Gender Issues in Sport - Essay Example

Gender Equality Gender Issues in Sport Client’s of Gender Equality 2 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………............................................3 Using the Law to Promote Equality……………………………….......4 Feminist Theories on Gender Equality in Sports ……………………..6 Male Aggression and Sports………………………………..................7 Gender Applications within Education………………………………..8 Conclusion……………………………….............................................9 Gender Equality 3 Gender Issues in Sport Introduction One of the more complex issues that plagues educational institutions is in handling the gender inequalities that exist within their athletic departments. While the issue causes strong opinions on the viability of having sports teams be equally funded and therefore have equal advantages, there are logistical issues that create problems when trying to identify what is discrimination versus what is fiscally responsible. In addition, the aspect of inequality within sports programs creates an ongoing social issue that must be carefully analyzed in order to understand the impact on society in regard to the continuation of perceived ability inequality. Gender inequality in educational institutions has an impact on a wide variety of areas within society and must be evaluated for the financial problems equality creates in balance with the social problems that are averted by programs that are created to have equal opportunities. Inequality still exists within the world. According to Lauren Thompson from the Daily and Sunday Express (2007), inequality is between the genders is still highly prevalent within the worldwide system of cultures. She quotes a report written by Plan International titled “Because I am a Girl” that states that 100 million girls per year are destroyed before or at birth simply because they are the less desirable gender. Genital mutilation still occurs in two million girls per year. Death for girls between the ages of 15-19 is highest for dying during childbirth. It is estimated that 7.3 million women have HIV over the 4.3 million males that have the disease. As well, more than 70% of the world’s population that is living on less than a dollar a day are women. The culture of inequality is not just the idea that women haven’t the opportunities because of bias, but that they are put at risk because of those biases. Gender Equality 4 In a case study that surveyed children’s responses in essay form to an assignment in a London school that asked them to write about gender issues within that school, 38% of the girls responded with essays about inequality, while only 7% of the boys wrote about inequality. In writing about the perceived inequalities, the girls’ stories were primarily centered around issues about their sports programs. One girl wrote that while the girls hockey team had won a tournement and received a large trophy, the boys rugby team had one a single match. The principle, however, had only mentioned the win for the girls while the single win for the boys had been covered extensively in announcements and in the school paper.(Lynch and Lodge, 2002, p. 125). In creating the perception that smaller achievements by boys are far greater than larger achievements by girls, the social understanding is inferred to cross the lines of sports achievements into the lives of young adults. Having an understanding of the importance of sports within society helps with finding an approach to understanding the importance of equality between the genders, as well as the way in which sports help to define how a society sees itself through certain elements of perception. A culture that is founded on the basis of competition will see sporting events as a microcosm of the greater picture. As well, the way in which the genders are viewed according to the sports analogy will support the way in which the genders are viewed in the business world and in the private culture of the family. When one gender’s accomplishments are valued over the accomplishments of another gender, the lesser valued gender may have more difficulty approaching needs for survival. The need for a equal weight being placed upon the efforts of both male and female allows for an equality of the access to opportunities of greater importance. Using the Law to Promote Equality Gender Equality 5 In the United Kingdom, UK Sport is the organization that directs the development of sports programs. UK Sport has a firm policy concerning equality within sports, including gender equality. The released statement from the organization is as follows: Equity is about recognizing and removing the barriers faced by people involved or wanting to be involved in sport. It is about changing the culture of sport to one that values diversity and enables the full involvement of disadvantaged groups in every aspect of sport. (Honeybourne, 2005, p. 10). The intent of UK sport is to promote environments of sport that are inclusive and without prejudicial shadows that taint the true nature of play. With various support of differing laws that pertain to the creation of a more equitable playing field for participation, UK Sport has worked to provide more opportunities that include both genders. Although most sports are still classified as the male type or the female type, the efforts are making sure that provision are made for separate but equal sporting participation is made through cooperation with law making authorities. In the United States a law was passed that addressed this issue, but left its interpretation vague and ambiguous. In 1972 Title IX was passed saying that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal funding.” (Smith, 2010, p. 101). While open to various degrees of understanding, essentially this law requires that equal access be granted to members of both genders. In other words, it does not say that all teams that are traditionally male must accept female players, but it does suggest that if there is a male team a female team must also exist with equal opportunities. However, the ambiguity of the law creates just that flaw. That the interpretation may or may not support the actuality of how the teams may exist within the educational institution. Gender Equality 6 Feminist Theories on Gender Equality in Sports Feminist theorists believe that patriarchy, the “system of power that privileges men and male activities and qualities over women….both creates and requires gender difference and as a result, essentializes masculinity and femininity.” (Smith, 2010, p.102). The way in which a patriarchal society defines itself demands that in order for that culture to flourish certain expectations regarding gender must be realized. Of course, when the genders align themselves with these expectations, the subordinate gender will have opportunities that are vital for survival denied to them in favor of the dominate gender. Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, president of the American Sociological Association gave an address speaking to the expectations and functions of gender within a culture. In her speech she suggested that the inequality of women was not the same as most social inequality. Women live in the same homes in families with men, they share the same racial heritages, the same socio-economic backgrounds, but their inequality is based on the need for a society to maintain social power and stratification separation and part of that separation is between men and women in order for men to maintain power (Smith, 2010, p. 102). As culture has developed, the activity of sports, as it has been good for men, has been denied to women because of a variety of reasons that led back to the social power that men need in order to maintain a patriarchal society. In the attempt to maintain the patriarchal power, the sports arena must be seen from the perspective of the male showing his dominance over other males, thus securing his place within his gender. According to Bryson (1983, p. 415), sports are intended to ritualize a show of competence of men in a public display. This secures their physical power and by excluding women, they are isolate from the ultimate source of power, that being the physical strength Gender Equality 7 needed to show the capacity for violence and aggression. U.K. sociology theorist J. A. Hargreaves says that the relationship between capitalism and its power and the relationship between gender inequalities in sports are related as in that in capitalism it is the male dominated source of power that is reflected in the way that sports are consumed by the male population. According to Dworkin and Messner (2004, p. 17), sports has the distinction of being one of the best areas human conduct in which to study the differences in gender and gender identity. They say that “Sport, as a commercial and cultural production, constructs and markets gender; besides making money, gender may be sport’s chief function.”. The way in which sport defines masculinity for men, then redefines femininity for women, but still with the male aspect in mind creates the sociological foundation for the male dominated world. With the creation of producing sporting events for an audience, it is intended that male sports must have predominantly male audience, and in order to sell female sports, they must appeal to the male audience. One popular example of this is found in a montage of scenes from the American film “A League of Their Own” that portrayed the ultimately failed attempt to develop women’s professional baseball in the Untied States that saw some success during World War II when the majority of men were at war. During the scene, the actions of the women were made to be cute and seductive, rather than sober and intent on participating in serious sports (Thomlinson, Horne, and Whannel, 1999, p. 217). Male Aggression and Sports In creating an understanding of the differences in gender and the way in which the culture requires women to appear as inferior in sports, one needs to come to an understanding of how aggression is a tool for the identity of the male gender. Aggression can be inspired across gender Gender Equality 8 boundaries when a male feels threatened by a female. Aggression is far more likely to occur when a male feels threatened by a female than threatened by a male (Russell, 2008, p. 23). This factor reveals the fragile state that the male identity has in regard to physical power. The establishment of aggression requires physical prowess, which in turn proves cultural strength and power. As well, the biological nature of strength suggest competence and capability in the search for stability and control of survival. The purpose of aggression within the male gender is based on cultural expectations and needs. Despite this fact, according to Pease and Pease (2001), male aggression cannot be explained by social conditioning. In fact, the modern male is highly conditioned away from this response. Studies have shown that male testosterone is actually elevated after a sporting event showing that competition heightens aggression. Therefore, one may conclude that the use of the sporting event is to complete the desire for aggression within the male without expressing it in a destructive way. With this biological factor in mind, the necessity for gender equality must be put into question. Gender Applications within Education In understanding the nature of achievement, one can understand the nature of inequality having importance for overall life performance. The ability to find confidence, leadership skills, and to achieve victory all guide a student toward excellence and hopefully toward a valuable future. As suggested previously, the nature of power is given due course during the production of a sporting event. When an equal share of resources are given freely to both genders, an equal opportunity for understanding and valuing those achievements will promote post educational success. Gender Equality 9 In sports, one can find a microcosm of culture that underlies the whole of human existence. Just like in life, women have to fight for their place on the playing field, hoping that the sense of fair play wins out over the discriminatory passages that might color the experience of playing. Prejudice and preferential treatment over the price of freedom still exists. However, within the schools it becomes the responsibility of the administration to develop programs that are respondent to the needs of the athletic department, but also to the social order. In allowing discriminatory class distinctions, the school is designing the future and in this future, the word and deeds of women are subject to the shadowing of influence that a discriminatory practice might hold over their actions. Conclusion The issue of gender has an impact on a wide variety of socially relevant subjects and consequences to inequality can have reverberating events within the social stratosphere. It is therefore important to study the ways in which sports theory must be taught along with feminist and social theories so that the events of society coincide with the belief of society. There have been advancements where gender is concerned, but the whole picture of the female of the species cannot fully bring to appreciation. In discussing gender, one is discussing the future. Unfortunately, there are still differences in the way that genders are treated within the educational institutions. There are still differences in the way that professional sports are financed and produced. The issue of equality in sports is more a financial question than a sociological question as there will always be differences in the way that male and female athletes play. Therefore, the gender issues must be embraced and celebrated in order to avoid devaluing the female athlete, but lifting her for her achievements with the male. Gender Equality 10 References Bryson, L. (1983), Sport and the oppression of women. The Journal of Sociology, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 413-426. Dworkin, S. L. & Messner, (2002). M. A. Just do….what? Sport bodies gender. Found in Gender and Sport, a reader. London, Routledge. Hargreaves, J. A. (2006). Gender on the sports agenda. International review on the Sociology of Sports, vol 40, pp 35-38. Honeybourne, J. (2005). BTEC First Sport. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Lynch, K. & Lodge, A. (2002). Equality and power in schools. London, Routledge. Pease, B., & Pease, A. (2001). Why men dont listen & women cant read maps: how were different and what to do about it. New York, Broadway Books. Russell, G. W. (2008). Aggression in the sports world: a social psychological perspective. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Smith, E. (2010). Sociology of sport and social theory. Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics. Thomlinson, A. Horne, J. & Whannel G. (1999) Understanding Sport: An introduction to the sociological and cultural analysis of sport. London, Routledge. Thompson, L. (2007). “The grim truth about gender inequality“. Daily and Sunday Express, 15 May, viewed 3 April 2010, http://www.express.co.uk/blogs/post/152/Lauren%20Tho mpson/2007/05/15/7098/The+grim+truth+about+gender+inequality+ Read More