A Study on The Social Experiences of Disabled Woman Athletes

Abstract

In this research, it is aimed to understand and describe the advantages and disadvantages of women in sports for the disabled, the effect of sports on gender roles, and gender inequalities in sports. The research includes the experiences of active paralympic female athletes, who play professionally in seven different individual and team sports, in their social and sports lives. Accordingly, qualitative research methods and techniques were used in the research, as it aims to provide a descriptive analysis for disabled female athletes to understand sports and other areas of social life. 17 female disabled athletes participating in the research were reached by using the snowball sampling technique. As a result of the research, it is seen that gender inequalities are effective in encouraging disabled women less than the norms of both "normality" and "ablebodied" and being excluded from the field of sports.