Social justice in sports is key to having relationships in sport as well as in a career. To understand this, people need understand the definition of social justice. Social justice is defined by John Rawls as basic liberties that should be given to all people. When this is fully understood, people should examine the idea of giving benefits to the weakest people in the community (Robinson, 2015, p. 1). When one applies the definition of social justice to sports, it brings out the many flaws that the sports demonstrate. The significance of social justice in sports brings attention to issues of gender, race, age and ability, and social class, and how they should be rather than how they are currently seen. Women have been discriminated against …show more content…
Women do not want to lose their femininity or be perceived as a lesbian. This causes some of them to pose in sexualized ways. People believe that this helps with more media coverage which would lead to more interest in sports (Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, 2013). This was found to be untrue. In the video, it is stated that “Sex sells sex. Sex does not sell women’s sports” (Tucker Center). It is important to know that a woman wants to be recognized for playing sports, but also wants to be known as a woman. When people understand this, they will see more social justice coming to women so they do not have to pose in those objectifying …show more content…
There is a lack of funding as well as separate, but not equal competition for people who are older as well as people with disabilities. When people get older, there is a better chance that they will attain a disability because of the disabilities that come with age (Woods, 2011, p. 267). Research has shown that exercise can enhance a healthy lifestyle, and that can lead to a longer life. This is why there should be more sports opportunities for older people. As more and more of the population is growing older, many of the older people are starting to participate in physical activities (Coakley, 2015, p. 311). This demonstrates that if older athletes are still able to play sports and be active, they are able to be healthier. Also, with more participation in sport, they dispel the stereotype that older people are too “fragile” to play sports and exercise. Since this minority has been growing in numbers, there are more people who are accepting and wanting older people to participate in exercise in sports. After all, one day, the younger generation will be in the older generation’s place and want to be
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreDefending Titles Diversely: A Persuasive Essay about the Lack of Diversity in Sports Many Americans have seen or at least heard of the movie “Remember the Titans.” The classic film focuses on a school that blends black and whites and takes on an African American head coach. The coach knows the importance of winning, but also knows the team must work together to get those wins and have respect for every single person in the locker room. Although coach Boone was still put in a tough situation with the school board and the community, he was able to lead his team, with the help of a white assistant coach, to an undefeated season. The team coming together is exactly what America does with sports.
Unintentionally, a lot of us have been boxed into institutions that promote gender inequality. Even though this was more prominent decades ago, we still see how prevalent it is in today’s world. According to the authors of the book, Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, Lisa Wade and Myra Marx Ferree define gendered institutions as “the one in which gender is used as an organizing principle” (Wade and Ferree, 167). A great example of such a gendered institution is the sports industry. Specifically in this industry, we see how men and women are separated and often differently valued into social spaces or activities and in return often unequal consequences. This paper will discuss the stigma of sports, how gender is used to separate athletes, and also what we can learn from sports at Iowa State.
42 is an example of the heavy burdens that minority athletes had to overcome and how they slowly started to emerge at the professional level. The film is based upon Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball athlete to play Major League Baseball. It depicts the racial biases in the realm of sports, the unbearable hardships Jackie endured, and the overall character of the old ballparks. Brian Helgeland, director, wanted the film to depict the terrible racism that Jackie faced and how he overcame many obstacles in order to achieve his dream. Helgeland’s intent to represent this resulted in him exaggerating a few scenes in order to better highlight Jackie’s tough journey to greatness. However, these scenarios helped aid the popular view of the civil rights era by better emphasizing the obstacles that minority athletes had to overcome. In the film for example, after Jackie Robinson moved up to the big leagues, some of his partners wrote a petition to the board of directors explaining their discontent of the current situation. Almost every single player signed the petition against the African American athlete. This event actually happened during Jackie’s first year with the Brooklyn Dodgers, however only a few white players signed the petition. Others like Pee Wee Reese refused to sign it, “It didn’t matter to me whether he was black or green, he had a right to be there too.” The exaggeration of the opposition within his team portrayed the struggles that Jackie Robinson had to deal with because of his race. The refusal of some players to sign shows how not all caucasian males opposed the idea of integration and how they began to accept minority athletes into white cultured sports. Jackie’s rookie year posed plenty of tro...
Have you ever heard about racial discrimination and what is it? Racial discrimination is defined as the action of a persons who treat differently or who excludes another person just for his or her racial or ethnic origin. Racial discrimination continues to exist in the world and may never end with it. For example, in the documentary "Linsanity" Lin mentions that he was a victim of racial discrimination and that despite everything that happened, he was able to reach the American dream. Finally, from watching this documentary, I can strongly be argued that Discrimination is also present in sports, and that depends on what privileges you enjoy will be easier the way to reach what you want.
On September twenty-second in the year 1862, President Abraham Lincoln executively ordered the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War. This command declared the freedom of all slaves in the ten Confederate States of America. Slavery was completely abolished in all states with the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment on December sixth in the year 1865. Since then African Americans have been free to live their lives without being owned, claimed, bought, or sold. Although this was a start, it definitely was not enough for African Americans to be considered equal. With all of the progression African Americans and other minorities have made, there are still obstacles the modern day ethnic-American faces. Some of these obstacles lay within a shared interest amongst Americans, sports. It has been hypothesized in the journal article “Race and Pathways to Power in the National Football League” by author Jomills Henry Braddock II, that a retired African American athlete would face struggles when trying to move into the coaching field or front office positions (Braddock 2012, 712). In the journal article, “Weighing in on the Coaching Decision: Discussing Sports and Race Online,” author Jimmy Sanderson explains to readers that the realm of the sports world has been heavily linked to white ideology (Sanderson 2010, 302). One cannot fully live the American Dream without sustaining successful and promising career goals. It is possible that people of color can get their foot on the first rung of the corporate ladder but actually climbing their way towards the top has proven to be a difficult and almost impossible task. It is evident that affirmative action has not been able to protect minorities from stereotypes and discrimination...
Though America is a country that built its foundation upon racism and segregation, we in the 21st century would like to believe that racism no longer exists in our nation. While that is a nice thought, the brutal truth is that it is still prevalent in America and the rest of the world. It may not be as vocalized as it once was; but it is still a major underlying issue of today’s society. We are ignorant to the amount of racial incidents that do occur, and the only times racist acts seem to be brought public are when they occur in sports. Despite the Jackie Robinson break through in 1947, the racial discrimination in sports has not disappeared. Instances like the Wayne Simmonds incident in 2011, to the Donald Sterling controversy a few short weeks ago, it is apparent racism in sports is still very much existent. With racism’s obvious existence in sports, in a country that is extremely dependent upon the popularity and success of professional sports, we have to deduct that racism in sports is an indicator of a much bigger racism issue.
Coakley, J. J. (2007). Sports in society: issues & controversies (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Gender inequality in the United States is a serious problem, and it is often overlooked. It is a big issue, especially within sports. We live in a society where our culture prefers men 's sports over women 's. Labeling activities as feminine and masculine is a social construction based on stereotyped expectations regarding gender and perceived gender differences (McCullick, 2012). In 1972 Title IX was passed stating that, no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. This opened up athletics to women and girls (Education Amendment Act of 1972, 1972). Although
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 order to increase participation in sport we first must improve equity and access. Equity focuses on providing equal opportunities to all members of society and aims to eliminate unreasonable barriers that restrict sports participation - such as discrimination, prejudices and stereotyping. A lack of equal opportunities is a primary reason as to why an individual may choose to not participate in a specific sport. AFL, like many other sports, intend to remove unreasonable barriers in the sport to help increase participation rates. Development programs – such as AusKick - target all children, no matter gender or race and encourage them to get involved in AFL. Women’s leagues are also popping up all over Australia with more than 51,000 Queensland
Gender in sports has been a controversial issue ever since sports were invented. In the early years, sports were played only by the men, and the women were to sit on the sidelines and watch. This was another area of life exemplifying the sexism of people in which women were not allowed to do something that men could. However, over the last century in particular, things have begun to change.
In this manner, it is clear that these athletes are taking strides towards equality by affecting the future of our society, youth. Though as a society we face many remaining obstacles in striving toward gender equality in sport, it is important to look at what has been accomplished, and also look to the future for what can still be done.
However, sports have accomplished. In term of inequality, women sports and men ports are still segregated, and men sports are still dominant in marketable value and in the media. Thus, women still have equal opportunities to play sports, but sport gender might not provide equal salaries and benefits for women. However, women pose their nude on TV, magazines, and newspapers to get more attentions and earn more money. Women should be recognized by their specific abilities to become the standard instead of posing their nude bodies to get attention and fame. Hence women should fight for them, as a group will help to cheer section for numerical increases in women’s athletic participation, or for the increasing visibility of women’s athletics in televised ads. Women also should fight for benefits to become equal with men including opportunities and salaries and
Since the beginning of time, people have been unjustly treated with prejudice. This is discrimination, and it has been a major issue in our world. Not only does discrimination occur in the workplace, schools, and religion, it also has been an issue in professional sports. Although there are still many examples of discrimination in sports, there have been improvements in the areas of racial, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination.
One of the theories behind this gender inequality in athletics is due to the strict traditionalism of society. “Society does not like to see women in roles that go against the norm of what a woman ‘should be” (Rodriguez). A woman is expected to carry on traditional feministic traits that include being sexy, delicate, passive, graceful and essentially powerless. “Nowhere does the word ‘athletic’ appear on that list” (Rodriguez). These female athletes are not just exceeding in a sport that they play, they are tearing down the barriers that have always left women on the outside of the world of professional sports. The idea of a strong, athletic woman gives many people an uncomfortable feeling because it is not seen as an attractive trait or loyal to traditional characteristics. This unaccepted view of athletic women has led to unjust stereotyping. If they participate in a sport that is not perceived as feminine, women are often stereotyped as being lesbian. Women who do not fit the cultural definitions of femininity run the risk of being labeled a homosexual. Societal expectations are restrictive and seem to refuse to view the athletic talents of women as acceptable behavior.