Gender Differences in the Implicit and Explicit Perceptions of Sport

Abstract

Most sports are constitutive of the masculine identity, and these explicit gender perceptions influence sport participation. Less is known about implicit gender perceptions in sport, which may be instrumental in redefining the narrative of gender stereotypes and sport participation. This study explored gender differences in the implicit and explicit perceptions of sport. A total of 187 adults (45.45% female; M_age = 32.62 years, SD_age = 13.07 years) completed an implicit association task by sorting sport words from the Canadian Women and Sport ‘She’s Got It All’ campaign into gendered categories. Participants self-reported their explicit attitudes towards 10 campaign posters. Using independent sample t-tests, a moderate effect was observed for gender differences in implicit attitudes for sport. Men demonstrated significantly stronger implicit attitudes linking sport to masculine characteristics compared to women. Men reported significantly lower explicit positive attitudes for liking the posters, feeling motivated by them, and perceived relevance. Men and women did not differ on levels of uneasiness and self-consciousness. Results suggest that men maintain implicit gendered attitudes towards sport and report lower positive explicit attitudes to intentional gender equity media. Understanding the counterproductive role that men can play when enforcing stereotypical gendered sport beliefs is vital for advancing girls’ and women’s engagement in sport.