{"id":{"repo_id":"gsu","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1575"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gsu/oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1575","repository":{"repo_id":"gsu","name":"Georgia Southern University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Leveling the Playing Field: Curriculum Studies and Fast Pitch Softball","abstract":"Women in sport challenge our cultural assumptions about gender and sexuality. Athletics has been viewed as a male domain, with its emphasis on strength, agility, competition, intellect, and aggression. To play sports, women are pressured to maintain and emphasize their femininity without appearing overly aggressive or possessing masculine traits associated with sport, particularly in the team sport of softball. This research examines the expectations a patriarchal society places on young women who play sports competitively and how such expectations with regards to femininity in both behavior and appearance influence a young female athlete's identity formation. Through the lenses of gender studies and cultural studies, the lived experiences of a female high school athlete are described. This study traces the challenges and successes women have experienced trying to gain entry into the institutionalized world of sport since the Industrial Revolution. It also explores acts of both resistance and conformity with regards to social constructions of gender on a high school softball team.","abstract_html":"Women in sport challenge our cultural assumptions about gender and sexuality. Athletics has been viewed as a male domain, with its emphasis on strength, agility, competition, intellect, and aggression. To play sports, women are pressured to maintain and emphasize their femininity without appearing overly aggressive or possessing masculine traits associated with sport, particularly in the team sport of softball. This research examines the expectations a patriarchal society places on young women who play sports competitively and how such expectations with regards to femininity in both behavior and appearance influence a young female athlete's identity formation. Through the lenses of gender studies and cultural studies, the lived experiences of a female high school athlete are described. This study traces the challenges and successes women have experienced trying to gain entry into the institutionalized world of sport since the Industrial Revolution. It also explores acts of both resistance and conformity with regards to social constructions of gender on a high school softball team.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Roberts, Melinda M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)","degree_level":"Dissertation (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["John Weaver","Dan Chapman","Dan Czech"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:12Z","subjects":["ETD","Gender","Masculinity","Femininity","Athletics","Patriarchy","Education","Curriculum","Sports for women","Women athletes","Softball","Equality"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/575","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["John Weaver","Dan Chapman","Dan Czech"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Roberts, Melinda M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Gender","Masculinity","Femininity","Athletics","Patriarchy","Education","Curriculum","Sports for women","Women athletes","Softball","Equality"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/575"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Women in sport challenge our cultural assumptions about gender and sexuality. Athletics has been viewed as a male domain, with its emphasis on strength, agility, competition, intellect, and aggression. To play sports, women are pressured to maintain and emphasize their femininity without appearing overly aggressive or possessing masculine traits associated with sport, particularly in the team sport of softball. This research examines the expectations a patriarchal society places on young women who play sports competitively and how such expectations with regards to femininity in both behavior and appearance influence a young female athlete's identity formation. Through the lenses of gender studies and cultural studies, the lived experiences of a female high school athlete are described. This study traces the challenges and successes women have experienced trying to gain entry into the institutionalized world of sport since the Industrial Revolution. It also explores acts of both resistance and conformity with regards to social constructions of gender on a high school softball team."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Leveling the Playing Field: Curriculum Studies and Fast Pitch Softball"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["John Weaver","Dan Chapman","Dan Czech"],"dc:creator":["Roberts, Melinda M."],"dc:date.available":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Women in sport challenge our cultural assumptions about gender and sexuality. Athletics has been viewed as a male domain, with its emphasis on strength, agility, competition, intellect, and aggression. To play sports, women are pressured to maintain and emphasize their femininity without appearing overly aggressive or possessing masculine traits associated with sport, particularly in the team sport of softball. This research examines the expectations a patriarchal society places on young women who play sports competitively and how such expectations with regards to femininity in both behavior and appearance influence a young female athlete's identity formation. Through the lenses of gender studies and cultural studies, the lived experiences of a female high school athlete are described. This study traces the challenges and successes women have experienced trying to gain entry into the institutionalized world of sport since the Industrial Revolution. It also explores acts of both resistance and conformity with regards to social constructions of gender on a high school softball team."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/575"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Gender","Masculinity","Femininity","Athletics","Patriarchy","Education","Curriculum","Sports for women","Women athletes","Softball","Equality"],"dc:title":["Leveling the Playing Field: Curriculum Studies and Fast Pitch Softball"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:12Z"}