Discrimination in Women’s Sports

Kerkez

Outline

Thesis: Discrimination in women’s sport should be stopped; because just like men, women who are athletes have the right to use them as their hobbies or jobs.

I. Those who support the discrimination in women’s sports feel like women are not capable of performing on the same level as men do. A. Supporters believe that women’s roll in the society should be more traditional. B. Supporters argue that women’s sports are wasting money. C. Supporters claim that women are not as athletic as men are.
II. Those who are against discrimination in women’s sports believe that women have all the rights to do the same things as men do. A. Opponents believe that if the gender equity is everywhere else, than it should be in sports too. B. Opponents think that female athlete should be feminine, not forced to imitate men and be rough looking. C. Opponents believe that women can attribute and develop one sport as much as men do.
Conclusion: Despite all the fights against discrimination in women’s sports by numerous organizations and years of excellent female athletes proving that they are extremely talented, there are still a lot of people that won’t accept women in sports. Kerkez

Discrimination has various forms and happens every day. Discrimination involves making choices how we treat other people. Those choices can be made using real and relevant information or they can be based on prejudice, stereotypes and bias. Any discrimination is undesirable because it leads to unfair treatment of players and other participants in recreation and sports. Discrimination in women’s sports happens on a daily basis . In the past, women had few opportunities to participate in sports and certainly to the lesser extent that men did. The adoption of the Title IX gave women the right not only to compete with men on an equal standing, but also to demand equal funding for their sports and scholarships. There are some individuals that argue that the provisions in Title IX are discriminatory towards men because men’s sports are losing funds in order to provide equal funding for their female counterparts. Title IX was intended to level the playing field between men’s and women’s sports and provide women with the same opportunities of their male counterparts and not to compete with them for funding, popularity or anything else. Despite Title IX, even today women’s sports receive far less attention and funding than men’s sports do. Title IX has done more than just provide parity for women’s sports. It has given women the confidence to pursue their dreams and to believe in their abilities. By “rolling back” Title IX, as the Bush Administration hopes, the government sends a message to women that they don’t deserve the same opportunities as men and that their dreams are not as important. The fact that men’s sports are loosing some of their funding hardly makes up for the centuries that women’s sports had no funding at all. Kerkez

The ideal for women in sports is vastly different from men. While men are supposed to be strong and competitive, the ideal for women is to be agile and to excel while still appearing feminine. Society views sports for women as something they should do to keep fit, not to enjoy in a competitive sense. Those women who appear more competitive are portrayed as the “bad girls”. The cultural ideal for women in sports is to be “ladies” and not strong and competitive females that for a second or a game neglect the fact that they are women and live in the moment fighting for their rights!

Kerkez

Notes

Several of the obstacles that have aced women’s sports and female athletes have been exposed. The underdevelopment of women’s sports due to a complex, ongoing discrimination practiced by media, corporate sponsors and male dominated sports world. Fortunately, there are signals that the situation is improving. The feminist movement continues to grow, bringing with it more research on issues that affect all women, not just athletes. Also, many of the bastion of female dominance, such as sports administrations and media coverage are beginning to be infiltrated by strong-willed women. Even though many of the social and systemic factors are firmly entrenched, the fight for equality will continue.

Kerkez

Work Cited

Butler, David. Who’s In Favor of Discrimination?” Rev. of Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex and Title IX, by Jessica Gavora. 31 May 2002: 43-48.
Carpenter, Linda Jean. 27 Year Study Shows Progression of Women in College Athletics. 8Jun 2004. Women’s Sports Foundation. 8 Apr. 2005 http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/cgi-bin/iowa/issues/part.html.
Drinkwater, Barbara. Women in Sports. Blackwell Publishing, 2000.
Is sexism rife in sport? 15 Nov. 2001. BBC Sport. 5 Apr. 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_talk/1657847.stm.
Lineker, Kendra. “Discrimination of Female Athletes.” Sports Illustrated 21 July 2003: 28.

Cited: Butler, David. Who’s In Favor of Discrimination?” Rev. of Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex and Title IX, by Jessica Gavora. 31 May 2002: 43-48. Carpenter, Linda Jean. 27 Year Study Shows Progression of Women in College Athletics. 8Jun 2004. Women’s Sports Foundation. 8 Apr. 2005 http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/cgi-bin/iowa/issues/part.html. Drinkwater, Barbara. Women in Sports. Blackwell Publishing, 2000. Is sexism rife in sport? 15 Nov. 2001. BBC Sport. 5 Apr. 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_talk/1657847.stm. Lineker, Kendra. “Discrimination of Female Athletes.” Sports Illustrated 21 July 2003: 28.