NEGOTIATING GENDER ACCOUNTABILITY ACROSS CONTEXTS: THE CASE OF THE FORMER COLLEGE ATHLETE

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to uncover the nuanced ways individuals make sense of shifting gender accountability norms as they transition out of a unique social context and into broader U.S. society. This dissertation examines how 84 former Division I college athletes use the socialization they acquired through college sport in their lives once they are no longer student-athletes. I ask: When is being a former college athlete utilized as an asset, and when is it seen as a liability? How does race and gender impact these choices? I use the case study of former Division I college athletes to investigate three key things. First, to explore how women and men translate the skillset acquired in the previous context of college athletics to their current workplace context that associates such skills with the masculine-typed ideal worker image. Second, to uncover the degree to which women and men can use a gendered status marker to their advantage at work. Third, to explore the extent to which broader cultural gender norms impede or facilitate the maintenance of one’s athletic identity—a social identity cultivated and rewarded by all genders in the college athletics context, still seen as masculine by broader U.S. society. Results show all former student-athletes use the social skills learned through college athletics in their work life today, but men can benefit from these skills to a greater degree than women because they more directly embody the ideal worker image. Respondents are more likely to use their college athlete credential in workplace contexts that share similar values and norms as college athletics. These workplace contexts are more likely to be predominantly white and men-dominated spaces than not. Thus, unsurprisingly, white men were more likely than Black men and Black and White women to use their athlete credential to their advantage at work. Furthermore, I find men have a smoother transition to recreational sporting life than women because broader gender norms continue to view athletics as a predominantly man-centric activity. I argue the case of the former D1 college athlete serves as an appropriate site to explore the ways in which people use or reject social practices previously learned in an overarchingly masculine institution as they navigate the contexts surrounding work and sport in their lives today.