Gender Stereotypes And Demographic Analysis

Traditionally women were viewed as equipped to participate in sports, and their involvement was viewed as unfeminine and undesirable. This Article Examples the women were viewed as unfeminine to the sports that men play and undesirable. Young girls who are given an early opportunity to participate in sports may be more prepared for the male in classrooms. Even though women have often been relegated to second-hand citizenship in the same socializing, integration, statues, and recognition that benefit male athletes. (By; Sandra L. Hanson)

This reflected upon the participation of sports for women as there were practically no professional tournaments open for women. If they were to play sports, it was for socialising and for leisure time. Virtually no women had

There has always been that stereotype of boys being more athletic than girls. The gender segregation of sports reflects more than just physical differences between men and women. It reflects the way men think about women and sports. When someone throws a baseball in a nonathletic way, a friend would yell, “Stop throwing like a girl!” Being reminded of this

Woman’s sustained involvement in ‘male’ team sports has only occurred relatively recently. Woman’s participation in sport has been blunted by

Women have always had less involvement in sport than men. There may be reasons as to why women have less involvement. They may stop playing sport to focus on other thing like having children or a family. Women with family may also find it difficult due to a lack of money and time. These barriers can occur at any level of sports continuum from someone who may just want to exercise to keep fit (participation stage) but feels they can’t as the only classes available to them are mixed sex classes which they are not comfortable with. Other example, of the barriers to women may be that at the performance or excellence stage lack sponsorship, media coverage and government funding in women’s sport. This in turn means that women are unable to continue sport as a career and are limited to the level they are able to achieve as they can’t live by only playing sports and must get a job. There has been a large improvement in the amount of women involved in sport since scheme and government funded activities have been put in place to increase numbers of women’s only classes, competitive clubs and female teams in traditional male sport such as rugby, football and

* In 1970, 1/25 North American school girls participated in a school sport….in 2006, it has increased to 1/3.

As stated previously, women have a much lower interest in competing in athletics, statistically speaking. For example, high schools must also obey the regulations put into play by Title IX by offering the same number of sports teams for each gender, thus giving high school students equal opportunities to participate in athletics. However, even though both male and females are offered the same opportunities, 1.4 million fewer females choose to compete in high school sports than males. Based on recent reports from the 2010-11 academic year from the state high school athletic associations from all 50 states, sports participation among genders is approximately 4.5 million boys, or 60% of total participation, as compared to approximately 3.1 million girls, or only 40% of total participation.(Toporek) Although this statistic clearly

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

Sports in the 1920s were evolving rapidly, but it was also the first sign of inequality for women against men’s sports. Baseball and boxing were primarily the two most famous sports back then crossing out even a single thought for women activities. “Women and girls had limited opportunities for sports in the 1920s” (Sumner). Even besides sports, most schools had physical education classes set out just for girls. With this, most teachers considered any physical activity such as running or sweat to be considered for males. All in all, they

Another cause for concern over female sport is that professionally they are not getting anywhere near enough media coverage and money as their male counterparts. The media cover male sport in far more depth; in fact a study in 2006 by South Australian Premier’s Council for Women found just 4.1 per cent of coverage was about female sport () and on Foxtel approximately 10 per cent was about female sport (Senate Standing Committees on Environment, Communications and the Arts 2006). The chart below shows the volume of news coverage that all the different sports receive, which not surprisingly shows Tennis as being pretty much the main female sport that is being covered, with very little else in comparison to male sport, even horses gain more exposure than females. So while females are being

Hannon, J., Soohoo, S., Reel, J., & Ratliffe, T. (2009). Gender stereotyping and the influence of race in sport among adolescents. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 80(3), 676-684.

The sports world has been a new area where women are recognized. In previous times women’s sports were almost non-existent. In schools many girl teams did not receive adequate funds for uniforms and equipment. Boys sports were much more popular, such as football or basketball. If a girl wanted to play a guy sport she would be labeled as a

By placing such a heavy weight of male childhood on sports, we are limiting boys to choosing their own path. Several individuals admitted that they took up sports because they were expected to or pressured by the community. This removes the choice for boys to decide what they want to do, while also placing such a heavy emphasis on sports within our society. I believe that the emphasis put on sports is hurting our youth because they feel they do not have the freedom to pick an activity themselves, or they fear letting down another male family member. Some boys do end up playing for themselves, but a vast majority do so because they do not know any alternatives that will be equally accepted by society. The article focused on males, but I believe females can also face this same dilemma. One cannot play a sport forever. They eventually have to retire, and if they spent their whole life participating in one sport, what are they supposed to do when they can no longer play that sport? The pressure they face as a child is unhealthy, and can affect them for the rest of their lives.

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

In another research, Bryson (1987) found that sports have always been a construction of hegemonic masculinity. A sport such as football receives attention and is linked with masculinity where the use of force, violence or aggression can be seen. Women who attempt to do sport are merely challenging the hegemonic masculinity is already in place.