A Thousand Voices
I cannot speak for the rest of the world, consisting of girly girls and manly men, but I can speak for myself. Virginia Woolf is right on target in saying that every human being has a male half and a female half-I believe this because I am a living example; I think we all are. Julie always gives me scornful looks when I come to lunch from from gym with a red face, and an exhausted yet satisfied expression. "You've been playing floor hockey again, haven't you!?" she belligerently but playfully accuses. I then proceed to disgust her with my tales of how I almost scored a goal, got hit in the ribs by a speeding puck (and boy was it great!), knocked over a guy, stopped the puck mid-air. She rolls her eyes for two reasons: one, because I actually participate in gym period, and two, because floor hockey is generally a "guy thing."
Now, before I go any further, I want to cover myself. I'm not saying that the aggression and rough and tumble of floor hockey is an exclusively masculine trait, and that I , a girl, would be exploring my "male half" by partaking in the game. It is society that chooses which qualities may be dubbed male and which are female, and it is society that makes Julie and most of my other friends, and even the other guys down at the gym think it strange for a woman to enjoy such a brute sport. Virginia Woolf may be forced to call things either male or female in order to speak society's language. I think she's on to something in that there is a little everything residing in all of us-it's just a matter of whether or not we choose to embrace it all. I'm not a brute force all the time (although some would beg to differ), but I bring that side of me out whenever I go for the puck, or whenever I spar in martial arts. Maybe it's not "the man" in me, it's just the fighter; maybe Virginia Woolf says male and female half when she really means all-encompassing human whole.
Another conflict that results from this manifestation of all human qualities within me also deals with male and female stereotypes.
In the beginning of Anthem, Equality 7-2521 commits a sin, a sin that everyone knows they are not to perform. Equality 7-2521 broke both rules with a sentence consisting of seven words in his diary. "It is a sin to write this," were his first thoughts. This was the very start of Equality 7-2521's break through development. Luckily for him, he was not caught committing this sin. Equality 7-2521 and International 4-8818 found an underground tunnel. This is where Equality 7-2521 spends a lot of his time thinking for himself, and finding ways to bring his society from everything being "we," to people being able to relate to an "I," like "The Unmentionable Times" unspeakable word.
In this autobiography of Anne Moody a.k.a. Essie Mae as she is often called in the book, is the struggles for rights that poor black Americans had in Mississippi. Things in her life lead her to be such an activist in the fight for black equality during this time. She had to go through a lot of adversity growing up like being beat, house being burned down, moving to different school, and being abuse by her mom's boyfriend. One incident that would make Anne Moody curious about racism in the south was the incident in the Movie Theater with the first white friends she had made. The other was the death of Emmett Tillman and other racial incidents that would involve harsh and deadly circumstances. These this would make Miss Moody realize that this should not be tolerated in a free world.
The story of Anne's childhood must be appreciated in order to understand where her drive, inspiration, and motivation were born. As Anne watches her parents go through the tough times in the South, Anne doesn't understand the reasons as to why their life must this way. In the 1940's, at the time of her youth, Mississippi built on the foundations of segregation. Her mother and father would work out in the fields leaving Anne and her siblings home to raise themselves. Their home consisted of one room and was in no comparison to their white neighbors, bosses. At a very young age Anne began to notice the differences in the ways that they were treated versus ...
Ice hockey, a sport that has been in existence for over two hundred years, has become a fan favorite across the globe. From Canada to Sweden, you will be able to find some of the best ice hockey players in the world; both male and female. This pastime has instilled a unique tradition throughout the years of its practice by a combination of both physical skill and mental strength. Although it did not provide aid to globalization, it has created a worldwide culture that many people are proud to be a part of. Since its inception until now, there has been a great deal of gender stereotyping concerning the sport. Regardless, ice hockey will continue to be a lucrative market, as well as a cherished hobby for many years to come.
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.
Do I sacrifice my ‘womanly attributes’ by making the choice to ski down a mountain with a 3000+ vertical drop, while traveling at 50-60 mph? Does my choice to do squats and engage in strength training, or my desire to do 300 sit-ups each night in order to achieve a six-pack, make me less of a woman? Is it odd that I do not enjoy displaying polite, ladylike behavior during every second of my existence? I do not think so. Society today would not exactly agree either, yet society today is far different from the early 1920’s. Today, the desirable female body image is not necessarily a thin, dainty woman. At some point in history, though, something went terribly wrong. Women were conditioned to drink tea and mingle socially over snacks while knitting. The progression for women in sports has been slow, and women still have a long way to go in order to achieve the towering status of men’s sport. Although times have changed since the 1920’s, women continue to struggle with issues of the past—the notion of “mannishness” and the characteristics that compose the ideal female athlete.
While reading the article in the Sports Illustrated publication I assess the topic about men being able to play field hockey with other women. Many of the people that live in the western Massachusetts area oppose allowing men to play at the woman’s level. I do agree in permitting men to play field hockey on a girl’s high school team. I think that the boys that are talked about in the article are honest to goodness field hockey players who simply have no alternative than to participate in the only field hockey location they have near the high school. The boys are not in to try and impress all the girls nor for the minute of fame, or to flaunt their masculinity against physically smaller players. This high school student seems to have a strait forward love for the game and people around him are tuning in on the fact that he is a boy on a girl’s team. Another thing is that Sherburne and Bell have been portrayed as bullies, or as the author of the article sees them as, "hulking teen-age piles of testosterone." This slander is extremely unfair to the men and no matter which side of the spectrum you are on each person have their different views of what he or she thinks is right. They have been portrayed as misusing their state's equal rights amendment and have taken the boys to court many times to only have the judge deem them the right to play field hockey with the girls. Other surrounding states have had court rule that no male can play field hockey with females.
Girls are told to stay indoors and play with their dolls or bake, while boys are encouraged to go outdoors, get dirty, and be adventurous. Wade and Ferree also state “sports are squarely on the masculine side of the gender binary” (Wade and Ferree, 174). Hence, we are brought up with the understanding that playing and talking about sports is a boy’s thing, which further promotes the notion that sports are a very masculine thing. Furthermore, as playing sports is competitive and is a way to show excellence, young boys are considered as “real boys” and “real men” later on. However, when boys do not talk about or play sports, they are considered feminine or “not real men.” The same rule applies for young girls. If young girls are too into sports, they are considered to be “too masculine.” This is true for me too. When I was younger, I was told to not play too much outdoors and to behave “like a girl.” The stigma that only boys should be allowed to play sports and it is not a feminine thing needs to be erased for us to welcome a more gender-equal
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
The fight for women's ice hockey players to earn respect and acceptance has been hard fought over the past one hundred years. Women have constantly been told that they can not play with men and that there sport is a second rate version of the men's game. The road of women's ice hockey has had many ups and downs but has perservered to the present day and is stronger than it has ever been. The future of women's ice hockey is bright thanks to diligence and hard work of those who kept it all going. Ironically women began playing the sport side by side with men over 100 years ago right at the sports inception. One of the oldest action pictures featuring ice hockey shows men playing with women. Part of the reason that women enjoyed early participation with men is because of the way that the public viewed the game. At the start, hockey was seen as a recreational activity. Women have been routinely barred from participating in serious and competitive sport, but if the game is viewed as merely recreational then women are more accepted. In the 1890's this is what happened to the sport of ice hockey. Suddenly the game was more than recreation and organization entered, rules were drawn and leagues were formed. With the new structure came segregation of the sexes. As the sport progressed for the men, the women were left behind. In spite of all this, the first all female organized game was played in Barrie, Ontario in 1892. Women's ice hockey slowly limped on up until the 1920's.
In the mid-19th century women did not play sport due to the idea that it was seen as too masculine and they needed to remain delicate and feminine, so it was exclusively for men (Else, 2012). However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, it became attractive for women to be out exercising and gaining a ‘healthy glow’, and many were gaining interest in the idea (Else, 2012). The majority of people did not approve of this though, and there was strong opposition when women tried sports such as rugby and cricket. Women engaging in sport such as these that were already strongly associated with men were seen as making themselves overly masculine and disrupting the stability between the male and female genders (Else,
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).
Since sports and athletics have been brought into our society it has always been gender specific. For example, it is seen that males should be playing the rough and tough sports or athletics such as rugby and football, whereas the women should be participating in less competitive sports and athletics such as swimming, or running. Can you imagine that the world population of women is around forty-nine percent and they still aren’t given the same opportunities or respect as men? Being a women in the twenty-first century playing one of those “non-traditional” sports is a tough task for these women. The women who choose to do so are usually questioned about their sexuality and
The text Mariah Burton Nelson, “I Won, I’m Sorry” is centered on the culture of women cannot or should not masculine men. The gender is going to affect the other people feeling. Even though, women who are able to make it on finally step on things. All the people will assume women are loser. Nelson gives us a few examples from the book. Like many women do not want to be taller than their boyfriend or husband. That’s seems to be what society expects from couples, for the man to be taller the woman. Nelson also mentions how sports like cheerleading, volleyball and figure skating are all considered feminine sports, while men dominate the physically demanding sports like football and wrestling. Of course, sports are not the only place where women
...ey are both burdened by the stereotypes and branded as the inferior gender at varying intensities. The two authors were able to raise the awareness of how gender typing has caused conflicts in women’s inner self and character.