Sportiness and masculinities among female and male physiotherapy students

The paper explores how the importance of being seen as sporty to be perceived as a suitable physiotherapy student varies among female and male physiotherapy students. Following research questions have guided the analysis: How does being sporty relates to perceptions of who are seen as suitable physiotherapy students? How does the necessity of being seen as sporty to be perceived as a suitable physiotherapy student varies among female and male students? Extraordinary sporty male students are seen as particular suitable physiotherapy students and take the hegemonic postioin in the student milieu. Extraordinary sporty female students have the potenial of the hegemonic position, still they tend to not aim for this position.

Connells concept of masculinities is used as theoretical framework (Connell, 1995; Connell, 2005). However, in this paper masculinities relate to both female and male students. Sport is thereby viewed as doing masculinities whether it is done by female or male students. The empirical material is based on observations and qualitative interviews with students made during fieldwork in skill training classes in the first year in a bachelor program in physiotherapy in Norway (in 2010).

Ordinary sporty female students have no particular problems in being seen as suitable physiotherapy students.

Ordinary sporty male students somehow strive to be seen as suitable physiotherapy students.

The analysis have focused on similarities and differences between the physiotherapy students ways of doing sport.

The extraordinary sporty male students vs the extraordinary sporty female students

The extraordinary sporty female students vs the ordinary sporty female students

Physiotherapy students doing of sport is a matter of the extend of being sporty. Being sporty is of greater importance for male students compared to female students. However, it is the male students perceived in the outer edge of sportiness that strives to be seen as suitable physiotherapy students.

Masculinities; Connell 1995; Connell 2005 Picture of male student; Nelly. Com The extraordinary sporty male students vs the ordinary sporty male students The ordinary sporty female students vs the ordinary sporty male students

Tone Dahl-Michelsen, Phd student Oslo and Akershus University College tone.dahl-michelsen@hioa.no