The Creation Of Women's Sports In The United States

Sports have played a huge part in human culture, especially in the culture of the United States. This is because the United States flourishes on competition, being that it is a capitalist country. There are strong roots in sports in the United States, many of them starting at the college level before gaining popularity and growing into professional sports. Sports that were created in the United States include: baseball, basketball, football, and hockey (Stewart, 2011). However, there were not any considerations taken for women in the creation of these pastime activities. Women have been continuously let out of the history of sports. In the beginning, the closest concept to an organized women’s sport was considered recreational and lacked in
As stated in Women and Sports, Title IX is “a federal law prohibiting gender discrimination in institutions that receive federal funding” (Staurowsky, 2016). The basis for all women’s sports begins at the academic level because student athletes essentially turn into professional athletes. With the implementing of Title IX, it allowed for the creation of women’s sports at the high school and college level, which has produced a whole new generation of female athletes. This generation of female athletes has had the opportunity to play sports their whole lives, not able to fathom the thought of not being allowed to participate in their sport. As stated in the Journal of Sport Behavior, “girls and women participate in virtually every type of sport, even those used to showcase the ultimate in hegemonic masculinity; several professional women’s football leagues have operated in the United States since 2000” (Hardin and Greer, 2007). However, despite being allowed to participate in sports, women still feel the struggle to comply with their gender
Then while playing in games or participating in gym class, she feared being labeled too aggressive due to her competitive spirit (“Student Athlete Interview”). It is interesting how society still finds a way to make women feel uncomfortable participating in sports, almost as if it is unnatural, when in fact it is one of the most beneficial activities a woman can be a part of. Nonetheless, despite the few bumps in the journey, Amanda assured that she never regretted playing soccer and that it will always be one of her greatest passions. Nowadays, a majority of female athletes are being worshiped for their muscular builds because it greatly helps them win in competitions. In the documentary, Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports, viewers learn about the transition from the expectation for female athletes to not behave and be built masculine to the modern belief of how an athlete should be built. It was during the Olympics that Americans were exposed to the Soviet Union women athletes and how they completely dominated the games. The Soviet Union women athletes were bigger, more muscular, and had no interest in looking or being portrayed as feminine (Dare to Compete, 1999). This was when the natural competitive nature of Americans wanting to destroy the Soviet Union