| The purpose of this study is to understand cultural femininity and physical activity from the perspectives of five adolescent girls using the motion picture Bend It Like Beckham as a discussion tool. Research was conducted with adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 16 from Saskatchewan. Their perspectives were gathered through an instrumental qualitative case study. The stories of five adolescent girls were collected through a focus group session, one-on-one interviews, a questionnaire, field notes, and viewing and discussing Bend It Like Beckham. The girls, based on their experiences, were asked to share how femininity and physical activity interacts and impacts their day-to-day life experiences.;The findings of this study will be of interest to parents, teachers, physical education and health consultants who work to promote participation in physical activity, and those concerned with developing health promotion strategies.;The thematic analysis exposed four themes; meaning of physical activity, encouragement to participate, barriers to sport participation, and sport's influences on gender norms. In this study, participation in sport was important to the girls because it helped to define their identities. The findings suggest the girls do not associate physical activity with leisure activity. The girls in this study associated being physically active with participating in a team sport. Unlike previous research, the girls in this study did not lose interest in physical activity as they got older, but the number of activities available to them to participate in has declined. Gender was found to act as a barrier and played a role in defining and distinguishing female identity. During the study, the girls identified two types of girls: the athletic girl and the girly girl. |
