The Problem with Sexism in Athletics
Sexism in athletics is important, because people don’t understand what the importance is. No one takes female sports as seriously as they do with male sports . The only time that men go to a woman’s sport is to see what they have on and watch how they move.
Most sports are gender segregated, meaning males play on men's sports teams and female athletes play on women's sports teams. Sports are often associated with masculinity and is often promoted more by men. Due to the gender segregating in sports a misogynistic and sexist attitude is developed against female athletes. Female athletes are not respected as athletes and are not taken seriously because they are seen as a female trying to play a masculine game. Because sports are seen as masculine, most do not believe that women will be able to uphold the standards that have been placed on sports. Some believe that sports are segregated because boys and men are too aggressive to play with girls and women. Society expects women to generally be dainty, dress nice, & act lady-like, that has forced men to discriminate against women in sports.
A solution to sexism was provided through the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibits sexism with in schools. This policy allows for equal opportunity within sports, giving women the opportunity to be able to participates in athletics. With this policy we still have different teams. Female sports will always be second. The NBA will always be more popular then the WNBA. A meeting was held with the Athletic director of Northern Illinois University. The director was asked if there was a significant difference in the amount of money that female sports got then male sports, and it was concluded that depending on the popularity and the revenue that each sport brings determined how much money they get. Some sports have money because they receive more donations.
Men are expected to be more aggressive and therefore when it comes to sport activities where both male and female athletes are involved, as the tasks get more physically demanding and aggressive, men tend to force women out of playing because men think that women don't want to be hurt or can't be hurt. Men tend to join sport teams because it is a way for them to act aggressive without engaging in direct violence. Men do not expect women to engage in sporting events because of their innocent "nature". Also, society only expects women to exercise to look skinnier or more beautiful. Society does not expect women to exercise to look more burly or gain more muscle. Beauty norms in terms of looking physically fit as a woman only go to an extent.
According to a center of research on women in 2009, it was noticed that tickets for woman sporting events are more profitable. On the other side, if tickets are sold at a lower price, many will view the game at a lesser quality then a game with more expensive tickets. So as long as the sport is economically strong, then they will have a profitable season. Athletes also face classism. If a athlete comes from a lower class then they are faced with harassment from their team members. |
All athletes are directly affected by sexism. Female athletes are more affected, because they struggle with trying to compete with male athletes, by trying to be just as good as them. Society has portrayed women as sexual objects. The media has been the main support of the gender norms that are placed on athletes. Male athletes are look at as sexy, athletic, everyone females dream, but female athletes are criticized, they get labeled at lesbians and called butch. The media pays a lot of attention to male sports, less then 10 percent of the media focuses on female sports. “Athletes are gendered by the media via sexualizing strategies that are subtler and more sophisticated than those of past years” (Helene A. Shugart, “She shoots, she scores”). If a female athlete gets attention, its usually sexual attention. Female ice figure skaters actually get points based on how sexy their outfit is. With media focusing on the sex appeal on female athletes, its hard for any other female athlete to be taken seriously.
Sexism in athletes is in the U.S. in “Communication Differences Between Men and Female Team Sport Athletes” by Phillip Sullivan says that there is sexism in athletes because males have more anger and are more aggressive than woman. Women are more self-disclosed and are more emotional than men. People don’t take females seriously because they think that when women are in sports that it’s not better than men sports. In “What’s the Gendered Story? Vancouver’s Prime Time Olympic Glory on NBC” by James R. Angelini, Paul J. MacArthur, and Andrew C. Billings they talk about how gender- related coverage in broadcast sports. Scholars find gender to be the primary issue with media frames. The Olympics rarely provide an opportunity for women athletes to be shown in a different framing. They say that women’s focus is not into the game and that a man’s focus is more into the game. In “Homophobia” by Suzanne Pharr says that homophobia works as a weapon of sexism because it is joined with a powerful arm of heterosexism. When Suzanne she says that she is saying that in sports sexism is like a weapon because people favor men sports more than they do women.
A Fun Fact from the History of Women's Athletics:
In 1966, European Athletics Championship in Budapest required that female athletes take a Gender test. The first test consisted of a visual examination. The test was later placed by a test that checked for the XX chromosome in females and the XY chromosome that are in males. The test was only required for the use of female athletes.
In 1967, Ewa Klobukowska, a Polish sprinter failed the test and was banned from competing. It was later found out that she had conditioned.
In 1985, Maria Patino, a Spanish hurdler, lived her whole life as a women, with her body type and sex characteristics being female. She failed her sex test, that showed that she did not have XX chromosome. She altered did compete, but was kicked off and stripped of her titles and banned from future competitions. She would later be reinstated.
In 2009, Caster Semenya, a South African runner, amazed competitors in the 800-meter race. She was scrutinized about her gender.
In 1966, European Athletics Championship in Budapest required that female athletes take a Gender test. The first test consisted of a visual examination. The test was later placed by a test that checked for the XX chromosome in females and the XY chromosome that are in males. The test was only required for the use of female athletes.
In 1967, Ewa Klobukowska, a Polish sprinter failed the test and was banned from competing. It was later found out that she had conditioned.
In 1985, Maria Patino, a Spanish hurdler, lived her whole life as a women, with her body type and sex characteristics being female. She failed her sex test, that showed that she did not have XX chromosome. She altered did compete, but was kicked off and stripped of her titles and banned from future competitions. She would later be reinstated.
In 2009, Caster Semenya, a South African runner, amazed competitors in the 800-meter race. She was scrutinized about her gender.