Dressed to play: An analysis of gender relations in college women’s ultimate Frisbee

Abstract

This research examines how college women athletes negotiate gender in the space and context of ultimate Frisbee. The data for this project come from ethnographic research, group interviews, and one-on-one interviews that were conducted while participating on a college women’s ultimate Frisbee team at a large, southeastern public university. Currently, the college ultimate Frisbee series in the United States does not include a mixed or coed division in the college series. Therefore, this work focuses on the following three key processes in college women’s ultimate Frisbee: the attire, the language, and the formation of a supportive community. Findings indicate that these women perform gender identities throughout the culture of college women’s ultimate Frisbee that reshape normative gender relations often found in mainstream sporting culture. These athletes create a sense of comfort by bridging the gap between “female” and “athlete” within this competitive sport. This context allows for a spectrum of gender identities, resulting in less restrictive gendered relations in sport. This work contributes an important conceptualization of gender in sport. It highlights how gender is fluid, adaptable but also a form of resistance. College women’s ultimate Frisbee is a space where hegemonic identities are negotiated and transformed.