Preview

Gender Inequalities In Sports

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
605 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gender Inequalities In Sports
Women have come a long way in the world of sports since Title IX, however gender inequality still exists in society today. Many women are discriminated against in many sports, at the professional level women receive less pay than men in many different sports, and at all levels women receive less media coverage than most men in sports. I intend to examine the gender inequalities that exist in sports today. Gender inequalities that exist in sports today include discrimination in positions obtained, discrimination in pay, and discrimination in the media. In American history women have always been discriminated against, however in the last 100 years women have made tremendous strides. In 1920, women gained the right to vote by the 19th amendment. …show more content…
The traditional approach to women and sports view that women are fitting for sporting activities that emulate the aesthetic side of sports such as gymnastics, ice skating, and cheerleading, along with the notion that females should no participate in sports with high physical activities such as wrestling, football or rugby (Gender Bias). Title IX focuses on equal opportunity in sports; it does not focus on equal opportunities in certain sports. For example, American football does not have another sport, which is equivalent for females, so females are suppose to seek out other options such as volleyball or field hockey. However, options do not always mean equal (Gender Bias). This gender bias does not occur because there is no football team for women to participate on, but because of gender typing (Gender Bias). Gender bias has to do with the attitudes of what defines masculinity and femininity. Gender typing appears early during a girl’s development, “it is the attributing qualities, characteristics, attributes, temperaments, demeanor and behavior due to a gender” (Gender Bias). Gender typing leads to making generalization on how a person should act based on their gender. Gender typing leads to making the generalization about football as a predominantly male sport, which women should not take part

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    An issue that I have always been concerned with is how much attention male sports get, while female sports get pushed aside. Males and females put forth the same amount of effort and the same amount of hard work towards the sports they play, and in return males dominate the limelight. Arguments opposing this show that males are obviously better athletes than females. According to Mariah Burton Nelson, controversial activist and author, football, baseball and other manly sports in the United States are not games, but a culture which offer a pre-civil rights world where white men, as owners, coaches and umpires, still rule. In the manly sports, men learn to think about and talk about women in contempt. It is common practice for boys to be belittled as "wusses" or worse if they are not tough or brutal enough or willing to deny their own pain or the pain of others.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As college sports have become just as, if not more, popular than their corresponding professional sport counterpart, several colleges and universities nationwide find themselves making millions of dollars of revenue annually. In NCAA Division I sports, football and men’s basketball are usually the two main areas where an athletics program generate their revenue and for the most part, how athletics programs are able to break even during a year of athletics. Generally, in these Division I schools, females predominantly outnumber males in enrollment. However, per Title IX regulations, the ratio of male to female athletes must correspond to the ratio of male to female students, causing revenue generated by mostly by men’s sports to be redistributed to women’s athletics. This specific part of the law creates two effects that raise controversy to many and begs the question; does Title IX actually create gender equity in its rules on how to distribute money?…

    • 2005 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Simon, Rita J. Sporting Equality: Title IX Thirty Years Later. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2005. Print.…

    • 2483 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Title Ix at 40

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Forty years ago, Title IX was passed and began leveling America 's playing fields. In these 40 years, opportunities for female athletes have dramatically increased but inequality is still present. Thanks to Title IX, girls and women are playing sports at earlier ages and in much greater numbers than ever before, but they still face many hurdles on the road to equality. Before Title IX, only 1 in 27 girls played high school sports. College scholarships for female athletes were nonexistent and female college athletes received only two percent of overall athletic budgets. (Athletics Under Title IX, 2013) In 1972, only 295,000 girls competed in high school sports,…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was passed into legislation with the original intent to help women in the workforce of higher education with equal pay and to suppress gender discrimination. Because of the social history of the time in which there were more instances of success for female athletes as well as several low state court cases for athletically talented girls in junior high, Title IX had been reformulated by congress members to focus on female participation in sports. Today, Title IX is best known for its regulations in ensuring equal athletic opportunities for men and women. With the passing of Title IX by Federal Law makers in 1972, the number of female athletes dramatically increased. Since 1971, the NCAA has had an increase of over 450% of female athletes, and in high schools, an increase of over 900%. Prior to the 1970’s and Title IX, it was not common in America to be a female athlete. This caused more participation of women in sports than ever before in American history, and new magazines launched for this new population, such as Women Sports. But despite the increase of participation in athletics, females continued to be portrayed as passive and feminine in advertisements used in Women Sports. For women, the word female became an adjective instead of a noun when it came to athletics and sports. Because being athletic was, and is, a manly attribute, the increase of female athletes during the period after the passing of Title IX broadened the role of women in American society, yet the definition of female and the definition of athlete remained the same.…

    • 3554 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The good news is numerous people are lobbying to have the law reformed to better promote actual gender equality in sports. In 2002 at the behest of lobbyists and interest groups the U.S. Department of Education established the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics in order to investigate whether or not Title IX’s wording and compliance rules should be reformed in order to better foster equality among the genders. The Commission hosted several town hall meetings in 2002 to gauge public opinion and hear the grievances of the advocates for the men’s programs that were being eliminated and the advocates for women’s programs who were not in their opinion receiving an equal share of opportunities for expansion. Unfortunately, these meetings did not lead to any tangible reforms of Title IX’s wording or implementation. The lack of action lead people like sociologist Michael A. Messner and attorney Nancy M. Solomon to team up to write a journal article entitled Social Justice and Men’s Interests: The Case of Title IX for the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, in which they examine the 2002 US Department of Education’s public town hall meetings about Title IX. In their article Messner and Solomon argue that the cutbacks of men’s programs and lack of substantial increase in women’s programs budgets and popularity is not because of lack of reform of Title IX but because the advocates for reforms ignore the fact that at many institutions of higher learning their men’s football programs particularly the Division 1 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) ones receives the lions share of scholarships (eighty five), athletic budget, and publicity while the other…

    • 3039 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Women and Sports: Title Ix

    • 1777 Words
    • 8 Pages

    2012 marks the 40 year anniversary of Title IX. Equality was what Title IX aimed to implement and this research paper will analyze the conflicts that still exist within Title IX and how much of a leap we have taken from this act especially women. Conflicts and controversy include Title IX being responsible and holding back men’s collegiate sports and causing universities to drop programs. While men seem to be losing benefits, women are also losing benefits they are not receiving the funds that Title IX states. Regardless of controversy this act has benefited society. Title IX was life changing and has shown significant improvement.…

    • 1777 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    While gender equality has improved, barriers and discrimination still remain. Despite progress in recent years, girls continue to suffer exclusion and discrimination in the education system. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation about two in five girls participate in high school varsity sports now. Has Title IX done what it said it was going to do? The number of women playing college level sports today has gone up five times as high as it was in 1972 but there should be more change in all gender discrimination. “Title IX has clearly triumphed in its mission to equalize the playing field for young women. Its impact can be felt at every level of competition,” they wrote. But have they really?…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Title IX is an act of Federal Legislation that forbids schools to discriminate in an educational setting based on gender. It was enacted until 1972 considering many women wanting equal rights for participation in school activities including sports (Fields, 2003) In this day, a person of any gender should have equal rights and protection when participating in k-12 sports and activities. Unfortunately, many cases have had to overcome accused discrimination in this area of public activities. If Title IX legally forbids schools to discriminate based on sex or sexual orientation, then people of any gender should be equally encouraged and protected while participating in public school sporting activities.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My paper is about gender roles and sports. Why are women and men not considered equal in sports and why are gender roles different? It explains differences in men and women and why men don’t want women on their sports team. It discusses the history of sports and the different roles that men and women play in society. What sports are considered to be for men and women and how women got to play sports? It talks about how the Women’s Sports Foundation was established. Have you ever wondered why sports are divided by gender?…

    • 95 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Importance Of Title IX

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sports are very crucial and take part of a vast roll in people’s life. To some it is a stress reliever, fun game, or their entire life but sometimes there are situations that make you step back to evaluate what is actually going on. In a female athlete’s opinion male sports get more than what their sport or any other female sport would get but in a male competitor’s assumption is that they are both given the opportunity to do the same things especially with the Title IX that was put in place in 1972 stating that, “no matter what the sex is of someone, they can not be excluded from, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discriminate participating in any educational program or activity. Each physical activity is given money from the school, fundraises, and has a set fee at the start of each season…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fitzpatrick, Laura. “Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?” Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men? Tuesday Apr. 2010. Web. Flanagan, Kerry. "Gender Barriers in Sport." 13 Feb. 2008. Web. Flynn, Scott. “Athletic Women Vs. Men.” LIVESTRONG.COM. 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 09. Giordano, Peter. “Man Vs. Women in Athletics.” www.thesop.org. 23 Apr. 2007. Web. 9 Apr. 2012 Julius, Orange. Why Female Athletes Are Paid Less than Male Counterparts. Monday May 2000. Web. Lance, Larry M. “Gender Differences in Perceived Role Conflict among University Student-athletes.” CBS Interactive. CBS Interactive Business Network, 01 June 2004. Web. 11 Apr. 2012 Roenigk, Alyssa, and ESPN The Magazine. “How Much Should Female Athletes Reveal in the Name of Self-promotion?” www.sports.espn.go.com. 9 Oct. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2012 Totallyarb. "Gender Inequality in Sport Coverage." 17 Aug. 2011. Web…

    • 1926 Words
    • 56 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principal objective of Title IX is to avoid the use of federal money to support sex discrimination in education programs and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices. Title IX applies, with a few specific exceptions, to all aspects of federally funded education programs or activities” [1]. The creation and enforcement would change the opportunities and chance given to women in both education and sports for all of time. It helped to give way to some of the most iconic female athletes and coaches at both the amateur and professional level. It helped to give the…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Importance Of Title IX

    • 1806 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Moreover, “40 Years of Title IX by Numbers,” published by The Seattle Times illustrates the growth of female participants in high school sports in the United States. Before the passage of Title IX, 7.4% females participated in high school sports. But by 2010-11, female athlete makes up 41.4% of the participants. The passage of Title IX has increased the amount of female athletes on a high school sport by forcing schools to be equal. Popular opinion is that women do not play sports regardless if they are given the chance.…

    • 1806 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout American history men oppressed women mentally, physically, and politically. By 1920, women got the right to vote under the 19th amendment. After women gained suffrage, Alice Paul an American suffragist, wrote the Equal Rights Amendment. Ultimately, the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have boosted gender equality, was not ratified because of the conservatives and the male domination of the State Legislature.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays