Body Shaming Experiences of Elite Female Athletes

Abstract

Women face many problems in the sports environment; one of them is “body shaming” experiences Especially elite female athletes may have some negative experiences due to the characteristics of their profession. The study which addresses this subject is a qualitative research that aims to reveal the experiences in which elite female athletes are humiliated over their bodies. For the study, interviews were conducted with 13 female athletes residing in Batman, Diyarbakir, and Istanbul who play sports in branches such as gymnastics, wrestling, athletics, kickboxing and boxing. According to the data obtained from the interviews, the participants are exposed to different forms of body shaming experiences, both in the sports environment and in the social fields outside the sports environment. The participants are faced with disturbing comments and practices in the process of capturing the body measurements specific to the sports branches in the sports environment. In addition, they encounter sexist expressions in social relationships about their bodies that they develop through training. Athletes are exposed to comments that include pressure, and psychological violence in the sports culture where gender-based power relations are intense.