September 20th, 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of Billie Jean King’s climactic victory against Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match nicknamed “Battle of the Sexes”. Throughout her career, Billie Jean King won six Wimbledon singles championships and four U.S. Open titles. She was ranked number one in the world for five years. She defeated many great players, wrote a book, became an advocate for women’s sports. Yet of all the wonderful things that King has done over the years, the one that is remembered most of all is her victory against Bobby Riggs in September of 1973 (Schwartz, 2014). Perhaps this isn’t a sad story. Although King will be most known for this one match, maybe it was a turning point in the fight for women’s equality in sports. Riggs had badgered King for many years saying that he could beat her, antagonizing her with many sexist comments including “the best way to handle women is to keep them pregnant and barefoot” (Greenspan, 2013). When King finally accepted the match, it was under the guise that she believed that it would finally allow people to see that women should be accepted as equals in sports. Although this match had a happy ending, still over forty years later, women still fight to be accepted as equals in sports. Through Title IX and stories like Billie Jean King’s, women have begun to fight for their rightful place in the sporting world. Although women have made many breakthroughs into men’s sports, there is still so much to do, so many hurdles to overcome, and so many miles to travel before equity in men’s and women’s sports can be achieved. Although there are many things to still be achieved in this battle, I believe that one way to gain more acceptance as equals in the arena of sport is f... ... middle of paper ... ...ttp://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/jen-welter-becomes-first-woman-to-play-in-mens-pro-football-league-at-non-kicking-position Messner, Michael A. (2002). Taking the Field: Women, Men, and Sports. Minneapolis, Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Press. Schwartz, Larry (2014). Billie Jean Won for All Women. ESPN.com. Retrieved from: http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016060.html Squiers, Sam. (2013). Is Women Playing In Men’s Leagues a Step Forward. Sky News. Retrieved from: http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/is-women-playing-in-mens-leagues-a-step-forward-20130502-2iuyg.html Women’s Sports Foundation (2009). Women’s Sports & Fitness Facts & Statistics. Retrieved from: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/en/home/research/articles-and-reports/athletes/~/media/PDFs/WSF%20Research%20Reports/WSF%20FACTS%20March%202009.ashx.
Hult explains that in the era between 1890-1920, women physical educators were a tightly knit, dedicated group committed to a tradition of restricted competition, self-governance, and a feminine approach to individual and team sports. They believed that all girls and women should have the opportunity to participate and enjoy sport, not only the talented elite as in the competition-driven male philosophical structure (87). Play-days and sport-days with emphasis on team building games were a means of perpetuating an image of an ideal American female athlete: feminine, beautiful, strong, yet always 'aware of her delicate reproductive system' (89).
Women have faced an uphill battle throughout the history of sports whether it is to be able to compete in sports, to attain equal funding for programs, to have access to facilities, or a number of other obstacles that have been thrown in their ways. Women have had to organize and administer their own sports structure rather than compete within the men's structure that existed. The sheer strength and determination of many women sports heroes is what propels women's sport to keep going. One theme that has predominantly surfaced in this fight though is the merging of women's programs with men's, oftentimes only when they are successful enough to stand alone on their own.
Billie Jean King is a pro tennis player who wanted the pay in sports to be equal for women. She won many tournaments such as Wimbledon women’s singles, U.S. Open singles and the French Open. “...first woman athlete to win more than $100,000 in a single year” (“Billie Jean King”). Billie Jean King noticed that women were not winning the same amount of men in prize money. Billie Jean King criticized the prize money that the women would recite. “... women were receiving
...ennis, basketball, soccer, and martial arts—have come from the days of cheerleading and synchronized swimming when she was growing up in the ’70s.” Disparities in media coverage and over-sexualized female athletes on magazine covers is something that needs to come to an end because of its effects on both male and female viewers, young and old, athletes and non-athletes. Both female and male athletics influence young people and shape their personality and morals as they mature. Retired WNBA player, Lisa Leslie credits her participation in basketball with shaping her character, as well as her career. “Sports can also help teenagers during an awkward time in their development.” (“Women’s Athletics: A Battle For Respect”). The solution is to come together as a society and identify how to balance the respect for female and male athletes in the media.
Woolum, Janet. Chapter 1 Women in American Sports. The Oryx Press, 1992. eLibrary. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Sports, in general, are a male dominated activity; every “real” male is suppose to be interested and/or involved in sports in the American society. However, it is not expected of a female to be interested in sports and there is less pressure on them to participate in physically enduring activities. These roles reflect the traditional gender roles imposed on our society that men are supposed to be stronger and dominant and females are expected to be submissive. As Michael Kimmel further analyzes these gender roles by relating that, “feminism also observes that men, as a group, are in power. Thus with the same symmetry, feminism has tended to assume that individually men must feel powerful” (106).
Unintentionally, a lot of us have been boxed into institutions that promote gender inequality. Even though this was more prominent decades ago, we still see how prevalent it is in today’s world. According to the authors of the book, Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, Lisa Wade and Myra Marx Ferree define gendered institutions as “the one in which gender is used as an organizing principle” (Wade and Ferree, 167). A great example of such a gendered institution is the sports industry. Specifically in this industry, we see how men and women are separated and often differently valued into social spaces or activities and in return often unequal consequences. This paper will discuss the stigma of sports, how gender is used to separate athletes, and also what we can learn from sports at Iowa State.
The 1920s was the just the beginning of women in sports. The booming post-war economy and the sports heroines increased the popularity of women athletes. The idea of a woman was changing, from being dainty and delicate to athletic, healthy and strong. There has been a growth in opportunities for women in sports, and the media brought this competition to everyone’s attention around the world. The accomplishments of the women athletes of the 1920s were the beginning of the journey to becoming equal to men in the world of sports.
Frankl, Daniel. "Gender Bias in Sports: Separate and Not Equal"" Sports Media's Digest, Jan. 2005..
Coakley (2009) starts off the chapter by introducing how participation in organized sports came about and how gender roles played a major role early on. He describes how most programs were for young boys with the hope that being involved would groom them to become productive in the economy. Girls were usually disregarded and ended up sitting in the stands watching their sibling’s ga...
The first perspective is that women are disadvantaged at any sport. Some people reiterate the difference of men and women in sports. This is influenced by strength and the natural power men hold, comparable to women. Rodriguez questions “Is this because female athletes don’t have what it takes to make it in the world of sports or could it be more of a social issue?” This perspective seems to be a social issue based on the notable skills women acquire vs. the apparent judgments of gender issues. The second perspective is the idea that women deserve and inherently earn their right of equal attention and equal pay. “Sometimes, the secret to equality is not positive discrimination, it 's equal terms. It 's the shrug of the shoulders that says "what 's the difference?" The moment worth aspiring for is not seeing people celebrate the world-class female cricketer who competes at comparatively low-level male professional cricket, but the day when people are aware that she does, and don 't find it notable at all” (Lawson). Lawson makes it a point to confirm the biased notions against women in sports and relay an alternative worth working toward and fighting for. Both outlooks can be biased but only one has factual evidence to back it up. The second perspective reviews an ongoing gender issue. This problem is welcome for change depending on society’s
Female educators in the early 1900’s strived to control the participation of women in sport, establishing certain constraints in order to maintain a male-dominated sports sphere. Athletic activity was healthy; yet too much athletic activity was rigorous and harmful to the female body. At the same time, though, these educators made a point to stress the presence of femininity in sport—which directly contributed to the introduction of sexuality into sport. If the educators of the early 1900’s did not have such an overbearing presence in female sport, maybe there would be no discussion about the swimming suit modeling of Amanda Beard, or the sexy, controversial, eccentric outfits Serena Williams shows off while playing at Wimbledon.
Gender in sports has been a controversial issue ever since sports were invented. In the early years, sports were played only by the men, and the women were to sit on the sidelines and watch. This was another area of life exemplifying the sexism of people in which women were not allowed to do something that men could. However, over the last century in particular, things have begun to change.
Krane, V. (2001). We can be athletic and feminine, but do we want to? Challenging hegemonic femininity in women's sport. Quest, 53,115-133.
Whether its baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or tennis, sports is seen all over the world as a representation of one’s pride for their city, country, and even continent. Sports is something that is valued world-wide which has the ability to bring communities together and create different meanings, beliefs and practices between individuals. Although many people may perceive sports to have a significant meaning within our lives, it can also have the ability to separate people through gender inequalities which can also be represented negatively throughout the media. This essay will attempt to prove how gender is constructed in the sports culture while focusing on female athletes and their acceptance in today’s society.