Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Race, ethnicity and diversity in sports
Ethnic segregation in sports
Race, ethnicity and diversity in sports
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Race, ethnicity and diversity in sports
Throughout sports history in America, minorities have had a sever disadvantage to succeeding. While the country has come a long way in integrating capable athletes in professional sports, there are several sports that have a white dominance. One rarely sees a minority on the swimming team. Caucasians dominate the golf and hockey leagues as well. One of the most prominent sports that is working on overcoming their racial barrier is gymnastics. Gymnastics is a white dominant sport, not only in America but around Europe as well. Ever since Dianne Durham was first African American to start competing on an elite level in the 1980s, there have only been a handful of black gymnasts recognised on the national level. It took until 1996 for a black gymnast to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Dominique Dawes competed in Atlanta and made history for being the first black person of any nationality to win a gold medal in gymnastics. While gymnastics has made progress including African Americans, they still have prejudices to overcome.
Today, two black women stand out as prominent figures in gymnastics, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles. Douglas, at age 16, became the first woman of colour, of any nationality, to win a gold medal in the individual all around event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She garnered a great deal of attention for her performance, but the media focused on her race as well. Many reported on her making history, being the first black woman to win gold medals in both individual and group all around events in the same year. She also received a lot of criticism on her hair. Many people took to social media to express disapproval to Douglas’ “unkempt” hair. Criticism included that it was not styled or that she had not put in a relax...
... middle of paper ...
... United States. They could also grant scholarship money to those who show promise to allow them to pursue gymnastics without the monetary burden on the family. This solution would encourage many girls to participate in the sport and the success rate would be fair.
While there is little diversity in many sports, gymnastics is starting to make giant leaps toward multi-racial integration. Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles are creating waves in the gymnastics community, sparking national pride with each gold medal. They are leading the fight against racism in gymnastics by proving that they are just as good, if not better than the traditional gymnasts due to their hard work and persistence, combined with raw talent. They are inspiring girls everywhere to follow their dreams, no matter what obstacles get in the way. They are the American heroes who made gymnast history.
Professional sports were segregated in America during the early 20th century. So African Americans playing sports were never offered the chance to play professionally. Others, mostly white people never felt that blacks had the right to do so. They never felt that blacks had much or any rights in the United States. But some African Americans changed that. Two people who had the biggest impact on sports and segregation were Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, both were outstanding athletes and had overcome the racial barrier.
Do you have a love for a sport or hobby that you been playing since you were very young? Well, Simone Biles had been having a love for gymnastics since she was just six years old and she started training at eight years old with her coach Aimme Boorman. Simone Biles had the best Olympics because she won the most medals out of all the gymnasts that competed and she dedicates 300 days out of the whole year training. However, people think Michael Phelps did the best because he won the most gold medals out of all USA Olympic medalist.
...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.
Although African American professional athletes nowadays rarely suffer racism, nowadays African American professional athletes are the ones who are standing up for their community because of the early racism in their own lives, the hateful assumptions about their race, and the powerful voice they can project to this country. Oh my God, she’s gone crazy, you say to no one.” (p.69) This quote demonstrates the frustration of Serena Williams while going through these different altercations.
On March 14,1997 in Columbus,Ohio, America's top gymnast, Simone Biles, was born. When Simone Biles was young, her life was difficult. Her mom’s name is Shannon, but after Shannon had 4 kids, things got difficult for her. Shannon took lots of drugs and was drunk sometimes. She couldn't handle it. So, Child Protective Services had to take Simone and her siblings to foster care. Soon, her grandfather, Ron, adopted Simone and her younger sister, Adria. Now, Simone Biles’ parents are Ron and Nellie. Simone and her sister very creative and loved to
“The past three decades have witnessed a steady growth in women's sports programs in America along with a remarkable increase in the number of women athletes (Daniel Frankl 2)” From an early age women were thought to be “Lady Like”; they are told not to get all sweaty and dirty. Over 200 years since Maud Watson stepped on the tennis courts of Wimbledon (Sports Media Digest 3); women now compete in all types and levels of sports from softball to National racing. Soccer fans saw Mia Hamm become the face of women’s soccer around the world, Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most popular figures in tennis, and Indy car racing had their first woman racer, Danika Patrick. With all the fame generated by these women in their respective sports, they still don’t receive the same compensation as the men in their respective sports fields.
Sports is the center of American culture. In many families, sports is their entertainment. They use sports to show their happiness, anger and physical ability. The United States is known for their sports culture. They have many national sports such as NFL (National Football League) and the NBA (National Basketball Association). People in the United States often choose their favorite teams and become very competitive when their team is playing. At a young age many girls and boys join sports which is where they become competitive, and also where they realize if they like playing sports or not. Once many teenagers get into high school sports become important to them because it is a gateway into getting into college and getting that quick way to reach their American Dream in possibly becoming a famous athlete. Although not all Americans play, watch, or like sports they still know what sports are and there is more Americans who play watch and like sports than people who do not. Sports will always be the center of American culture because Americans love to be competitive and aware of what is going on in their world.
The article talks about how Douglas made a stand for the racism and sexism portrayed through the media not paying attention to the fact that the athletes were two completely different people. It also discusses how certain athletes are talked about in reference to their race or gender. The article titled “The Most Egregious Sexist Fails at the 2016 Olympics” discusses several cases where the media was sexist towards some of the Olympic athletes, such as when Katie Ledecky won a Gold in the 800-meter freestyle, but somehow Michael Phelps’ tie for a silver medal got a bigger headline. In the article “The Hotly Contested Olympic Medal Table of Sexism,” gold, silver, and bronze medals are given out for the most sexist, insulting, and stereotypical discussions of the athletes in the media. For example, the gold medal for “most insulting attribution of a female athlete’s medal to her husband” is given to Dan Hicks, who, when Hungary Katinka Hosszu took gold and beat the world record, pointed to her husband and said “and there’s the man responsible.” The article “Is Olympic Coverage Undercutting Women’s Achievements?” talks about, again, a lot of sexist references to the female athletes and their husbands, and a lot of stereotypical references such as referring to female athletes gathered
This study intends to illustrate what kind of progression has taken place in regards to media coverage of female athletes competing in the Olympic games during 2012 and the most recent summer games of 2016. Gender inequality is not only present under socio-cultural terms but also in the sport institution. Females have faced many forms of barriers since the start of the Olympics in 1896 when they were not even allowed to participate. This entry barrier was removed in the 1900, however even then females were only allowed to participate in sports that matched the public’s perception of “femininity” as sports were professed “masculine” (Markula,2009). A slight change of this perception has been occurring over the years as the International Olympics Committee introduced more opportunities for females to participate in a number of sports instead of just Tennis and Golf in 1900. 2012 was a notable year for the Olympics as there was a presence of a female athlete in each delegate for the first time ever. Additionally, team USA, the team with the highest number of medals in 2012, was comprised of 292 female competitors which broke a record for the number of female participants competing for the USA and the largest number of females competing for any nation in the Olympic history. Moreover, female medalists outnumbered male medalists, thus this trend of female success may lead to a positive assumption of more coverage devoted to females with a similarity in the linguistics used to report the success of male athletes. However, although 45% of the competing athletes in 2016 were females, the public has been very critical about the coverage, the increase of coverage with the success of the female athletes has shined a light on how they are pre...
Ellie Black is a 21-year-old artistic gymnast from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has competed at the Rio 2016 and London 2012 Olympics. She began competing in gymnastics at the age of 9. It was not until the Beijing 2008 Olympics that she began dreaming of going to the Olympics. At London 2012, she finished 5th in the team, 8th in the vault, 15th in the floor exercise, and 26th in the beam. At Rio 2016, she finished 5th all around, 9th in the team, 15th in the floor exercise, 15th in the vault, 44th in the beam and 31st in the uneven bars. She is currently studying kinesiology at Dalhousie University (“Ellie
Elite artistic gymnastics is one of the most competitive sports in the world. The sport is judged out of several categories and among the most important are artistry, difficulty, execution and consistency. What makes a successful elite gymnast is mastering all of those elements.
Today, when people think of gymnastics they think of the United States as being a dominating force. This has not always been the case though. In the 70’s and 80’s gymnastics was dominated by the USSR and China. America did not make a name for itself of the international level until 1996 when America finally won a gold team metal at that year’s Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Since this stunning event, the US has become a force to reckon with and to this day holds the Olympic team gold. A documentary created by USA Gymnastics showcases America’s rise to fame, and the gymnasts it took to get there. Many sports documentaries on an athlete or team. These documentaries need to have credible and reliable speakers, clear topics and visuals, be clear and concise, and have good video quality. USA Gymnastics’ “Made in America” is a wonderful example of all of these criteria except for the clear and concise part. The first-hand interviews of the gymnasts on their way to Worlds and the Olympics is shown through throwback visuals
Gymnastics has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, it has become part of my identity and my appearance. Everything from “You’re that girl who can do a backflip!” or “Wow, you look like a gymnast.” I’ve learned to accept that this is how some people see me. A 5’ 2” girl with the muscles of a boy. Even though this
Throughout history, it is easy to recognize how African Americans have triumphed in sports. It is also enlightening and empowering to see and recognize the challenges that women faced in the past with achieving recognition in sports as compared to that of men.
Gymnastics is a sport. You can compete it. When you see gymnastics on TV, you might think wow, that’s so cool. But life of a gymnast can not always be easy. You have to do conditioning (if you don’t know what that is, it’s what makes you stronger, push ups, sit ups and other stuff) and go through the pain of getting rips. Rips are when you go on a bar and get peeling skin on your hands.