Gender Equality And Sport In Australia

Upon starting college, I was done with sports as far as participating on a team. I knew I wanted to be involved wherever I could be. I enrolled in a class titled, “Girls & Women in Sport.” The class was built upon a sociological approach. In this class, I learned the importance of sex versus gender, the role of Title IX in sports, gender roles, as well as the psychological impacts of athletic participation on women.

This section will outline how, throughout history, the role of Women in Society that has been reflected in the role of Women in Sport.

Firstly gender has a marked effect on Australian sports playing and spectating. At the very start of the century woman played few sports because sports were too physically demanding for the body. The widespread acceptance of medicalised perspectives on female bodies served to limit female sporting involvement for a very long time. International Review for the sociology of sport 50 (4-5)pp.430-436. In todays society, there is still continuous inequality throughout the sporting industry amongst athletes and sporting teams. With sport being a strong influence, there are many ongoing consistencies.

Over the years there has been several reasons why people argued the point of whether women should be allowed to participate in sports. Society used the excuse that women are weaker than men resulting in the conclusion that women could not handle the competitive atmosphere that playing a sport brings. Another reasoning was that past cultures and religion did not allow women to be involved in activities other than the normal womanly duties. This unjust nature of believing that women are less than men or that men are superior just because is not acceptable and should not be tolerated. As Sandra Coney says in an article, “New Zealand has been called a man’s country. Sporting contest have been a male proving ground and a source of identity and pride” (Coney). This quote proves that it is not just one area or one country where the male species is the higher of the two genders, it is a worldwide issue. Although some may think women should not be involved in sports, many disagree and believe that the involvement of women in sports can benefit society.

Upon analysing equity and access in sport, it is important that I am aware of what levels of the framework have influenced my sport participation. In Queensland especially, the sport of AFL comes with primarily negative connotations. These preconceived notions about the sport and the cultural have had a negative effect on my participation and approach towards the sport. Gender stereotypes have also been a deterrent in my participation. Sports, such as AFL, require participants to be competitive, courageous, powerful and strong. These qualities are largely associated with male gender stereotypes. Sport reinforces hegemonic masculinity by celebrating stereotypically masculine and activities and attributes, and restricting the behaviour of women.

How is it fair that a men’s college basketball team is able to be transported on planes and dine on steak, while a women’s team from the same college, travels in a van and eats fast food? It’s not, but this occurs often nowadays even with laws passed preventing this type of discrimination. In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, which prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including athletic programs (Kiernan 3). Many schools and colleges have not been able to comply with the Title IX standards mostly because of money. Some of the problems in high schools and colleges consist of insufficient scholarships for girls, not enough coaching jobs, a lack of equipment, and a limited amount of supplies. Not only

Within sport, as throughout society, gender differences exist. The socially constructed phenomenon of gender dictates a dichotomous system whereby females are feminine and males are masculine. Focusing on females specifically, society determines the feminine traits and roles ascribed to this gender. Being domesticated, slender, passive and heterosexual are a part of the desirable appearance that society has formed surrounding femininity (Wolf, 1991). On the other side of the dichotomy is the masculine realm that sport plays into. Sport is fuelled by muscle, power and aggressiveness, which are behaviours and images associated to masculinity. Sport therefore, defies all existing female gender ideals. It would be assumed that females have no place within this institution due to the gender clash. However, female athletes do exist, and many are very successful. For this to work, sport has established and reinforced the social constructions of gender that exist in society. Female athletes are viewed as inferior and are pushed into gender appropriate sports. Furthermore, they are often labeled as masculine until they can prove otherwise, and so great attempts are made to reassert femininity. The stigma associated to being masculine or homosexual for female athletes is so great that many have become irrationally fearful of this label. The sexualisation of the female body and overt displays of heterosexuality are used in

Australia has produced many upon many of sportsmen and women who provide the thrills and the hopes for many young Australians, and this is what the Australian sporting culture is all about.

Throughout many years there has been a great change of gender roles of men and women in our society, and especially in the world of sports. Over the last couple years female athletes have really strived to gaining equal representation and media coverage as much as the male athletes do. Female athletes are also starting to participate in more male dominated sports such as, MMA, hockey and even golf. These few sports have been perceived as “manly sports” which usually makes women feel that they shouldn't participate because they're not masculine enough. Even though there are many female athletes who feel discouraged to playing “manly sports” there are also plenty of female athletes who are trying to show younger generations that it's okay to participate and compete in sports that aren't necessarily “feminine sports”. The way that gender roles have been affecting sports for a long time are through behaviors, stereotypes and the perception of male and female athletes.

Current society is built upon stereotypes and constructions that are predetermined by previous generations’ views. One of the most recognised historical constructions is the patriarchal theory, that the female is subservient to the male. However, this construction of gender power is slowly equalising, with the rise of feminist groups in the latter part of the 20th century giving reason for this occurring. Nevertheless, gender battles are still occurring, particularly in the sporting industry, which remains male dominated. Female sport has been given much notoriety over their uproar in the past decade, but is finding in a male controlled industry it is difficult for women to receive help from governing bodies. Female sport is

Across all areas of society increasing gender equality has become an important and popular topic. Many industries are taking action to help create equal opportunities for both men and women, although Myers and Doherty (2007) suggest there is ,“ A considerable amount of work still to be done to achieve equality for women in sport” (p.323). Placing emphasis on the role of sport and societal issues Mulholland (2012) claims, “Sport is a viable tool for addressing gender inequality and empowering girls and women.” (p.17). The inequality of male to female participation is especially present in snowboarding, as stated by the Women’s Snowboard Federation, “Female participation rates in snowboarding are significantly lower than the distribution of the general population” (Women’s Snowboard Federation). This paper will discuss the Canadian snowboard industry, and why it is important for their organization to reach out into the Canadian sport community and increase the number of female participants. Although the Canadian snowboard industry is predominantly male, the current changing tone of this male dominated industry presents an ideal opportunity to make changes effectively and efficiently to pursue gender equal opportunities and in the distribution of programming. Coakely (2009) claims that sport is a socially constructed institution that changes according to cultural context; affects other realms of our culture like

When a person of a specific gender enters a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex, many social and moral issues will arise challenging that person involved in that particular sport. The intentions of the individual will be questioned as well as their personal interest in the sport. Before any of these questions are asked, there must be a redefinition of gender roles, femininity, and masculinity. In order for a person to enter a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex without being criticize about gender morality, society must set flexible definitions for femininity and masculinity.

“Women who play men’s sport have constantly to negotiate their status in traditional cultural contexts of men’s power and privilege, and in a general discourse of femininity, patriarchy and compulsory heterosexuality” (Craig & Beedie, 2008).

This study reveals much about the attitudes that persist in society today regarding sport and gender. Early on, sport was created to serve men, evolving as a celebration of maleness, valuing strength, power, and competition. It idealized, promoted, and rewarded successful, elite athletes, established “the dream” as a professional career in sports, and viewed mass participation in sport as a tool to weed out the weak (Hill, 1993). In contrast, women’s sports originated to “address the expressed need for healthful exercise” (Huckaby, 1994). Unlike the competitive warrior mode

Gender in Leisure and in particular sports is still an ongoing issue in society. Current society genders sports and if seen to enjoy or play these sports women are seen as being less feminine. They are to participate in the “…appropriate” (Jun, & Kyle, 2012, p. 354) behaviours that coincide with being female. Gender in leisure is impacted by society, society implies which gender should and should not participate in certain leisure activities.