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Research essay on influence of gender on sports
Problems with gender in sports
Research essay on influence of gender on sports
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From the classic argument of whether cheerleading is actually a sport to allowing girls to play on boys football teams, there have always been misconceptions when it comes to women in sports. Although the barriers of strict gender role have started to come down, there is still immense pressure for women to stay confined to certain sports. Cheerleading, gymnastics, and soccer are often seen as “female” sports while football and ice hockey are seen as “male” sports.
Across the globe you can find powerful women fighting for quality in physical activity, including people in Irondequoit High School. Mia Feola, an IHS senior, is one of two girls on the typically all boys ice hockey team. Feola, who also plays lacrosse for IHS, started playing hockey thirteen years ago when her father introduced her to the sport. As well as being a dedicated IHS athlete, she also plays hockey for the (club team name) which is an all girls club team. When asked why she plays for both IHS and a club team
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she brought up her teammates, “On my female team I can connect with my team. It helps me enjoy the game a lot more.” Many people have made arguments as to why women shouldn’t be allowed to play male dominated sports or on men’s teams, including that girls are too fragile, that it would be unfair to boys, or even because “boy’s might have impure thoughts.” A 2013 story from Fox News highlighted a 12- year-old girl from Georgia who was banned from her middle school's football team even after having already played on the team.
The private christian schools listed one of the reasons for her being banned as, “boy’s will have impure thoughts.” Greg Gutfeld, a co-host of the segment, mentioned that he went to catholic school for twelve years before adding, “Yes, boys do have impure thoughts. Not just boys, but men.” Later, co-host Andrea Tantaros commented, in all seriousness, “Let donkey’s play, chickens, who cares?” In reference to rules being changed to allow women on male teams. While the beliefs held by these reporters are only one part of the spectrum, others still hold similar opinions on the
topic. Denny Burk, A professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, commented on the intentions of a parent who involves their daughter in a traditionally male sport, “...but I’m even more concerned about parents who would allow their sons to participate. What have we become as a society when parents would cheer their sons to in any way strike or manhandle a girl? This is not good.” While Burk encourages parents to keep male and female sports separate, Mia Feola’s father encouraged her daughter to participate in the “rough and tumble” sport of ice hockey. While gender is a barrier that is not to bothered with for some, it is a welcome challenge for others. In Irondequoit, many are of the mind set that it shouldn’t matter your gender, as long as you have the talent. David Regan, an IHS sophomore, plays hockey with Feola. When asked if aspects of the game are different when girls are on the team he replied, “No, not really. Their hockey players just like anyone else.” With Feola being the first girl to ever play for IHS Hockey she is breaking new ground. “There are not many teams that have girls on their team so when there is it’s kind of a big deal,” mentioned Feola after explaining why she continues to play for the school. Many women, including Feola, have shown that they have the strength and skill to compete with the boys, now it’s just a matter of convincing everyone else.
Boys- and more and more girls-who accept Jock Culture values often go on to flourish in a competitive sports environment that requires submission to authority, winning by any means necessary and group cohesion,” says Robert Lipsyte. In Kate Nolan’s article, boys are only allowed to play sports. Kate Nolan mentions, “A lot of people like to justify women’s supporting role in sports media by saying, “Well, they’ve never played the game, so they just aren’t qualified to speak about it.” Women are known to not play football because coaches never give them the chance to try. Another difference is Bill Stowe.
When I think of what it means to be Canadian, one of the first things that come to mind is hockey. This is true for many Canadian’s as hockey was and is an integral piece of the formation of the national identity. However, when people think of playing hockey their attention usually turns to the men in the National Hockey League or other top men’s leagues and tournaments. Even so, Canada has come a long way from its beginnings, when women were not even considered persons under the law until 1929. While it has taken many decades for women to receive more recognition in the world of sport, today shows great improvements from the past. A key reason that women are not treated the same way as men in regards to hockey is due to how the game began;
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a Man can play, with equal skill, if not better.
If a five year old boy already thinks that girls “don’t play footy” Where are we going wrong? And what are we teaching our children?
Girls are told to stay indoors and play with their dolls or bake, while boys are encouraged to go outdoors, get dirty, and be adventurous. Wade and Ferree also state “sports are squarely on the masculine side of the gender binary” (Wade and Ferree, 174). Hence, we are brought up with the understanding that playing and talking about sports is a boy’s thing, which further promotes the notion that sports are a very masculine thing. Furthermore, as playing sports is competitive and is a way to show excellence, young boys are considered as “real boys” and “real men” later on. However, when boys do not talk about or play sports, they are considered feminine or “not real men.” The same rule applies for young girls. If young girls are too into sports, they are considered to be “too masculine.” This is true for me too. When I was younger, I was told to not play too much outdoors and to behave “like a girl.” The stigma that only boys should be allowed to play sports and it is not a feminine thing needs to be erased for us to welcome a more gender-equal
It goes without saying that a person's gender, racial and social origins influence their participation in sports. Particular races and genders often dominate certain sports. African Americans, for example, tend to dominate football and basketball, while Caucasians tend to dominate ice hockey. The same holds true for gender as well. Football is an entirely male dominated sport, while horseback riding, gymnastics and figure skating are much more female oriented. How and why did these divisions come about? Determining the origin of gender goes beyond the scope of this paper, however one can speculate about how gender classifications and stereotypes affect one's role in the sports arena.
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.
Why do female athletes receive less media coverage than male athletes? Male athletes dominate professional sport that airs on television. The media easily overlooks female athletes except during occasion like the Winter Olympics. The articles Media Coverage of Women’s Sports is Important (Lopiano, 2008) and Take Back the Sports Page? (Sommers, 2010) acknowledge factors that determine the amount of media coverage female athletes receive. [Lopiano and Sommers address this issue in regards to media coverage on female athletes differently. Lopiano focuses on the general message the media broadcasts and Sommers uses statistics to show the difference between female and male media. Lopiano and Sommers agree that the media considers female sports less valid. Both focus on different aspects such as problem and solutions and the different consequences of unequal media coverage]. The authors discover similar as well as different factors that contribute to the inequality media coverage of both female and male athletes obtain.
Throughout history, women have had to struggle for equality in all elements of our society, but no where have they had a more difficult time than in the area of athletics. Sports is a right of passage that has always been grafted to boys and men. The time has come for our society to accept women athletes and give them the attention they deserve.
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.
Wallace, Robert. “Should Girls Play on Boys’ teams?” Creators.com A Syndicate Of Talent. N.P. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
Fagrell, B., Larsson, H., & Redelius, K. (2012). The game within the game: girls' underperforming position in Physical Education.Gender & Education, 24(1), 101-118. doi:10.1080/09540253.2011.582032
Media plays a large role in affecting peoples thinking, opinions, ideas, etc. In essence media can shape our thinking into negative views and perspectives that are typically not true. Sometimes the media plays as a puppet master to society. Specifically, the inequity of the gender roles within sports causes for a stir in commotion that calls for some attention. In doing so the inadequate misuse of media towards women in sports causes low exposure, amongst many other things. On the other hand their male counterparts are on the other end of the success spectrum. Because of this noticeable difference, it is vital that action is taken place to level out equality within sports. Due to the power of media, it is believed that a change in media coverage
For most of human history, athletic competition has been regarded as an exclusively masculine affair. Women weren't aloud to watch most sporting events let alone participate in them. Not till late 19th century did women really begin participating in sporting events. Although women were permitted to participate in many sports, relatively few showed interest, for a variety of social and psychological reasons that are still poorly understood. Title IX declares: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Therefore sex should not deem females athletic ability as inferior in comparison to men. Women are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of playing any sport just as men are.
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.