Good Sports Equal Aggressive Men?

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Recommended: Gender equality in sport

In sporting activity participation and televised sports, there is a noticeable difference between male and female interest and involvement. In the article Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media Michael A. Messner discusses the issues that involve all aspects of sports strictly being a man’s affair. Messner expresses ideas that men are not only the forefront of sports participation, but sports media as well. A point is made in the article about the leaders in sports being those who are the most aggressive. This point is the reasoning behind why men are the superior figures in sports. The aggressiveness of men causes there to be more interest into male sporting activity which makes men a dominant figure in sports.

Messner uses the idea “Aggressive players get the prize; nice guys finish last” (480). The athletes who show the most aggression, are more likely to be acknowledged than those viewed as being weak or soft. Aggressiveness has been associated with toughness and physicality as if one balances the others. To be considered aggressive in professional sports means to not be afraid to get physical with opposing players, having a very large competitive streak, assertiveness, and being fearless. No matter how many times it is denied, men are the ones who are the most aggressive. There is a natural factor that falls into the aggression of men, that there is a shortage of in women.

Societal influence has the most affect on the differences of men and women. Men being superior in not only sports but all aspects of live hadn’t just one day been set in stone as Messner makes it out to be. He doesn’t include the reasoning necessary to explain how sports became male dominant. The article Becoming Members of society: Learning...

... middle of paper ...

...port; both played by men.

Aggression doesn’t always explain the large difference in male and female sporting activity. Author Micheal A. Messner does have a point that male aggression does affect the response of an audience but it is only valid for sports that involved the need to be aggressive. Still, there is clearly more engaging aspects of male sporting events than women sports.

Works Cited

Messner, Michael A. “Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media.” Rereading America:

Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo. Et al. Boston,

MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 477-487. Print.

Devor, Aaron H. “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the social Meanings of Gender.”

Rereading America: Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary

Colombo. Et al. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 424-431. Print.

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