Research in Sports Management and Movement Behavior

Mapping the Gendered Landscape of Sport: Social ‎Representations and Gender Classification of Sport Activities ‎among Students of a Comprehensive Iranian University

Authors

Hamid Salehi
Fatima Heidarinasab

University of Isfahan

Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate Iranian university students’ perceptions of the gender categorization of sporting activities and to analyze the level of consensus/consensus within these social representations. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 191 university students (103 women; M = 23.61, SD = 5.04 years) voluntarily participated. The instrument consisted of a questionnaire containing 25 sports activities, rated on a 7-point Likert scale (ranging from "strictly feminine" to "strictly masculine"). Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test for between-group comparisons and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to assess agreement. Results: Eleven activities were classified as masculine, 10 as neutral, and 4 as feminine. Although the overall classification pattern was similar across genders, men rated activities as significantly more masculine than women (p < .001). Contrary to predictions, the overall level of agreement was low (ICC = 0.13), with higher agreement among men (ICC = 0.13) than women (ICC = 0.07). The highest level of agreement was observed among women in evaluating feminine sports (ICC = 0.53). Conclusion: The findings indicate the simultaneous existence of relatively stable categorization patterns alongside a low level of individual consensus. This pattern suggests some heterogeneity in students' internalization of gender stereotypes. The innovation of this study lies in combining categorization analysis with agreement indices, demonstrating that relying solely on mean scores without considering social consensus provides an incomplete picture of gender dynamics. These results underscore the necessity of incorporating consensus indices into gender and sport studies as a marker of cultural transition.

Keywords

Gender Stereotypes
gender typing of sport
inter-individual agreement
Iran
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