Background/Purpose To date, limited research has explored the impact the public nature of physical education has on students' embodiment. The objectification of the body is heightened in physical education because students have the opportunity to observe other students' performances and bodies. This exposure creates an opportunity for girls to conduct their own surveillance on themselves and other students, which has the potential to influence their feelings about themselves and their overall embodied identities. The purpose of this study was to explore how adolescent girls navigate ways to feel comfortable within their own bodies and the physical education environment.
Method Participants were seven ninth and tenth grade girls from a coeducation class of ninth through twelfth graders. Data were collected from focus group and individual interviews, activity artifacts, and descriptive field notes from observations. Data were analyzed using content analysis and constant comparative method.
Analysis/Results Results indicated the public nature of physical education caused participants to be embarrassed, exposed, and judged by others. The exposure of their bodies in the locker room and during game play in group activities, allowed participants to compare their bodies and skill ability to the other girls in class. Their fear of embarrassment and preference to compare themselves to others depreciated their comfort and participation.
Conclusions This study provides insight into girls' lived experiences in physical education, specifically how girls are aware of their own feelings and perceived barriers that prevent them from feeling comfortable and safe within their own bodies and the physical education environment.