The Evolution of the Image of Women in Sports

The Evolution of the Image of Women in Sports

1. Through the readings, films, and discussions, we have looked at the image of women in sport. Discuss the images of women in sport and how they are affected by today's cultural ideal of women.

All of the films that we watched provided different perspectives on how the image of women is situated in our culture. From the first movie, Dare to Compete, which highlighted the development of women's participation in sports, to Love and Basketball, which fully accepts women's participation in sports, we examined a range of views and opinions on the proper role of women in sports.

Dare to Compete presented images of women in sports over many years, highlighting the evolution of female athletes. At first female athletes still had to be dainty. They were women first, and athletes second. Women were believed to be too fragile for most sports and were told that they would have problems reproducing if they were too physically active. The women you see in sports early on were very feminine, both while participating in sports and in their personal lives. The women who were not as feminine suffered from criticism and felt great pressure to change their appearances to fit in with cultural norms.

As the century progressed, the physicality of women in sports became more acceptable. Women who were not as feminine still had to deal with prejudice, and were sometimes labeled "homosexual" as a derogatory statement. Although there are still stereotypes that many women feel bound to, we see at the end of the film that images of women as athletes, rather than athletes as women are now acceptable. The Nike commercials are a good example of this. These commercials extol the physical prowess of wo...

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...t Like Beckham. This film also showed the stereotyping of women's sexual preferences that female women must endure. Another problem that women can face is a lack of venue for their athletic ability. Monica was forced to go overseas in Love and Basketball so that she could play professionally. Fortunately, she did eventually find a way to play in the US. What all these films demonstrate is that the image of women in sports is continually evolving. From the start of Dare to Compete when female athletes were almost unheard of to the present day, there has been change at every step of the way. Hopefully, by the time this century has ended, women will be able to assume their own personal identities, rather than being labeled as a certain 'type' simply because they are athletic. I think the progress we've seen so far is a great indicator that this may someday be possible.