By Holly Hearn
Mental health is something that is only beginning to be properly discussed in the sports world — and studies are showing female athletes experience these struggles differently from their male counterparts.
According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, female athletes are more likely to report anxiety, distress, depression and disordered eating than male athletes.
These issues arise specifically in women because of both internal and external factors, such as perfectionism and feelings of inequality.
Body image struggles and eating disorders can also stem from the uniforms these athletes must wear. Female athletes in sports such as volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, dance and so many others are often required to wear more revealing and tight-fitting uniforms to perform a sport that is already reliant on their body’s performance.
When these issues come up, it can begin to take a toll on the athletes’ performance.
“Anything that [we] feel, especially as women, is something that really affects us, because we are emotional humans, more so than males,” said Charlie Ogilvie, the assistant coach of Flagler College Volleyball. “Females can have an emotional attachment to a lot of things. So, if that emotional side comes out as negative, then that reflection is going to have a negative impact.”
Women, athletes in particular, seem to strive for perfection due to a history of inequality in men’s versus women’s sports. These inequalities can include differences in pay, media coverage and behavioral expectations — including remaining silent when issues arise.
“In the dance community there is a stigma and lack of conversation surrounding mental health awareness, it is generally expected that dancers don’t talk about issues like this even though it’s something that almost everyone has experienced in some form,” said Olivia Murphy, a freshman on University of Maine Farmington Dance Team.
Female athletes in more visual sports like dance, cheer, gymnastics — and all other female athletes — are often expected to just accept a failure like it never happened.
“We are expected to look a certain way while also giving a clean and sharp performance,” said Mary Deems, a senior member of Flagler College Cheerleading. “All of our bodies could hurt, or we could all be exhausted, but we can’t show it on our faces because we are there to entertain. Male basketball players can yell, hit the wall and storm off if they miss a shot. But if we drop a stunt, we are still expected to smile and move on to the next aspect of the routine.”
Striving for nearly impossible levels of perfection has been a major driver of athlete mental health struggles, especially when athletic ability is so closely tied to identity.
Team sports are also more likely to compare their athletes to one another in terms of skill. In dance, it is the ones asked to film a piece for the choreographer. For point-based sports, it is who gets playing time during games.
This comparison makes athletes question themselves, depleting their confidence levels and leading to larger mental health issues that can impact them beyond their sport.
Every sport, male or female, is mentally and physically demanding. It is important for athletes to recognize this and know how to care for themselves.
