Male Vs Female Gender in Sports

            Arguably, there has been a dispute over women’s involvement in sports for several years. Recently, women have played a larger role in refereeing sports games, sports broadcasting, sports journalism, and overall participating in sports. Despite these advancements in sports history, women are still treated differently in sports than what men are.

The picture above illustrates the constant competition between the male and female gender in sports. The female gender is constantly being treated differently than what the male gender is in terms of sports.

             For centuries, women have not been able to participate in sports and do the things that men do. Women have been arguing for equality in sports for decades, possibly even centuries. There are three distinct time frames where women have advocated for their right to participate in sports. The first time span occurred from 1896 until 1928. This time era excluded women in sports and dismissed them completely. The second time span occurs from 1928 until 1952. During this time era, the females that participated in only female oriented sports received attention. For example, “feminine” sports such as swimming, gymnastics, and golf were considered the perfect sport for a woman. In addition to these sports, tennis became a mainstream sport for women. The third era stems from 1952 until present day society. This era is the era in which women have overcome social norms and challenged the traditional structures. Women are continuously fighting against stereotypes and are challenging society about what they can do and cannot do (114-16).

            As one can see, women have endured years of dismissal from society in relation to sports. Even though the concept of women in sports has become more progressive, women are still treated differently in sports than what men are. According to Billings, Butterwoth and Turman, “Women often find their access to facilities, trainers, coaches, and media exposure still lacking when compared to their male counterparts” (116). Males are continuing to dominate in sports over women.

            In society, there are constant issues of women being treated differently than what men are. Scholars and researchers have provided numerous examples of females not being treated the same as men. One of the examples the book provides involves The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Deborah Renshaw was gaining more fame and popularity as she was rising from the lower NASCAR divisions. Compared to Danica Patrick, Renshaw marked her personality and her driving skills rather than emphasize her body and looks. Once Renshaw was involved in a crash that lead to another drivers death, many members of the racing community argued that she should have never been allowed to race in the first place and that she was not as good as a driver with men (192). Because Renshaw was a woman and involved in a terrible crash, she was considered an outlaw and a stranger based on the men’s opinions in the NASCAR community. There have been many instances where male drivers have caused and killed other drivers, but because she is a female, it is not okay for her to get into car crashes and cause destruction within the sport.

The image above is a head shot of Renshaw out on the track with her race car. While I was looking for images of Renshaw, there were not photos of her in bikinis or sexual outfits. Instead, there were photos of her racing and her next to her race car.

            The example of Renshaw is just one prime example where women are treated differently. There hundreds of instances where women are judged based on their gender both on and off the sports field. Women are not viewed as credible as broadcasters, women do not receive the same amount of playing time on the media, women’s sports gain less spectators, women’s sports are not valued the same as men’s sports.

            It is important to realize and understand that women are being neglected in sports. As learned in class, sports are something larger than a gender, a game, and a sports team. Sports are integrated into culture and embedded into society; sports are a community function and almost every single person can relate to a sport and share a relationship to a specific sport or a game.

            I think gender equality is important, regardless if it is work equality, voting equality or sports equality. Females have been on this Earth just as long as males have. Therefore they should have the same rights and accessibilities to sports as men do. Women are downplayed in the role of sports, when they are some great female athletes out there.

            The rest of this blog is going to encompass many of the issues between male and female sports. Throughout these next five blog posts, I will analyze the treatment of the female gender in relation to sports and consistently compare that to the treatment of the male gender in sports.

Work Cited

Billings, Andrew C., Michael L. Butterworth, and Paul D. Turman. Communication and Sport:           Surveying the Field. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2012. Print.