The Image of Women in Sports Today

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The Image of Women in Sports Today

We live in a world that changes quickly, so it's no terrible surprise that the image of women in sports is changing quickly, as well. Relatively, it hasn't been that long since women were not even socially permitted to participate in sports or any kind of physical activity-- now, I dare say, it's nearly expected. There are still remnants of past gender-types, but overall I think the image of women in sports has changed dramatically.

It used to be that women were not allowed to participate in sports-- beyond just being seen as unbecoming and unfeminine, it was actually believed that physical activity would harm a woman's reproductive system. Men did not think that women should or could do the same things that men could do-- and maybe they were a little bit afraid to have women try, because of all the perceived notions that a success would shatter. But women tried anyway and, lo and behold, succeeded. So society had to face up to the fact that, yes, women could not only participate in sports, but they could excel at them.

The change didn't happen overnight, of course. Women worked their way into sports one by one, usually on a non-professional level, and it was usually only after women proved that they were not only good but very good at their chosen sport that they were allowed to participate on a professional level. I think this is one of the things that has carried over into women's sports even today-- or at least how they are portrayed. If a woman wants to play a sport, she is not allowed to be an average player-- she had to be as good as the best men, or better. Men get the respect of it being assumed that they're worthy to play a sport even if they're only an average player-- there...

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...d to look like have changed, and while I think that the change probably happened along with women entering into sports, I don't think that the change is necessarily acceptable.

I agree that women should be in touch with, and comfortable with, their bodies. But I don't think that a woman needs to go to the gym or run a mile every day to be comfortable with her body. And I don't think that it's necessary for a women to be skinny and muscled if that isn't her body type. Even today, society still has an image of the perfect woman-- and just because it has changed, doesn't mean it has gotten any better. Sports and physical activity can be places where a woman meets goals and surpasses expectations-- but I don't think they have to be. And if a woman is going to meet goals and surpass expectations, I don't think they should be anyone's goals or expectations but her own.

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