Paper Presentation X:
Gender and Participation in Sport
Monday, April 12, 10.00–13.00

Katherine Dashper
Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

Sport offers one of the most visible demonstrations of gender difference and hierarchy within Western society. The rigid segregation of sport along gender lines appears to confirm commonsense belief in inherent gender differences and the apparent superiority of masculinity and maleness over femininity and femaleness. Equestrian sports are one of the few Olympic-level sports which are not segregated along gender lines and as such may indicate that such segregation is not always necessary or desirable, which in turn could begin to destabilise belief in significant gender difference and the binary categories that sustain unequal gender relations.

The research presented in this paper utilises interview data to explore the experiences, beliefs and opinions of male and female riders involved in high-level equestrian sport in Britain in order to consider the extent to which the lack of formal gender barriers and distinctions contributes to greater equality of opportunity and experience in equestrian sport. The research suggests that, although gender integration may go some way towards increasing equality of participation within the sport, the pervasive influence of wider conservative gender discourses works to limit the potential for more far-reaching equality within this sporting milieu. Riders, both male and female, are deeply attached to gendered identities that limit and constrain their gender and sporting performances. This suggests that the project for gender reform and gender equality within sport is much more complex than that of providing equality of access and opportunity alone.