more willing to talk about healthy at every size. By using plog(Xiaohognshu) and text messages(Instagram), women on both platform record the training and diet plans, showing a positive attitude through fitness. DISCUSSION Sophistication digital technology has given fitness overweight women the possibility to demonstrate and echo feminism online. victorious body and confrontational body are online feedbacks of the traditional performance of feminism under fat activism; while diverse bodies are the conclusion of feminism from a critical perspective, showing new characteristics of digital citizenship.
Read CV Luleiya HUANGECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH08
Introduction With the advance of the three waves of feminist movements, the discursive space for womens participation in sports has been broadened. China is a representative socialist country where the idea of gender equality has taken root. Sorting out Chinas socialist womens sports participation is of great significance to the development of womens sports in the world. This study examines high-level female sports researchers, coaches, and athletes in China over the past decade, aiming to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the changes in gender equality in Chinese sports and to enrichment of relevant research in the field. Methods We sampled journals run by the top five sports universities in China. Papers published in these journals in 2012 and 2023 were analyzed to collect data on the gender of the first author and the number of citations. Additionally, we collected gender data on coaches, athletes and gold medalists of the Chinese team at the 2012 and 2020 Olympic Games. Finally, SPSS25 was employed to statistically analyze the disparities among female sport researchers, coaches, athletes, and award-winning athletes from 2012 to 2023. The determination of citation counts was based on the consideration that highly cited literature constituted roughly 10% of the overall references. Results (1) In 2012 and 2023, the percentage of female first authors was 26.8% and 29.8% respectively, while the percentage of authors with high citation rates was 24.5% and 20.2% respectively, but none of them are significantly different. (2) In the 2012 and 2020 Olympics, the representation of female coaches comprised 15.9% and 24.2% respectively. The proportion of female athletes was 56.8% and 69.1% respectively, an increase of 12.3%. The proportion of women winning gold medals was 53.8% and 65.8% respectively, an increase of 12%. Discussion The percentage of female first authors in Chinese sport research is much lower than the 41.6% in previous physical education research and similar to the 24.8% in sport medicine research. The underrepresentation of women, particularly in highly cited works, may be linked to social norms in China favoring male industry leaders and inadequate support for female leaders. The increase in the proportion of female participants and gold medalists is closely related to Chinas hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. These two Olympic Games have effectively promoted gender equality and empowered female athletes. It is evident that Chinese women have made significant advancements in the sports arena over the past decade. However, there is room for further improvement in terms of academic researchers and coaches, as women currently account for less than 30%. This disparity can be diminished by increasing the number of female leaders and implementing policies that favor gender equality.
Read CV zhijian baiECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH08