Correlates of Female Athletic Participation: Masculinity, Femininity, Self-Esteem, and Attitudes Toward Women

Self-esteem, psychological masculinity and femininity, and attitudes toward women in female athletes were investigated in an attempt to examine the validity o f various stereotypes. Subgroup distinctions based on sport played, level o f commitment to athletics, and experience level were also examined. Seventyone women participating in intercollegiate varsity teams (crew, basketball, squash, and swimming) at a major university in the Northeast were compared with an unseleeted group o f 185 women from the same university. In contrast tO previous findings, female athletes were found to be significantly less feminine than their college peers, but not more masculine. In sport-by-sport comparisons, differences were not found. Highly committed athletes were found to be more masculine and more feminine, as well as more pro feminist, than low commitment athletes; and experienced athletes also appeared to be the more highly committed ones. Self-esteem and commitment were found to be unrelated, suggesting that the individual can make a strong commitment to athletics without it having an evaluative component. Speculations were made about the athlete o f the future and the influence o f athletics on self-esteem.