Gender Ideologies In Sports

In order for us to make sense of this world we live in, we organize it in such a way that highlights differences between individuals and groups of people. We are sectored off by race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, geographic location, educational level as well as physical and mental capabilities. Gender has been known to be of high importance in one’s identity and appears to be a differentiating factor in almost every aspect of our lives. Gender ideologies shape the societies we grow up with in that they implement ideas many share regarding identities, behaviors and institutions; they create expectations for how a person of a certain perceived gender should act, which in turn allow others to police those who “break” these ideologies. One institution

This hurts boys the most in that they will never know if they are truly the best at making 3-point shots or throwing the farthest football or swimming the fastest lap time. Women have nothing to lose if they compete against men because based on the gender ideology set up, women are expected to lose to men. Men gamble their ego when they compete against women because it can either go up if they win, or it can go down if they lose. Women have the chance to participate in “normal” sports such as baseball, hockey, and football rather than softball, field hockey and power puff that they are strongly encourage to play. There haven’t been any negative consequences shown to be true if men and women compete against one another. By separating athletics by gender at a young age, we’re limiting the capabilities that both gender could cultivate had they been up against one another throughout development. Gender ideology has shaped sports in such a way that deem women fragile and not capable of performing at such a level that men typically perform at. This only further emphasizes the gender binary that exists in our nation, and begins to shape the inequalities that many young children face when they dream of being an Olympic