FEMALE WEIGHTLIFTERS IN CROATIAN SOCIETY: EXERCISE FROM SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Sport je sastavni dio društvenih potreba pojedinaca te je uvelike preslika samog društva. Sport služi kao sredstvo promicanja zdravlja, odgoja, inkluzije i jednakosti. Pitanje sudjelovanja i vrijednosti u sportu duboko je uvjetovano te povezano sa socijalnom slikom i percepcijom društva. Predrasude spram žena koje sudjeluju u „muškim“ sportovima ukazuju na negativne stavove društva prema produktima koje stvara njihov sport. Cilj je ovog diplomskog rada razumijevanje i analiza stavova o pitanjima spola i roda iz perspektive žena koje se bave dizanjem utega, sportom koji je društveno etiketiran kao „muški“ sport. Provedeno je šest polustrukturiranih dubinskih intervjua s aktivnim, vrhunskim dizačicama utega. Ispitanice se ne susreću s rodnom nejednakošću unutar kluba, kao ni s diskriminacijom, no susreću se sa stereotipima koje društvo najčešće usmjerava na njihov tjelesni izgled. Ispitanice same smatraju kako je dizanje utega uniseks sport, odnosno sport bez spolnih razlika, no svjesne su da ga društvo percipira kao dominantno muški sport.Sport is an integral part of the social needs of individuals and is largely a reflection of society itself. Sport serves as a means of promoting health, education, inclusion and equality. The issue of participation and value in sports is deeply conditioned and connected to the social image and perception of society. Prejudices against women who participate in "men's" sports indicate negative attitudes of society towards the products created by their sports. The aim of this thesis is to understand and analyze the attitudes on issues of sex and gender from the perspective of women who engage in weightlifting, a sport that is socially labeled as "masculine". Six semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with active, elite female weightlifters. The respondents do not encounter gender inequality within the club, nor discrimination, but they do encounter stereotypes that are most often directed at their physical appearance by society. The respondents themselves believe that weightlifting is a unisex sport, i.e. a sport without gender differences, but they are aware that society perceives weightlifting as a predominantly male sport