Female Athlete Triad Essay

While participation of women in sports has increased, the media representation of women in sports remains problematic. Even the most talented elite female athletes like Michelle Kwan and Monica Seles are portrayed in a sexual fashion, as a way of deemphasizing their athleticism and neutralizing any possible threat they might seem to pose to male viewers. Very few male athletes are portrayed in such an objectified manner; they are portrayed as competitors first and foremost, not as personalities. Also, the media coverage of athletes is disproportionately focused on male athletes. The coverage of female athletes tends to stress individualized female sports where women can be sexualized like tennis and figure skating, versus competitive team sports like basketball and soccer.

Women in professional sports fits into the Sex and Power: Global Gender Inequality class because many female athletes have experienced the inequalities in a professional sports setting. Female athletes are being put down by gender inequalities, causing less females participating in athletic programs. Women athletes are being paid less than their male counterparts. Along with being paid less, female and males are receiving unequal benefits in the form of scholarship, media coverage, transportation, and stadium conditions. The professional sport’s world is filled with the obsession of body image and sexuality. Through this obsession, female athletes have been abused from the people they trust the most. There is an increasing inequality in women’s professional sports in the form of pay, sexuality, and abuse.

Women have struggled for more than two centuries to be taken serious as professionals. There should not be a double standard in sports especially if it is loved and played by both genders. Over the years, females have competed against the stereotype of being too fragile both mentally and physically to play strenuous sports. The passion and work ethic of the female professional athletes is just as strong as the males and everyone should be treated equal and be able to have a chance at making a better living for themselves as well as their family. One area that still faces a continual struggle in sports is gender equality. Female

Nevertheless, the struggle of an individual letting go of his or her athletic identity is a major component to that process, and has caused a significant amount of distress for many retiring athletes. Warriner and Lavallee (2008) indicated that the transition into retirement can become more complicated when athletes maintain an exclusive athletic identity, (i.e., they derive their personal identity exclusively from their athletic role). In other words, they only identify as athletes (Warriner & Lavallee 2008). Likewise, Stephan and Bilard (2003) suggested that athletes’ identity issues while entering retirement may be correlated to the physical changes associated with detachment from elite competition. Furthermore, Warriner and Lavallee (2008) stated that athletes may obtain their self-confidence from their perception of their physical appearance. For example, female gymnasts are required to maintain below-average size during their career. In addition, these athletes begin competition at a young age and have a strict diet and training regimen, which can delay puberty (Warriner & Lavallee 2008). Because female gymnasts tend to retire at a young age, usually before they reach puberty, it is not uncommon for them to gain an average of 40 to 50 pounds upon retirement (Russell-Mayhew, 2005). This excessive weight gain can be highly destructive to the athletes’ perception of their physical appearance. Again, physical appearance has been correlated with athletic identity issues during retirement, thus creating a multifaceted crisis for athletes upon beginning their retirement. However, it is important to highlight the association between an athlete’s physical appearance and self-confidence. If an athlete derives his or her self-confidence from physical appearance, then maintaining that appearance, when possible, may provide added confidence in obtaining a new career and identity. Specifically, it would

However, women’s sport has always been criticized for not being considered an actual sport, but rather a softer version of a man’s sport. As a result, women who were very successful were questioned in regards of their true sex. Santhi Soundarajan was a female competitor in the 2006 Asian Games for the 800-meter race. Soundarajan was successful as she received a silver medal for her efforts, however, she was highly disturbed by the “sex testing” which she was required to go through prior to participating in the Olympic Games (Schultz, 2014). Eventually, it was determined that Soundarajan did not fit into the category of female as her testosterone levels were too high and the Olympic Association had taken away her medal. The idea that femininity is a direct link to being female is an imagined paradigm created by society to dominate women and the notion that women are allowed to compete as long as they appear feminine and act feminine is comical. The reason that this idea of femininity exists is because masculinity exists and if an individual is not feminine then they must be masculine. Therefore, sport is considered a masculine space and to be good at sport one must attain masculinity which can be demonstrated through speed, strength, bulging muscles, bravery, and is coupled with having high levels of testosterone. All of these characteristics are the opposite of the feminine embodiment which includes being poise, pretty, having a slender waist with wide hips, and low amounts of testosterone. Currently, the IAAF states that the amount of testosterone allowed within the blood to be able to compete as a female must be no more than 5 nanomoles per liter (Chiu, 2018). This is almost about half of what the pre-existing limit was before this announcement was made, the monumental discriminatory remarks directly affect women

According to Laing, “The sexualization of female athletes reduces their self-esteem and identity by dehumanizing and pressuring them into an unhealthy obsession with body image” (page: 3). This leads to the media making women self-conscious about their bodies. Athletes often hear people say of other athletes, “She is too big, she’s not muscular enough or she is too skinny about female athletes.” Because of the way in which the media portrays a particular set of females, all females tend to strive for this “perfect physique”. This can lead to serve cases like dissatisfaction with their appearance and eating disorders. Some may argue that women like the sexualized manner in which they media portrays them because it increases their self-esteem

Female athlete triad is a condition where bone loss, irregular menstrual cycles, and energy deficiency occur in athletes. Occasionally referred to as the triad, this condition is seen mostly in female athletes, although in rare cases male athletes can suffer from it as well. It occurs so often in today 's female athletes however, due to distorted body expectations, common menstrual irregularities, and the already lower bone densities of women. When these symptoms combine, it creates a very serious and life-long health risk.

As previously stated, the subjects were female athletes who play/played basketball or soccer. The data for this article came from MEDLINE and was through the dates 1978 to 1998 (Ireland,

When it comes to physical activity women are seen as inferior to men. They lack the muscular physique and the lung capacity that men are naturally born with. Unfortunately, when a woman excels in sports it is assumed that she has cheated and is questioned about her performance. In Genel’s article, throughout the process of gender testing, a group of women were found to be genetically male. These women have what is called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS). Their outer appearance is that of a woman, but genetically they are made up of 46 XY chromosomes, which marks them genetically as males. These female athletes are “born with relatively rare genetic abnormalities that affect development of the gonads”. they are naturally resistant to the strength-promoting qualities of testosterone. When Skyes suggests that each athlete is unique and their circumstances need to be taken into consideration, this is one of those many circumstances.

As women, we our taught by family member and society, that we always need to look our best. To be on the best behavor. Yet it is not for us but for the opposite sex. That women are mainly here for male enjoyment. We are also taught that we must be passive and smart but not smarter than males. A woman cannot be too aggressive because no man will want to be with her. Women can not beat a male at anything because we are not supposed to be tuffer than males. In sports males are prided on the aggressive and strength. Yet women athletes are not because the world still criticize women old fashion gender role. If you are a female athlete, you cannot win because the word brings you down by ones looks. In the website, Sport Sister, they show women athletes

Anorexia often strikes young women who try to evade the natural process of becoming adults and who use excessive measures to maintain a thin and girlish figure--the exact description of what today's female gymnast must accomplish to stay competitive at its highest levels. For these athletes, the onset of womenhood is their biggest fear because it means developing hips or breasts that might hinder their performance. Thus, starving themselves offers the most convenient solution to their problem. In addition, many of these girls begin training specifically for this sport since the time they

The gender verification has become a major controversy for women’s sports. The International of Olympic Committee (IOC) has made gender verification essential to female sports fearing that male would be a fraudulent to participate in a female sport. However, the purpose of the verification method is to create a fair competitive sports game for female athletes. Gender verifications can be considered a good method to sustain the integrity of sport, but the procedure of examining the athletes have to be done differently. The IOC requirements are to determine and verify the aspects of genetic and characteristic of the female athletes. Gender verification has not only become problematic but it has harmed the reputation of those who are not male origin that are accused of being male.

Other medical assumptions involving women and sport included the idea that women participating in vigorous sports were believed that they would also suffer from “nerve fatigue,” and “lowered vitality” (Festle, 1996). Critics believed women could not handle the stress that came with sports. The stress would cause women to eventually break down because they would not know when to stop and call it quits.

The adverse topic of women in sports stems from society's disregard to viewing women as persons. Women were, and in other parts of the world continue to be viewed as property of men and have no significant role in society. Being allowed into the Olympics was a step in the right direction for women across the world, but it was meager attempt equality. Women were still restricted by what events they were allowed to compete in, how they were trained and coached and even limited as to what they could wear. A woman’s femininity played a large role in the way they were perceived by society; weak. Women were seen as incommensurate to men and it was something that has taken us centuries to reverse. Today, women are given the rights we should have

Since the beginning of this century women like Babe Didrickson and Billy Jean King have brought female athletes into mainstream acceptance. In earlier times women had not only not been encouraged to be physical it was thought to be harmful for