All physical and no education? – Gender, sexuality and the ‘affective atmosphere’ in physical education
Dillon Landi
Abstract
Background Physical education (PE) has long struggled to justify its place in schools. In addition, there has been a lack of research on the experiences of Queer and Trans students.Purpose: Explore Queer and Trans students’ experiences in physical education and consider what those experiences can tell us about the state of the field today.Methods The paper was part of a larger critical ethnography. Data were generated using 45 interviews with 60 Queer and Trans youth. Data analyses included descriptive coding, values coding and deductive analysis.Results Two key findings emerged. The first, Lessons beyond the gym, reveals how narrow definitions of health reduce lived experiences to weight, fitness scores and body types. In so doing, PE becomes a space that rewards conformity and erases complexity. The second, The Affective Atmosphere, uncovers how PE curriculum and teaching create a sense of unease that follows Queer and Trans youth.Conclusion If physical education is to have a future, it must be reimagined. Not as a place where students are measured and sorted, but as a space of possibility – where movement is expansive, where all bodies are celebrated and where health is defined not by numbers but by connection and belonging to broader movement cultures.