Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Alex Morgan, and Ronda Rousey are all sport powerhouses. They beat out competition to be ranked as some of the top female athletes in their respective sports. As highly competitive athletes who demonstrate advance skills, athleticism, motivation, and strength, they serve as role models for many young, rising athletes. Yet despite their influence, these women represent a minority of female athletes, since more than 50% of young girls end up quitting sports after puberty. With so few young women participating in sports, it calls into question the culture surrounding them. Girls and young women are discouraged from playing sports through an array of ambiguous social ques, that stem patriarchal view of girl’s femininity and the sexualization of young girls.
People may be inclined to believe all sports are the same, yet they aren’t for many young children and teenagers. Sports have long been considered a masculine pastime, with women being barred from playing for several years. When women do enter the field of sports, they are faced with several challenges, such as discouragement from participating. For instance, PE teachers in the UK restricted teenage girls from playing football. Instead, the teachers suggested they play other sports that are considered from feminine. Gendering sports is a common phenomenon and may hold a large influence over if or what sport an individual decides to play. Prohibiting young girls from entering the sports they truly want to play, sends the message that only some sports are acceptable for girls.
Young women and girls who do overcome the stereotypes surrounding sports, face the challenge of constant scrutiny over how they look doing so. Working out too hard can lead to masculinity which is construed as an insult by young girls, because that’s how our society has taught us to think. Rather than worrying about how well a girl is playing, people focus on how they look doing it. Many times this attention begins by revolving around the particular article of clothing young women wear.
Young women practicing their sport, often face discrimination for how they look doing so. Taking a look at Division III athletics, members of the women track team at a public university were banned for wearing sports bras at practice. The school’s football coach that originally cited them, stated it was distracting to the school’s football team who were practicing while the runners were using the track around the field. Sports bras were found to be comfortable for these particular runners, yet their comfort is forgotten about as it distracts others from focusing on their athletic ability resulting in these particular runners from being banned from practicing on their designated track. Punishing the team for being comfortable during practice discourages them from reaching their full potential. Additionally, demonstrating the patriarchal nature of sports, since the girls’ team had to accommodate for the men’s team simply because their clothing was distracting to others. Ultimately the message sent to younger girls looking to compete in sports is that their talent and hard work is not as important as how they look during it.
In addition to practice attire, official or team uniforms do not escape the much unwanted attention. Athletic uniforms may vary by from sport to sport, but the sexualization of women when in uniform competing remains constant. While most of the time men’s and women’s sports uniform only differ slightly, it is the women’s outfit that is talked about, not the males. For example, a young high school girl was disqualified from an event at her high school swim meet because the official deemed her school issued swim suit to be inappropriate, as it did not meet the modesty rules. While she may face discrimination over how her suit fits her, the same cannot be said for the hundreds of high school male swimmers who wear speedos and never face the same level of scrutiny over their suits. The contrast between treatment of standard issue school uniforms between males and females demonstrates the underlying issues of sexualizing women’s bodies in sports. Our current patriarchal society consistently judges women for how their clothing, especially their uniforms fit.
Rather than focus on the accomplishments of young women in sports, we discourage them and consistently judge and sexualize their bodies. Instead of worrying about whether how a young girl’s uniform fit, we should be encouraging their accomplishments in sports, their strength, and their growth as individuals. When the conversation turns to appearance rather than talent we strip young girls of the ability to showcase their accomplishments. Taking their pride in being strong discourages young girls from being strong in the first place, contributing to the current systems of patriarchy that plague our current society.
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Taken from: https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/2019-03-21-rowan
You really dissected the male biased and catered narrative of the sexualization of women in sports. You also touched on an idea we talked about in class about the lack of the sense of righteousness, in this case, where the official felt he was "right" when disqualifying the female swimmer for her suit. This was an awesome entry backed up with plenty applicable examples.
ReplyDeleteGoing to a small town school, with small town ideas I came across gender biases in both the school and sports. We weren't allowed to wear sports bras or tank tops that showed too much skin at practices but the boys were allowed to be shirtless. In PE, the girls danced and did water aerobics while the boys played dodgeball and water polo. As girls, our bodies were sexualized and our participation in activities was changed. I feel that you hit the head of the nail on this one, perfectly encapsulating the ideas we discussed in class and incorporating many great examples.
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