Gender-based stereotyped beliefs are widespread, particularly in the context of sports. These beliefs may influence women participation in sports, self-care, and help-seeking behaviours, particularly for conditions characterized by normalization, silence and shame, such as pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFD). Although educational strategies can help address these issues, it is essential to consider the presence of such beliefs when designing such interventions. This study aimed to describe the gender-based stereotyped beliefs among female athletes according to their age and educational level, and to explore their association with help-seeking behaviour.

Female athletes with a sports license in Spain were invited to participate in an educational program focused on PFD. As part of the registration process and to better tailor the educational content, participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire assessing:

(1) personal data (age and academic level); (2) sports-related characteristics (sport, years of experience, weekly training volume); (3) stereotyped beliefs in the sports context (ST), using 12 items from factors 1 and 3 of the CEGAFD (Cuestionario de Estereotipos de Género en Actividad Física y Deporte; in English: Gender Stereotypes in Physical Activity and Sport Questionnaire). These items reflect beliefs such as “women are clumsier in sports” (ST1), “men are superior in any sport” (ST3) or “contact sports are for men” (ST10). Responses ranged from 0 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). Participants also reported acceptance or rejection of professional healthcare for PFD.

A total of 474 female athletes (mean age: 33.1 ± 12.7 years) participated. The most endorsed beliefs were ST4 and ST7, related to men being more capable and participating more in competitive sports, respectively. Athletes under 18 years old athletes scored higher 9 items compared to older athletes, with significant differences for ST2, ST5, ST8, ST10. These significant differences were not observed for ST2 and ST10 when compared with female athletes older than 45 years old. Regarding education, university-level participants showed lower agreement for ST2, ST5, and ST8 compared to those with lower education. Those participants who rejected professional healthcare for PFD scored higher all items, with differences for ST2, ST5, ST8, ST9, ST10, ST12.