In Robert Lipstye’s piece, “Jock Culture,” he argues that everyone seems to assume that if you’re not into some sort of sport or anything involving physical activity, you are not really of much use at all. He tries resolving this issue by trying to understand this spectrum of stereotypes. Lipstye’s piece first appeared in The Nation, a newsmagazine usually focused on politics in 2011 special sports issue. Since then, the situation isn’t as bad as it used to be on the way everyone has seem to put into this stereotype of what they have to do because of their gender.
The purpose of Lipstye’s purpose in “Jock Culture” was to bring awareness to myths of masculinity and power that lies within sports and why those myths are inevitable. He brings up how Pukes—those found among hippies, smokers, protestors, and English majors (305)—are seen as slobs, losers and feminine. While the Jocks [found in sports or some type of aggressive physical activities] were these knights in shining armor that were brave, goal-driven, and socially acceptable (305). Thankfully, we have changed a bit on how we view the spectrum of genders over
…show more content…
If you see a girl that watches Bad Girls Club, you’ll see that she will act tough like she’s from the streets. In all reality, she’s probably the total opposite. If you let your child watch violent shows or play violent video games, the child is most likely to behave aggressively towards others (i.e. Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment). Like all experiments, there’s always that on oddball. For example, some of the athletes participating in the Olympics (308) could be English majors, instrumentalists, psychologists etc. That doesn’t make them any less important. If anything, they have been taught to not only work their body but to also stretch their knowledge and to not hide who they truly are and to pursue whatever career they
In the article “Jocks vs. Pukes.” By Robert Lipsyte the article is about people getting categorized as either Jocks or Pukes. Jocks are brave, manly, ambitious, focused, patriotic, and goal-driven while the Pukes are woolly, distractible, girlish, and damaged by their lack of confidence that nothing mattered as much as winning. Jock culture is important to people therefore, more girls are joining sports. In addition, they are more successful when they play as a team. When Pukes are interested in joining a sport they usually get rejected. Kids are usually influenced into the Jock Culture when their parents or coaches expose them to the best athletes and arenas. However, Boys were always taught to be tough, stoical, and to take any risk to win.
Society has always had the idea that males should participate in masculine activities and females in feminine activities. These activities define the lifestyle that person would have. It was also believed that if a male was not involved in masculine activities, that male was not a man. Sports is a field that has been dominated by males in the past years, and more recently has had a lot of females take part in it. But does playing a sport define one’s masculinity? Michael Messner, the author of Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities, discusses the effect sports has on upcoming young men of different races. The effect of being introduced to a sport at a young age allowed males of different races to gain a sense of masculinity,
The existence of hegemonic power related to gender roles in sport limits the participation of students in Sport Aerobics. This hypothesis is supported by the data gathered from a survey that 24 Nambour High students took (Appendix 1). The survey included 2 female and male students from each year level. This survey revealed that only 16% of students have participated in Sport Aerobics and the majority of the students were from the senior year levels. When the students were asked what gender Sport Aerobics is for over half the students said both male and female. However, 37% of the students said that Sport Aerobics is for women only and 6 out the 9 students that answered women were male meaning that the majority of male students believe that Sport Aerobics is a feminine sport. None of the students believed that Sport Aerobics is an only male sport. Seventy percent of students throughout all the year levels believe that men are stronger than women. The only students that said women were female themselves. It is fixed in to student’s minds that men are stronger than women because of the lack of recognition to female athletes on the media. Students only see strong male athletes such as rugby league players presented on the media. This accounts for the 70% of students that do not watch any women’s sport and the only students that do were female. This result is due to the lack of women role models in the
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.
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...
...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.
Platt, Larry. New jack jocks: rebels, race, and the American athlete. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.. 56-60
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.
The influence of sports activities on boys’ identity and socialization experience remains a major interest in gender studies today. Michael A. Messner wrote an article called Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities. The article examines the way sports focus and define what it is to be a masculine, studies variation in sports’ influences across social classes, and depicts lessons sports participation impacts for relationships beyond sports. Each area Michael A. Messner examined directly relates to three key concepts of psychology theories. The concepts consist of observational learning (social learning), conformity, and social identity. The research methods in the article are also a major factor contributing to the
Coakley, J. J. (2007). Sports in society: issues & controversies (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Jock culture emphasizes on “masculinity and power” (308), which unfortunately increases the likelihood of committing wrongdoings. Male athletes are more prone to take risks simply because it is in their nature. For example, a former freshman teammate of mine was caught cheating on a quiz and had to sit out two games as a result of of his offense. He believed that he needed to cheat in order for him to avoid receiving a lower GPA (Grade Point Average), which would kick him off the team. Another example is another teammate of mine who had naked pictures on his phone. His image of being popular clouded his judgement, which inevitably lead him to a three day suspension from school as well as missing out on five games that were utmost critical. There are so many examples that I could mention with athletes abusing drugs and committing felonies that the list seems endless. These athletes are extremely gifted in their sport, but are vulnerable to do something wrong. “Being treated as a celebrity [and] being freed from normal boundaries” (307) is what impels these proficient individuals to be susceptible to
After-school athletics is typically presented as a productive outlet for students to engage with one another and learn within a team environment. However, through an intersectional lens it should be taken into question whether playing sports is enjoyable or even possible without reaping the benefits of gender, heteronormative, and numerous other privileges. Reflecting on my own personal experience of playing high school basketball, I take a closer look as to how it was shaped by the many facets of intersectionality and privilege. In analyzing my experience, I will argue why sports is a constant force in reproducing gender binaries and oftentimes baneful to those who do not conform to heteronormativity.
Krane, V. (2001). We can be athletic and feminine, but do we want to? Challenging hegemonic femininity in women's sport. Quest, 53,115-133.
Women’s participation in sport is at an all-time high and has almost become equal to men’s, however. Sports media does not fail to show this equality and skews the way we look at these athletes. Through the disciplines of sociology and gender studies, it can be seen that despite the many gains of women in sports since the enactment of Title IX, “traditional” notions of masculinity and femininity still dominate media coverage of males and females in sports, which is observed in Olympic programming and sports news broadcasts. Sociology is a growing discipline and is an important factor in the understanding of different parts of society. Sociology is “a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and change them” (Faris and Form P1).
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.