Empowerment and Disempowerment in Women’s Sport

Abstract

This chapter addresses disempowerment and empowerment in girls’ and women’s sports from a sociohistorical perspective with a focus on the United States. First, we discuss the historical exclusion of girls and women in sport in the U.S. from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. Second, we explain a contemporary practice that serves to limit the public’s interest in women’s sport: scant media coverage as compared to men’s sport. By reviewing historical perspectives and media practices, we highlight ways in which girls and women are often disempowered in sporting contexts. We then turn to a discussion of girls’ and women’s experiences in sport from the youth sport through the professional levels. In this discussion, we highlight how sport can be an empowering context for girls and women despite ongoing systemic problems, such as unequal funding and abuse, that contribute to the disempowerment of female athletes. Finally, we close the chapter by offering some ideas on how sport could be more empowering, rather than disempowering, for girls and women through educational efforts and professional development for athletes, parents, and coaches in conjunction with policy and systemic changes within sport leagues, governance bodies, and educational institutions.