Kadın, Engelli ve Sporcu Olmak: Elit Kadın Para Masa Tenisi Sporcularının Kesişimsel Deneyimleri

Being a Woman, Disabled, and an Athlete: Intersectional Experiences of Elite Women Para Table Tennis Athletes

 Sonay Serpil DAŞKESEN,   Ayşegül Funda ALP

*Correspondence:  Sonay Serpil DAŞKESEN sonayserpilalpdogan@gmail.com

¹ Atatürk Üniversitesi, Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi, Erzurum, Türkiye Orcid: 0000-0002-8227-6590 sonayserpilalpdogan@gmail.com

² Kocaeli Üniversitesi, Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi, Kocaeli, Türkiye, afundaalp@gmail.com

Orcid: 0000-0003-4764-4797

Doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23716982

https://www.ijoss.org/Archive/v3-i3/ijoss-Volume3-issue3-19.pdf

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Received / Gönderim: 25.08.2026 Accepted / Kabul: 18.10.2026 Published / Yayın: 25.10.2026

Öz

Bu araştırma elit kadın para masa tenisi sporcularının deneyimlerini kadınlık, engellilik ve elit sporcu kimliğinin kesişimi bağlamında incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmaya en az Avrupa Şampiyonası düzeyinde yarışma deneyimine sahip 10 elit kadın para masa tenisi sporcusu dahil edilmiştir. Yorumlayıcı fenomenolojik analizle yürütülen araştırmada veriler yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yoluyla toplanmış ve yansıtıcı tematik analiz tercih edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda “Spor Yoluyla Benliği Yeniden Kurmak”, “Kadın, Engelli ve Sporcu Olmak” ve “Başarıyla Görünür Olmak ve Yapısal Eşitsizlikler” olmak üzere üç tema oluşturulmuştur. Bulgular, katılımcıların spor sayesinde benlik algılarının yeniden şekillendiğini göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte engellilik, kadınlık ve sporculuğun bütün katılımcılar tarafından aynı şekilde deneyimlenmediği; destek kaynakları, sosyal çevre ve sportif bağlamın bu deneyimleri farklılaştırdığı belirlenmiştir. Sportif başarı ise katılımcıların yeterliklerinin ve sporcu kimliklerinin görünürlüğünü artırırken, engellilikle ve kadınlıkla ilişkili toplumsal eşitsizlikleri tamamen ortadan kaldırmamıştır. Sonuç olarak elit sporcu kimliğinin, kadınlık ve engelliliğe eklenen bağımsız bir kimlikten ziyade, bu kimliklerin toplumsal ve bireysel anlamlarını yeniden şekillendiren bir konum olduğu görülmüştür.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Engelli kadın sporcular, elit spor, kesişimsellik, sporcu kimliği

ABSTRACT

This study aims to examine the experiences of elite female para table tennis athletes within the context of the intersection of womanhood, disability and elite athlete identity. The study included 10 elite female para table tennis athletes who had competed at least at European Championship level. Conducted using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis resulted in the identification of three themes: ‘Reconstructing the Self Through Sport’, ‘Being a Woman, a Person with a Disability and an Athlete’, and ‘Visibility Through Success and Structural Inequalities’. The findings indicate that the participants’ perceptions of self were reshaped through sport. However, it was determined that disability, womanhood and being an athlete were not experienced in the same way by all participants; support resources, social environment and the sporting context differentiated these experiences. Whilst sporting success increased the visibility of participants’ capabilities and their identities as athletes, it did not entirely eliminate the social inequalities associated with disability and womanhood. Consequently, it has been observed that the identity of an elite athlete is not an independent identity superimposed upon womanhood and disability, but rather a position that reshapes the social and individual meanings of these identities.

Keywords: Female athletes with disabilities, elite sport, intersectionality, athlete identity

How to Cite This Article

APA 7

 Daşkesen, S. S., & Alp, A. F. (2026). Being a woman, disabled, and an athlete: Intersectional experiences of elite women para table tennis athletes. International Journal of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences (IJOSS), 3(3), 1247–1261.

Vancouver

Daşkesen SS, Alp AF. Being a woman, disabled, and an athlete: Intersectional experiences of elite women para table tennis athletes. International Journal of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences (IJOSS). 2026;3(3):1247-1261.

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