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Gender discrimination causes and effect
Challenges faced by female athletes in the world of sports
Gender discrimination causes and effect
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The Long Term Athlete Development model was developed to help encourage participation and success within the sports for all. Unfortunately, this model presents girls and women athletes with challenges, rendering it more difficult for them to succeed within sports. Some of these challenges can be seen through psychosocial factors, the way in which the model was designed, and the types of programs offered. These challenges can be detrimental to the development of a female athlete, discouraging her participation within sports. Psychosocial factors influence all aspects of one’s life. The LTAD model encourages positive psychosocial factors, motivating an individual to do their best and have confidence (CAAWS, 2012, pg. 14). Within this model, it can be seen that female athletes are challenged due to attempting to succeed in what is considered to be a ‘man’s world’. They are constantly faced with “stereotyped beliefs and values… …show more content…
Creating a general, effective model for all requires that the prior research done be a reflection of all. The research used for the Long Term Athlete Development model was unfortunately conducted predominantly with “young adult white males” (CAAWS, 2012, pg. 20), meaning that programs generated based off of this model are not accurate or efficient for female athletes. These programs reflect the way in which males function and develop, which is different than for females. It is important to conduct sport-based research on female athletes to ensure that programs are created based on female abilities and development, thus being a positive and effective experience for the participants. To establish programs specifically for females, it does not make sense to base these programs off of male statistics as they are not an accurate representation of females and will not be able to produce a program that will benefit these
Women have faced an uphill battle throughout the history of sports whether it is to be able to compete in sports, to attain equal funding for programs, to have access to facilities, or a number of other obstacles that have been thrown in their ways. Women have had to organize and administer their own sports structure rather than compete within the men's structure that existed. The sheer strength and determination of many women sports heroes is what propels women's sport to keep going. One theme that has predominantly surfaced in this fight though is the merging of women's programs with men's, oftentimes only when they are successful enough to stand alone on their own.
As stated in “Investigating Coed Sports Ability to Encourage Inclusion and Equality”, “Females experienced increased self-confidence and pride.” Moreover, when athletes compete with the opposite sex, their skills are bettered. When players realize their skill set has increased as a result, their self-confidence is boosted. Self-confidence is one of the most important things needed to play sports. An athlete can be very talented but if he does not
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a Man can play, with equal skill, if not better.
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
Despite the struggle for success, males and females who choose to play sports that are non-traditional to their gender benefit socially and culturally. Those athletes who dare to compete are paving the way towards a society where gender acceptance and equality exist. However, for every benefit, there is generally a cost. In the world of sports, it is fairly obvious that people have experienced many costs including insults, ridicule, and lack of acceptance, but the benefits gained are much more vital to sports and the future of athletics. Competing in sports that are non-traditional to one's gender can only make society stronger, and our culture more unified.
Gender discrimination is prominent in every industry, but it is as though the sport industry is one of the worst. Women in the work force currently receive only 80 cents to every man’s dollar (Holmes, 2016). However, female athletes both in America and internationally receive a far lesser compensation for their attributes. The only difference of the sports being played is who plays them. There should be no reason why a male athlete receives better pay simply because he had a 50% chance of being born a man. At birth, no one controls the gender, but as they grow and mature, they control their personality and development. Payment should be on personal skills and not gender. As a female STHM student focusing on sport management and a former athlete,
... women, but especially athletic women, and is socially constructed to dictate women’s appearance, demeanor and values (Krane et al, 2004).” Females, for example, are expected to look and behave in a feminine way in order to satisfy heteronormative practices such as marriage. However, to participate in a sport, a traditionally male dominated realm, female athletes must acquire more traditionally masculine characteristics like strength, aggression, competitiveness, and assertiveness; characteristics that betray hegemonic gender and societal norms. Issues pertaining to feminine behavior and appropriate gender roles continue to be the root cause of discrimination not only in sport, but also in modern society as “sport is a sub culture within a larger society, therefore nothing typically occurs in sport that does not occur in the larger culture (Vodden & Schell, 2010).”
Many Americans watch sports for the fun of the game; it is a form of relaxation or excitement. Becoming an athlete is something many dream about and some strive for a portion of their lives trying to make it a reality. But is it just as attainable for women as it is men? Being able to make a career out of something a person enjoys is something many dream about. Women do not have the same advantages when it comes to being an athlete or upward mobility in employment. There has been some progress in the equality of men and women but not enough. Hegemonic masculinity still affects women’s chances at succeeding in employment and sports because of perceived gender roles, stereotyping, and discrimination.
Within todays sporting community, certain aspects of sport and its practices promote and construct ideas that sport in general is a male dominated. Sports media often provides an unequal representation of genders. Women athletes are regularly perceived as mediocre in comparison to their male equivalents (Lenskyj, 1998). Achievement in sport is generally established through displays of strength, speed and endurance, men usually set the standards in these areas, consequently woman rarely reach the level set by top male athletes. Due to this, the media significantly shows bias towards male sports while we are ill-informed about the achievements in the female sporting community. On the occasion that a female athlete does make some form of an appearance in the media, images and videos used will usually portray the female in sexually objectified ways (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). This depiction of female athletes can cause males to take focus solely on the sexual assets of the athlete in preference to to their sporting abilities (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). Sexualisation of sportswoman in the media is a prevalent issue in today’s society, it can cause physical, social and mental problems among women of all ages (Lenskyj, 1998).
In some ways, women today face more pressure to be perfect than ever before in history. The feminine ideal of the past has been replaced by a new face — stronger and more independent, but under no less pressure to conform to society's expectations than her predecessors. Today's woman must be all that she was in the past, and more. In addition to being beautiful, feminine, and demure, she must also be physically fit and academically and socially successful. It is no longer appropriate for a woman to depend on anyone, for that would imply subordinance and inferiority. Instead, woman must fill all of these roles on her own. Although achieving independence is an important step for women, it brings added pressure. This is especially visible in films about women in sport. These women experience these pressures at an intense level. They are expected to be phenomenal athletes, and are not held to a lower standard than men. However, they must also be beautiful — if they are not, they face the possibility of discrimination. Added to this is the pressure that they are representative of the entire gender. Films about women in sports show the intense pressure on female athletes to fulfill all aspects of the ideal woman.
Gender inequality in the United States is a serious problem, and it is often overlooked. It is a big issue, especially within sports. We live in a society where our culture prefers men 's sports over women 's. Labeling activities as feminine and masculine is a social construction based on stereotyped expectations regarding gender and perceived gender differences (McCullick, 2012). In 1972 Title IX was passed stating that, no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. This opened up athletics to women and girls (Education Amendment Act of 1972, 1972). Although
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).
Challenges appear to be part of the human experience. In the course of history, very little has come easily. The progress that women have made in sport in the United States over the course of the last 100 years seems remarkable for the amount achieved in so little time. In relation to the other advances made in this century, including men's sport, that achievement dims. While women have made great advances, they haven't, in comparison, come that far. It would appear, from the outside, that men's sport will forever have all of the advantages, all of the rewards, all of the prestige, while women's sport is left to perpetual inequality.
The sample was 27 female athletes which consisted of 12 basketball players and 15 volleyball players. Basketball players made up 44 percent of the sample while volleyball players consisted of 55 percent of the sample. The athletes’ ages ranged from 18 to 27 years. Athletes were required to fill out pre-intervention questionnaires which focused on human, social, and capital outcomes. Following the pre-intervention data collection, athletes engaged in four leadership development workshops over time a period of three months.
Ann, 2007, pg. 57), however this is not true. This mentality causes males to resent the female athletes, thus rendering it even more difficult for them to succeed. Without a shift in gender ideology, females will continue to face adversity, regardless of the amount of change that has occurred over the last 30 years. There does not need to be equality between the genders within sports, however equity must be seen, with the perception of the abilities that female athletes possess not being compared to that of males. This would aid males to not feel as threatened by females participating in sports and physical