Physical activity insecurity’ as experienced by LGBTQ+ children and young people

Background

More than 80% of adolescents do not meet global physical activity guidelines (World Health Organisation, 2022) and the global cost of physical inactivity is projected to be more than $47·6 billion per year (Santos, 2023). Like health, physical inactivity is heavily influenced by intersecting socioeconomic and demographic factors, yet physical activity also has the potential to improve health equity (ISPAH, 2020).

Notably, individuals transitioning from childhood to adulthood are underserved in activity research, yet experiences earlier in life have a lasting effect on adult health both directly and through influencing adult health behaviours (Pickett et al, 2021). Young people at-risk of marginalisation including LGBTQIA+ young people living in areas of deprivation, can find it hard to be physically active. While many know where they could be active (for example outdoors in open spaces, or at their local leisure centre if one existed, or at school/college), young people told us previously that they often feel bullied, harassed, or that physical activity spaces do not feel inclusive for them (Dodd-Reynolds et al., 2024).

As a result of these negative experiences, LGBTQIA+ young people can often feel unsafe taking part in any kind of activity at all, including sport, exercise, or even going for a walk on their own. Young people also told us that they felt more confident to be active with each other, or when a trusted adult helps to organise activities for them. Therefore, we wanted to know what joyful and safe spaces for physical activity (JASPA) would look like for this community. To find out, we worked with LGBTQIA+ youth groups in deprived areas of England (14-21 years), to better understand what is needed to make different types of physical activity feel safer and more inclusive. In doing this, we used an equitable and experiential co-production approach (Smith et al., 2023) in seeking to produce knowledge with rather than about participants (Barad, 2007), and drew on creative practices which can promote engagement, reduce power imbalances and place greater emphasis on positive aspects of research experiences (Phoenix and Chamberlain, 2025).

References:

• Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway. Duke University Press.
• Dodd-Reynolds, C., Griffin, N., Kyle, P., Scott, S., Fairbrother, H., Holding, E., Crowder, M., Woodrow, N., & Summerbell, C. (2024). Young people’s experiences of physical activity insecurity: a qualitative study highlighting intersectional disadvantage in the UK. BMC Public Health, 24(1), Article 813. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18078-9
• International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH). ISPAH’s Eight Investments That Work for Physical Activity. November 2020. Available from: www.ISPAH.org/Resources
• Phoenix, C., and Chamberlain, K. (2025). Arts-based research: Attending to methods,
• Methods in Psychology,12, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metip.2025.100179.
• Pickett K., Taylor-Robinson D., and Erlam, J. (2021). The Child of the North: Building a fairer future after COVID-19, the Northern Health Science Alliance and N8 Research Partnership.
• Santos, A.C., Willumsen, J., Meheus, F., Ilbawi, A., and Bull, F. (2023). The cost of inaction on physical inactivity to public health-care systems: a population-attributable fraction analysis
• The Lancet Global Health, 11(1), e32 – e39.
• Smith, B. Williams, O. Bone, L., & the Moving Social Work Co-production Collective (2023) Co-production: A resource to guide co-producing research in the sport, exercise, and health sciences, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 15:2,159-187, DOI: 10.1080/2159676X.2022.2052946
• World Health Organisation. Global status report on physical activity 2022. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

 

Our research and why it is useful

Co-production principles including sharing of power, equitable partnerships, respect and reciprocity were at the heart of this project (Smith et al., 2023). We used creative visual methods (e.g., zine creation) to fully engage with the young people. From these creative visual data sources, and dialogical and reflexive data, analyses were co-produced in layers via narrative dialogical analysis (researchers) followed by a consensus-building exercise (young people). This approach enabled arrival at a final group of ‘messages’ which are for anyone who is interested to understand more about physical activity in their lives and how it could be made better.

The main findings were:

1. Physical activity was buried, deep down and not talked about, often beneath complex layers of inequality relating to a need for identity, to be recognised, to feel comfortable, to feel heard, to feel acknowledged in many different ways.
2. ‘Physical activity is not for us’. Physical activity was often a seemingly ‘alien’ concept. Removing the dialogical blockage around this can lead to conversations of movement which could feel lighter, joyful, and bright, bringing with it a cascade of creativity and dialogue.
3. Navigating identity in physical activity spaces. Spaces tended to be navigated through dissociation and invisibility, however with support to let their ‘guard down’, physical activity could be vibrant and entertaining.
4. Moving to meet young people’s joy in physical activity. We (academics, policy-makers, influential adults) must move to meet young people’s joy in physical activity.

In summary:

• There is a need for influential adults to better understand how young people at-risk of marginalisation feel about existing physical activity and spaces associated with it. Designing a venue that is more welcoming can be helpful (e.g. below), however acknowledging differences to be truly inclusive is more nuanced.
• Current approaches to inclusion in Physical Education (PE), for example, are largely reactive, placing responsibility on trans youth to negotiate access within systems that have not been designed for them. Meaningful inclusion requires a shift away from accommodation-based models towards structural redesign.
• Reframing ‘physical activity’ as incidental, non-structured ‘movement’ is more likely to inspire joy and fun experiences for young people who have felt disengaged, excluded or unsafe.
• Being aware of how some young people may navigate physical activity spaces, through colour and vibrancy, through fun and creative communication, is important.
• This work will move the field forwards in terms of academic knowledge, in respecting other voices without ‘essentialising these into cultural stereotypes’, and raising such awareness should enable effective action.

This research has broadened understanding of physical activity spaces beyond the physical and tangible. Spaces were also inherently social, encompassing interactions of those who use them, and a desire for self-expression.

 

Real world impact

“This project helped to reframe the idea of what physical activity spaces could look like. If people listened more to young people and allowed themselves to be educated by our lived experiences, it would have a huge impact on how we can design and use physical activity spaces.”

Ruby Chandler, Youth Worker and young person (Children and Young People’s Empowerment Project).

Through the development of a range of creative resources, this project is raising awareness of the issues, offering practical ways that influential adults (e.g. PE teachers, youth workers, sports providers, coaches) can help LGBTQIA+ young people to enjoy physical activity, and is sharing collective learnings across partners.

Creative resources:

• A zine was co-produced with young people which considers how physical activity spaces could be more joyful, safe and inclusive. We explain more about how to interpret this in an accompanying blog.
• A supporting guidance document for influential adults was developed. The guidance provides tangible actions that could make physical activity feel more joyful, safe and inclusive.
• An accompanying mini research briefing also highlights how best to support these influential adults in terms of policy and practice.
• An animation was created which pulls together all the findings. This was narrated by young people from the JASPA project and is a good starting point for those wishing to help make physical activity more joyful, safe and inclusive for young people like these.

Raising awareness:

• A news story highlighted the importance of creating environments where LGBTQIA+ young people feel confident enough to exercise and play sport.
• We contributed to a Government Physical Exercise (PE) Curriculum Review, through the Association for PE.
• Our public and practice partners have grown throughout the project, and our advisory group have formally committed to dissemination of our resources across the UK.
• An abstract has been published: Dodd-Reynolds, C., Hall, S., Crowder, M., Goodyear, V., Griffin, N., Fairbrother, H., Pope, S., & Scott, S. (2024). 204 Physical activity insecurity in children and young people at risk of marginalisation: navigating an equitable and safe research experience using co-production principles. European Journal of Public Health, 34(Supplement_2), ckae114.097. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae114.097

• The work has also been presented at a number of conferences and often alongside youth worker collaborators:

1. Dodd-Reynolds, C., Hardy, K., & Chandler, R. (2025). Invited talk: Physical activity insecurity as experienced by LGBTQIA+ children and young people living with deprivation: what would safe spaces for physical activity look like for this community? Presented at the SPHR ASM, Bristol, 21st May 2025.
2. Dodd-Reynolds C , Hall S , Crowder M , Goodyear V , Griffin N , Fairbrother H , Pope S , Scott S. (2025). Invited talk: ‘Physical activity insecurity’ as experienced by LGBTQIA+ children and young people living with deprivation: what would safe spaces for physical activity look like for this community? Presented to the Pride Youth Partnership conference, Newcastle, 27th March 2024.
3. Dodd-Reynolds C , Hall S , Crowder M , Goodyear V , Griffin N , Fairbrother H , Pope S , Scott S. Physical activity insecurity in children and young people at risk of marginalisation: navigating an equitable and safe research experience using co-production principles. Presented at the 15th conference of the European network for the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA Europe), 21st August, 2024.
4. Dodd-Reynolds, C.J. Physical activity insecurity in young people at risk of marginalisation. Presented at Fuse Physical Activity Workshop, 2nd July, 2024.
5. Caroline Dodd-Reynolds, Scarlet Hall, Mary Crowder, Hannah Fairbrother, Vicky Goodyear, Naomi Griffin, Steph Scott, Stacey Pope. Physical activity insecurity’ as experienced by LGBTQIA+ children and young people living with deprivation: what would safe spaces for physical activity look like for this community? Presented to SPHR CYPF Seminar Series, 5th March 2024.
6. Dodd-Reynolds C, Griffin N, Kyle P, et al. OP134 Young people’s experiences of physical activity insecurity: a qualitative study highlighting intersectional disadvantage in the UK. J Epidemiol Community Health 2023;77:A126-A127. Note, this paper was also presented at the SSM Annual Scientific Meeting in September 2023, it involved work from the previous work package led by Hannah Fairbrother, and from the current work package.
7. Hall S, Emergent Creative methods presentation at Experiential workshop. Presentation to NIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute. 3rd October 2024.

Sharing learning:

• The zine process enabled us to ‘share power’ with our co-producers and we captured our experience in an accompanying blog. Young people were keen to engage in zine-making:

“I’ve never seen a young person engage with a research output in this way. They wanted to show it to their family and friends.”

Mary Crowder, Research Associate, Sheffield University.

• We also shared our learnings from working with LGBTQIA+ youth groups throughout the year.
• Youth worker, Ruby Chandler from Chilypep, shared their experience of collaborating on the project via a blog, which ended:

 “The impact the project has had on our young people is clear. Anytime the zine is mentioned or the JASPA project, it is met with fondness and excitement that they are involved, as they proudly share it with other young people at Chilypep”.

Ruby Chandler from Chilypep.

• The project was shortlisted in the top 3 for a Fuse Award in Excellence in Public Involvement and Engagement The aim of the Fuse Awards is to recognise and showcase outstanding work in Collaboration, Communication, Public Involvement & Engagement, and Translational Research in 2024 and 2025.
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• The children, young people and families (CYPF) programme network proved exceptionally supportive. We have been able to share our experience and have conversations with those in the network around co-production, ethics of working with young people at-risk of marginalisation, and sensitivity of raising challenging topics with these groups.
• We hosted an LGBTQIA+ training day, delivered by Gendered Intelligence.
• This project has also built on previous SPHR research, knowledge and experience. A publication linked to the work which preceded this project was published in March 2024 and a number of additional papers are now in preparation:

1. Phipps, C., Pope, S., Hall, S., Dodd-Reynolds, C.J. (under review) Marginalised Trans Youth, Physical Education and School Sport: Reimagining Inclusive Spaces for All. Sport, Education and Society.
2. Dodd-Reynolds, C.J., Crowder, M., Fairbrother, H., Goodyear, V., Griffin, N., Pope, S., Scott, S., Hall, S. (in prep). Navigating spaces for joyful and safe physical activity Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.
3. Dodd-Reynolds, C.J., Hall, S., Crowder, M., Griffin, N., Scott, S.. (in prep, accepted for special issue). Moving to meet joy in physical activity: Critical reflections of a co-production process with young people at-risk of marginalisation. Annals of Leisure Research (ALR) Special Issue: Co-production in Sport and Physical Activity for Public Health and Wellbeing: Promises, Pitfalls and Possibilities.

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