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.
I found this to be a great example of physical inequity for the following reasons: there were no male figure skates, there was a much greater amount of male hockey skates to female figure skates, and the female figure skates were placed on the very bottom shelve.
The absence of male figure skates on the shelves indicates the bias created within the sporting world. Certain sports garner unequal representation and display. If one compares the attention/respect male hockey skaters get vs the attention and respect male figure skaters get, they would see the lopsidedness. One can argue that there is a higher demand for hockey skates than figure skates. However the fact that I could not find even one male figure skate on the shelves speaks volumes. It shows how certain sports are looked down upon or not given the same attention. Reasons behind this could be due to the socially constructed beliefs that hockey is a more masculine sport and figure skating is not. The males who do like to figure skate are often stereotyped as being homosexual. It is this dichotomous thinking that prevents kids to venture out and follow sports that they love or have interest on. When they are able to overcome the hurdles of societies’ strong hold beliefs, they face the other hurdle where they have a lack of resources and equipment. Canadian Tire, which sells a multitude of sporting equipment, should have at least a few male figure skates. The scarcity of male skates proves how it may be hard to find equipment in certain sports. It may be difficult for the male who wants to figure skate yet may not know where to start due to the lack of social capital in the sport. The obvious solution is that there needs to be an increased number of sporting equipment, for all types of sport, in sport stores. The issue however lies deeper than that. There are deeper social reasons why there are not any male figure skates in Canadian Tire. Therefore in order to fix the bias and inequity, there needs to be a shift in common socially constructed beliefs of what is considered to be the norm. There needs to be more inclusiveness in certain sports and in order to do this, we need to get out of this dichotomous mindset of what is considered masculine and feminine and be more open minded and accepting. The shortage of female figure skates compared to male hockey skates proves that gender inequity in sports exists.
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.
Doing this would slowly but surely break down mental barriers for women to participate in sports and overall physical activity. An increased desire of women participation in sports would there by force more equipment in stores. The fact that all the female figure skates were placed on the bottom shelves goes to show how hegemony in sport is very well represented within society.
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
could not find even one female hockey skate. This shows how we are still living in a gender oppressed world where men are on top and women are treated as inferior. There are people who still have a dichotomous mindset where acceptance of women in sports is still a challenge. These structured gender regime constraints within society that places men as more important in sports and women as secondary, needs to change. It is true that men have demonstrated superiority in the realm of sport. However now with the inclusion of more females in sports, one has to get out of this outdated mindset that places women lower than men in sports. There also needs to be much more acceptance for all types of sports whether society labels them as masculine or feminine. It is the constraints like this that place roadblocks on others partaking in sports. For there to be a paradigm shift in society, change needs to start institutionally by teaching kids and youth that they can partake in any sport/activity and that both genders are equal. However for there to be change today, there needs to be change in the messages delivered to us within the media. There needs to be an even representation of sports from both genders on TV and there needs to be an even representation of all types of sports on TV. Women should be as motivated as men to participate in physical activity as there are numerous health benefits associated with physical activity that nobody should miss out on.