Lesbian, anorexic, disabled, and big: other ways of being a female physical education teacher

Abstract

Research has shown that Physical Education (PE) is a white, male, and able body-dominated profession, particularly in Spain. When some female pre-service PE teachers, who had a difficult relationship with their bodies and sports abilities, enrol in such a degree, some of these problematic relations come to light. Participants for this study were four female pre-service teachers who self-identified as lesbian, anorexic, visually impaired, and big respectively. Data were collected through participant-produced texts, graphical representations, and interviews. The authors then reconstructed the participants’ stories which are presented in the form of narratives. The conceptual tool of embodying norm-criticality helped us to highlight the importance of critical reflection about own beliefs, past experiences and understandings, and their influence on pedagogical practices in PE. This study contributes to the push towards a change of the stereotypical beliefs of what a PE teacher should be or look like, and in this way, emphasises the vast benefits of diversifying PE teachers’ beliefs and understandings.