Sexism In Sports Essay

In the world of female soccer, players are often faced with many different forms of sexism, most notably the unequal pay between male and female players. But the wage gap between the genders is not the only manner of prejudice that they face while playing. Studies have shown that female soccer players are less likely to overplay their injuries, unlike their male counterparts. This finding could be explained in part because of the general socialization that young women face, like Carol Gilligan’s claim that through our society’s socialization of women, the ideal women is supposed to be calm and controlled. The attempt that women make to fight back against the gender roles that were imposed upon them as young children could also be a contributing factor in the sense

that female player are desperate to prove that they are equal to their male equivalents. Much of the sexism that the players face stems from wrongful and chauvinist assumptions about female athletes, such as the idea that sports played by women are of a lower quality than the athletics played by male competitors, or the indication that there is less of a market for female sports.

These ideas are often distributed to the general demographic through the mass media. The media tends to show a substantially less amount of female sports on the major networks, and when female athletics are shown they have less camera angles, instant replays and other filming techniques that help televised sports remain interesting and fast paced. Due to the lack of female sports being aired on major networks it can reinforce the stereotype that women are not supposed to be athletic, therefore influencing young women to not continue to play the sports that they love. Overall, sexism is still very common the world of female soccer. Thankfully there are more and more athletes speaking out against it, like the US Women’s National team who has spoken out on various occasions against their unequal pay and treatment as female athletes, but society still has a long way to go in terms of viewing male and female sports

equally.