INTRODUCTION
The sports culture produces some of the most revered and idolized figures in American society. Athletic achievements are glorified and the achievers are often elevated to an extraordinary, super-human status. The rewards, praise, honor, power, and privilege that come from exhibited athletic talent and ability can be enticing as well as addicting. Heroes emerge in our society when a line is crossed in record time, an unfathomable amount of points are scored, or beautifully placed, even lucky shots result in game-winning goals. For many athletes their sport defines them. They have participated in a sport their entire lives, modeled the moves and strategies of their predecessors in practice after practice, devoted to becoming the star that they dream of. For many young boys especially, sports are a way to gain acceptance within a peer group, identify with the male sex, and establish relationships. It is a context wherein boys learn how to be boys, to be masculine, to achieve status within our success-driven culture (Messner, 1).
Society defines the essence of masculinity in part through sport. Athletics encourage or reinforce the courageous, strong, superior, and competitive male sex role (Messner, 20). Boys grow up being judged by their ability, inability, interest in, or ambivalence toward sport. They equate their successes and failures with self-worth, sometimes producing a self-image wherein they value themselves more or less depending on these achievements (Messner, 24). Young boys can learn priceless lessons and acquire life skills from early experiences in athletics. Concepts like, teamwork, cooperation, being a good loser, and respecting your competition are integral to sports participation. There are, howev...
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...ts heroes should be those who display the work ethic, success, and incredible performance through exemplary moral means. The macho and stereotypically masculine attributes that can manifest themselves in corrupt ways cannot benefit the young boys looking up to the men who are their idols.
WORKS CITED
Attorney General’s Report: UVM Hockey Team Hazing. 1 December, 2001 http://www.state.vt.us/atg/uvm%20Hazing%20report.html#summary
Lapchick, Richard E. Fractured Focus: Sport as a Reflection of Society. Toronto: Lexington Books, 1986.
McKay, Jim, Michael A. Messner, and Don Sabo. Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport. London: Sage Publications Inc., 2000.
Messner, Michael A. Power at Play. Boston: Beacon Press, 1992
Messner, Michael A., and Donald F. Sabo. Sex, Violence and Power in Sports: Rethinking Masculinity. Freedom: The Crossing Press, 1994
A transcendentalist whom strongly urged passive, non-violent resistance to the government’s policies to which an individual is morally opposed wrote his ideas in his essay,“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” in the year 1849. Thoreau’s transcendentalist belief is seen in his text continuously, “In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well. Such command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs”(Thoreau 4). As a white male who was given the right to vote, Thoreau’s writing is more direct and
Unintentionally, a lot of us have been boxed into institutions that promote gender inequality. Even though this was more prominent decades ago, we still see how prevalent it is in today’s world. According to the authors of the book, Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, Lisa Wade and Myra Marx Ferree define gendered institutions as “the one in which gender is used as an organizing principle” (Wade and Ferree, 167). A great example of such a gendered institution is the sports industry. Specifically in this industry, we see how men and women are separated and often differently valued into social spaces or activities and in return often unequal consequences. This paper will discuss the stigma of sports, how gender is used to separate athletes, and also what we can learn from sports at Iowa State.
Sports, in general, are a male dominated activity; every “real” male is suppose to be interested and/or involved in sports in the American society. However, it is not expected of a female to be interested in sports and there is less pressure on them to participate in physically enduring activities. These roles reflect the traditional gender roles imposed on our society that men are supposed to be stronger and dominant and females are expected to be submissive. As Michael Kimmel further analyzes these gender roles by relating that, “feminism also observes that men, as a group, are in power. Thus with the same symmetry, feminism has tended to assume that individually men must feel powerful” (106).
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.
Research guided by conflict theory generally falls into the following categories: 1) studies of how athletes become alienated from their own bodies; 2) studies of how sports can be used to coerce and control people; 3) studies of sports and the development of commercialism in society; 4) studies of sports and various forms of nationalism and militarism; and 5) studies of sports and racism and sexism. (Coakley, 1998) In the book, Meggyesy provided examples of each of these categories which occurred during his footba...
While Emerson and Thoreau certainly have difference of opinions, they recognize the need for public discussion and discourse. Emerson declares “a foolish consistency” to be “the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson 367). This is shown in their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” in which they support individuality and personal expression. Despite their contrasting views of society and government, the two most prominent transcendentalists in literary history share a passionate belief in the necessity that every American must exercise their constitutional rights and make known their views even and especially if it challenges the status quo.
In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau emphasizes the need for self-reliance (“Clendenning”). This statement is fitting because Thoreau was one of the most self-reliant men of his time period. He was an individual and enjoyed nature. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is closely related to the Transcendentalism movement, which lasted a mere ten years in the 1830s and 1840s. Transcendentalism is the belief of self-reliance, individuality, social reform, and relying on reason. Henry David Thoreau’s love of nature, languages, and contemporary English, as well as the growth of Transcendentalism greatly influenced the life of this great American Author.
Homeschooling offers flexibility and can be a stress reliever for many. Home school gives children the opportunity to learn when they learn best, whether that be in the morning or in the afternoon. Some children prefer to work alone others with their peers. The parents will determine what their child’s learning style is. If the child need more or less time on a subject then they will have the chance to go over the subject as many time it is necessary for the student to learn it, or in the other hand if they completely comprehend the subject they can make a decision to skip it. A flexible schedule gives these options and many more to students compared to public or private schooling.
Coakley (2009) starts off the chapter by introducing how participation in organized sports came about and how gender roles played a major role early on. He describes how most programs were for young boys with the hope that being involved would groom them to become productive in the economy. Girls were usually disregarded and ended up sitting in the stands watching their sibling’s ga...
Anderson, E. (2011). Masculinities and Sexualities in Sport and Physical Cultures: Three Decades of Evolving Research. Journal Of Homosexuality, 58(5), 565-578. doi:10.1080/00918369.2011.563652
There are many ways to teach children in the world. Some children are learning at the school and others are learning at home. Homeschooling is one of the most common ways to teach children. Because of, technologies, the numbers of home schooling are increasing. Nowadays, many parents teach their children at home because they are able to use the Internet and read about anything they want. Moreover, homeschooling has different ways to teach children; it depends on the parents and the methods they teach. Some of the parents take courses to improve their knowledge about how they can educate their children and teach them new things. Some of the children like to study in a group, so parents communicate with other friend’s parents and decided to go on a trip with each other and study. Although many parents think that home schooling is beneficial for their children, students should not be homeschooled for several reasons: it is dangerous for children’s health, children will have limited education, and it does not have much quality.
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.
Every parent is faced with the decision of whether or not to home school their child. While some families may find home schooling as being very helpful and beneficial to their child’s education, others may find that it is crucial their child be sent to a normal school. Some parents are hesitant to send their children to public school because of crime and lack of discipline and also because they fear that the quality of education is declining. Parents may also feel that sending their child to school will aid in their social development. Home schooling has both advantages and disadvantages which aid parents in this difficult decision.
Henry David Thoreau was a renowned American essayist, poet, and philosopher. He was a simple man who built his life around basic truths (Manzari 1). Ralph Waldo Emerson deeply impacted Thoreau’s viewpoints and philosophies, specifically by introducing him to the Transcendentalists movement. There seems to be no single ideology or set of ideas that entirely characterized Thoreau’s thoughts, but principles encompassing Transcendentalism come closest (Harding and Meyer 122). Spending time in nature and in solitude gave Thoreau an entirely new perspective on life. In fact, his doctrines regarding nature and the impact of the individual on society have transformed realms of political, social and literary history. Politically and socially, Thoreau’s
Everybody has an opinion about education and what method is the best. Homeschooling is a new class of education that is growing in popularity, public school is a type of education that has been around for several years and is most universally used, and private school is the other conventional form of education that some people still prefer over the other options. Nowadays, more and more parents are pulling their children out of ordinary school environments and have chosen to teach their children at home. Now more than ever, parents are confused about which type of education is the best for their children.