A former elite gymnast recently announced the reasons for their retirement citing the normalisation of mental, emotional and physical abuse. This is not something new to sport or even gymnastics yet is often the elephant in the room. A social media post relating to the retirement announcement referred to the alleged abuse as an 'open …
Reflections from a gymnast
The aim of qualitative research is to acquire culturally specific information, it enables subjective description as to ‘how a person has been constituted in a particular form of life’ (Packer, 2011). Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault (2016) suggest to understand behaviour and values it is essential to understand ‘people from their own frames of reference’. Narratives …
“Geddert is not the only Geddert in the coaching world”
For far to long the only abuse to be taken seriously in sport has been sexual abuse. That is the abuse the media focus on, that seems to be the only abuse people consider crosses the line. This post is not to diminish the devastating effects sexual abuse can have on it’s victims, rather it’s …
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Parents perceptions of pain and injury
Part of my research has considered how parents become socialised into the gymnastics culture. One such paper looked at parents perceptions of their daughters’ pain and injury experiences. Parents of elite level British gymnasts participated in interviews to help gain some insight into how they came to accept pain and injury as part of their …
Reflections
Reflections on critical events help us better understand past behaviours and can be cathartic for the writer. I have used reflective pieces within my research to help identify common themes and experiences shared by those involved in gymnastics at the elite level. One such theme was that of ‘disempowerment’ where parents felt marginalised and unable …
Let the blogging commence!
Thank you for joining me! As a sociologist and self confessed gymnastics nerd , I have been following closely the developments surrounding the Larry Nassar case. It has become evident through personal impact statements, media reports, blogs and podcasts that fans, parents, gymnasts and coaches are speaking out about the culture of the sport and …
