Rugby and Its Subtext - Essay Example

The men who feature in advertisements for rugby have protruding biceps and broad chests like weights lifters. In those advertisements, they use force and excessive energy when countering their counterparts. The subtext in these advertisements implies that women lack the physical capacity to play rugby and this is incorrect. In fact, some women are better body-built than some men are. Using physical capacity as a basis for not featuring women in rugby entrenches the traditional patriarchal stereotype that women are weaker than men are (Harrington p4).

Exemplified tactics in rugby are another concern in considering the explicit absence of women in the arena of rugby. In traditional patriarchal societies, women were not allowed to engage in some activities because they were thought of as not having the mental aptitude required to handle them (Harrington p9). A similar notion is implied when rugby media coverage and advertisement conspicuously miss mentioning anything about women. This is a notion that has been disproved, clearly, by the modern woman who ventures into almost every activity to which they were previously restricted and rugby is not an exception.

Discipline is more of a personal matter than one that depends on sex and gender. Individual differences play an important role in a person’s predisposition to discipline. However, some commentators have observed that women are more likely to exercise restraint than men are. If this were to be used in comparing male and female rugby players, females would rate better males. Discipline alone cannot make a good rugby player without the other elements and as such, it would be unfair to exclude women from the game if they succeeded in blending all the elements (Harrington p4).

Additionally, the extent to which a player exercises discipline in a game is influenced by their goals and objectives in the game and if women could have these, excluding them would not be justified. Finally, the subtext in rugby and communications about it downplays the likelihood of women learning teamwork skills. The activities women engage in on a daily basis can exemplify their performance in teamwork. Commentators assert that because of the key roles women play in family life and the social support groups and networks they maintain they perform better in teamwork than some men (Harrington p14).

In summary, it is unfair to leave out women in rugby. Women rugby teams should be supported in diverse dimensions in order to help them gain publicity and encourage more women to join.