Elimination of Issues of Gender and Class Inequality in Sport - Report Example

Elimination of Issues of Gender and Inequality in Sport SPO007 Sport and Physical Activity in Society of Bedfordshire 9th May 2014 Since the time when active sports began in Greece, it has undergone significant revolution, at least when compared to the contemporary sports. Essentially, modern sports is quite diverse with games such as swimming, athletics, football, acrobatics, baseball, basketball, car racing, and cycling, among others (Wong 2010, p. 337). Initially, sports as an international activity, was marred with discrimination at various levels depending on genders, social class, race, and country of origin. A vast majority of the sporting activities was the domain of men and people of high social status (Brake 2010, p. 56). Nonetheless, the outset of the 21st century saw the introduction of Millennium Development Goals that all countries were to meet by the year 2015 (Elling & Knoppers 2005, p. 260). Among those goals was the “Promotion of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment,” which many nations are still struggling to meet. Certainly, the e global community has made concerted efforts in a bid to eradicate gender and class inequality, especially in the sports sector class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). Although much of gender and class discrimination have largely been eliminated in sports over time, a lot more still needs to be done in order to make sports a discrimination free activity, at least in line with the Third Millennium Development Goal It is evident that sport is a career loved by many people across the globe, including women and children despite the fact that it is demanding physically. For this reason, it is worth noting that sport has developed a great deal over the years with the most popular sports including soccer, golf, baseball, athletics, basketball, and acrobatics (Schmalz & Kerstetter 2006, p 552). Although many people love sports across the globe, it is important to mention that there has been partial participation in sports, particularly in the past three decades. It is so when the issue of gender and class inequality come into play (Smith 2010, p. 95). Owing to the fact that sports can be a uniting factor among nations, discriminations based on gender and social status ought to be eliminated (Wong 2010, p. 337). Perhaps it is critical to note that though sports claim to unite the nations, women have especially suffered discrimination from various sporting agencies. For instance, the Olympic Games had been the reserve of the male gender up until 1984 when they were included in the Olympic Marathon class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). Even so, women still had to start the marathon long after their male counterparts had begun. The discrimination was a good indication of the high inequality in the sports industry (Smith 2010, p. 95). Perhaps male chauvinism showed up clearly when Vijay Singh who was a professional player in golf, refused to play concurrently with a female golfer, claiming that the ‘woman’ would not be able to win any match (Schmalz & Kerstetter 2006, p 544). Another instance of gender and class inequality issues in sport is golf, baseball, and basketball where most of the players are male. Since women have been discouraged from playing such games, the games are apparently male-dominated (Wong 2010, p. 337). For instance, one has to have a certain height to play basketball, which is a sort of discrimination, especially to the womenfolk. In addition, people of high social and financial status normally play these games. It is do particularly when it comes to golf, which normally a reserve of the wealthy men (Smith 2010, p. 95). Despite several campaigns to liberalize sports across the globe, the efforts have been fruitless in the sense that the discrimination has of late shifted from gender to racial class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). At this point, it is appropriate to observe that various human rights agencies within and outside the sports industry have put synergized in order to reduce if not eliminate, the incidences of gender and class-based inequalities, particularly in sports (Wong 2010, p. 337). Perhaps the inclusion of women in Olympics marathon in 1984 was the biggest step as far as the elimination of inequalities in sports is concerned (Schmalz & Kerstetter 2006, p. 542). Moreover, the inclusion of the people with disabilities in sports is a major indication of the intention to eliminate any form of discrimination in within the sports sector. For instance, people with various forms of disabilities can qualify and participate in the Paralympics irrespective of their backgrounds or social status (Elling & Knoppers 2005, p. 260). Concerning the extent to which gender-based discrimination has been eliminated in sports, it is rather unfortunate to note that there is still a long way to go despite the imminent lapse of the Millennium development goals in 2015 class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). It is particularly evident when considering the fact that different nations have different policies about the involvement of women in sports. In other instances, only people with certain social statuses or degrees of meritocracies are allowed to participate in competitive sports like world competitions (Elling & Knoppers 2005, p. 260). Such discrimination ought not to be the case, especially considering the 1995 UN resolution in Beijing to accord all the necessary support to women (Schmalz & Kerstetter 2006, p. 542). The Beijing Platform for Action was specific as far as matters pertaining to sport were concerned, since there were widespread claims that women were being neglected in sports. However, the adoption of the fourth World Conference on Women played a major role in negating class and gender-based discrimination (Wong 2010, p. 337). Although the integration of women into sport has been a major milestone in the war against gender-based discrimination, a myriad of challenges still face the womenfolk who currently participate in sports or aspire to become great sportspersons class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). For instance, there are inadequate facilities to cater for the requirements of women who participate in various sports. Essentially, sportswomen have certain unique requirements such as childcare facilities and support programmes like education. (Elling & Knoppers 2005, p. 257). The reason as to why sportswomen deserve the same treatment as their male counterparts is that the some of the sportswomen join sports at a young age and they still need to progress in their respective education and careers. The only way to make this possible is to provide the necessary facilities since some are young mothers who need to take care of their children (Wong 2010, p. 337). One indication that there is a long way to go as far as the elimination of gender and class issues in sports is concerned is the divided opinions about sports by many cultures (Sterk & Knoppers 2009, p. 29). For example, the Indian and the Muslim women rarely participate in international sporting activities due to the conservative nature of their cultures (Wong 2010, p. 337). While other cultures such as the American culture are liberal, others tend to limit the rights of women, particularly when it comes to sports. Moreover, financial status and class play a major role in the selection process and sometimes the ethnicity (Elling & Knoppers 2005, p. 257). These factors, coupled with the reluctance of some nations to adopt the UN Platform for Action that was adopted in Beijing in 1995, has lagged the empowerment of women in sports. Nonetheless, many nations have really tried to encourage and include women in various sporting activities and there is concerted effort to continue with the same class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). In conclusion, the world, especially in the 21st century, has injected synergy into the women agenda in sports. Additionally, there has been a deliberate effort to eliminate discrimination based on class, which has been commonplace in international sports qualifications (Wong 2010, p. 337). To this extent, it is worth noting that besides the gains that have been made, some quarters within the society are still of the opinion that women ought not to participate in male-dominated games while others discriminate sportspersons based on class (Nafziger & Ross 2011, p. 258). Although much of gender and class discrimination issues have largely been eliminated in sports over time, a lot more still needs to be done in order to make sports a discrimination free activity, at least in line with the Third Millennium Development Goal. Reference List Brake, D L 2010, Getting in the game: Title IX and the womens sports revolution, New York University Press, New York. Elling, A & Knoppers, A 2005, ‘Sport, Gender and Ethnicity: Practises of Symbolic Inclusion/Exclusion,’ Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 34, no.3, pp. 257-268, retrieved 7 July 2014, Proquest. Nafziger, J A R & Ross, S F 2011, Handbook on international sports law, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK. Schmalz, D L & Kerstetter, D L 2006, ‘Girlie Girls and Manly Men: Children’s Stigma Consciousness of Gender in Sports and Physical Activities,’ Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 536-557, retrieved 7 July 2014, Proquest. Smith, E 2010, Sociology of sport and social theory, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Sterk, H M & Knoppers, A 2009, Gender, culture, and physicality: paradoxes and taboos, Lexington Books, Lanham. Wong, G M 2010, Essentials of sports law, Calif, Praeger, Santa Barbara. Read More