Nancy L. Malcom’s research while affiliated with Georgia Southern University and other places

What is this page?


This page lists works of an author who doesn't have a ResearchGate profile or hasn't added the works to their profile yet. It is automatically generated from public (personal) data to further our legitimate goal of comprehensive and accurate scientific recordkeeping. If you are this author and want this page removed, please let us know.

Publications (3)


“Shaking It Off” and “Toughing It Out”Socialization to Pain and Injury in Girls’ Softball
  • Article

October 2006

·

906 Reads

·

97 Citations

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Nancy L. Malcom

Ignoring injuries and playing through pain are expected in organized sports. But how do novice athletes learn these social norms? Using participant-observation research focusing on adolescent girls who participated in recreational softball, this study reveals how the clash of norms between traditional femininity and the sport ethic sheds light on the socialization process. In addition to shaking off their own injuries, coaches ignored the girls’ complaints, made jokes when the girls experienced some pain, and told them directly to shake off their minor injuries. Even though many of the girls entered the activity with traditionally feminine attitudes toward pain, most conformed to the norms of the sport ethic and learned to deal with pain and injuries by “shaking them off” and “toughing them out.” Those girls who were more enthusiastic about playing softball and who displayed stronger commitments to the softball-player identity were more likely to display these norms.



Constructing Female AthleticismA Study of Girl's Recreational Softball

June 2003

·

127 Reads

·

44 Citations

American Behavioral Scientist

As more female athletes enter the sporting arena, girls and women are finding ways to manage the cultural contradiction of female athleticism. Past research has focused on the apologetic defense as a strategy that allows female athletes to combine athleticism and traditional femininity. Using observations and interviews with a group of preadolescent and adolescent girls participating in a recreational softball league, this study highlights how age affects the social construction of gender. Although the classic apologetic defense is characterized by exaggerated femininity motivated by a fear of perceived masculinization through sports, this study reveals that the girls' overemphasis on traditionally feminine traits is motivated instead by a desire to prove maturity, which is demonstrated through gendered behavior. The younger, preadolescent girls most closely resemble traditional tomboys who embrace masculine activities and demeanors. As the girls enter adolescence, approximately 12 and 13 years of age, their displays of traditionally feminine behavior peak, whereas the older girls' displays of traditional femininity are less vigorous.

Citations (3)


... Courses on social problems are prevalent within sociology programs across the United States and form a vital part of the undergraduate general education experience (Malcom, 2006). Leon-Guerrero (2019) conceptualizes a social problem as "a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world" (p. ...

Reference:

Gaining Ground: Toward the Development of Critical Thinking Skills in a Social Problems Course
Analyzing the News: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in a Writing Intensive Social Problems Course
  • Citing Article
  • April 2006

Teaching Sociology

... While Brazilian migrant athletes also complied with the masculine codes of conduct of various sports industries, known as the "sport ethic" (Malcom, 2006), they were nonetheless able to relativize it, seeing injuries not as their responsibility, and fighting for better healthcare as well as practicing a form of "care of the self" (Foucault, 1986). The constant pressure for results and the hierarchical world of sports condition athletes' agency, as well as their engagement with practices of "care of the self", as we will see in the next section. ...

“Shaking It Off” and “Toughing It Out”Socialization to Pain and Injury in Girls’ Softball
  • Citing Article
  • October 2006

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

... Historically, girls and women practicing sport, and particularly sports that have been viewed as part of a male domain (basketball, volleyball, softball, field hockey, soccer, etc.) have navigated a contested terrain (Malcom, 2003). Throughout the 20 th century, as women gained rights at the polls and in the workplace, and with the passage of Title IX in 1972, their opportunities in sport, and therefore their roles as athletes, have increased. ...

Constructing Female AthleticismA Study of Girl's Recreational Softball
  • Citing Article
  • June 2003

American Behavioral Scientist