FQ4: What are the relationships between sport and physical activity and gender? Flashcards
Explain how masculinity has impacted participation in specific sports.
MASCULINITY: competitive, tough, aggressive, able to control emotions
- Limited definition of what is ‘manly’/masculine are problematic
- Some young boys - genetically not suited to contact sports → participating could risk serious injury
- Others do not enjoy contact sports - activity does not interest them, lack skills to perform at level that is satisfying
- Young male’s self-esteem being damaged as he perceived himself as less masculine
- Some media + community → sport glorifies mental + physical toughness + part of being masculine is linked to being dominant
- Females tend to stay away from traditional male sports - and vice versa
E.g. basketball (non-contact sport) - bumping, blocking → to intimidate opponents,
e.g. base jumping
e.g. netball, ballroom dancing - not masculine
Explain how feminity has impacted participation in sports.
- Concept of femininity learned from society
- Sports that began as ‘women’s sports’ encouraged women to participate in sport + uphold traditional expectations of what is feminine
- Involved little body contract
- Greater focus on aesthetic/well-coordinated types of movement
- Top female athletes + players who compete in similar conditions to males - expected to perform with ‘grace’
- Appearance scrutinised by media
- require narrow range of body shapes
- sex objects (Uniforms promote sexy female athlete +might be restrictive - difficulty to participate effectively and easily)
- Females tend to stay away from traditional male sports - and vice versa
e.g. Dancing, gymnastics - do not necessarily require a particular body shape → BUT girls tend to be discouraged/excluded if they are ‘wrong’ shape or size
E.g. netball - considered more feminine that women’s basketball
Explain how sponsorship differs between male and female sports.
MALE SPORTS:
- Whether they are winning
- Whether they are well-liked by the public
= No scandals - court cases, drugs, etc.
FEMALE SPORTS:
- Whether the athlete is good looking
- Whether her looks will sell
- Many elite female athletes are overlooked in favour of male athletes - those that do sign endorsement deals usually do so due to their physique and physical appearance
- Many female athletes at the top of their game have lost endorsements to less able but supposedly more attractive athletes
Explain how the lower sponsorship levels of female sports is being countered.
GOVERNMENT: - anti-discrimination laws
- Helped women in attempts to achieve equality in sport
e.g. Australian Sports Commission - Women and Sport Unit - actively promotes better deal for female athletes
e.g. NSW Department of Education and Training Policy - requires all girls in all schools must be given equal opportunity to develop sporting skills
ADEQUATE RESOURCING:
- Greater success of current AUS women’s teams + female athletes due to resourcing
- Training more female coaches + employing more administrators at higher levels of sporting organisms → women’s issues in sport being addresses
- Recent campaigns by professional player associations - led to significant rises in some pay rates for female sport stars
E.g. 2017: AUS Cricketers’ Association and Cricket Australia → agreed on pay deal based on model of gender equity
AUS representative female cricketers’ minimum retainers will rise between 80.2-119% - depending on experience + responsibilities
Base rate of pay determined same way for all players - e.g. no. of hours played
MEDIA REPRESENTATION:
- Need to create your own brand - Instagram, TikTok → get followers and subscribers
- Social media gives you coverage
- Creating own brand
Explain the media’s role in constructing meanings around femininity and masculinity.
Media organisations make money by satisfying consumer demands
- Tend to promote socially acceptable role models
- Support current constructs of femininity and masculinity
- Role of media should be: respond to changes in these constructs as they evolve and to present an unbiased perspective of the importance of each
- However media relies on ratings to sell advertising space: Rarely risks promoting lesser known sports or social issues that challenge our notions of gender
- Lack of quality coverage for females → bigger importance on male sports
Coverage for females: less important, less serious
Media focusing on the physical attributes of the female athletes and reporting in terms of appearance and emotions - reinforces femininity
Male sports are never dealt with in terms of emotions
E.g. Women’s State of Origin was advertised in a tiny right corner on the Men’s State of Origin match
How have challenges to the male domain in sports grown?
- Women have challenges stereotypes presented in media + society’s perceptions of femininity and masculinity
- Females wanting to play contact sports (e.g. rugby) → criticised + stigmatised
- Males wanting to play traditionally female sports (e.g. netball) → criticised + stigmatised
- Recent coverage of sport is changing
- Traditionally women’s sports has had to overcome barriers - funding, resources, recognition
- Women now competing at elite levels in a range of sports once considered male
E.g. televising women’s national netball competition, women’s AFL, football, rugby competitions, high profile mixed martial arts bouts
E.g. AUS gov Girls Make Your Move campaign
Less traditional view of women in sport
