Stereotypes In Sports

Question 1

Gender is a societal way of discriminating the two sexes, and differentiating biological differences from one another. Today we are faced with many gender ideologies and stereotypes. Many of these ideologies and stereotypes stem from living in a patriarchal hegemonic society, where male dominance is the powerhouse of our nation. One of which: females are fragile, and therefore not good at sports stemmed from the idea that physical activity was not good for females’ health. It could harm the reproductive system, menstrual cycle, and psychological well being of a woman. (Sage, Eitzen 2016) Another stereotype that has played an immense role of the female participation on sport is that females are not interested in sport. Again this

One major issue is where female role models are found, coaching. Today women remain underrepresented as a coach in women’s sports teams. Less than half (42.9%) of women’s collegiate teams are coached by women, and only 3% of men’s teams are coached by women. (Acosta & Carpenter 2012) Female coaches, and role models are the root of promoting female participation and success in athletics. A study done on the elite three percent of female coaches in the United States revealed what they believed would lead to more success in the coaching industry regarding females. (Norman 2012) Their top results included: role modeling, creation of supportive networks, and a greater number of quality coaching positions. (Norman 2012) If we were to increase the number of female representatives in positions of power in athletics the number of female role models that young athletes would have to look up to would increase, and possibly create a rise in female participation in youth sport. This notion of additional female representation challenges the societal ideology that women are not as good as

Today we are faced with ads revealing nude female athletes, and magazine covers with Olympians only in bikinis plastered on their covers. The female body being sexualized not only gives young female athletes the wrong idea about what being an athletes is about, but doesn’t support the woman in her successes in what she is most successful at. For example, after winning her second match at the Australia open Eugenie Bouchard was asked in a post win interview on the court to ‘give us a twirl’. This question not only portrays the unequal representation that women have in sports today, but also the fact that female athletes are not held to the same standard that male athletes are. Bouchard’s reaction seemed appropriate, as she was taken aback and seemed confused by the interviewers question. Her inquiries of whether or not this was appropriate evoke the motion of change towards how women are perceived in