Hispanic Women Vs Football Essay

¡Futbol Para Mujeres Es No Penal! ¡No Era Penal!

Soccer is one of the most popular sports around the world. In fact many countries around the world compete in the World Cup. In the last two decades, the Women’s World Cup has gained popularity. In the Hispanic culture, soccer is a huge aspect of their lives. Soccer is their football or baseball to us Americans. The males dominate the soccer world. Hispanic males are hugely associated with soccer, while the females are underrepresented. Why is soccer not as popular among Hispanic females? According to Hays (2011), “The 2009-10 NCAA Student-Athlete Race/Ethnicity Report found that only 5.7 percent of Division I women's soccer players were Hispanic, or 470 out of 8,302 players.” There are several

factors that could explain why Latina women in soccer are underrepresented. It could be that they do not have the financial means, do not family support, and are given traditional female roles to abide by.
Natalie Lagunas is a Mexican-American female student athlete.

She comes from a family who loves soccer and her family fortunately supported her decision to play soccer at Northwestern where the Hispanic student population is below ten percent. Natalie said in the article from ESPN written by Hays (2011) "I know in my family, and in a lot of Mexican-American families, soccer is like part of the culture," Lagunas said. "It's not even sport; it's kind of a lifestyle. It's kind of always been for me just something I love, watching games. And when we watch the Mexican national team play, that's very exciting for our family, and we get together and watch it together. It's something that I've grown up in, enjoying watching the game with my family." If soccer is considered to be a lifestyle why are Hispanic women so underrepresented in

soccer?
In some countries, according to D’Alonzo and Fischetti (2008) “The Hispanic women focused on adherence to culturally constructed “rules” about what physical activities are appropriate for women and girls.” (p. 179). According to D’Alonzo and Fischetti (2008) “The foreign-born women were more likely to believe that certain vigorous physical activities were “unfeminine,” whereas both foreign-born and American Hispanic women were more likely to cite family responsibilities as constraints to exercise.” (p. 180). Soccer could be classified as a vigorous activity. Soccer consists of a lot of running and is considered a physical sport. The Hispanic culture values family. Traditional female roles gives Latina women certain responsibilities within her family and household. What would family responsibilities consist of? Family responsibilities can consist of helping take care of children (younger siblings), cleaning and maintaining the house, cooking dinner, etc. Old traditional female roles predetermine if a girl plays sports in certain cultures. That can possibly be the case with some Latina families and their beliefs and values.
Women soccer leagues are up and coming in today’s time. According to Cuadros a man by the name of Carlos Gumucio created soccer league specifically for Latina women after having made a league for Latino men. According to Cuadros (2011) “The women’s leagues represent a new space alongside and within this existing one among Latinos in the U.S., one where Latinas can also find greater freedom, crush cultural stereotypes, and define a new dynamic in the Latino family.” (p.228). as previously mentioned, Latina women are expected to stay at home and help take care of the house and family. Soccer is not the first priority for many Latina women and it is not something that can even be viewed as an option to some families. According to Cuadros (2011) “Hundreds of Latinas are playing soccer expanding the limits of traditional female roles and perhaps transforming the norms of femininity in their own families and in their communities.” (p.228). If more Latina women continue to play soccer, they can push the limits of traditional female roles and change the definition of femininity. Sports such as soccer do not have to be deemed as unfeminine any longer if Latina women keep playing soccer and pushing the limits of what is already set in the culture
Latino boys do not have the same responsibilities as the Latina girls have. According to Ryan (2013) “Culturally, boys of all races often are expected to play sports from a young age, but in many immigrant homes sons do not have the same obligations to household needs as daughters.” (p. 2). Generally speaking, in most cultures men do not have the same responsibilities as women do. For example, it is common to assume the man in the house is the breadwinner and the woman is a stay at home mom taking care of the children and maintaining the house. In some Hispanic countries, their values still date back to old traditional values. Hispanic men do not have to stay at home and help take care of younger children. They are encouraged to play soccer unlike the Hispanic women. It is expected for young boys to play sports and unfortunately for young Latina women those expectations do not apply to them.
In the United States, a lot of women playing soccer are white. There is far less barriers preventing them from playing soccer. According to Shannon Ryan “There are many reasons for the disparity — economic, institutional, cultural — which has made sports a field of opportunity mainly for white females.” (p.1). Many (not all) have more financial security and the means to allow them to play soccer. According to Ryan (2013) “Playing on a club team or travel team can cost hundreds of dollars. Add in equipment, travel costs and private lessons and families' tabs could reach more than $1,000.” (p. 2). With soccer expenses being so high many families cannot afford such extracurricular activities especially for immigrant families. The white females might not be expected to help out as much at home and help take care of younger siblings, as Ryan mentioned about a girl whose parents expected them to take care of the younger sibling after school. According to Ryan (2013) “In a study of high school sophomores, Caucasian girls participated in sports at a 51 percent rate, while 40 percent of African-American girls, 34 percent of Asian or Pacific Islanders and 32 percent of Hispanic girls played.” (p. 1). As you can see Caucasian girls dominate the world of sports.
Soccer can open many doors up for Latina women. Many cannot afford college and stay home doing the same responsibilities they were raised doing. According to Cuadros (2013) “The soccer field becomes the first and perhaps the only place where many young Latinas can step away from the kitchen and the home and related responsibilities” (p.228). For families where it is usually expected for the girls to not go to college, soccer can open up that door for them. Soccer can give them the way to college through scholarships. As stated previously, soccer can allow the Latina women to break free of traditional gender roles and the definition of what femininity constitutes to their culture.
Latina women playing soccer does not get as much media coverage as their male counterparts.

If one watches the news, most the attention that soccer receives from the Latino community is mainly the men. Latina female athletes are not as popular in the soccer world. It is not only the fact that Latina women lack media coverage, women’s sports lacks media coverage in general. Women’s sports popularity pale in comparison to men’s sports. The most media coverage female soccer athletes attain is the World Cup and even then it does not gather as much attention as the men’s World Cup. According to Lopiano (2008) “Currently, television coverage of women's sports is inconsistent at best and non-existent most of the time. While the exposure of female athletes improves during the Olympic Games and World Cup soccer where they demonstrate ratings successes, these are only quadrennial occurrences.” It is such a shame that females lack the attention they deserve in the media. Female athletes regardless of ethnicity lack the media coverage they so deserve because it is still a men’s dominated world. Most online articles about Latina soccer players is that there are not as many as there should be. In other words, the media believes they are

underrepresented.
I am Hispanic myself and I used to play soccer so this issue was something I felt deeply connected to. I was interested in seeing where Latina girls stand in the realm of soccer. I found them to be greatly underrepresented in the world of soccer. I knew that Latina girls were not as popular in the world of soccer but I had no idea the percentage was so low. It makes me a little sad because I came from a family who was so supportive when it came to me playing soccer. My Mexican side of the family all encouraged me to play and they encourage my little girl cousins to play soccer and to be better than the boys. If other families could encourage girls at a young age to play soccer then Latinas would not be so underrepresented. The fact, that in some of the Latino cultures, soccer is considered to be unfeminine and only a boy’s sport makes me frustrated. There should not be a standard for what is considered to be feminine and masculine.
Based upon the research I have conducted, Latina soccer players are hugely underrepresented. The percentage of Hispanic soccer players in the NCAA was shockingly low. It was found to be that many female Hispanics do not play either because they still hold to traditional female roles or do not have the financial means to play soccer. Some Hispanic females’ feel that soccer is unfeminine based off their cultural beliefs. Other Latinas have to stay at home and0 take care of their younger siblings rather than play soccer. Whatever reason it may be that Latinas do not play soccer, it is a shame that the numbers of Latina soccer players are so low.