Shaking the Foundation: Women of Color in Sport

Abstract

Feminist sport psychologists agree that the playing field is not level regarding gender issues in and out of sport and that sexism is alive and well. Ironically, the myth persists that race and racism are not prevalent in sport. Like any aspect of culture, sport is influenced by societal norms. Thus, for women of color, race and gender are accompanied by racism and sexism within and outside of athletics. The purpose of this paper is to briefly examine the experiences of women of color within sport and the feminist sport psychology community in particular. The feminist preoccupation with gender frequently ignores or minimizes race and cultural differences between women and the racism that can emerge in cross-racial interactions. The result is the marginalization of women of color.