Weaker Sex?
"Psychologically, men are more explosive, inconsistent, not enduring, a nd in pain exertion - especially among high performance athletes - somewhat sniveling. A woman is the opposite: tough, constant, enduring, level and calm under the pain to which her biology exposes her. On the average she is more patient than a man. Armed with these advantages, women are in a position to do endurance feats previously considered by men to be impossible."(Noakes 598)
Not many sports exist in the world today in which women can be competitive with men. Although this is not true with many other things in life, it has always seemed that males dominate the sports world, no matter how hard women have tried to break through this. Upon taking this class, I thought I had found such a sport. From quotes such as the one above by Dr. Ernst van Aaken and other findings in the class text books, I developed the thesis that Ultra Marathon Running might be just the sport for women to show their ability to best men in sports arenas that which they had previously been excluded from. As I look deeper into this statement, I realize that there are many different ideas and theories on this topic. Many women say, "Yes, of course women can compete with men", while men tend to laugh at the question and scoff at even the thought. So my question remains unanswered, can women of the ultra species compete with males?
In 1971, American woman, Natalie Cullimore surprised the all male ultra world by running a 16:11 for the one hundred-mile race. Not only was she second in the race, but this was the fourth fastest time for a male or female at this distance. She caught the attention of the males of the sport with her speed and helped many other women to find a place in this field with her determination. As women's ultra running became more popular world wide, people began to take notice. Onlookers realized that the women always seemed to look more fresh at the end of a race, as if it were not as much of a struggle for them as it was for the men. This observation prompted many studies and the theory that women could beat competitive men. The first doctors to make a statement about this theory were Dr. Joan Ulloyt and Dr.
“It is not probable that the greater strength of man was primarily acquired through the inherited effects of his having worked harder than woman for his own subsistence and that of his family; for the women in all barbarous nations are compelled to work at least as hard as the men” (234). Men may usually be stronger than women but it’s not necessarily always true. Women could be just as strong as men if the cultural and beauty standards were different and if it was what women desired. This idea has evolved from social factors being implemented more than evolution or biology.
The disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester--the m...
Switzer, Kathrine. Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports. Da Capo Press, 2017.
In the military physical strength and endurance is a major element to nearly every task. Having endurance and sustainable strength is very vital in many instances but most importantly in the combat zone. Men are physically stronger and can tolerate more than women naturally. Hypothetically if there was a situation where a troop was injured and needed to be carried out of a fighting zone it would make more sense for a man to carry the troop out because they can tolerate the weight more easily then a woman. Women are built to have children, and while they are capable of heavy lifting and have remarkable endurance, it is a different level than men. Looking back men have always been hunters, gatherers, ultimately being the ones who do all the physical work. After decades of these physical life styles that men have endured and the homemaker life style women have come to obtain it is clear that the order of nature has spoken. The normality of women being the only ones that can produce children and men gain strength more easil...
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.
Bytwerk, Randall. "On the German People and Its Territory." Calvin German Propaganda Archive. Calvin College, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
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.
There has been great debate in the nursing community for years regarding what should be the educational requirements for a practicing nurse. There are currently many options for men and women to enter the field through LPN, ADN, and BSN programs. More recently, programs have been popping up allowing accelerated BSN obtainment through second degree programs. The debate stems from the conflicting ideas of whether nursing as a whole is a trade, requiring an associate’s degree, or should be considered a profession, often requiring a Baccalaureate degree. In this paper this author will use past nursing history, current medical demands and advancements, and clinical patient outcomes to argue that the minimum education for a nurse should be a Baccalaureate degree.
Donna A. Lopiano “Modern Hisory of Women In Sports” Clinics in Sports Medicine19.2 (2000): 163-173. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 April. 2000.
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
In study that examined the perceptions and professional values of RNs, Kubsch, Hansen, & Huyser-Eatwell (2008), found a significant difference in nurses’ professional values based on their level of education, job position, and membership in professional nursing organizations. RN-BSNs had the highest perceived level of professionalism as measured by Hall’s Cure, Cure, and Core model. Kubusch, Hansen, & Huyser-Eatwell attribute this difference to the variation among nurse education curriculum. They maintain that ADN programs emphasize technical training and psychomotor skills necessary for completing nursing and bedside tasks. Hospital-based programs value clinical experience. In contrast, BSN programs emphasize humanities, the arts, philosophy, theory, and complex nursing skills. According to the Kubusch, Hansen, & Husyer-Eatwell, “Baccalaureate students are provided with education that supports the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2005) core nursing
That means females have a long way to catch up to males. In recent studies it shows that females are catching up to males and me being a male, that makes me sick. Females are also playing manlier sports like ice hockey and boxing. Women sports also don’t get televised right or they don’t get televised often, and that’s why we have gender stereotypes about sports. If a men sport and a women sport was suppose to be televised at the same time on the same channel, the men sport would be televised and not the women sport. That is just how our society works in today’s world (Men Vs. Women, 2015) (Bodenner, 2015).
Sports become stereotyped as gender-neutral, feminine, or masculine based on conceptions regarding gender, gender differences, and beliefs about the appropriateness of participation due to gender (Colley et al., 1987; Csizma, Wittig, & Schurr, 1988; Koivula, 1995; Matteo, 1986). Sports labeled as feminine seem to be those that allow women participants to act in accordance with the stereotyped expectations of femininity (such as being graceful and nonagressive) and that provide for beauty and aesthetic pleasure (based on largely male standards). A sport is labeled as masculine if it involves the following: 1) attempts to physically overpower the opponent(s) by bodily contact; 2) a direct use of bodily force to a heavy object; 3) a projection of the body into or through space over distance; and 4) face-to-face competition in situations in which bodily contact may occur. These characteristics are believed to be appropriate expressions of masculine attributes such as aggressiveness, effectiveness, and power (Metheny, 1965; Koivula, 2001).
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).
In summary, Despite opponents argue, fans want to see thunderous dunks and incredible athleticism over the lesser abilities of females, male competitions is more intense and there is more at risk, and male driven associations produce more revenue than female driven associations. It is apparent that male and females are built differently therefore they have different abilities, females go through the same types of events and often have more on the line, and female athletics aren 't given the same recognition or praise. Then, maybe one day female will receive the same amount of pay as their male counterparts. As, Vera Nazarian once implied, “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”