Female Gender And Sexuality Constructed Through Sport

Starting with how women are portrayed in media, Trolan (2013) states that in today’s society, individuals are shown magazines, newspapers, and television programs with articles and photographs, “of what it means to be a woman or man” (Trolan, 215). This is remarkably obvious when discussing the world of sport. Although women have achieved a somewhat higher level of respect in the everyday world, within the sporting world, “they are still viewed as women first and athletes second” (Trolan, 215). Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar, and Kauer (2004) also articulate that women participating in sport live in two extremely separate cultures: the sporting culture and the culture in which they face the continual battle between being an athlete and being a woman. Being viewed as

Across the world, society holds men and women to different standards. There are precise gender roles and stereotypes that are well established. In the western world, women are supposed to be nurturers, cleaners, and the chef. Whereas men are perceived as strong, independent, and athletic. When these social norms are broken, it is not uncommon for specific labels to be given, such as being called a lesbian. Over the past few centuries, these stereotypes and gender roles have been challenged by many women and feminists. An area where these stereotypes and gender roles have been under scrutiny and analyzed is in the world of sport and physical activities. However, traditional female stereotypes continue to conquer. Gender inequality has accomplished small victories but is still an enormous part of sports which is evident through the little recognition received for competitions along with the difference between men’s and women’s professional level of sport, being looked at as attractive instead of being talented, and the very few female coaches. Eventually, there is hope that the sports world will not be considered the masculine domain, and there will no longer be a legacy of bias against the female athlete.

According to Smith (2010:98), issues of gender are core to social life and this fact makes the concerns of masculinity and femininity essential. Critical feminist theorists have stressed the importance of critiquing and changing the culture and (Pfister and Kristin 2013:208) body (physicality) of sport so that they represent the perspectives and experiences of women as well as men (Maguire 2002:207; Coakley 2001:39) with the aim to expose gender inequalities (Jarvis and Watts

It is also believed that female athletes become objectified in the media as an “attempt to limit female power, thereby reinforcing hegemonic masculinity” (Pederson,2002). Mass media and sports are one of the most commanding hegemonic social institutions and there is a strong link between athleticism and masculinity. It is due to this hegemonic masculinity that women, in many ways are considered inferior to men and treated as if they have no place of their own in sports, where only male power dominates.

The abuse of power to exploit and dominate women within sporting bodies is not a new concept to society and may seem complex however, to gain insight on this topic one may observe the role of masculinity in sports. Sport has been a masculine domain where men are able to assert their dominance, strength, and bravery. Directly addressed by the three I’s: inferiority, injury, and immorality in Authors Eileen McDonagh’s and Laura Pappano’s article Playing With the Boys: Why Separate Is Not Equal In Sports women have been marked as physically inferior to men (McDonagh and Pappano, 2008, pp.181-187). Additionally, society feared that if women were allowed to compete in masculine sports it would promote damage to their vital organs, homosexual affiliations,

Gender challenges in sports have been around for centuries. Male and female genders are treated differently in more than one way. The research I have gathered show the differences in all aspects of sports related business areas such as, ticket sales, facilities, price of tickets, media coverage, Sports Illustrated covers, and sports reporters. The purpose of this research is to bring attention the disparities that women follow in the business of sports. Women are stereotyped, discriminated against, and harassed in all aspects I have discussed. So my final thoughts on my research are that women will always be acknowledged for their beauty, body, and sex appeal. A woman’s knowledge of sports, athleticism, and love for the

Throughout many years there has been a great change of gender roles of men and women in our society, and especially in the world of sports. Over the last couple years female athletes have really strived to gaining equal representation and media coverage as much as the male athletes do. Female athletes are also starting to participate in more male dominated sports such as, MMA, hockey and even golf. These few sports have been perceived as “manly sports” which usually makes women feel that they shouldn't participate because they're not masculine enough. Even though there are many female athletes who feel discouraged to playing “manly sports” there are also plenty of female athletes who are trying to show younger generations that it's okay to participate and compete in sports that aren't necessarily “feminine sports”. The way that gender roles have been affecting sports for a long time are through behaviors, stereotypes and the perception of male and female athletes.

Current society is built upon stereotypes and constructions that are predetermined by previous generations’ views. One of the most recognised historical constructions is the patriarchal theory, that the female is subservient to the male. However, this construction of gender power is slowly equalising, with the rise of feminist groups in the latter part of the 20th century giving reason for this occurring. Nevertheless, gender battles are still occurring, particularly in the sporting industry, which remains male dominated. Female sport has been given much notoriety over their uproar in the past decade, but is finding in a male controlled industry it is difficult for women to receive help from governing bodies. Female sport is

A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Sports originated in early history as males only, and was often used to see which male was more dominant. In today’s society sports have a different meaning and is played by both genders, but still holds a mentality of superiority. In this essay, I will be arguing the Social Constructs of Masculinity in Sports in the language and the actions used when performing these activities through both genders and how some actions are acceptable for one gender and not for the other. Using Laurel Richardson’s article Gender Stereotyping in the English Language, and X: A Fabulous Child’s Story by Lois Gould. The article and story will help distinguish the use of words in our society and how they are incorporated in sport and how the actions of a person that does not fit the social standard faces repercussions for their actions.

Our textbook states that we construct our expressions of masculinity and femininity through socialization. Socialization is "The lifelong process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture" (Witt pg72), this video illustrates the same idea. It lays emphasis on the fact that masculinity and femininity are not natural things, we are taught how to act and to conform to the official expectations of masculinity and femininity through socialization. The video discusses how sport is so inherently gendered in our culture, it is one of the ways in which masculinity and femininity are taught.

Sports, as a whole, are a male dominated activity. The American society expects every “real” man to be interested and/or involved in sports. In contrast, there is less pressure for females participate in sports let alone physically enduring activities. These roles reflect the traditional gender roles imposed on our society that men are strong and dominant, while females are submissive to men. However, deviation also occurs in athletics as males and females begin to challenge these norms. By analyzing the two photos below, the players and the environment portray traditional and deconstructed gender norms.

Over the course of time, sports have come to signify masculinity; athletics such as football and basketball easily having come to deem where one fits in terms of societal norms regarding gendered bodies. One could argue that sports, in a modern context, have come to be synonymous with the idea of athletic and/or muscular bodies, which are those that are not regarded as the bodies of ideologically feminine ones given the intense and high pressure nature. In “Sports and Male Domination: The Female Athlete as Contested Ideological Terrain” written by Michael A. Messner in 1988 sheds light on the idea that traditional images of femininity have come to solidify male privilege through the construction and naturalization of gendered characteristics regarding women such as weakness, fragility and dependency .

In the modern sport, gender is a social construct that outlines the roles, behaviours, activities and tributes that a particular society believes are appropriate for men and women. The assignment of these roles and adoption of these traits can create gender inequities — differences between men and women that systematically favour one group to the detriment of the other. Gender constructs have created an inequitable distinction between male and female athletes such as sexualisation of women, television/media coverage, advertising, figueroa, sport as a microcosm. In the society, woman play sport don’t get much attention as when man play sport because of sexualisation of women as they think women play sport not good and not interested, as well

One way in which female sport is ‘negated’ is the way in which females are sometimes referred to by the media as “girls” no matter their age and are also constantly described in terms of their physical appearance and the way in which their emotions and their emotional responses are highlighted more than in male sports. One other way in which the media influence gender participation in sport is by the use of images of athletes which could be seen as a form of propaganda. As the ‘Learn’ handout states, “Dominant masculine images are highly compatible with sport”7. The majority of images in the sports sections of papers are of males, partly because the papers occasionally turn a blind eye to female achievement or simply put it in a small box in the corner of a page but also because they believe seeing more images of male athletes in papers is what the public want. Subsequently, females across the nation have fewer role models to look up to from the female world meaning they will be less motivated to actively participate in a sport because they have very few or even no idols to look up to.

Critics have argued many times that the biological differences between men and women are constructed to legitimize sex-exclusive sport activities (Daddario, 1994). Media portrays masculinity as powerful but portray femininity as a weakness, which leads to fewer women getting the attention the media attention they deserve.The news is the primary source of information for the public which means that way media portrays women is the way society will view female athletes (Shaller, 2006). The inadequate portrayal leads to decrease in popularity of female sports and less participation by potential female future athletes.