Summary: A Representation Of Gender Inequity In Sports

A Representation of Gender Inequity within the Sporting World

2013-2014 KINE1000 6.0 Socio-cultural Perspectives in Kinesiology
York University

A lot of us would deny that gender and other types of physical inequity exist in sports today as there is more inclusiveness, of both genders, in sporting activities than there was in the past. But if we investigate thoroughly we would find a lot of evidence that proves otherwise. Females are still being oppressed and subjugated in many sport activities. The photograph that I took in the sport section of Canadian Tire exemplified this. It showed a bunch of male hockey skates that occupied nearly all of the space on the shelves and on the bottom shelve there were only a few female figure skates.
It exemplifies the gender oppressive mindset that existed in the past and of which still exists today. Females in sports are not treated in the same way as males. They are not given the same respect and attention. This is easily shown just by turning on the TV to watch sports. You would see only men’s hockey and other male sports being shown. Rarely if not ever would you see the WHL or WNBA. If so it would only be during International events, where all sports are being displayed. It is the structured gender regime within society reflected through the media that labels females in sports as inferior. Because of the lack of representation and attention given to females in sports on mass media, it results in the lack of role models for many young females. They consequently may feel like they are inferior and do not belong in sports. This could be the reason why the majority of females are not engaged in physical activity, leading to increased chances of health risks later on in life. For things to change and in order to have an equal representation of females as males in sports, there would once again have to be social change. Acceptance of women in sports by itself is not enough. All types of women sports should be appreciated and supported. There should be an increase of women’s sports broadcasted on TV, have more billboards displaying female athletes, etc.
Women are still subjugated and looked down upon in sports. The image portrays an underlying message that men are superior and women are considered less important. This gesture strengthens the old socially constructed beliefs we have on the roles of both genders. It strengthens previous understandings of what it means to be male and female. For the longest time, males were considered as the forefront/ the rock in the household. They were considered as the hunters and the one who takes care of the family. The physical and personal attributes that accompanied this belief was the strength and leadership qualities of a man. Females on the other hand were usually involved in more caring roles, lighter roles such as cooking and taking care of children. Based on these strongly held concepts, males today are consequently considered to have the stronger leadership positions in practically all areas of life whereas females are considered to have the more weakened positions. Although this has slightly changed with the inclusion of females in a multitude of activities, the beliefs are still deep rooted. The social structural beliefs of what is considered feminine and masculine there by influences the gender boundaries that exist in sports today. Let alone the fact that the female figure skates were placed on the very bottom racks, I