Queer Athlete, Non-Biological Mothers: Competing, Marginalized, Identities

Abstract

While athletes must be tough and dedicated to sport, many mothers feel pressured to commit to caregiving. A small but growing body of literature has examined how female athletes negotiate these seemingly conflicting roles of mother and athlete. However, the current literature has predominantly focused on heterosexual, cisgender, White women. In this paper, we examine the subject position of the queer athlete, non-biological mother by drawing on the literature on queer parenthood, motherhood in sport, and discourse analysis. Specifically, we use stories from mainstream media to understand ways that queer athlete, non-biological mothers simultaneously are re/produced within dominant discourses and expand our understanding of motherhood.

Keywords: Co-mother; lesbian; pregnancy.