The Gender Divide At The Homecoming Football Game

Over 10 years ago and beyond, male football athletes were intolerant to female reporters and writers in the game. Some ask, “How is this going so well.” Jen replies saying, “I treat them as people as much as I do players, and I actually know what I am talking about”. Reports from the cardinals players say that she was a pleasure to have on the field. Now jen says, little girls can have the dream of becoming a coach in a sport they love.

The fact that the football field is an all-male space connects it to patriarchy. It isn’t just about men dominating women, but also about men dominating other men. “We become adept at taking the feelings that boil up inside us-

The setting up of co-ed, or mixed gender, teams in schools has been highly debated by many students, parents, and school staff. Some argue than not allowing girls and boys to play on the same team promotes gender stereotypes among kids, while others claim that because of differences in body size and strength, boys and girls should not be on the same team. Co-Ed teams are in place across the nation with many claiming that they “promote a healthy environment where boys and girls are equal”, but the reality is that the forming of co-ed teams in some sports like football or basketball is not a good idea because boys won’t be able to get as physical with girls as they would with boys, nor would they be able to play by the same rules.

“There is no reason girls shouldn’t be able to play football, just not with men. The thought of professional coed sports is ridiculous. There is a reason the biggest woman body builder doesn’t even compare in size with the men, its because their bodies are simply not made to do so and look at the olympics, maybe not events like gymnastics but as far as any sport that records times and physical output, men will always dominate. The fastest woman is not faster than the fastest man, same goes with strength. How many of you have actually played a physical sport with a man? Not high schoolers and why not because they haven’t even finished puberty. I could possibly see girls playing limited to no contact sports with men, but something like football? Simply outrageous, they would be destroyed. It doesn’t matter how tough you are, a broken leg feels the same to both sexes, and broken legs and other injuries can easily mean contract termination, hence my point is the girls will suffer a lot more

For my observation I decided to go to University of South Carolina Aiken. There I observed the men and women’s teams straight for two hours each, for five days long. While at the basketball game I observed the women first. The first thing I notice was the amount of people that were in the

Female respondents particularly had a negative view about playing football publicly as opposed to male respondents. A number, 4, representing 100% of the female respondents, disliked football as a sport in general, viewing it as dirty and violent. The male respondents on the other hand were more flexible on this, with 66.6% of the male respondents opposed to playing publicly. This was significant since these numbers included even the people who would play themselves. Male respondents are thus more likely to be tolerant of players than females are.

One of the many offensive gender stereotype sayings is “You throw like a girl.” Men often do not want to have anything to do with that statement. In James Fallows report he states, “Having been trained (like most American boys) to dread the accusation of doing anything ‘like a girl,’ athletes were said to grow into the assumption that women were valueless, and natural prey” (138). This suggests how women are looked down upon by men and their own society when competing against men in athletics. To reach supporters of feminism and to appeal to pathos, the author uses offensive language toward women, such as “valueless” and “natural prey”. These insulting words may hit the emotions of women. With just the usage of

It is the quickest way to show the fact that I’m a man and earn their respect. It is widely known that “the easiest way to prove you were a man is to adopt an attitude of aggression” (Thomas 3). This is a cause and effect. If someone shows his anger publically and threatens to beat someone else up if that people refuses to obey as requested, the male aggressor will be able to show his manliness in front of his peers. Similarly, American football allows spectators to release dangerous instincts without putting themselves in danger. In fact, it is a projection of masculinity. For instance, a tackle in football is certainly aggressive. It is intended to down the carrier of the ball, so that body parts other than his hands or feet touch the ground. Furthermore, the offender is allowed to hit the carrier till he is downed. However, very few football players will ever beat up a woman because of their high salary. Nevertheless, as the author Thomas has mentioned, “ Most of them are good guys who are trying to do their job” (Thomas

Through the movies viewed in this course this semester, we saw women who were able to play against men and still keep their femininity. Nothing is lost when playing sports not traditionally meant for a particular race or gender. Society must become more understanding when it comes to the sports different types of people play and hinder from stereotyping anyone when they participate and perform well in that sport.

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 turning women away from playing certain sports, we are influenced to believe that they are not as qualified to play, compared to men. (Creedon, 1994). Ironically, women on the field seem to have to act tougher than the men. If an

They considered it a “man’s sport.” They assume girls should be interested in traditionally feminine activities. Jules’ mother wanted her to dress nice and find a boyfriend. Jess’ mother wanted her to be a proper Indian woman. They feel that football is inappropriate for a girl to play.

“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).

As her mother was scolding her saying that as a women she should learn how to cook and take care of the family rather than being outside playing football. In my opinion I think that football is usually associated as a guy’s sport and it is out of the norm for a women to be playing football. It shows that a girl should be proper and not be running around with a ball or even running at all. Boys on the other hand have the freedom to do whatever they

Sports become stereotyped as gender-neutral, feminine, or masculine based on conceptions regarding gender, gender differences, and beliefs about the appropriateness of participation due to gender (Colley et al., 1987; Csizma, Wittig, & Schurr, 1988; Koivula, 1995; Matteo, 1986). Sports labeled as feminine seem to be those that allow women participants to act in accordance with the stereotyped expectations of femininity (such as being graceful and nonagressive) and that provide for beauty and aesthetic pleasure (based on largely male standards). A sport is labeled as masculine if it involves the following: 1) attempts to physically overpower the opponent(s) by bodily contact; 2) a direct use of bodily force to a heavy object; 3) a