“There should be mixed-gender groups, unisex changing rooms, and an effort to familiarize PE teachers with these issues”

LGBTQI+ youth, physical education and recreational sport activities

Authors

• Päivi Berg Jyväskylän yliopisto
• Marja Kokkonen Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.87202

Keywords:

equality, LGBTQI young people, physical education, recreational sports

Abstract

Using the interview data collected from ten 13- to 17-year-old LGBTQI+ young people, we examine their experiences of discrimination in physical education (PE) and recreational sport activities, their views on PE and recreational sports practices and the means they suggest for the promotion of equality in PE and recreational sports. Our analysis is based on queering. We examine the taken-for-granted practices of PE and recreational sports as well as LGBTQI+ young people’s experiences and perceptions of being considered strange within these contexts. Some of the young people had not experienced discrimination in PE and recreational sports while the experiences of others varied from social exclusion to physical violence. The problematic situations that the interviewees encountered were related to the gendered language and other practices of PE and recreational sports at a structural level, as well as to experiences of discomfort at an individual level. Participation was less challenging in situations in which the young people were able to choose their groups and roles for themselves. The means the young people suggested for the advancement of equality in PE and recreational sports were the avoidance of gendered expressions and practices, as well as mixed-gender groups and intervening in discrimination.