I took a lot out of this reading and I found myself agreeing with most of the points made in the article. The three most compelling points I read about was the segregation based off of sex in almost all of sports, different rules based on gender, and the effect of Title IX. Segregation has it’s pros and cons for sports I believe. Women leagues do bring in a fair share of revenue, and if the men’s and women’s leagues of different sports would combine, half of the leagues would fall apart because there would essentially be one super league with the men and women together. However, I do find it demeaning to women for having separate leagues because it does express the ideology of women being inferior to men. The really bizarre aspect of the segregation based off of gender is the fact that sports such as card games, board games, and billiards is also separated.
Another concept that goes along with segregation is the dumb idea of having different rules based off of what gender the players are. There are almost different rules in every single sport. Women tennis players play the best two out of three sets, while the guys play the best three out of five sets. The three point line in basketball is further back for guys than it is for women. There is also no contact allowed in field hockey but contact is encouraged in men’s ice hockey. Just to name differences in three sports, it is clear that these rules provide the false reality of girls being inferior to the boys. These constricting rules pull back the women athletes from being better at their sports.
The last main concept from this reading that I got was the effects of Title IX. The article made some excellent points and really got me believing in what they were talking about. Title IX did a lot for female athletes as it pioneered them to where they are today in popularity in respect. However, Title IX also doesn’t work in favor as much as it did before. It is actually having a counterproductive effect on the rise of women’s sports because it favors segregation and different leagues.
Recently we've been talking a lot about feminism, not only in class but a number of our readings has had much to do with the subject. It's really got 'a rise out of me'. Being a female and so into almost every sport I've witnessed my fair share of feminism. And as I've got older the feminism has greatly increased, and how competitive I am it really frustrates me. I think at young ages, youth sports seem to mold together male and female and gradually separate as kids reach middle school age. In the Barbie Girls vs. Sea Monsters article I could easily see something like that happening. Growing up things like that happened to me all the time. With two older brothers and a younger brother dolls and pink things were very scarce in my family. My brothers often ‘fed’ off each other when making fun of the ‘girly’ things that I would play with.
ReplyDelete~Alyssa Robinson
I definitely agree with what Tim said, especially with his point made in paragraph two. The concept of having far too differing rules attempts to force women athletes into a separate class. Who’s to say women can’t play at the same level without changing the game? Something that I kept coming back to while reading the article was thinking about my own situation. I consider myself as being a pretty driven athlete and in thinking of where I get that drive proved a great point. In my family I get all of my athleticism from my mom. This is also true in where I get my passion for sports as well; in fact, my dad and mom are polar opposites when it comes to sports. While going to BGSU my mother was on the club field hockey team and fenced (fencing) in a league or club too. It was always funny growing up whenever I would get compliments people would always say, “you must get your skills in ‘x’ sport from your dad” and they were always surprised when I laughingly would inform them that he was never into sports and it was always my mom motivating me to better myself and it that I got my athleticism from her. I guess that’s why I was always a mama’s boy!
ReplyDelete~Tony Fritsch
I like Tim's non-biased outlook on segregation in sports. I want to particularly focus on his points about the different rules in sport for both men and women. First off I think its right to have separate mens and womens' leagues but I think that it would be fair to have the same rules apply for both leagues. Like Tim, I think that by changing the rules of the womens' leagues we are coinciding with the notion that women are inferior to men. I think we should survey the women of those sports and if they agree and want to have the same rules as the boys than that is how things should be. Why is it the right of a committee to make that decision? I also think that by doing this it would gain more appreciation for womens sports and give a more fair outlook on the sport. Also to make things fair schools should be required to give the same amount of coverage to womens sports as to mens. There are all these sports sites that cover men's sports in particular college and the women are left out in my eyes. So whether it be TV, print or online media, women's sports should receive an equal opportunity to market its brand.
ReplyDelete~Max Householder
I'm glad you mentioned the importance of Title IX since that is what we will begin to talk about in Monday's class. It is good that this article made you think about how Title IX has impacted the participation of girls and women in sport. As to the notion of having different rules for men's and women's sports that issue concerns me especially in tennis, where the 2 out of 3 sets for women gives the impression that women are not as physically tough. However, when the argument is made that men and women should not receive equal pay, then they should definitely consider changing the rules. Alyssa, you mentioned that you had faced your fair share of feminism and I wondered if you could elaborate on what you meant by that. I appreciate the examples that everyone gave in their entries (e.g., Tony getting his athleticism from his mother).
ReplyDeleteI grew up with two older brothers and a younger brother. I played flag football and roller hockey on the same team as my closest to age brother (22) when I was in 4th and 5th grade. I never noticed the difference at this time because I knew that I was just as good as them (or even better). I ran in a ‘running club’ all the way through elementary school till 7th grade when cross country was a school sport. Often we would run races co-ed I remember winning a number of two mile races in 5th and 6th grade. In middle school I didn’t really recognize feminism much, races were split girls/boys along with the basketball team. I never really thought that the guys were that much better than us but just that splitting the genders up was the way it’s always been done. But I also think at this time is when physically the boys grew taller and stronger.
DeleteI grew up like most kids, big dreams, dreaming of someday being in the WNBA. I didn’t understand why I just got laughs and never heard much, if anything about the WNBA. It was like pulling teeth to find a game on TV, ever (and still is)!
Skipping ahead to high school I was basketball everything. In the summer I played with a group of the varsity guys about every night. Often I would mention playing with the guys and I’d get laughs, because god forbid a girl playing with the boys!
I would go to the local rec to get in on pickup games and the first couple times would not even get a look, and when they were desperate was when I proved myself (much like the rec here in BG). Now I can go there and they guys say “I want the girl” or “she can shoot the ball”. It still is frustrating getting guarded by the ‘runt’ of the team or the least skilled person (although it often changes).
Another area where I’ve experience a lot of feminism is lifting. Over the summers I’d often wake up at 7am and lift with my brother’s high school football team because the football coach didn’t trust me to be in the weight room on my own. But after realizing that I could bench 135 15+ times for my warm up he now trusts me alone and will open it up for me whenever I want. I think here it’s kind of a different situation but I think proving myself to the doubts (always male) had a lot to do with it. In all my situations the guys have automatically thought that since I was a girl I couldn’t keep up with the guys.
-Alyssa Robinson
sorry I got carried away...
DeleteI'm glad you elaborated on your experiences Alyssa and I think they would be good for others to read. I can relate to practicing and/or competing against guys because that was my experience (mainly in tennis, but later in coed softball). It is true that you usually have to prove yourself if you are a female. That's great to know that you were able to do it. Thanks again for sharing!
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