Sport Participation and Women's Personal Empowerment: Experiences of the College Athlete

Abstract

As a result of gender-role socialization, women are often discouraged from viewing themselves as strong, competent, and self-determining individuals. Becoming empow ered at the personal level would represent a foundation from which women could counteract these limiting self-perceptions as well as gain control over their lives. We explore the potential of sport participation to provide women with this increased sense of power. Telephone interviews were conducted with 24 women athletes in three Division Iintercollegiate sport programsin the United States. Athletes' responses suggest that sport participation related to the development of three empowering qualities women tradition ally lack: (a) bodily competence, (b) perceptions of a competent self, and (c) a proactive approach to life. Despite participating in a sport context that is largely governed by men and where male notions of power prevail, the nature of power discussed by these women athletes was generally consistent with feminist reconceptualizations.

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