Identity construction strategies of hijab athletes between tradition and modernity

This research aims to examine how the process experienced by veiled female athletes in creating their identities in the context of tradition and modernity is interpreted. The research group consists of 10 hijab-wearing female athletes who have at least 10 years of sports history and have studied or are studying at least at the undergraduate level. The athletes participating in the research were first made to sign the "Informed Voluntary Consent Form", and then semi-structured interview questions developed by the researchers were asked to the athletes and interviews were conducted. The interviews were conducted by recording screen and audio via Google Meet, Microsoft Zoom and Whatsapp applications. The interview records were transferred to the interactive environment in written form and the raw data was obtained written on the pages. While analyzing the data, descriptive and content analysis were used, and themes and categories were created by systematically compiling the answers. As a result of the analysis, 14 themes emerged. When the results obtained are examined, it has been determined that sports life is not affected by religion, religious environment and family attitudes affect the thoughts and behaviors of athletes, clothing choices of athletes seriously affect their sports and social lives, and in recent times, the clothing problem has gradually changed compared to previous periods.