| This thesis examines how the cultural structures which guide and control sport impact on the construction of an athlete's identity. Specifically, I use autoethnography and narrative inquiry to explore how my lived experiences in sport shaped my identity as a competitive female athlete. Ten narratives are presented and represent a cross-section of an athletic career that included triumphs, tragedies and interruptions. Particular attention is paid to the gendering of sport and how being female impacted on my experiences; the effect of injury on an athlete's self-esteem and future plans, and the psychological and emotional effects of retiring from sport sooner than expected. Reflexive writing is used as a method to discover knowledge gleaned from my personal athletic experiences. The reader is invited to re-interpret these narratives and to generate questions and insights in relation to their own possibly similar experiences. The deconstruction of identity through writing and renegotiating interpretations is a means of reconnecting with long forgotten affiliated identities. |
