Perspectives on gender in sport and exercise

The significant role which sport and exercise continues to play in our daily lives cannot be denied. The huge sport and leisure industries, not to mention massive individual investments of time, effort, money, energy and emotion, each bear witness to this fact. However, sport and exercise, like gender itself, is rarely presented as a topic of study within general psychology courses or accorded a great deal of attention in psychology textbooks. By synthesising the diverse literature on gender issues in sport and exercise, we provide an overview of current research and offer suggestions for future directions. Initially, the study of gender issues in sport and exercise psychology is placed in historical context. A second section outlines major theoretical perspectives adopted by sport psychologists in addition to highlighting contemporary research within the field. The final section explores possible future directions which are largely based in the rapidly expanding field of exercise psychology.