Stepping into Active Leisure? Young Women's Perceptions of Active Lifestyles and their Experiences of School Physical Education

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study which aimed to explore young women's perceptions of and attitudes towards involvement in physical activity and physical education (PE). Drawing on group and individual qualitative interviews with 21 15-year-old young women, it explores the nature, purpose and experiences of their physical activity involvement, both in and out of school. It examines how, in both settings, young women make conscious choices about their physical activity involvement. The data showed that although there were qualitative differences between the individual choices of different girls, many of these were made within a negotiation of gender relations. Contrary to much of the recent concern about girls' 'dropout' from physical activity and a perceived disinterest of young women in physical activity and sport, the young women in this study were involved in a range of physical activities outside of school and defined themselves as active. They also appeared to be positively influenced by contemporary discourses about the health benefits of exercise. This was in contrast to their perceptions of how they were defined within and through PE.