Dr Cat Phipps
Summary
I am a Senior Lecturer in Sport Management and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE. I completed a BA in Physical Education and Sports Coaching at York St John University, followed by an MSc in the Sociology of Sport and Exercise at the University of Chester, and was awarded my PhD from the University of Greenwich in 2019. Before joining the University of Portsmouth in 2025, I held academic positions at Chichester, Solent, and Bishop Grosseteste, and gained international teaching experience with study-abroad students at Syracuse University and the Foundation for International Education.
Research interests
My research focuses on gender and women's/girls' experiences in sport, as well as trans inclusion. I am part of a research team examining gender and sport in the Middle East - most notably in Iran - where our recent work has explored women’s access to football stadiums as a lens to analyse broader gender inequalities. I also co-lead the Critical Pedagogies in Sport network, which brings together scholars and practitioners to share research, expertise, and practice around teaching and learning in sports-based higher education.
Teaching responsibilities
Sport and Society (Level 4) Undergraduate, Masters, and PhD supervisorResearch outputs
2025
On the road less traveled: women’s cycling and motorcycling in Iran
Afrouzeh, A., Phipps, C., Majidi, F., Keshavarz, F.
29 Aug 2025, In: Leisure Sciences, 17p.
Research output: Article
The impact of Fallon Sherrock and the increasing prominence of women within professional darts events: a call for future research
Davis, L., Phipps, C., Pope, S.
1 Jul 2025, In: Managing Sport and Leisure. 30, 4, p. 653-668
Research output: Article
The sport and exercise experiences of physically disabled women in Iran: shame, stereotyping, and Goffman’s stigma
Afroozeh, M. S., Phipps, C., Afrouzeh, A., Alipour Asiri, Z., Safari Jafarloo, H. R.
3 Apr 2025, In: Disability and Society. 40, 4, p. 1104-1126, 23p.
Research output: Article
“Iranians on one side, immigrants on the other!”: socio-cultural constraints to sport participation amongst Afghan women migrants and refugees
Phipps, C., Afrouzeh, A., Pourkiani, M., Oftadeh-Moghadam, S., Sajjadi, N.
2 Jan 2025, In: Leisure Studies. 44, 1, p. 155-168, 14p.
Research output: Article
2024
Women’s football fandom and stadium attendance in Iran: a form of everyday resistance?
Phipps, C., Afrouzeh, A., Pope, S., Pourkiani, M., Boroumand, M. R.
23 Sep 2024, In: World Leisure Journal
Research output: Article
Gender knowledge and gender relations on higher education sport and physical education courses
Velija, P., Phipps, C.
9 Sep 2024,
Research output: Chapter (peer-reviewed)
2023
“The spectators ask, is it a boy or a girl? What is it?”: Cultural cisgenderism and trans men's sporting experiences in Iran
Afroozeh, M. S., Phipps, C., Afrouzeh, A., Mehri, A., Alipour Asiri, Z.
1 Dec 2023, In: International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 58, 8, p. 1221-1240, 20p.
Research output: Article
“You belong in the kitchen”: social media, virtual manhood acts, and women strength sport athletes’ experiences of gender-based violence online
Phipps, C.
17 Nov 2023, In: Feminist Media Studies. 23, 8, p. 4221-4237, 17p.
Research output: Article
‘I wasn’t allowed to join the boys’: The ideology of cultural cisgenderism in a UK school
Phipps, C., Blackall, C. J.
20 Oct 2023, In: Pedagogy, Culture and Society. 31, 5, p. 1097-1114, 18p.
Research output: Article
“That's where you start to think like, does anyone actually listen to or watch women's sport?” Gender Regimes and Students Experiences on Higher Education Sport Courses
Velija, P., Phipps, C.
1 Mar 2023, In: International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 58, 2, p. 233-252, 20p.
Research output: Article