Although the social costs to the individual participating in the non-traditional sport are many, the benefits, if played well and correctly, can be and are quite plentiful as well. For men, this desire to participate in traditionally female dominated sports is not quite as great as it is for females. This is because, honestly, men have a wealth of opportunities for athletics, whether it be professional or not, for every one chance women have. But, in the case that a male does want to participate in a female dominated sport, he will have a hard time being accepted, not necessarily by his female teammates, but by the society watching the sport. Traditionally, male athletes are supposed to be in rough and tumble sports.
The Social and Cultural Costs and Benefits of Entering a Sport Not Traditional to Your Sex/Gender Throughout time, sports have been thought of as feminine sports or masculine sports. Some sports that are thought of as feminine are gymnastics, swimming, tennis, riding, and ice-skating. These tend to be sports that emphasize beauty and grace. Men's sports tend to emphasize strength and power, like football, basketball, or bodybuilding. The social and cultural stereotypes that are placed on men and especially women in the sports world can be hard for an athlete to deal with.
Many people see men as a threat to this value suggesting that a mans presence on the field could intimidate the women, thereby dominating the game, and taking away a safe place for girls to grow and find their own strengths. Another argument in opposition to men participating in field hockey, as well as other female dominated sports is aligned with the idea of equality. It is suggested that despite title IX, females have yet to gain gender equality and are still not given the benefits that their male counterparts receive. Therefore, male participation in the traditionally female sports would be giving men opportunities that women are still fighting for.
Women are not paid as much as men in sports nor in other jobs. Male employers look at women sexually and are less likely to hire women because of discriminatory practices. In order for an end to the discrimination against women, there has to be a cultural change and new policy has to be implemented (Bobbitt-Zeher 2011). More integration in male dominated fields is also necessary to relive the gender differences. Changing the aggressiveness or the masculinity-centered advertisement in sports may allow more women to participate.
Men are naturally more competitive than women and tend to go for the more appealing women. On the other hand, women do look at appearance; but unlike men, they are more focused on the attributes of the person. Men tend to show their spouse or girlfriend off to make other guys jealous of what they ‘scored,’ when women want to brag about the nice things her spouse or boyfriend said or did for her. They are in the same competition, but it is viewed differently. In this game of dating, competition truly relies on the gender of the person.
It's almost as though the 'masculine' element of a sport implies some sort of inherent difficulty, while a sport deemed 'feminine' is not necessarily thought to be quite as challenging. As for females participating in more male dominated sports, it seems as though they run into similar issues. Most women shy away form participation in male dominated sports in fear of coming across as too masculine. This also plays into the power dynamics that have defined men and women's roles for far too long. Women are either afraid to, or no longer even consider the idea of, pushing back against their stereotypically defined roles.
In doing so the inadequate misuse of media towards women in sports causes low exposure, amongst many other things. On the other hand their male counterparts are on the other end of the success spectrum. Because of this noticeable difference, it is vital that action is taken place to level out equality within sports. Due to the power of media, it is believed that a change in media coverage
Sports Gender Segregation Do you think women should play with men professionally in a sport? Although people may believe that women should be treated equally with men when it comes to certain things, but when it comes to sports it is totally different. Sometimes sports are not always played for fun. Sports take a real big part on the competitive side. Some may argue that girls can play a sport better than boys, people think that girls should play with the boys because they should be treated equally.
Gender Stereotypes in Non-Traditional Sports Because of stress from families, grief from peers, or doubts from coaches, it is difficult for an athlete to enter a sport that has traditionally been classified as a sport of the opposite sex. Athletes love the challenge of sports, the thrill of competition, and the benefits of achieving - all qualities that men and women share - however, certain sports also exude qualities of femininity or masculinity, grace or sheer power, and these qualities complicate the qualifications to enter specific sports. On the surface, ballet is graceful, soft, and poised, and a "real man" would never possess such characteristics. Ballet, in reality, requires strength, stamina, balance, but because the jumps and turns of a dancer appear to be effortless to the audience, the work and strength behind ballet are rarely recognized. In boxing, the athlete's skill is evident by his or her strength and fighting ability, but traditionalists do not believe that women should display such aggressiveness.
The academies will develop talents and empower women to be competitive and successful in their area of specialization. Developing female coaches is another measure that encourages greater participation of women. Moreover, elimination of special rules for women in games is necessary to eliminate the notion that men are better than women. Strict implementation of the objectives of Title IX is imperative if equality in athletics and other sports is to be achieved. Further, equity in funding of men and women in similar sport is another strategy that eliminates discriminatory treatment of women in sport.