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Sexism in sport
Underrepresentation of women in sport
Sexism in sport
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Sport aerobics is a new exiting performance sport, and like any new sport, is seeking recognition and acceptance as a valuable and worthwhile competitive activity. It is said however, that Sport Aerobics will always struggle for popular support because of pre-existing stereotyped views of sport in Australian society. The purpose of this essay is to challenge stereotyped views of sport in Australian society in order to increase participation in Sport Aerobics. To do this a proposed strategy will be implemented at Nambour High School to challenge stereotyped views of sport and breakdown social barriers to the participation in Sport Aerobics. This strategy involves including Sport Aerobics as a compulsory activity in the junior school physical …show more content…
The existence of hegemonic power related to gender roles in sport limits the participation of students in Sport Aerobics. This hypothesis is supported by the data gathered from a survey that 24 Nambour High students took (Appendix 1). The survey included 2 female and male students from each year level. This survey revealed that only 16% of students have participated in Sport Aerobics and the majority of the students were from the senior year levels. When the students were asked what gender Sport Aerobics is for over half the students said both male and female. However, 37% of the students said that Sport Aerobics is for women only and 6 out the 9 students that answered women were male meaning that the majority of male students believe that Sport Aerobics is a feminine sport. None of the students believed that Sport Aerobics is an only male sport. Seventy percent of students throughout all the year levels believe that men are stronger than women. The only students that said women were female themselves. It is fixed in to student’s minds that men are stronger than women because of the lack of recognition to female athletes on the media. Students only see strong male athletes such as rugby league players presented on the media. This accounts for the 70% of students that do not watch any women’s sport and the only students that do were female. This result is due to the lack of women role models in the
A course in the sociology of sport and physical activity should be part of an undergraduate curriculum in a kinesiology program because social issues that impact sports and athletes are often overlooked within kinesiology program despite playing an important role within sports. Kinesiology programs tend to focus on the impact of sport and importance of sport and physical activity and could use the insight that sociology of sport and physical activity can provide. The more we know about the social issues around sport and physical activity, and how to limit them, the more we can understand sport and how to improve it and the equality within it.
There has been a link between media coverage and the indulgence of girls in sporting activities in schools. This is primarily because television and other media show sports as a preserve of men. As a result, there are few females in the sporting activities on media. Hence, female students never have role models to ape in sports. Boys find several sources of, motivation to participate in sports.
The Australian curriculum assessment and reporting authority (ACARA) contains high morals for valuing movement in the health and physical curriculum. Valuing movement is the third of the five propositions to deliver this commitment in the ACARA curriculum. Learning objectives have been situated to increase the participation of children in physical activity. It is to encourage ongoing participation throughout one’s life. Valuing movement focuses on students developing movement skills with confidence and competence. The Australian curriculum and reporting authorities, (2013) allows opportunities for students to enhance a range of social and personal skills, through chal...
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.
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
Male or female, choosing a sport is a hard decision for both Men and women. This is because society has structured Males and Females to take part in different roles in sport. This is also shown at our volleyball lessons. It is known that men are more aggressive and involved than women in sport (McManus). This helps me realise and represent that boys are more involved in sport than women because of how society
High School, a place where most talents are revealed and where opportunities are offered/ taken, a place that determines young Australians views towards sports, and the on-going process of producing young Australian athletes. However with the young teenager’s misconception of what an athlete “looks” like they start to compare their self image to that of what the media portrays, which is your typical skinny, lean and handsome/pretty model. This causes a low level of self confidence within an individual as this is focused on the individual level. The cultural level of Figueroa’s framework plays a big part in upbringing of an individual into society. With Wavell’s culture typical stereotypes that continue to...
Society shapes and influence equity in and access to sport. The way this links to European Handball is that it is not a popular sport, which is another reason it is not implemented into StAC within an earlier grade. It is not an Australian sport, not many people have the correct knowledge about the sport and have probably never heard about it unlike rugby and netball. Stated by the name of the sport, it is recognised in Europe, mainly; Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The effect it has on the acceptance at St Augustine’s College is that it’s a marginalized sport not a cultured sport and has been marginalized within St Augustine’s College because there is no Seca days or fixtures for the sport. Australians are serious when it comes to sport as it unifies them as a society. Once a sport has shown popularity sports without the dominance and popularity will be pushed to the side for the popular sports to be focused on. Society influences which sport people participate in because of the ideals within one’s culture. ("Cultural Influences on Equity and Sports Participation | Gender Role | Masculinity", 2018) Before grade 10, students had never played the sport unless within a club, which is not likely as there is one handball club in Queensland (Handball Queensland). In the past, society has seen sport as a male dominate structure, as present times evolve females are getting a look in which is expanding the values and expectations of the sport within society and in St Augustine’s College. European handball gaining acceptance into St Augustine’s College, has a barrier of recognition, education, and attitudes towards the game
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).
In a society where the sports marketing industry predominantly targeted men, Nike sought to go against the status quo and empower young girls to encourage them to participate in sports. Nike identifies the social issues of gender inequality by attacking the stereotype that young girls should not be encouraged to engage in physical in sports. The campaign identifies that young women will have a greater self-esteem and self-confidence if involved in sports.
Women’s participation in sport is at an all-time high and has almost become equal to men’s, however. Sports media does not fail to show this equality and skews the way we look at these athletes. Through the disciplines of sociology and gender studies, it can be seen that despite the many gains of women in sports since the enactment of Title IX, “traditional” notions of masculinity and femininity still dominate media coverage of males and females in sports, which is observed in Olympic programming and sports news broadcasts. Sociology is a growing discipline and is an important factor in the understanding of different parts of society. Sociology is “a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and change them” (Faris and Form P1).
“With the exception of nutrition, more fallacies exist in the area of exercise than in any other area of health” (Dintiman, Stone, Pennington, & Davis, 1984). Exercise produces significant physical and mental benefits and is extremely vital to life. It substantially improves stamina, strengthens and tones muscles, helps prevent diseases, enhances flexibility, controls weight, and prolongs the quality of life. In order to gain all the benefits from exercise and be truly healthy, it is very important to understand and take action with both types of exercise: anaerobic and aerobic. With the combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise, an individual will greatly increase their overall health and wellness significantly.
The Department of Health (2004) state in a recent report that Sport and physical activity can help decrease the likelihood of developing diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes by up to 50%, furthermore the report states that physical activity can reduce the risk of suffering a premature death by approximately 20-30%. These staggering statistics demonstrate the powerful impact physical activity can have in regards to combating health risks in the UK. The benefits to health that derive from adherence in physical activity and sport are overwhelming, however, health is not the only benefit to be obtained from an active society. Sullivan, C. (1998. cited in Collins and Kay, 2003) found that sport can help to encourage the growth of community, family and personal cohesion as well as help reduce intensity of youth delinquency. From the observations made in this paragraph it is feasible to suggest that having an active nation will result in a wide spectrum of benefits.
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.
Over the past decades our culture has changes dramatically. To which our nation was once a physically active nation. Yet now it seems that society discourages physical activity. The human race has been dependent on automobiles, discouraging people to walk or bike, increasing the chance of a poor life-style. Yet there are many factors that affect the achievement and maintenance of a healthy life. Young people are growing into a diverse society, which is characterized by rapid change, inactive work and leisure practices that influence unhealthy behaviors. By incorporating physical activity into peoples daily routine will increase their chances of being healthier, reducing certain diseases and learning how to avoid injuries. Physical education helps students improve their knowledge about health issues and practices that will lead to a more enjoyable life. Students playing and working in a team together develop social skills, teamwork, achieving goals, and development of self-esteem. Overall physical education provides the potential for a better life style.