Dr Scarlett Drury

The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality brings together important new work from 68 leading international scholars that, collectively, demonstrates the intrinsic interconnectedness of sport, gender and sexuality. It introduces what is, in essence, a sophisticated sub-area of sport sociology, covering the field comprehensively, as well as signalling ideas for future research and analysis. Wide-ranging across different historical periods, different sports, and different local and global contexts, the book incorporates personal, ideological and political narratives; varied conceptual, methodological and theoretical approaches; and examples of complexities and nuanced ways of understanding the gendered and sexualized dynamics of sport. It examines structural and cultural forms of gender segregation, homophobia, heteronormativity and transphobia, as well as the ideological struggles and changes that have led to nuanced ways of thinking about the sport, gender and sexuality nexus. This is a landmark work of reference that will be a key resource for students and researchers working in sport studies, gender studies, sexuality studies or sociology.

This article explores discourses of gender and sexuality in relation to female football players located within the context of 'gay sport'. The findings presented are taken from my PhD research, and as such form part of a larger study of both male and female footballers who choose to play in gay- or lesbian-identified football clubs. Drawing upon participant observation and interview narratives of five women involved in gay/lesbian-identified football contexts, this article considers how these women resist homophobic and heteronormative discourses present within the broader context of mainstream sport, and how they negotiate their position as women in the world of 'gay football'. Engaging with feminist, post-structuralist and queer theories, it offers a critique of 'gay sport', with a particular emphasis on 'inclusion'. In doing so, it highlights the complex and often paradoxical responses to the homophobic and heteronormative climate of mainstream sport, and illustrates the tensions inherent within this specific gay/lesbian football context. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Transgender inclusion has become a prominent issue on the agendas of policy makers in education and sport in recent years. Despite this, teachers face continued challenges in providing inclusive experiences for transgender young people. This is particularly apparent in PE, which is a unique subject in its potential to perpetuate gender norms. There is a growing body of literature exploring LGBTQ+ issues in PE. However, there is a need to consider how trans* young people’s experiences may differ from their LGB counterparts. A small number of existing studies offer insight into the experiences of trans* youth in PE. However, comparatively little is known about the challenges faced by PE teachers in providing inclusive PE experiences for trans* young people. This paper presents a creative non-fiction monologue that reflects findings from seven interviews with secondary school PE teachers about their experiences of working with trans* young people. We draw on a ‘feminist-queer’ theoretical approach to examine the potential for PE pedagogies to reproduce, disrupt and transform binary gender discourse. Findings present three key themes: (1) teachers’ knowledge and understanding of trans* identities in PE; (2) trans* challenges to PE practice; and (3) moving towards trans*-inclusive PE. We conclude by arguing that the benefits of trans*-inclusive approaches to PE are far-reaching, and extend to all young people.

A number of recent Managing Sport and Leisure commentaries have explored how COVID-19 is touching sport. Our commentary adds to these discussions by considering COVID-19, lockdown and (disability) sport. This is especially pertinent given the positioning of disabled people as particularly “vulnerable” in relation to current political discourse. Four key points of discussion are focused upon. First, we explore how the media has attended to issues concerning (disability) sport during lockdown. Second, consideration is given to how sporting and physical activity opportunities have been promoted during lockdown. Third, we focus on the notion of inclusion and explore the ways in which this has thrived during lockdown. Fourth, attention is given to community (disability) sport post-lockdown and what this may mean for disability sport. We conclude by arguing that the future legacy of lockdown and COVID-19 will tell us much about how disabled people have really been embraced within sport.

Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield are iconic Leeds Rhinos ex-rugby league players. In recent years they have collectively engaged in charitable work for the motor neurone disease (MND), a condition Rob was diagnosed with in 2019. One of their recent challenges was to participate in the ‘Run For All’ 2022 Leeds 10K road race. Kevin pushed Rob around the course in an adapted wheelchair. This kind of ‘assisted running’ has only recently become permissible in road race events. In this paper we present a commentary on the position of Rob and, by implication, Kevin in the ‘Run For All’ Leeds 10K as a symbol of contemporary discourse about disability and sports participation in society. Specifically, we consider the following questions: 1) What does it mean to be included and participate in sport? 2) How does the visibility of Rob in this event challenge the disability/ability binary? And 3) What role do non-disabled allies play in shaping perceptions of their disabled counterparts in sport? By exploring these questions, we contend that it should not matter that Rob and Kevin took on different roles, moved in different ways, and received different kinds of support. These facets of their collective participation signal the possibilities that open up when consideration is given to the ‘normality of doing things differently’. In concluding we argue that Rob and Kevin’s participation in the Leeds 10K represents the possibilities of what road races can become if some of the taken for granted conventions in sport are reconsidered.

© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This paper focuses on part of a research project that considers women’s sports volunteering experiences. Specifically, we draw on interview data with four women boxing volunteers. Research focusing on boxing and gender has largely been preoccupied with the politics of women’s inclusion in competitive boxing, media coverage, and women boxers’ gendered identities. Less attention is given to women who volunteer within boxing clubs. Theoretically we use feminist-queer thinking, which challenges structural constraints whilst incorporating post-structural and queer deconstructive approaches towards understanding the gendered body. To re-present the women’s accounts we offer a story, ‘The boxing gym: A women’s volunteering story’, and discuss three themes: women as an exception in boxing; women having to prove themselves; and women’s sense of belonging within their boxing community. Our closing remarks highlight the precarious position of women volunteers in boxing and reiterate their role as pivotal constituents in sustaining the future of boxing communities.

This paper explores the physical activity experiences of a group of women based in England, and who are over the age of 30. This particular age group represent a ‘forgotten’ age, that is, they are largely ignored in academic scholarship, policy and physical activity provision. The paper explores how this group of women ‘re/engaged’ in physical activity after a sustained period of inactivity. The study is situated in a weekly football initiative (Monday Night Footy) based in the north of England, managed and organised by a group of women for women to train and play five-a-side football. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and the use of photo-biographical boards with 11 women, all of whom are regular participants to the football sessions. We use a middle ground feminist lens and Archer’s notion of ‘fr/agility’ to help make sense of the women’s experiences. From these women’s stories three key findings emerge: (a) Biographies of (in)activity – the ways in which relationships with physical activity can be characterised by fractures and fissures despite seemingly positive early physical activity experiences; (b) Pathways of re/engagement – the motives and enablers to these women once again participating in physical activity after a sustained absence; and (c) Monday Night Footy as a space for re/engagement – the ways in which this context contributes to these women’s continued involvement in football and broader physical activity. The paper concludes by offering policy makers and physical activity providers some recommendations alongside considerations for future research.

This chapter takes as a central focus Barbie Becky Paralympic Champion (1999). Becky is one of the many Barbie dolls produced by the toy manufacturer Mattel and is a wheelchair user. For many young people these dolls can hold significant currency that contributes towards defining the ways in which they embody femininity (and/or masculinity). We draw on critical disability studies and queer theory to better understand how Becky disrupts and reproduces unified representations of the sporting female. The existence of Becky could be interpreted as a forward-thinking attempt by Mattel to diversify the range of identities available to young people. A more critical engagement with Becky demonstrates that she is nonetheless a product of a neo-liberal industry that reproduces patterns of inequality.

This paper explores the physical activity experiences of a group of women based in England, and who are over the age of 30. This particular age group represent a ‘forgotten’ age, that is, they are largely ignored in academic scholarship, policy and physical activity provision. The paper explores how this group of women ‘re/engaged’ in physical activity after a sustained period of inactivity. The study is situated in a weekly football initiative (Monday Night Footy) based in the north of England, managed and organised by a group of women for women to train and play five-a-side football. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and the use of photo-biographical boards with 11 women, all of whom are regular participants to the football sessions. We use a middle ground feminist lens and Archer's notion of ‘fr/agility’ to help make sense of the women's experiences. From these women's stories three key findings emerge: (a) Biographies of (in)activity–the ways in which relationships with physical activity can be characterised by fractures and fissures despite seemingly positive early physical activity experiences; (b) Pathways of re/engagement–the motives and enablers to these women once again participating in physical activity after a sustained absence; and (c) Monday Night Footy as a space for re/engagement–the ways in which this context contributes to these women's continued involvement in football and broader physical activity. The paper concludes by offering policy makers and physical activity providers with some recommendations alongside considerations for future research.

The development of the Women's Super League (WSL) in English football, increased media coverage of the game, and an expansion of grassroots opportunities indicate a bright future for women and girls who want to play. Yet this vision must be tempered against compelling evidence of deep rooted and enduring gender inequalities within the game. This is the case for both players, and women who undertake non-playing roles, which is reflected in the relatively low numbers of women coaches and referees. Whilst The Football Association (The FA) has signalled addressing these inequalities as a key priority, critics argue that such efforts amount to superficial and limited efforts to support meaningful change. This paper departs from a concern with playing the game and responds to calls for more research to explore the experiences of women involved in football in non-playing roles. More specifically, it focuses on women coaches and referees, and addresses the following question: how do women in positions of power in football negotiate their place in what remains a distinctly male-dominated profession? In addressing this question, we take a theoretical position located at the nexus between radical and post-structural feminism, acknowledging the significance of structural power relations and individual agency in shaping daily lived social realities. Data were generated from interviews with 14 women coaches and 10 women referees. These interviews explored the structure and culture of the game and its impact on women's experiences of men's and women's competitive and grassroots football. Through a rigorous process of thematic analysis, three themes were identified: gendered entry into football careers; reinforcement of women's difference on the football field; and coping strategies for remaining in the game. Centralising the women's voices in this research highlights the insidious and persistent nature of gendered microaggressions, the sexism of football culture, and the ways in which these women negotiate this masculine terrain in their pursuit of being coaches and referees. “Andy Gray and Richard Keys hauled off air for sexist comments” (The Guardian, 24 January, 2011) “Crystal Palace Women goalkeeper accuses clubs of ignoring FA protocols after she was subjected to sexist abuse” (The Telegraph, 16 January, 2020) “Football manager demands ban on women referees” (The Guardian, 12 November, 2006) “Richard Scudamore sexism scandal intensifies as conspirator in sexist emails investigated by own law firm” (The Telegraph, 16 May, 2014) “Soccer chief's plan to boost women's game? Hotpants” (The Guardian, 16 January, 2004) “Women in Football survey a damning indictment of sexism in the workplace” (HRreview, 11 March, 2014) “Clattenburg criticised for claim female referees must pick career or children” (The Telegraph, 1 October, 2021)

This paper focuses around the transformative potential of sport and active recreation and is premised on an assertion that sport in its broadest sense is a political project. It draws on three different empirical studies to critically assess ways in which involvement for participants can be (potentially) transformative, transformational and transforming. The first study focuses on gay sport and gay football, the second looks at a recreational football team where the manager is seeking to actualize participation as ‘transformational’ for players to challenge practices of discrimination including sexism and racism. The third study focuses on dance and masculinity and considers how ‘transforming’ practices are embodied and expressed in complex ways. We argue that attention needs to be paid to the nature and type of activities being assessed and emphasize the importance of context-specific empirical research to engage more fully with claims pertaining to transformative potential.

The idea for this Special Issue, ‘Gender, Physical Education and Active Lifestyles: Contemporary Challenges and New Directions’ developed from the interest generated by a one day conference held at Leeds Beckett University in September 2017. The conference marked 25 years since the publication of Sheila Scraton’s ground breaking, feminist analysis of Physical Education. As a pivotal text that has contributed to the growth of gender research within the UK and more broadly, it seemed fitting to mark this occasion. The reach of Sheila’s work was perhaps realised through the delegate body. Early career researchers mingled with established scholars from America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the UK. Building on this conference and a wider call for papers, we are delighted to offer two Special Issues of Sport, Education and Society. The first issue engages explicitly with the challenge of theorising and understanding gendered subjectivities and embodiment across a range of contexts. These papers reflect the diversity of theoretical approaches being employed with some drawing on feminist perspectives, and others using Bourdieu, intersectionality, critical whiteness studies, and masculinity studies. The collection of papers in the second issue seek to examine the different ways in which gender becomes implicated in pedagogical relations and practice. These range from accounts of teachers’ struggles to use critical pedagogies to address gender inequities in PE classes, to analyses of the wider pedagogical ‘work’ of the media in constructing understandings about gender, with several papers exploring these two aspects in combination. We hope you enjoy reading the papers across these two Special Issues as much as we have enjoyed the journey as the editorial team. Collectively the papers raise alternative questions and provide new insights into gender and active lifestyles, and importantly, all seek to make a difference in moving towards more equitable physical activity experiences.

Working within the Centre for Social Justice in Sport and Society (CSJ) at Leeds Beckett University, UK, has provided opportunities for the authorship team to work with sports organisations on issues of equity, diversity and inclusion. What has become increasingly apparent is the need to conceive inclusion in ways that move beyond issues of access and participation, a policy or targeted programme. What emerges across our research projects is the significance of belonging to inclusion. Within this paper we offer insights into the embodiment of belonging through four processes – feeling seen, heard, valued and known which form our ‘Anchors of Belonging’ framework. We bring each anchor to life using examples from the CSJ’s research portfolio. We pose several reflective questions organisations might use as a guide to leverage the anchors and adopt a more proactive ­person-centred approach to create an inclusive environment for their workforce.