A research about the perception levels of their bodies of female athletes and gender roles

This research has been carried out in order to determine the gender roles and the perception levels of their bodies of elite female athletes doing individual and team sports and females who don't do sports and to ascertain the relationship between them. The working group consists of 360 females, 180 of whom are female elite athletes and 180 of whom are non-athlete females. In the research, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire was used to determine the perception levels of female athletes; BEM Gender Roles Inventory was used to determine the gender roles; and Personal Information Form was used to determine the characteristics of the students which is improved by the researcher as data collection means. To conclude; a meaningful relationship between the body perception and gender roles has been determined. It has been found that females doing sports care about health, appearance, physical competence and are more pleased of their bodies' parts than non-athletic females. When the gender role of females participated in the research is examined, athletic females have been found to have more masculine features. It is thought that sports affects body perception level and gender role in individuals. © IDOSI Publications, 2011.