Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR)
Date of this Version
August 2005
Abstract
Golf does not inherently privilege men or women physically, yet men are much more likely to participate in golf. The authors explore the institutional (e.g., societal level) and interactional barriers to women’s golf participation and uncover strategies women use to negotiate playing and persisting in golf. Guided by research on tokenism in occupations, statistical discrimination, and feminist research in the sociology of sport, the authors use 10 interviews with recreational women golfers to explore these issues. Similar to women in predominantly male occupations, the women in this study report heightened visibility and experiences with typecasting on the golf course. In addition, social closure operates in the form of unwelcoming courses; women reported feeling ignored, overlooked, or unimportant on the course. The authors discuss several strategies the women in the sample use to overcome sexism and persist in golf.
Comments
Published in Journal of Sport & Social Issues 29:3 (August 2005), pp. 313–337; doi 10.1177/0193723504272659 Copyright © 2005 Sage Publications; published on behalf of Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. Used by permission. http://jss.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/3/313