Women and Sports
As it becomes increasingly acceptable for women to be athletic in American culture, a new question arises: in which sports should women be allowed to participate? From a physiological standpoint, it has been scientifically proven that female bodies do not differ significantly enough from male bodies to prevent them from participation in any "male" sports. This division between "male" and "female" sports clearly stems from age-old, socially constructed norms of femininity and masculinity. When women attempt to challenge these societal molds by participating in sports that are traditionally male, the intricate web of norms is disrupted. Like many other instances where traditional social constructions are tinkered with, individuals and communities are forced to reevaluate how they think about and categorize their surroundings. I would argue that women's participation in athletics, especially in non-traditional sports, is instrumental in breaking down stereotypes and social confines that have plagued women for centuries
As social theorist Nancy Fraser explains in her book Justice Interruptus, men have been historically considered to be the "universal breadwinners."* In other words, a man's responsibility was to succeed in the public sphere, working outside of the home to financially support his family. The term "universal breadwinner" also speaks to the male's role in sport. It was considered acceptable for the man of the house to be competitive in sport just as he was in the workplace, and to bring home recognition or a medal as he would an income.
Women, however, have had the very different role of the "universal caretaker." This translates into the woman being responsible for all that is within the privat...
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...ure they once loathed. When these women reach their senior year, they walk with an air of confidence in their bodies, their strength, and who they have become. And the silent freshman who was recruited to be a coxswain four years earlier is now running the show. Now she leads all of those who used to intimidate her.
Just as these mindsets were quickly adopted by incoming freshman rowers, they will begin to spread to classmates and co-workers, and eventually breakdown the rigid lines that divide feminine and masculine roles today. Hopefully, the next generation of young girls can aspire to be whomever they want, without the gender prejudices imposed on those who came before them.
* "universal breadwinners" is a term used by Nancy Fraser in "Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the 'Postsocialist' Condition" (New York, NY: Routledge, 1997) pp. 51-62.
It goes without saying that a person's gender, racial and social origins influence their participation in sports. Particular races and genders often dominate certain sports. African Americans, for example, tend to dominate football and basketball, while Caucasians tend to dominate ice hockey. The same holds true for gender as well. Football is an entirely male dominated sport, while horseback riding, gymnastics and figure skating are much more female oriented. How and why did these divisions come about? Determining the origin of gender goes beyond the scope of this paper, however one can speculate about how gender classifications and stereotypes affect one's role in the sports arena.
Female educators in the early 1900’s strived to control the participation of women in sport, establishing certain constraints in order to maintain a male-dominated sports sphere. Athletic activity was healthy; yet too much athletic activity was rigorous and harmful to the female body. At the same time, though, these educators made a point to stress the presence of femininity in sport—which directly contributed to the introduction of sexuality into sport. If the educators of the early 1900’s did not have such an overbearing presence in female sport, maybe there would be no discussion about the swimming suit modeling of Amanda Beard, or the sexy, controversial, eccentric outfits Serena Williams shows off while playing at Wimbledon.
Each day that goes by there is a politician or journalist arguing about social security, the plans for saving it, and the repercussions of said plans. These topics are constantly flowing through newspapers, internet sites, online journals, and economic journals as well as many other forms of media. The major topic of discussion is the plan put forth by the current administration to reform social security, or more specifically, privatize it. There is no correct argument or correct opinion on how the situation with social security should be handled. Unfortunately, the government has the power in their hands to do with it as they see fit. Presented in this paper are numerous articles stating the condition of social security and specific problems with the way social security stands today.
“The past three decades have witnessed a steady growth in women's sports programs in America along with a remarkable increase in the number of women athletes (Daniel Frankl 2)” From an early age women were thought to be “Lady Like”; they are told not to get all sweaty and dirty. Over 200 years since Maud Watson stepped on the tennis courts of Wimbledon (Sports Media Digest 3); women now compete in all types and levels of sports from softball to National racing. Soccer fans saw Mia Hamm become the face of women’s soccer around the world, Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most popular figures in tennis, and Indy car racing had their first woman racer, Danika Patrick. With all the fame generated by these women in their respective sports, they still don’t receive the same compensation as the men in their respective sports fields.
Social Security has played a major role in supporting the elderly as well as sick and disabled financially for many years. However, we do not know how long this will last their are many problems facing social security and the funding of it with the population continuing to grow more and more people are taking advantage of social security. The main problem is people who do not really need the help and free income of social security abusing it making the government actually spend more than they actually putting into the social security fund. In this paper I will not only discuss the problems surrounding social security but also solutions in which could not only help better social security but also make it available for generations to come.
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.
It has taken many years for women to gain a semblance of equality in sports. Throughout history, women have been both excluded from playing sports and discriminated against in sports. Men’s sports have always dominated the college athletic field, but women were finally given a fighting chance after Title IX was passed. Title IX, among other things, requires scholarships to be equally proportioned between men and women’s sports. Although this was a huge gain for women, gender inequality still exists in sports today. An example of this persisting inequality can be seen when looking at men’s baseball and women’s softball. In college, baseball and softball are both major NCAA sports. It is widely accepted throughout today’s society that baseball is a man’s sport, and softball is a woman’s sport. Very few people question why the two sexes are separated into two different sports, or wonder why women play softball instead of baseball. Fewer people know that women have been essentially excluded from playing baseball for a long time. This paper will focus on why softball has not changed the way women’s basketball has, why women continue to play softball, the possibilities and dynamics of women playing baseball with and without men, and the most discriminating aspect of women being banned from playing professional baseball.
Delinquent acts are influenced by “the absence of the father from the home [and] is related to the child's inability to tolerate delayed reward or gratification when offered by a male adult in an experimental setting. (McDavid & McCandless, 1962)” It is an educated assumption that insufficient child-rearing and parental relationships can shape a teen’s life, predisposing them to risky behavior such as delinquent acts, early sexual behavior, and poor academic performance. McDavid and McCandless also state, “School itself seldom provides satisfactory outlets or experiences of success for the delinquent. It is possible that many delinquent acts may spring directly from the frustration of boredom.” Teens’ attitudes about risk-taking behavior are evident in their decisions about their sexual behavior, as well. According to Kowaleski-Jones, L., & Mott, these teens are more likely to:
Did you know that every 9 seconds a women is being beaten or assaulted? It is known that around the world, at least one and every three women has been beaten into having sex or some rudely thing in her entire lifetime. There are many cases where the abuser is a family member. Domestic violence is that the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sex crime, and different abusive behavior perpetrated by an intimate partner against another. It is a virulent disease touching people in each community, notwithstanding age, economic standing, race, religion, status or academic background. Violence against girls is usually amid showing emotion abusive and dominant behavior, and so is a component of a scientific pattern of dominance and management. Violence ends up in physical injury, psychological trauma, and typically death. The implications of violence will cross generations and actually last a period. Domestic Violence affects all races, ethnicities, and genders. It happens in qualitative analysis relationships, in marriages, in heterosexual relationships, and in homosexual relationships. Most times it is prevalent among girls, particularly migrant girls.
Proponents of privatization say that workers should have the freedom to control their own retirement investments and that private accounts will give retirees higher returns than the current system can offer, leading to a restoration of the system's solvency ("Privatizing Social Security - ProCon.org”). In reality, however, Social Security was made in order for people to earn the right to participate by working and contributing. The program was never meant to be an investment program. With broader policy goals than private retirement plans, its intent is to provide guaranteed income to seniors, disabled citizens, survivors, and their families. Privatization would severely undermine this system. In addition, many individuals lack the knowledge to make wise investment decisions. Consequently, privatization will do nothing to address the program's approaching loss of money or solve its insolvency. Therefore, Social Security should be neither partially or fully
Sports, in general, are a male dominated activity; every “real” male is suppose to be interested and/or involved in sports in the American society. However, it is not expected of a female to be interested in sports and there is less pressure on them to participate in physically enduring activities. These roles reflect the traditional gender roles imposed on our society that men are supposed to be stronger and dominant and females are expected to be submissive. As Michael Kimmel further analyzes these gender roles by relating that, “feminism also observes that men, as a group, are in power. Thus with the same symmetry, feminism has tended to assume that individually men must feel powerful” (106).
In philosophy, the critical analysis on the relationship between the brain and mind is known the mind body problem. The following schools of thought have tried to solve the mind body problem. Dualism, this school of thought subscribes to the belief that the mind and brain exist independently of each other. Other dualists deny the fact that the mind is a part of the brain. This is because the mind and brain don’t share same
There are various health traditions and customs in Indian culture. Our traditional lifestyle is oriented towards herbal medicines. Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Herbal medicines, and Yoga are some other health tradition used in treating diseases. Indigenous or traditional medical practitioners continue to practice throughout the country. The two main forms of traditional medicine practiced are the ayurvedic (meaning science of life) system, which deals with causes, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment based on all aspects of well-being (mental, physical, and spiritual), and the unani (so-called Galenic medicine) herbal medical practice. A vaidya is a practitioner of the ayurvedic tradition, and a hakim (Arabic for a Muslim physician) is a practitioner of the unani tradition. These professions are frequently hereditary ("Health Care in India", n. d.). Traditional healers used herbal medicine to prevent and treat diseases. Yoga is an ancient art of healthy living practiced by saints in India. Yoga is the integration of body, mind, and soul. Practicing yoga regularly helps peop...
Ayurveda is the science of knowledge, which has been practiced for more than 5000 years. Ayurveda further states that, every person is made up of five basic elements or the Pancha Mahabhuta- which includes; earth, air, water, fire and space (ether), which reside in every person in such a way that they determine his physical and mental traits and shape their overall personality.
Ayurveda is a consciousness-based approach to health. With Ayur meaning life and Veda meaning knowledge or science, Ayurveda is about the science or knowledge of life. It promotes a lifestyle for achieving optimal overall health or “holistic health”. It is an ancient system of healing that originated in India, and is the oldest practiced health care system in the world that is still being used until this day. Ayurveda helps us live in balance with the rest of the earth in the most harmonious way possible.