“Women Are Cancer, You Shouldn’t Be Working in Sport”: Sport Psychologists’ Lived Experiences of Sexism in Sport

in The Sport Psychologist

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Aura GoldmanUniversity of Hertfordshire

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Misia GervisBrunel University London

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2020-0029
Keywords:
applied practice; discrimination; gender; hegemonic masculinity
First Published Online:
04 Feb 2021
In Print:
Volume 35: Issue 2
Page Range:
85–96
Restricted access

Though sexism has been recognized as problematic in sport, its impact on female sport psychologists in the United Kingdom has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of sexism and its influence on practice. Four semistructured focus groups were conducted, comprising 11 sport psychologists who worked in the United Kingdom. Thematic analysis revealed four general themes: the environment, privileging masculinity, acts of sexism, and the feminine. Participants’ discourse suggests that female sport psychologists are impacted by sexism in their workplaces. Gendered power differentials, coupled with the low status of sport psychology within sport, exacerbated the challenges faced by female sport psychologists. This study contributes to making up for the dearth of research on the impact of sexism on sport psychologists. Suggestions are made with regard to implications for practice.

Goldman is with the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom. Gervis is with Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom.

Goldman (a.goldman@herts.ac.uk) is corresponding author.
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