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In this study we examined the influences of graduate training, job characteristics, and collegial support on scholarly productivity across gender. A survey was distributed to 425 graduates from 13 major United States research institutions and 117 responded. Publication rate was predicted by the amount of research support from colleagues, the number of colleagues publishing one or more refereed articles per year, and the number of research projects the respondent (as a doctoral student) was involved in with the major professor. Differences were found in professors’ responses to rejected articles, with females significantly less likely to resubmit a rejected article. Therefore, it appears important to participate in many projects with one’s major professor while in graduate school, affiliate with a productive, supportive faculty, and to rewrite and resubmit rejected articles.

How does gender influence physical and psychosocial characteristics in physically active older adults? Much of the previous research on physical function in older women focuses on either the frailty of older women or on physical function irrespective of gender. These studies leave unknown the specific influence of regular physical activity on older women.

Furthermore, few studies have examined the relationship between physical activity and psychosocial characteristics in older exercisers. We wanted to investigate whether differences exist between groups of older female and male adults who maintain a physically active lifestyle. Twenty-three female and 14 male physically active older adults performed physical function tests (i.e., chair stands, timed up-and-go, 6-minute walk) and filled out questionnaires related to psychosocial measures (i.e., social support, self-esteem, satisfaction with life). There were no differences in any physical function between the groups, and only one psychosocial measure (guidance) statistically differed (F (1, 31) = 4.14, p = .044). These results suggest that physically active women may not necessarily follow the trajectory towards frailty. More research needs to be done with a greater range of ages and physical activity levels.

From a theoretical perspective, I analyze the claim that women’s athletic performances are negatively affected by their menstrual cycles. To demonstrate the perpetuation of the belief that menstruation is a mythical debilitating bodily function for women and sport participation, an overview of Elizabeth Spelman, Simone De Beauvoir, and Iris Marion Young’s philosophical framing of somatophobia and menstruation is outlined. Analysis of specific examples of elite female athletes who have addressed menstruation in connection to their sporting performance are also discussed to emphasize how menstruation is linked to the frailty myth. I offer an analysis of the scientific literature on hormonal swings of the menstrual cycle and, the effects on sport performance to show that research is equivocal. Finally, a brief examination of feminine hygiene marking campaigns takes place to further emphasize the argument how the frailty myth is closely linked to women athletes and menstruation and how change can be created.

Throughout the history of sport, men have played a leading role in its organization, function, purpose, and exposition (Hargreaves, 2000). Women’s sport participation has drastically risen over the past 40 years and ample new opportunities have emerged within the sport realm for women, which are attributed to a collection of incentives, but chiefly resulting from the passage of Title IX (Coakley, 2009). Women are allowed to participate in physically intense, aggressive, and violent sports, often referred to as power and performance sports (Coakley, 2014), however, the occurrence of this form of sport involvement appears to run counterintuitive to traditionally accepted societal norms. Consequently, the intent of this research was to explore how female athletes experience, interpret, accept, tolerate, and or resist the presumed contradictory role adopted through participation in power and performance sports. For the purpose of this study, existential phenomenological interviews were conducted that yielded in-depth personal accounts of the lived experience of 12 female athletes ranging in age from 21 to 50, representing a variety of power and performance sports (i.e., rugby, ice hockey, jiu-jitsu, kenpo, muay thai, kendo, boxing, and mixed martial arts). Analysis of the transcripts revealed a total of 381 meaning units that were further grouped into subthemes and major themes. This led to the development of a final thematic structure revealing four major dimensions that characterized these athletes’ experiences of power and performance sports: Physicality, Mentality, Opportunity, and Attraction & Alliance.

Women’s flat track roller derby is considered by participants a space for constructing positive images of diverse female bodies in sport, proclaiming that women of all shapes and sizes are welcome. However, despite evidence to the contrary, the universal claim of diverse body acceptance has not been fully interrogated within the literature. In this three-year auto/ethnography of a Midwestern Division 1 derby league, I ask: In what ways do women derby skaters talk about the derby body, and how do their behaviors coexist with the mantra of inclusion? I rely on participant observation, in-depth interviews with 13 skaters, and personal journaling of my experiences as a skater to problematize the notion that “any body can be a derby girl.” I argue that three contradictory discourses regarding skater bodies simultaneously permeate the elite derby space: 1) “size doesn’t matter,” or that function trumps body form, 2) “bigger is better,” or that larger bodies have greater value, and 3) “serious athleticism,” that skater bodies must have a high level of fitness to compete. I conclude that the mantra of acceptance within derby must be qualified given these other discourses, and that derby’s potential to empower participants and serve as a critique for mainstream sport is thereby limited.

Sport participation or regular physical activity is often seen as a factor, which leads to better health and well being. Sport also has a social function, as most of the activities are performed together with other people. However, while club sports in Sweden have a stimulating effect on young men, there is a risk that they do not provide enough scope for young women. In particular, early specialization and a high level of seriousness do not suit all young sportswomen. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the ways in which sport has influenced young women’s lifestyles in terms of their attitudes to physical activity in adult life. The data were collected using strategic interviews and analyzed using the grounded theory method. Based upon the results, young women’s physically active lifestyles varied depending on how they valued their sport in combination with how they handled their sport. Sport was regarded as having a positive effect on health and well being. This led to the young women studied intending to pursue a physically active lifestyle also in adult life. They enjoyed participating in sport, but not particularly sport with a high level of seriousness or a high level of vigor, which is what characterizes most club sports today.