The passing of Title IX has allowed women of all ages to begin engaging with contact sports in the United States. Although growing, women's participation in contact sports remains adolescent in comparison to men's. The elements of physicality, masculinity, and gendered expression often associated with rough sports may affect women's willingness to play them as well as others' perceptions of the women who play them. Rugby, a high-intensity contact sport played by both men and women throughout the world, is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. Rugby offers a unique opportunity for women to play against other women under the exact same rules as men's leagues. Studies have been completed on the ways that femininity, identity, and sexuality operate in the context of rugby in numerous countries around the world, but have yet to be performed in the U.S. Drawing on literature from the sociology of sport and sports criminology, the purpose of this study is to understand why women in the U.S. choose to play rugby, how rugby has impacted women's experiences with sexuality, gender, and identity, and what rugby provides women as one of the only available full contact sports. Utilizing an online anonymous survey instrument, 350 responses were collected for analysis.
","abstract_html":"<p>The passing of Title IX has allowed women of all ages to begin engaging with contact sports in the United States. Although growing, women's participation in contact sports remains adolescent in comparison to men's. The elements of physicality, masculinity, and gendered expression often associated with rough sports may affect women's willingness to play them as well as others' perceptions of the women who play them. Rugby, a high-intensity contact sport played by both men and women throughout the world, is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. Rugby offers a unique opportunity for women to play against other women under the exact same rules as men's leagues. Studies have been completed on the ways that femininity, identity, and sexuality operate in the context of rugby in numerous countries around the world, but have yet to be performed in the U.S. Drawing on literature from the sociology of sport and sports criminology, the purpose of this study is to understand why women in the U.S. choose to play rugby, how rugby has impacted women's experiences with sexuality, gender, and identity, and what rugby provides women as one of the only available full contact sports. Utilizing an online anonymous survey instrument, 350 responses were collected for analysis. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Basham, Kelsey"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:47Z","subjects":["Gender","Rugby","Sexuality","Sociology","Sport","Women","Gender and Sexuality","Sports Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2018 Kelsey Basham"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/558","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Basham, Kelsey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Gender","Rugby","Sexuality","Sociology","Sport","Women","Gender and Sexuality","Sports Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2018 Kelsey Basham"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/558"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The passing of Title IX has allowed women of all ages to begin engaging with contact sports in the United States. Although growing, women's participation in contact sports remains adolescent in comparison to men's. The elements of physicality, masculinity, and gendered expression often associated with rough sports may affect women's willingness to play them as well as others' perceptions of the women who play them. Rugby, a high-intensity contact sport played by both men and women throughout the world, is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. Rugby offers a unique opportunity for women to play against other women under the exact same rules as men's leagues. Studies have been completed on the ways that femininity, identity, and sexuality operate in the context of rugby in numerous countries around the world, but have yet to be performed in the U.S. Drawing on literature from the sociology of sport and sports criminology, the purpose of this study is to understand why women in the U.S. choose to play rugby, how rugby has impacted women's experiences with sexuality, gender, and identity, and what rugby provides women as one of the only available full contact sports. Utilizing an online anonymous survey instrument, 350 responses were collected for analysis.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Resisting gendered sport roles: A criminological sports analysis of women's rugby in the U.S."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Basham, Kelsey"],"dc:description.abstract":["The passing of Title IX has allowed women of all ages to begin engaging with contact sports in the United States. Although growing, women's participation in contact sports remains adolescent in comparison to men's. The elements of physicality, masculinity, and gendered expression often associated with rough sports may affect women's willingness to play them as well as others' perceptions of the women who play them. Rugby, a high-intensity contact sport played by both men and women throughout the world, is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. Rugby offers a unique opportunity for women to play against other women under the exact same rules as men's leagues. Studies have been completed on the ways that femininity, identity, and sexuality operate in the context of rugby in numerous countries around the world, but have yet to be performed in the U.S. Drawing on literature from the sociology of sport and sports criminology, the purpose of this study is to understand why women in the U.S. choose to play rugby, how rugby has impacted women's experiences with sexuality, gender, and identity, and what rugby provides women as one of the only available full contact sports. Utilizing an online anonymous survey instrument, 350 responses were collected for analysis.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/558"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2018 Kelsey Basham"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Gender","Rugby","Sexuality","Sociology","Sport","Women","Gender and Sexuality","Sports Studies"],"dc:title":["Resisting gendered sport roles: A criminological sports analysis of women's rugby in the U.S."],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:47Z"}