“Am I Gonna Lose Myself?”: Stories of Weathering and Ontological Reclamation Among Black Women Professionals in Division I College Athletics

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Black Women, Labor, and Leadership in College Athletics

Abstract

In Division I athletics, Black women professionals’ labor is simultaneously devalued and invaluable. This labor takes place despite the everyday instances of systemic and institutionalized gendered racism and discrimination. The systemic burdens that plague highly commercialized college athletics erode not just physical health, but also spiritual, emotional, and professional identities. The chronic exposure to racialized and gendered duress in college athletics can lead to identity fragmentation, burnout, and professional isolation. The purpose of this study was to examine Black women’s experiences of systemic weathering while working in Division I college athletics and illuminate how weathering might catalyze ontological transformations-–from losing oneself to becoming oneself.

Authors

• Ezinne Ofoegbu, Santa Clara University

• Shaunté Yvette Hill, Santa Clara University