Girlie girls and manly men: Children's stigma consciousness of gender in sports and physical activities

Despite efforts toward equality, social rules of gender play a prominent role in leisure especially within the sport and physical activity arena. Recreational and organized sports are common leisure pursuits among children. From an early age, children show signs of recognizing "appropriate" gendered behavior and activities. The goal of this study was to assess the degree to which children are aware of social stereotypes of gender in sport and physical activity and how their awareness affects their participation choices. Results of the study indicate that in terms of gender stereotypes girls experience greater social latitude in their sport participation than boys. The findings suggest support for further investigations into the effects of gender stigmas on boys' participation and experiences in sport and physical activity.