The world at her feet : an exploration of the experiences of cultural distance for professional female footballers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2017
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Massey University
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Abstract
This research explores the experiences of five professional female football players
from Australia and America who have spent time playing professional football in
either South Korea or Japan. Qualitative data was collected from the participants
through semi-structured interviews at, or near, the conclusion of their experience.
Research participants’ insights were added to by the researcher’s own experiences
of playing professional football in Japan. This exploration is an anthropological
enquiry into the effect of playing professional sport in a culturally distant environment
on a player’s sense of identity and their perceptions of success. Analysis of
interviews revealed that success is both personal and subjective, and cannot be
judged solely on the traditional empirical measures of success in sport, such as wins
and losses, goals scored, or trophies won. A positive sense of personal growth and
development was also expressed by all the athletes in the study, demonstrating that
the effects of playing and living in a foreign country extend well beyond the playing
field.
Using Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus alongside ideas drawn from occupational
science, sports anthropology, and sociology, the findings show that cultural distance
in a professional sporting context can both challenge and empower an individual in
ways they often neither predict nor anticipate. This research contributes to an
academic field that is relatively small, and demonstrates that sport can be an
important domain where wider cultural and societal values are evident. This thesis
illustrates the importance of acknowledging how players’ experiences on and off the
field influence identity, personal growth, and success as they negotiate cultural
distance while playing in foreign environments. The findings in this research can help
players, coaches, managers, and sports administrators better understand and
consider these effects to implement integration programmes and frameworks for
smooth transitions into football, and life, for players from different cultural
backgrounds. This research provides a foundation for further research into sports
anthropology and professional women’s football, something that is vital as the
popularity and participation in this global game continues to increase.
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Keywords
Women football players, Psychology, Culture shock, Japan, Korea (South), Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Social anthropology/ethnography