Essay On Figure Skating

There are a variety of sports anyone can play and teams people can join that accommodate to someone's specific needs whether they be handicapped or just want to play a sport to lose weight. Despite the lack of tangible obstacles stopping one sex from being athletic certain sports tend to be characterized as being a games only for women or men. There are accommodations in practically every popular sport for any person to play nevertheless societal pressures stop women from becoming race car drivers and men from becoming ballerinas. Those who go against the norm may find themselves being ridiculed; boys who play wrongly-named feminine sports are generally seen as frail no matter how physically demanding the sport they play is. Although figure

Figure skaters experience just as much pressure as traditionally masculine sports possibly even more as mistakes at best can hurt a score and at worse can be humiliating. Although figure skating is hard on the mind and body men who figure skate are belittled because femininity is associated with weakness. There are a couple key differences between stereotypically manly sports and figure skating that cause people to perceive figure skating as something only should do . Figure skating often involves elaborate outfits and dancing, and creativity, whereas more masculine sports do not. In figure skating outfits are important accessories to performances, to contrast, clothing in masculine sports are more utilitarian and are not there to impress or to stand out. The chic clothing in figure skating likely plays a large roll in it being pegged as feminine as fashion too stereotyped as something only for women. Masculine sports tend to be reward aggression toward other players, and while masculine sports have small windows for thinking and are fast pace, feminine sports reward thinking ahead and have little margin for error. For one reason or another masculinity is associated with aggression and femininity with

Plushenko challenges gender stereotypes and other male figure skaters by not fighting for figure skating to be considered masculine but instead accepting femininity as something men should not be afraid of. If for example, a football player were to wear lipstick during a football game, it more than likely would be ridiculed by fans, peers and possibly it might even get them in trouble their employer. Homophobia and misogyny are rampant masculine sports, it has been seen time and time again where gay sports players only come out after retiring or female reporters knowledge of the game is insulted. Masculine sports have an air of exclusivity and fear of femininity, and it is as Reiner puts it “Men need to be taught to think beyond their stereotype”(Reiner.) Masculine sports avoid any sort of stereotypical femininity at all costs while it is clear with figure skaters like Plushenko that he accepts femininity and masculinity as he flows through both genders during his