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The social structure of gender refers to the way we organize particular kinds of bodies according to the gender binary. According to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (2016, 9), the gender binary is “a social system whereby people are thought to have either one of two genders: man or woman.” The notions of being a woman or man in the gender binary are expected to correspond to (or align with) sex assigned at birth: female or male. While there are multiple ways that people identify in terms of gender in contemporary times, which you will read about later, it has been well documented that many Indigenous nations had genders in addition to male and female. Settler colonialists, however, deemed Indigenous societies to be ambiguous, immoral, and unnatural because their practices clashed with the social structures that had developed in Europe, including a strict gender binary. Settler colonialism did not bring more natural, more moral, or more civilized systems to Turtle Island (what we now refer to as North America); rather, colonialism violently instituted different systems of sex and gender. Today, Two-Spirit (2S) is an “English umbrella term to reflect and restore Indigenous traditions forcefully suppressed by colonization, honouring the fluid and diverse nature of gender and attraction and its connection to community and spirituality. It is used by some Indigenous People rather than, or in addition to, identifying as LGBTQI” (Egale Canada, n.d.).
There are many ways that gender influences and is influenced by sport, and in chapter 4, authors Sarah Barnes and Mustafa Karaçam delve more deeply into this topic. For now, and as I mentioned earlier, sport has been organized as a space for boys and men. In the 1800s and early 1900s, many Canadian sport organizations had regulations prohibiting girls and women from joining, along with racialized and Indigenous persons and individuals from the working class. Sport was much more exclusive in those days. While improvements have certainly been made, gender-based barriers still exist today in youth, university, high-performance, and professional sport organizations in Canada and all around the globe.
Sport policy—an important component in the creation and maintenance of sport systems—has played an important (but incomplete) role in equity and sport in the Canadian context. As just noted, formal sport organizations in the 1800s and early 1900s did not allow girls and women to participate, although girls and women forged their own ways to participate by organizing their own teams, leagues, and events. These were largely informal opportunities, and even though women were allowed to compete in the Olympics beginning in 1900, as noted in chapter 1, Canada did not have female representation at the Games until 1924, which was the seventh time the events were held.
In 1980, the Women’s Program within Fitness and Amateur Sport was released by the federal government. While not a policy per se, this important program led by Dr. Susan Vail—a highly respected sport leadership expert and advocate for women’s inclusion in sport—included specific recommendations for increasing the number of women in sport leadership roles, promoting women’s sport to the general public through an advertising campaign featuring successful women athletes from Canada, and providing funds to national sport organizations who could prove they had specific plans in place to increase women’s participation (Safai 2013).
In 1986, a formal policy was announced by the government titled the Sport Canada Policy on Women and Sport; the primary goal of this first-of-its-kind policy was to increase participation of girls and women in organized sport (Safai 2013). This policy was updated in 2009 (23 years after the original), with a primary objective to “foster sport environments—from playground to podium—where women and girls, particularly as athlete participants, coaches, technical leaders and officials, and as governance leaders are provided with: quality sport experiences; and equitable support by sport organizations” (Government of Canada 2009).
The Canadian Sport Policy, published in 2002, focused more than ever on the participation of the general population in sport (Government of Canada 2002). A specific action item was included for girls and women—namely collaboration with Canadian Women & Sport (an organization you read about in chapter 1) and with relevant provincial organizations to develop a national strategy for girls, women, sport, and physical activity. The Canadian Sport Policy was updated in 2012 and maintained a focus on participation, adding this time the inclusion of all Canadians in recreational, developmental, and competitive sport (Government of Canada 2012). Parissa Safai, a professor at York University, summarizes the history of Canadian sport policy and women’s inclusion in the following way: “We can easily identify watershed moments in the development of sport policy for women in Canada but, as a whole, policy development in this area has been marked more by incremental change over time than whole-scale revolutions in policy direction and implementation” (2013, 337).
A key point is that federal gender-based policies to include boys and men in sport were never needed; it was assumed they already participate. These policies are necessary for girls and women, however, because of the many barriers to participation they have experienced, from the early days of modern sport through to the present. In fact, in 2018, the federal government announced it was allocating $30 million to girls’ and women’s sport in Canada, with a goal of attaining greater balance by 2035 (Canadian Press 2018). The first three years of funding targeted research and support of innovative inclusion practices; in 2022, renewed funding in the amount of just over $25 million was announced to target four areas specific to girls, women, and sport: (1) more opportunity for girls’ and women’s participation; (2) increased opportunities in coaching, officiating, and leadership roles; (3) further research to support evidence-based decision-making, and (4) support for activities that target other groups under-represented in sport (Government of Canada 2024).
Beyond policy, there are many examples of girls and women fighting for the opportunity to participate in sport, historically and in contemporary times. These fights can become even more complicated when considering compounding social structures such as class and race and ethnicity. The last case study in this chapter, also written by an undergraduate student at Mount Royal University, draws out the complexity of sport participation in relation to gender, race and ethnicity, and class but also the idea of fighting for a place to belong.
Case StudyJinan Daqqa, an undergraduate student at the time of writing the chapter, reflects on the barriers to participation in sport and physical activity for new immigrants in Canada.
Jinan Daqqa
Intersections
My name is Jinan Daqqa, and I’m a Palestinian woman whose family sought refuge in Canada in 2009. As an immigrant to Canada, I saw sport as a healthy escape, a pathway to education, and a way to build connection and community with familiar people (immigrants who shared a similar story to mine) and unfamiliar people (white Canadians), some who were friendly and others who were unwelcoming despite the myth that all Canadians are polite and always say “sorry.” I want to share my story with you about the barriers I faced accessing sport because I want you to know why sport is inaccessible for many people in Canada and also that you can expose, challenge, and even break down these barriers to sport.
In Palestine I faced barriers to basic human rights. One day, as I was walking home from school, I encountered a large tank moving toward me. My instinct was to duck into the tall grass and crawl home. The next time I looked up, the cannon was pointing in my direction. I jumped up, sprinted home, and joined my school’s running club the very next day. Although tanks and checkpoints were not barriers I faced here in Canada, my family faced financial, geographical, and cultural barriers that limited my participation in sport.
My family moved to Fort McMurray, a small city in the northern part of Alberta. Understandably, my parents had other priorities than sport. We were seeking refuge in an unfamiliar country, sacrificing certain luxuries such as sport because survival took precedence. But that didn’t stop me from falling in love with basketball. A well-known club basketball team eventually recruited me, but financial and geographical barriers made it impossible for me to participate in basketball that year. You see, Fort McMurray is a geographically isolated city, which presents barriers for people like me who lack the financial means and transportation options to get to practice, games, and tournaments in faraway communities.
The following year, however, a coach named Inger Kleppe offered to drive me to all out-of-town games and tournaments. Inger’s selfless act of kindness broke through the barriers of money and geography and propelled me into elite basketball. I eventually earned a scholarship to play collegiate basketball, which opened a pathway into university education and enabled me to create memorable experiences and meet lifelong friends. Inger’s generosity taught me that simple acts of kindness can change a life. Inger inspired me to tackle barriers to basketball for young people who are underprivileged and disadvantaged like I was.
When my collegiate basketball career ended because of an injury, I collaborated with friends and family to create Northern Wolves Basketball in Fort McMurray. In the team’s second season, I took on the roles of head coach and head director, and I managed the team’s finances, sponsorships, transportation, and accommodations. I worked tirelessly to help my athletes break through the same financial and geographical barriers I faced by reaching out to the community of Fort McMurray for sponsorships, gym space, and equipment. My brother Majd, my best friend Layal, and I drove the Northern Wolves to out-of-town games and tournaments.
It was a challenge to gain the trust of parents who, like my parents, were skeptical about the importance of sport and its alignment with academic and career goals. I practised consistent transparency and prolonged trustworthy interactions with the parents and athletes to help alleviate that survival guilt and to push the idea that sport and physical activity do contribute to overall success in life. With the continual conversations, transparency, and efforts in reducing barriers, gradually, it became evident to the parents that my intentions were not to derail. Rather, my intentions were to promote wellness, enable optimal character development, and create memorable experiences for their daughters.
It is imperative that you know the power you hold as a human being, as a voice, and as an advocate for others. You are holding this textbook in your hands today, reading about the obstacles and the challenges individuals faced to gain access to sport. That in itself is indicative of the privilege you have to be able to hold this knowledge in your hands and read these stories that were written with such vulnerability. It doesn’t matter whether you personally experienced barriers to sport or have witnessed others experience them—you are capable of helping us break down barriers to sport. You have been given an inside look at the various barriers that limit sport participation for certain demographics. You hold the knowledge of the present gaps and how they perpetuate disparities in the health and overall well-being of certain groups. You can choose how to write your story and choose how you will influence others’ stories.
Discussion Questions
What systems and structures can you identify in Jinan’s story? How did these systems and structures work together to create barriers?
What are some of the examples Jinan provided that illustrate how barriers to participation might be addressed? What are the strengths and limitations of such approaches?
Is there someone in your life, such as Coach Kleppe, who made a difference in your ability to participate in sport or physical activity? What did they do, and how did it affect you as an individual?
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