Gender And Sports

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5.4 Impact of Gender and Ethnicity on Sports Participation
A number of the women in this study feel restricted from playing sports because of their culture, religious, and ethnic background. Results in my study are consistent with findings from Sever (2005:4) and Laker (2001:4) that sport has different meanings for different people and across societies and the way one engages in sports is influenced by the cultural or ethnic group to which one belongs. Participants from conservative backgrounds face social pressures to avoid sports – community members frown upon or disapprove of women playing sports. Women in this study who come from restrictive social backgrounds say they only get to play in the absence of family members. The lack of support …show more content…

For instance, women were more independent and free to make choices and decisions on their engagement in sports. These participants indicated they do not require permission or approval from men to play sports. Women participation in sports is encouraged and also backed by legislation. These laws are used as deliberate ways to get more women to play sports. Example of policies to encourage women participation in sports include: organisations like the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) in the United States of America (USA), (Harvey et al 2013:57; Appleby and Foster 2013:12). In Canada, the National conference on Women and Sports (NWS) the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sports (CAAWS) were formed to inspire and increase women’s participation in sports (Harvey et al 2013:57). Unlike the conservative societies, Women in Canada are supported by various organisations to engage in physical activities and are free to play, wear whatever they wanted and made decisions on when to play, decide on where to play, choose who to associate with (male or female athletes and coaches) pick what sports they have interest in and select the number of sports they could play. Contrasting women from the conservative societies, women from the liberal societies found it appropriate to work with anyone (men and women) they were comfortable

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