From masking to meaning: A diary analysis of the autistic authenticity double-bind in sport and exercise psychology

McGinty-Minister, K, Swettenham, L ORCID: 0000-0002-7010-6543 and Whitehead, A ORCID: 0000-0003-0611-364X (2026) From masking to meaning: A diary analysis of the autistic authenticity double-bind in sport and exercise psychology. Sport Psychologist. ISSN 0888-4781

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Abstract

Autistic women remain invisible within sport and exercise psychology, a profession shaped by hypermasculine cultures and allistic norms that regulate who is viewed as competent and “professional.” Using reflexive thematic analysis, this novel longitudinal diary-method study analysed 132 pages of reflective practice journals spanning seven years of training and practice as an autistic woman sport and exercise psychologist. Three themes are presented: disparities between neurotypical expectations and autistic experiences, cultivating an authentic self, and working in line with autistic ways of being. Findings demonstrate how masking was a structurally produced response to allistic and gendered standards of professionalism, rendering ‘authenticity’ conditional and distorting individuation. Autistic disclosure was an ambivalent, high-stakes credibility decision. We argue that the field requires structural change to decouple legitimacy from allistic-coded performance and recognise autistic ways of thinking and communicating as professionally viable. This paper makes a significant contribution by extending our understanding of sport and exercise psychology practitioner development, exclusion, individuation, and autistic experience in sport and performance contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; 1701 Psychology; Sport Sciences; 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Human Kinetics
Date of acceptance:	28 May 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	9 September 2026
Date Deposited:	08 Sep 2026 13:13
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2026 00:50
DOI or ID number:	10.1123/tsp.2026-0044
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29345

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