Is sport still a masculine domain? A psychological glance
Résumé
This study investigated whether sport is still nowadays considered as a masculine domain and whether the association between sport and masculinity may be modulated by individuals' gender-role orientation. One hundred students performed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) implementing sport and education words with masculine versus feminine attributes. Next, they reported their gender-role orientation and explicit gender attitudes about sport and education. Participants implicitly and explicitly associated sport with masculinity. Gender-role orientation did not moderate this association contrary to participants' sex. Men showed stronger automatic sport-masculinity association than women. Specifically, women were sensitive to the order of I AT blocks whereas men were not. This study suggests that the masculine connotation of sport is very robust in the males' cognitive network. Interpretations of the results in light of the still higher participation of males in sport and the lesser social latitude to participate in sports arena that males have to face are discussed.