Comparison of perceived characteristics and gender appropriateness of dragonboat between dragonboaters and non-dragonboaters

• Main Author: Haque, Nur Adlin.
• Other Authors: Leng Ho Keat
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Social influence
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52160
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Sex-typing is the transformation of male and female into masculine and feminine (Bem, 1981), and sports are sex-typed based on their characteristics and participants (Koivula, 2001). Society’s stereotyped expectations of gender allude to perceptions of gender appropriateness of activities, which in turn may influence motives and participation rates of sports (Koivula, 2001). The study aims to investigate what female dragonboaters and nondragonboaters perceive to be characteristic of dragonboat, and whether they categorise it as masculine or feminine. It hypothesises that non-dragonboaters perceive dragonboat to be more appropriate for males than females, whereas dragonboaters do not. The purpose is to examine whether their perceptions relate to beliefs on gender appropriateness of sport participation. Sixty females of mean age 21.92 years (SD=1.32) – comprising 30 non-sports participants (NDB) and 30 active dragonboaters (DB) – were recruited via convenience sampling to complete an online Likert-type questionnaire (adapted from Koivula, 2001). Responses were analysed using independent-samples t-tests. Results indicate that females perceived dragonboat to be gender-neutral (M=3.23, SD=0.59), and that NDB perceived it to be more appropriate for males than females (M=3.47, SD=0.73) while DB perceived it to be equally appropriate for both (M=3.00, SD=0.26). Also, NDB agreed to a smaller extent that dragonboat involves aggressive behaviour or violence, fast or rapid movements, and aerobic endurance than DB. Findings support hypothesis and correspond with dominant notions of masculinity. Based on these perceptions, sports bodies may seek to improve participation rates by better understanding the motivations and barriers of female participation in dragonboat.