Sex Tests And Gender Policies Essay

This activity functions as a reaffirmation of their heterosexuality and masculinity. Being able to push one’s body past its mental and physical limits is associated with stoic masculinity and has been compared to a utilitarian, well oiled machine (Cherney & Lindemann). Athletes use sport as an outlet for aggression and competitiveness. Therefore, this population is often stereotyped. However, certain populations challenge this norm through alternative activities. For example, quadriplegic rugby and wheelchair basketball utilize daredevil masculinity as a way of repairing men’s masculine identities (Cherney & Lindemann). In addition, the presence of potentially homoerotic actions can be found throughout sport, even though society denies its existence. In American football alone, men slap each other’s butts, violate personal space when tackling, and hug each other in celebration of victory (Cherney & Lindemann). On gameday, men celebrate the complicated nature of their masculinity, but outside of sport, they deny its

According to Heather Skyes in her article “Transsexual and Transgender Policies in Sport”, the vast variety of genders that make up our society today including transsexuals and transgender are still not accepted into the world of sports due to anxieties from large sporting organizations. In our culture, there is a ‘binary structure’ which separates male from female. When a person is transsexual or transgender, the binary structure becomes challenged. There are so many exceptions to the binary structure, that it becomes nearly impossible to universalize “gender inclusive policies”. These individuals increase the ‘anxieties’ that Skyes suggests sporting organizations have, because transsexual and transgender people do not fit the norm.

2. I chose this test because I was interested in seeing what I thought about male/female roles.

A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Sports originated in early history as males only, and was often used to see which male was more dominant. In today’s society sports have a different meaning and is played by both genders, but still holds a mentality of superiority. In this essay, I will be arguing the Social Constructs of Masculinity in Sports in the language and the actions used when performing these activities through both genders and how some actions are acceptable for one gender and not for the other. Using Laurel Richardson’s article Gender Stereotyping in the English Language, and X: A Fabulous Child’s Story by Lois Gould. The article and story will help distinguish the use of words in our society and how they are incorporated in sport and how the actions of a person that does not fit the social standard faces repercussions for their actions.

The repeated use of phrases like “you’re so gay” or “don’t be a fag” emphasized Hegemonic Masculinity in which those that reflect female “characteristics”, such as being “soft” or “bitchy” lose what Bascoe would call “social capital”. In Dude You're a Fag, the concept of “scoring” with a girl entails using a woman’s body “as proof of masculinity” (92). In the case of DYAF, the seemingly ridiculous banter between rugby-playing Reggie and his team detailing the prospects of sex with their homecoming dates and the ensuing game of one-upmanship over sexual experiences. On multiple occasions, I witnessed this behavior from both female and male athletes. However, the importance of the constant reminder that one is heterosexual is far more important as a male. While the female athletes I have observed have more or less regarded males as just fellow athletes, I saw behaviors that emphasized heterosexual behaviors even outside of encounters with females. On multiple occasions, I would observe a male athlete mentioning his struggles with the workload or admitting fatigue being met with accusations of being “gay”. While these behaviors have no certain connection with homosexual activity, the continued emphasis of compulsive heterosexuality ensures that a team as a whole is seen as “masculine” and intimidating in the eyes of

Gender classification is a predominant topic within today’s sports and is most broadly understood through the portrayals of sports media. Through overt and covert ways, sports media has continued to promote a masculine representation of sports (Millington & Wilson, 2010; Messener, Duncan, & Jensen, 1993). By understanding the way in which sports media portrays sports, one can recognize how masculinity has dominated the world of sports. With the aid of two unique studies of sports media, this paper will critique the way in which media has effected the gendered depiction of sports.

How does one define gender? Is it in terms of sex or is a distinct term with separate qualities and qualifications? In the past century, sports have wrestled with these questions on how to qualify and quantify gender. By addressing these issues, whether intentional or not, the sports world has certainly broken down some barriers to transgender equality. Nevertheless, there is certainly more work to do to further progress transgender equality in sports and arguably it is the moral obligation of the sports world to pursue such equality. Ultimately, transgender people should have the right to pursue competitive careers that match their gender identity.

The answer is that gender cannot be completely determined by physical sex. This is especially true given that human bodies in general do not conform to only two sexes. People actually “fall along a continuum between female and male,” which means that sex cannot be the only dictator of gender identity (Disch 2006: 15). According to Judith Lorber, sex does not divide us; it is how society genders us, or interprets the role and function of one’s sex, that creates gender stratification, where one gender is placed above the other in the power structure (2006). The male drive to seek masculinity over femininity creates a patriarchal culture thriving on this “power over” attitude, as opposed to a “power to” ideal. This patriarchy defines roles in and ideas about sexuality and physical standards that the “weaker,” feminine gender has to follow (Johnson 2006). Michael Messner similarly finds that lower-class men see sports as the way to construct their masculine identities (2006), which also begs the question of why these men need to construct their masculinity if it has already been biologically determined.

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.

Homophobia is a “dislike or prejudice against homosexual people” (Oxford, 2016). Homophobia can cause homosexual people to be bullied and ridiculed for their sexual preference. Although there is less homophobia being reported everyday in the news, homophobia is in many aspects of the world, including sports. The aim of this report is to explain through a sociological perspective, how conformity in sports leads to homophobia. Three main areas of conformity that lead to homophobia in sports, normative conformity, informational conformity, and internalization.

Our world is extremely gendered, each person through their daily behaviors, thoughts and actions embody gender, which then unintentionally reinforces gendered conceptions in an ongoing loop in which culture influences gender and then gender influences our culture. Gender and its huge influence on our lives can be illustrated through an examination of bathrooms, sports and technology. Lorber (1993) uses sports and additionally technology to explain how society creates gendered bodies, reinforcing gender norms and shaping our conceptions of what is biological or natural. Men are assumed to be the stronger sex,

Athletes could be discouraged from playing certain sports due to social ideologies which may determine what suitable sports is for males and females. These homophobic trends emphasised by the media, could deter athletes from expressing themselves genuinely.

The idea of gender stems from society being composed into two major constructs; females and males (Chepyator-Thompson & Ennis, 1997). Physical education (PE) as a school subject has been empowered by discourses of gender, masculinity and femininity. Discourses are “practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak” (Hill, 2015, p.666). PE is imperative for the building and consolidation of dominant and secondary masculinities and femineities (Paechter, 2003). Thus, this paper draws on PE as reproducing traditional gender norms, focuses on how these gender norms have contributed to the construction of different heterosexual masculinity and femininity forms in today’s education system, and ultimately the consequences associated.

"What are women? What are they? Are they serpents, wolves, lions, dragons, vipers or devouring beasts and enemies of the human race…. But by God! if they are your mothers, your sisters, your daughters, your wives and your companions; they are yourselves and you yourselves are them," (Akkerman 1). What are women? Better yet, how important are women? As important people, women play specific roles based on societal expectations and dictations. In the beginning, women were not seen as equal figures, and thereby restricted to gender specific roles that otherwise downplayed the significance of women. In modern times, women and men fought for gender equality, but fighting for gender equality or feminism wasn’t confined to modern times. Furthermore, the fight for gender equality was not confined to the general public; artists, scientists, writers, and poets in some form argued for gender equality. Now, this essay won 't focus on every aspect of gender equality by every single influential person, but it will zoom in on certain notable literary figures that incorporated progressive views within their work.

Everyone has heard of the battle of the sexes, how men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Is this seemingly profound difference present from birth, or is it something that children catch on to when they are watching adults interact? The difference between men and women, or in this case boys and girls, has a heavy influence on how they are treated, and how they respond to their environment. What might be the most important environment that boys and girls are exposed to is their school. How children are treated in school has a significant effect on their attitudes towards school and furthering their education (Zullig, 2011). The idea that children are treated unequally throughout their school years based on their gender is not a new