Gender, Sports and Deviance

Question 1

What was Blinde and Taub’s problem statement?

Answer 1

• feminist movements have allowed women to tap into genres that were previously male-dominated
• Thus, it increases the competition and pushes women to embrace more masculine ways of behaving to get ahead
• men see this as a threat and non-conforming thus inappropriate

thus, men sanction them up to re-establish their dominance

Question 2

What are the two ways men sanction women to re-establish dominance?

Answer 2

• stigmatization
• rejection

Question 3

Lesbianism Labelling

Answer 3

The labelling of lesbianism is a powerful tactic for control given the pervasiveness of homophobia in the western world

• lesbianism is perceived as a strong threat as it goes against the heterosexual family dynamic and female dependence on males for economic and emotional support

Question 4

Lesbianism Labelling in sports

Answer 4

Sports is also a genre that is predominantly male-dominated

• thus, the label of lesbianism is often given to women who play masculine sports
• primarily based on physical appearance

Question 5

Consequences on Labelling Lebanism in Sports

Answer 5

a) difficulty when discussing the topic of lesbianism
- difficulty to acknowledge the problem
b) viewing sexual preference as a private matter and irrelevant to the profession
- this intensifies the stigma associated with this labelling
- refusal to challenge the status quo
c) Avoidance in discussing their athletic identity
d) team difficulty
e) Administrative difficulty

Altogether bottom-up (athletes) and top-down (coaches) internalized the process of labelling through intense silencing and denial of this labelling issue