Introduction
Sport is an important element of British culture, and is one of the most popular leisure activities of British people. Sportsmen today are heroised when they break physical barriers, endure adverse conditions, overcome impossible obstacles and drive their bodies to limits. On the other hand heroines are defined differently – caring, kindness, motherliness and morality. According to these feminine characteristics, there is discrepancy in becoming a sporting heroine. Throughout the history of sport there have always been a small number of adventures women who have challenged gender roles, taken up “manly sports” and broken up records equal to those of male sporting heroes. But the public response has been ambivalent and women were labelled as “mannish“ or “freakish”.
According to that the central elements of this essay should be based upon the woman role in sports and how male domination over women rules through centuries also in sport. The essay is divided into six paragraphs under different titles, but including connected information about gender issues in sport. The first paragraph contents of basic information about gender and gender relations and also gives introduction into women`s empowerment in general and in sport. The following paragraph describes gender inequality and proves some examples of how women in sport were seen and norms which were included in women`s sports. In the third paragraph we find the information about history of sports and how women had to struggle to achieve their rights. The fourth paragraph implies the development in sport in Britain and what lead to achieving equality of opportunities. The following part provides theories by Althusser and Bourdieu. Their analyses are about sport...
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The report will refer to the sociological perspective of women’s sport in Australia which leads to the changes within women’s sport, Athletics at Brisbane Girls Grammar, women’s sport in the media and then an evaluation and recommendation on the topic ‘Women in Sport’.
When a woman or man joins a non-traditional sport for their gender or sex, it can have drastic social and cultural costs. These impact not just the individual but also the entire community. When a person challenges the gender roles of society, then they change the perceptions of what men or women are capable of doing, they further androgynize cultural norms, and they open up sports for others.
For this assignment, I am going to analyze 3 different articles relating to how gender has had an impact on sport through history and how this has affected sport in the modern society.
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).
It is more common to see men’s football or baseball games on TV rather than seeing women’s games. In fact, Desbordes explains, “in the world’s major sports such as soccer, NFL, basketball, baseball, gulf, rugby and cricket, it is men’s code that has mass exposure and indeed un many cases there are no professional leagues for women,” which is a proof that American society, in general, does not fully appreciate female athletes and underestimate their capacity (1). Also, spectatorship is more expected in male games rather than in women ones and therefore gains are expected to be higher for business when they sponsor men athletes. In “Women See Lack of Respect, Parity in Sports Coverage” Gibbons explains that the “lack of strength” as well as the prejudice of female athletes’ poor performance contribute to the idea that their events are not worthy (3). Nevertheless, women can be as capable as men of achieving great results in their sports. One of the examples are the Williams sisters, both professional tennis players who have showed an excellent condition and technique at this sport rising the standards for other players. Certainly, the belief of men superiority at sports persists in American society and it is discouraging prospective female
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).
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair. Sport speaks to people in a language they can understand.” Nelson Mandela. Sport contributes to community identity, serving as a focal point for engagement, pride, and achievement. The diversity of sports and sporting activities (including social sport and physical recreation) makes it an ideal medium to reach men and women from every age-group, culture, and socio-economic background. The broader benefits of sports go beyond the personal benefits derived from participation. Sport is a popular focal point
Connell states that masculinity is the end result of socialization and can, therefore, differ according to gender relations in regards to particular social settings (West, pg. 2, 2011). Historically sport has been an ideal means of addressing questions and concerns regarding hegemonic masculinity. Within the Western World, sports have been regarded as the most masculine institution, regardless of the recent progress within female involvement in sports, it is still largely organized, reported and run by men. The growth and development of organized sports since the turn of the 19th century, can be seen by some, as a means for men to regain the wavering ideology of male dominance after the integration of women into the labour force (West, pg. 5, 2011). Previous to the First World War, women were not eligible to work and were expected to stay and keep watch over the home while the husband was the bread maker. This all changed when men went to war leaving no other option than to employ women to work within the factories. As some might assume, this did not necessarily sit well with men as they had always been the ones making a living, and in some ways, by women entering the workforce, they felt as though they had been
Nelson Mandela once said that sports have the power “to change the world… to inspire… to unite people” (Carlin et al., 2008). He said this in 1995 before the rugby World Cup, which help to unite an apartheid stricken country.
The first perspective is that women are disadvantaged at any sport. Some people reiterate the difference of men and women in sports. This is influenced by strength and the natural power men hold, comparable to women. Rodriguez questions “Is this because female athletes don’t have what it takes to make it in the world of sports or could it be more of a social issue?” This perspective seems to be a social issue based on the notable skills women acquire vs. the apparent judgments of gender issues. The second perspective is the idea that women deserve and inherently earn their right of equal attention and equal pay. “Sometimes, the secret to equality is not positive discrimination, it 's equal terms. It 's the shrug of the shoulders that says "what 's the difference?" The moment worth aspiring for is not seeing people celebrate the world-class female cricketer who competes at comparatively low-level male professional cricket, but the day when people are aware that she does, and don 't find it notable at all” (Lawson). Lawson makes it a point to confirm the biased notions against women in sports and relay an alternative worth working toward and fighting for. Both outlooks can be biased but only one has factual evidence to back it up. The second perspective reviews an ongoing gender issue. This problem is welcome for change depending on society’s
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.
Krane, V. (2001). We can be athletic and feminine, but do we want to? Challenging hegemonic femininity in women's sport. Quest, 53,115-133.
Whether its baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or tennis, sports is seen all over the world as a representation of one’s pride for their city, country, and even continent. Sports is something that is valued world-wide which has the ability to bring communities together and create different meanings, beliefs and practices between individuals. Although many people may perceive sports to have a significant meaning within our lives, it can also have the ability to separate people through gender inequalities which can also be represented negatively throughout the media. This essay will attempt to prove how gender is constructed in the sports culture while focusing on female athletes and their acceptance in today’s society.
Referring to slide two Nelson Mandela once said that “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.” Sport is one of the biggest and strongest unifiers in the world. Although there may be certain issues within a country or the world such as political affiliations, gender, race and ideologies, sport always seems to bring people closer regardless of the current issues at hand.
Although women have been accepted within the participation in sports and physical activity, there is still constant controversy surrounding the topic of whether or not female sports can be “considered a ‘real’ sport” (Hall, M. Ann, 2007, pg. 56) or if the female participants can be “viewed as ‘real’ women” (Hall, M. Ann, 2007, pg. 56). This is due to the fact that sports and physical activity has invariably been viewed as strictly for males, to aid in validating their masculinity. It is constantly vocalized that sports considered to be ‘feminine’ ones such as