Gender Stereotypes within Sports
Mainly men play sports. Graceful little girls and dykes play sports too. There is no room for anyone in the middle. However they do not play the same sports, these three groups of people. The manly men play football, rugby, hockey, they box and lift weights. The dykes can play any sport because their breaking of the genderized sports barrier can be chalked up to the fact that they are lesbians, not real women anyway. Graceful little girls, they are the ones we can admire, they are the gymnasts, the ice skaters and the synchronized swimmers. Female athletes as they should be are epitomized in these little girls. These lines and more are what society has been fed concerning appropriate sports for men and women. Because of women's long time exclusion from sport, the games became gendered. Women still wear skirts in many sports; the rules of some games such as lacrosse are different for men and women. Muscles are sexy on men but a hotly debated issue on women. But what happens when the men want to wear the skirts and the women want to step into the ring? In most cases unfortunately there are bad repercussions along with the good ones. Sexuality is called into question when members of either sex compete in an unconventional sport. In the case of women, they are constantly compared to men, not being as fast or strong, therefore undermining their game and style. However, every time a man puts on skirt for a field hockey match, or a woman laces up her cleats for a football game despite society's ill will, all humans benefit.
When a man disregards the social pressure he feels to be on a field competing and decides instead to stand on the sidelines and cheer, many issues arise. While male cheerleadi...
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...We live in a culture that is dominated by sports. A favorite baseball player would be more readily named than the president as a child's hero. Just as the physical education department in the 1920's inadvertently created a problem we are still fighting when they insisted on keeping women separate and therefore suspect to lesbianism, reversing that notion of some sports for girls and some for boys will better society on a whole. Freeing women of the burden of being suspected of lesbianism every time they pick up a ball or bat will open up opportunities for girls all over the country. And when men are allowed to follow their desire for sport, be it through baseball or cheerleading it will help break down the rigid rules of masculinity that exist today. As one varsity male cheerleader said, "Any man can hold a cheerleader's hand, but only the elite can hold her feet."
The wallpaper in her bedroom is a hideous yellow. "It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others" (pg 393) The wallpaper is symbolic of the sickness the author has by the end of the story. Yellow is often a color associated with illness. It’s been suggested that she herself was clawing at the paper during moments of insanity. But there are many times when she is sane, and sees the marks on the wallpaper, and she writes about how others who had spent time in this room tried to remove the paper as well.
Segura, Liliana. "Attica At 40." Nation 293.13 (2011): 8. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
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).
The theory applies to this region mainly – as mentioned before – because of the many alliances formed and broken for the 63 years that “turned the Italian peninsula into the battleground of Europe.” The primary motor behind these alliances...
...eaders of a dominant happiness in the civilized state. In the savage state, men are like machines performing the actions necessary for self-preservation, but civility offers the chance to loosen the grip on their comfortable nature and delve into the unknown, providing them with genuine happiness. The introduction of desires, inequality and government strip man of his oblivion and cast him down an irreversible, yet promising path. Despite the innumerable changes man has undergone, one statement applies to both the savage and civilized man; “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change” (Darwin).
Italy’s national self image was disjointed in the past and remains this way today. According to Neapolitan historian Luigi Blanch, “The patriotism of the Italians is like that of ancient Greeks, and is love of a single town, not of a country; it is the feeling of a tribe not of a nation. Only by foreign conquest have they ever been united. Leave them to themselves and they split into fragments.” (Koellhoffer) In “Conflicting Identity is Part of Italy’s History”, Patriarca, who grew up in the region of Piedmont says “The Northern League has attacked the idea of Italian unity by asserting that the south is different and a burden on the population.” Patriarca agrees with Blanch that there is no unity and blames the northern part of the country. She claims that the north is responsible for splitting the nation after the Cold War due to economical differences. (Sassi) However, there has been occasional unity. Unity can be brought about by a strong leader like Machivelli or Dante. Many people still will not join even the strongest political leader in order to support their country beca...
Thomas, Deborah. "The Changing Role of Womanhood: From True Woman to New Woman in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”." Gilman, "Yellow Wallpaper" Florida Gulf Coast University, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
According to an article written by Matt Goodwin called the, “Think Quest,” in 1861 Italy became a nation-state when the regional states of Peninsula, Sardinia, and Sicily became united. These states were united under the authority of King Victor Emmanuel II in the 1920s. When Benito Mussolini was established a Fascist dictatorship, the era of parliamentary government came to a close because a new alliance was formed with Hitler’s Germany. This new alliance with Nazi Germany led Benito Mussolini and Italy to its defeat during World War II. After Italy’s defeat in World War II, a democratic republic took over the old monarchy in 1946, giving way to a new economic revival. Italy became a charter member of NATO in 1949 and part of the European Economic Community in 1957. In 1999 after joining with the Economic and Monetary Union, Italy has been at the forefront of European economics and political unification (Matt Goodwin).
As the Arab Spring enters its second year, major uprisings and revolts have occurred all over the Middle East, pushing for an end to the corrupt autocratic rule and an expansion of civil liberties and political rights. Most recently, images from Syria have emerged, depicting the government’s use of force to suppress the voice of its people. One might ask, “Is this the beginning of a revolution? Is the country on the path to democracy?” To assess this question and examine the future trends in the region, one must look back on the country’s somewhat tumultuous history, the relationship between the citizens and the state, and the political economy.
In late 1947, the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war over the valley of Kashmir. A United Nations brokered ceasefire divided the state into Indian and Pakistani controlled territories, and resolved that a referendum would be held in which the people of Kashmir would be able to choose to join either country. The referendum has not been held to this day. India granted its portion of Kashmir a special status within its constitution, allowing for a great degree of self-autonomy. However, successive Kashmiri governments have been dissolved by the government of India, and elections have only been held in the presence of its armed forces. In 1965, Pakistan and India waged a second indecisive war over Kashmir. In the 1980s, resistance within Kashmir itself against the Indian government took on a violent nature, with guerilla attacks against Indian army bases. India responded with heavy army clampdowns, and since then the situation has only escalated and get worse. It is estimated that well over 34,000 people have died within the valley, and the relations between the two countries have become increasingly acrimonious. India blames Pakistan for the militant uprising, claiming Islamabad is supporting cross border terrorism. Pakistan responds that it merely provides diplomatic and moral support arguing, furthermore, that India’s history of human rights abuses in the valley is to blame. With both countries now in possession of nuclear arms; the recent war in KARGIL and the increasing number of civilian deaths, refugees, and other human rights issues within Kashmir, the conflict seems to be taking on a more serious nature. In this paper I will discuss the Kashmir conflict in some depth, examining the problem in...
The most threatening conflict between Hindus and Muslims is the province of Kashmir. This is where the decision to divide India into India and Pakistan seems to have been a terrible mistake. Kashmir, which is the only Muslim majority city in India, lies between the divided India and Pakistan. After India’s independence in the 1940’s, Kashmir had to choose to either unite with India or Pakistan. The Prince of Kashmir chose India but Pakistan invaded the province soon after and have occupied part of Kashmir since then. Controversy still surrounds the province today because naturally, Muslims want to control it. While many Muslims relocated to Pakistan and the Hindus to India, half of the Muslim population was left in India and their relations did not improve after being partially separated.
There is a distinct difference between popular Indian nationalism, that is the nation believing in a state independent of Britain, and Indian nationalist movements, for example the Muslim League or the Hindu revivalist movement. These movements fought for independence but were far more religiously orientated and were fighting in their own interests. Although Indian nationalism initially found expression in the Mutiny of 1857, its deve...
Kashmir — a beautiful mountain state with clear rivers, evergreen forests and one of the highest death rates in the world. It is at the center of an age-old dispute between Pakistan and India that has dragged on from the independence of both nations over fifty years ago to the present time, with no resolution in sight. The combined population of the two nation totals over a billion, so no conflict between them is of passing importance, especially when nuclear weapons are involved. Pakistan and India share a common heritage, language, and traditions, yet the subject of Kashmir can push them to the brink of annihilation. Fifty years of animosity have built up as a result. A proxy war still brews in Kashmir, claiming dozens of lives every day, running up a casualty total over time into the hundred thousands. Kashmiris have suffered untold horrors and Kashmir has the notorious reputation of being one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.
Even in recent times the action of war has been useful in condensing scattered elements of nationality, and in liberating subject populations. United Italy was formed directly or indirectly by the war of 1859, 1866, and 187O. The last war realised the dreams of German poets, and united the Teutonic nations more closely than the shrewdest statesmen could have conceived to be possible a few years ago. That same war, so calamitous for France, will yet regenerate that great country, and make her more prosperous than she has ever been. Th...