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Type of Submission
Podium Presentation
Keywords
College athletes, women, height
Abstract
The present study summarizes previous qualitative research by Firmin, Hoffman, Lee, and Firmin (2009) in which we had interviewed 24 college females who were 5'11" or taller regarding their self-perceptions of being tall. The findings of these interviews are compared to findings from a present data collection of 23 college females who were 5'10" or taller - but who had the added dynamic of being varsity college athletes. Women from both data sets shared overlapping perspectives regarding the extra attention they received, personal adjustments they had to make, social factors that impacted their lives, and difficulties they experienced with clothing, all as a result of their tallness. However, the two groups also differed in key ways, with the athletic tall women reporting better satisfactions in some domains and yet greater frustrations in others. Particularly, this study lends to the idea that the tall athletes were better able to celebrate their tallness as a direct result of their participation and success in athletics. Conversely, participants in the athlete sample also shared an increased frustration that differed from their non-athlete counterparts. This frustration related to the possible perception of others that due to their height and body type they lacked femininity.
Campus Venue
Dixon Ministry Center, Room 102
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-10-2013 1:45 PM
End Date
4-10-2013 2:10 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Shared Height-Related Dynamics and Unique Perspectives of Tall College Women Athletes
Cedarville, OH
The present study summarizes previous qualitative research by Firmin, Hoffman, Lee, and Firmin (2009) in which we had interviewed 24 college females who were 5'11" or taller regarding their self-perceptions of being tall. The findings of these interviews are compared to findings from a present data collection of 23 college females who were 5'10" or taller - but who had the added dynamic of being varsity college athletes. Women from both data sets shared overlapping perspectives regarding the extra attention they received, personal adjustments they had to make, social factors that impacted their lives, and difficulties they experienced with clothing, all as a result of their tallness. However, the two groups also differed in key ways, with the athletic tall women reporting better satisfactions in some domains and yet greater frustrations in others. Particularly, this study lends to the idea that the tall athletes were better able to celebrate their tallness as a direct result of their participation and success in athletics. Conversely, participants in the athlete sample also shared an increased frustration that differed from their non-athlete counterparts. This frustration related to the possible perception of others that due to their height and body type they lacked femininity.
