"Since she's really good, then the boys let her play" An intersectional perspective on how middle school students at an international school in Denmark (re)do gender through their participation in physical activity at breaktime

Khandalavala, Lea Dina Stenskrog

4. semester

Sports Science, Master

2024

2024-05-30

40 pages

The aim of this article is to provide insights into the role that physical activity plays in how middle school students at an international school (re)do gender, using an intersectional framework. This article uniquely includes the perspectives of gender diverse students, a group that have not been focused on in previous literature. Drawing on West and Zimmerman’s (1987, 2009) concepts of doing and redoing gender, Connells’ (1987) hegemonic masculinity and Schippers' (2002) alternative femininities and masculinities, I explored how gender intersected with sporting ability, age and sex to influence how students ‘(re)did’ gender and how these identities influenced whether students were included, excluded or oppressed in the schoolyard. Hegemonic masculine and emphasized feminine ideals were prevalent in the schoolyard and were not challenged often. Students described their schoolyard as an inclusive environment; however, students of different genders did not always have equal opportunities to be physically active in the schoolyard due to gender dynamics and intersecting identities.

Download
View record in AAU Student Projects