Double Bind Of Masculinity And Sports

Another observance that I made regarded the male and female distributions throughout the day at the UNC Asheville gym. During the morning there was a disproportionate amount of females, with an estimated 65% of the makeup of the gym being females with most using the cycling machines. However later in the day males were the most populous demographic in the gym, and by far the majority was occupied using the weight room or the weight machines. I propose that this may be due to the main motivation differing between males and females using the gym. Society tends to put more pressure on females to lose weight and be in shape, while there is more pressure on males to have large amounts of muscle and generally be larger, with less emphasis placed

On page 107 the author writes, “ As adults, men are expected to be strong, athletic, and skilled in diverse realms of their life — work, sexuality, and fatherhood. These physically embodied dimensions of masculinity are mixed with the psychological and social dynamics of masculinity, which can lead men to feel they are unable to live up to their image or expectations” (Clow&Ricciardelli 107.), this proves that those unreal expectations do effect males psychologically. Men feel like they are not able to achieve that, which further causes damage to their self esteem. Later on page 108 the authors write, “Overall, the hypervisibility of the male body has played a role in the emergence of a new trend, where men are focusing more attention than ever before on their physical appearance and attractiveness.” (Clow & Ricciardelli 108.), because of the new trend, men are now going to the gym more and trying to look more attractive and masculine. This article was also really organized and easy to follow, however it was quite repetitive. They kept mentioning the same couple of facts. The authors also overwhelmed the reader with tons of information, which got quite overwhelming. This article was useful because their findings were

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 working class rhetoric about fitness and wellness has been a subject of concern for quite some time. The period when people were shifting their social ideologies in which class and gender were mapped onto bodies in every material condition of life also provided a framework for the recommended change in the society. It is highly relevant to study how people navigate their lives as far as sexuality and gender are concerned (Lee 245). The implications for the gendered sense of self for the middle class can be innovative regarding the methodology employed. The popular culture has represented fat people as revolting and as agents of abhorrence and disgust. In some instances, we can recognize fatness from a political perspective but not necessarily

Women are empowered, encouraged and even pressured into being involved in a sport or some type of fitness activities today; however, it hasn’t always been that way (Cahn 278). In the 1920s, also known as the “golden age” of sports, women and young girls faced obstacles such as rejection, gender discrimination, and stereotypes when showing interest in sports or fitness activities. One famous author named Susan Cahn, wrote a book called Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sports, and focuses on the decades between the 1920s and the 1960s. For most of the 19th century, females were accused of causing a great deal of danger to the moral and physical areas of masculinity. Through the research of multiple different aspects, such as media, appearance, and gender roles, Cahn puts together an idea and theme that athleticism is seen as a masculine trait because it was once constructed by society itself; which fortunately for the women, that idea can be changed. In the later centuries, Cahn writes about the progress of woman 's appearance in sports, however then describes the difference in respect, attention throughout media, opportunities and wages between men and women. Through both primary sources such as newspapers, interviews, and journals, as well as secondary sources like relevant literature, Cahn writes her book in a historical non-fiction genre. After reading Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sports by Susan

My belief is that gender stereotypes are playing a role in these men and women’s desire to exercise. In most societies,

This flamboyant stereotype also represents athletes at an amateur level. The high school / university superstar athletes are seen as broad and aesthetic leaders who get all the attention from peers and most of the time they are role models to aspiring younger athletes. However, the vast majority of people do not see what is unfolding behind the scenes for these athletes. There is a darker side of the spectrum that shouldn’t be ignored. The early mornings of training, the strict dietary requirements, the endless hours in the gym and the 100% dedication

The generic conventions that society condones concerning the male and the female figure is emphasized on the Men’s Health magazine headlining Cristiano Ronaldo, a world class soccer athlete, GQ magazine (The Body Issue) calling attention to Cristiano Ronaldo and Alessandra Ambrosie, and Muscle and Fitness featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Study done by researchers shows that “men’s most powerful space of resistance against pressures to possess the perfect body was a traditional masculine identity,” and “females’ powerful space of resistance was less traditional feminine identities incorporating masculine characteristics” (Jackson et al 30). This study holds true for the GQ magazine. On the front cover of GQ magazine, Cristiano Ronaldo is portrayed

The Theory of the Leisure Class, by American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, stands as a testament to both insightful social commentary and an unquestioning dogmatism of its contents in everyday academic discourse verging on the commonsensical. It was written in 1899; a place in history where late capitalism or postmodernity is seldom to be imagined by even the most gifted of social critics. The book, itself, is a treatise on economics and a detailed social critique of conspicuous consumption as a function of both social class and consumerism. It is derived from the social stratification of people and the division of labor, which are the social institutions of the feudal period up until to the modern era.

The first setting in which I display my masculine qualities is at the gym. The second I set foot in the gym I transform into a completely different person and I want to be the one lifting the most weight and when I am lifting something heavy I want to make sure people around me know it. I try to present myself as the alpha male or as I like to think about “ The Beast’’ and I just want to outdo everyone, I want to be the strongest person in that gym even though I physically can not be stronger than some people.

As I get older, I find myself realizing I have spent too much time working. Being consumed by my work, I felt I was doing what needed to be done to support my family. This was a struggle for me because I thought I had to be the solution to the problems at work. This resulted in me being at home less and working more. In the article Downshifting, it talks about how culture has consumed leisure instead of creating it. “Today consumerism has consumed us in the sense that we are trapped by money, and those elements of creativity and sociability found in leisure are disappearing” (Junui, quoted by Hemingway 2000). I had no balance between work and family life. This was not healthy for my relationship with my family. My job continued to take advantage of that weakness. According to a reading from Pieper, “’intellectual work’-the exaggerated value which is put upon the ‘difficult’ simply because it is ‘difficult’-becomes evident in the accentuation of a particular trait in the look of the ‘worker’: the fixed, mask-like readiness to suffer in vacuo, without relation to anything” (Pieper, 1952). This is referring to how my employer sees me as a hard worker and knows how to suck me in like a vacuum. I had continued support of family with the decisions I was making, but my family/work balance would not get any better.

Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. Not only do we strive for human approval and companionship, we also thrive on social media. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience muscle dissatisfaction, weight disparities, and anger and/or anxiety toward showing their body in public. This paper will address these facets of the media’s effect on male body image as well as presenting what has been done to address this quietly debilitating issue.

When I head to the gym, I will often go straight to the cardio area to do a warmup, where I will see mostly girls hitting the treadmill or elliptical. However, after my warmup I head over to the weight room where I will see mostly guys. I believe that it has to do with social force because it deals with downsizing females, health and their expectations of what a certain genders body should look like. Females are downsized when it comes to doing weights because it shows that they are strong and society view girls as a weak and fragile person. So when they see a girl doing weights it ruins the picture the society his set for them. Another reasons why girls would go straight to the cardio area is because scientifically girls have lower metabolisms which makes them gain more fat from eating. Since cardio is for losing weight that’s why girls tend to go there. Last reason is that society has an expectations of what a girls and boys body should look like. For boys, it should be big, tough, and strong and for the girls it's the opposite. The reason for this is because men are suppose to protect the family while the women is supposed to care for the family. So society can’t see things when it changes. Based on the definition of social force, it influenced both the genders to choose an area to work out because it is different than what is

Throughout my social life I’ve had many different experiences with different races and ethnicities that relate to the ethnic-related theories. I feel as if most of my encounters follow the assimilation perspective. I know specific events and encounters but, it’s easy to just observe these things happening in your surroundings. The pluralist theory is pretty much the complete opposite of the assimilation theory. In this theory the certain group doesn’t conform to society but, they celebrate their ethnic traditions. They are not ashamed of their culture; they are proud and want to display their enthusiasm about it. The last theory are the power and stratification theories. These are more of a structural problem that affects the whole ethnic group but; I know certain people that have to go through these struggles. My social life consists with different events that coordinate with some of the ethnic-related theories.

Outside appearance may be the most obvious difference between an athlete and nonathletic. Athletic types tend to have more muscles and less body fat than more sedentary people. The physical capabilities of athletes may exceed those who don 't regularly engage in exercise, and active sports people also tend to have fewer health problems. In today’s society exercise is something that our society lacks. Did you know that athletes work out more than nonathletic? Throughout my paper I will observe different fitness places and ask different people about how they work out. Such as what is their mind set when they come to work out. Fitness is really important today’s society. Do you ever wonder how females workout vs males?