Preview

Should Men And Women Compete Against Each Other In Sport?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1049 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Men And Women Compete Against Each Other In Sport?
Should men and women compete against each other in sport?

I would like to look at this subject because I am passionate about gender equality in sports and how women should not be discriminated against just because of their size or strength. Feminist movements in 1970 were just the beginning for breaking down gender stereotypes and women being excluded from sporting events. However, organisations are still discriminating against women in many sports due to a clause in the equal opportunities legislation, which was passed in 1975. This clause is related to sports that rely on size, strength, speed and stamina for dominating and winning. Sporting governing bodies use this clause for justification to gender segregate in multiple sports. With women’s sport receiving increasing worldwide publicity, there is much debate around this area. In this essay I am going to look at both sides of the discussion and hope to propose a fair conclusion based on my findings.

Why shouldn’t men and women compete against each other?

Men and women have many physiological differences, which may suggest that sports that rely on strength, acceleration and speed for performance outcome, it is not possible to compete on an equal basis. Allowing women to compete against men
…show more content…
In tennis, lacrosse, hockey and football the importance of the ability to be skilful far outweighs the differences between genders physically. For example Roger Federer is an outstanding tennis player but has not got the same level of physicality as many other tennis players have but nevertheless he is very successful using his skill to out play his opponents. Another example is Katie Hnida, who was the first women to score points in College American Football’s highest division by kicking extra points. You could name many very successful sports athletes that have succeeded purely because of their outstanding skill

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Female athletes lack certain physical activities and more importantly the transits in injuries are higher than in male athletes, according to Vives. Vives explains that research, in the past 15 years, has not made any…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article titled”Face off on the Playfield”, by Judith B. Stamper explores the issues of female athletes competing on traditional boy’s sport team. First, Stamper explain how opponent agree that girl are not aggressive enough. But supporters argue that girl don’t have good equipment like boy. The author also report that some male athletes get uncomfortable having physical contact with girls. Second, girl are too weak to compete. In Addition she emphasised that supporters say Title IX has benefitted girl’s health and how society view girls. Now, more girl are playing sports. Finally Stamper concludes that as the debate over ow Title IX continue, boy are now asking to compete on girl’s team.…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Research Paper Final Draft

    • 1562 Words
    • 3 Pages

    held against them ("Masculinity and Gender Roles in Sports"). As the role of women has progressed, a…

    • 1562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the key points to evaluate here is the argument that males biologically have an advantage in the majority of sports. In the vast number of cases this is true, however this should not be a reason why females are either discriminated against or feel pressurised to not participate in a sport. In a study done by McArdle, Katch & Katch in 1981, it was shown that among Western adults, men are around 50 percent stronger than women1. One thing that is important to point out here is that the average female has not been encouraged to participate in activities that would develop the growth and potential of muscles in the same way men have been encouraged to do. The stereotype that women should be slender and with little muscle does not aid this particular viewpoint on women’s sport. This leads on to the point of the history of female sport and the view on women’s roles in society. The earlier you go back in history, the more the viewpoint has existed that women are there to aid the husband in the house and bring up the children whilst he is out earning the money. This was very much the case and still is in some cultures, which inhibited and inhibits women from participating in sport because they simply do not have the time for it. As Spears (1978) said in his study, “Only the exceptional woman was involved in sport”2. I think it is fair to say however, that this viewpoint is quite clearly changing because participation in female sport is at an all time high at the moment. According to…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sport is not traditionally seen as feminine. Ex-professional women’s basketball player, Mariah Burton Nelson begs the question then- “How can you win if you’re female? Can you just do it? No. You have to play the femininity game. Femininity by definition is not large, not imposing, not competitive. Feminine women are not ruthless, not aggressive, not victorious. Femininity is about appearing beautiful and vulnerable and small. It’s about winning male approval (Burton 1998).” Gender roles play a large part in the media’s representation of female athletes. In a historically sexist world where ruthlessness, aggression, and victory are associated as male characteristics, female athletes are viewed as masculine and undesirable. In order to be socially…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • 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

    Should Sports Be Co-Ed

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    People support this claim by saying that the strongest man in the world benched 1008 lbs while the strongest woman in the world only benched 531 lbs. This reason can be ignored because this involves people who spend their whole lives preparing for this competition and the male competitor trained more rigorously than his female opponent. If a female trains more often and more rigorously than a male opponent studies show that it is physically possible for a female to become more athletic than a male opponent. This will drive the female players to train harder causing the males to work harder and will keep them pushing themselves to the limit and making the team all around better.…

    • 505 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

    Female athletes should get evaluated in there own right and not be compared to men. One example Bille Jean King gave was, just like a heavyweight boxer and a lightweight boxer are not compared to each other when deciding prize money and the value of the boxers skills and ability are not based on weight class and size, then we cannot do this to classes of male and female athletes who are not competing against each other (para 4.). Most people also believe that the only reason why professional male athletes get paid more is because they are powerful than us females, and because there competitions are more excited than ours. In this same way many people say that “female athletes do not bring in as much money in terms of sponsorship television or that there competitions aren’t as long the men’s games” and they do not include as much games as they do in the men’s league.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender Barriers in Sports

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Since way back in the day there’s always been that big barrier blockading females and males when trying to engage in a sport that is not “appropriate” for their gender. It had always been that some sports are aimed towards the male gender and others towards the females. When a man or women joins a sport that is not originally for their gender, it is not something that many people want to accept.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people may argue that by now sports should no longer be divided by gender. However there is plenty of evidence that co-ed sports may not be that great after all. There are multiple reasons as to why mixed gender sports should not be a mainstream thing. Sports should remain segregated by gender due to the lack of inclusion in co-ed sports, the safety risks mixed gender sports can pose, and the difference in body structure between men and women.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    n the sports world people often do not acknowledge female sports as much as men's sports. Women sports are newer and hence the reason for them not getting the recognition they deserve. But the sports world is starting to see how women's sports can be just as interesting and exciting as men's sports can be. I am going to show you some discrepancies between women and men's sports. Women and men's sports should each have equal opportunities.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the article Women, Sports and Science, Sandra Hanson states, “Sports are a social institution constructed by men that reflects traditional male stereotypes of dominance and aggression.” This suggests that some people usually view sports as a man’s activity. Hanson then goes on to say, “Women are typically considered ill-equipped to participate in sports, and their participation is viewed as unfeminine and thus undesirable.” In the article, Advantage Men: The Sex Pay Gap, Collin Flake suggests that sports are considered a masculine pastime, so that is where the mindset comes from. He states, “Much of the literature on gender inequality in sport is devoted to media bias and conceptualizations of masculinity and femininity.”…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Masculinity In Sports

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are many aspects why female and male athletes should not compete together. Although one reason may be because of physiological differences, societal barriers also prevent female athletes from competing with males. What it means to be male or female is one of the hardest things to decipher. This is one of the more bigger struggles between masculinity and femininity. One institution that specifically targets this idea of gender differences is professional sports. Women are challenged because of these gender differences to be accepted into a male dominated institution. Female athletes are encouraged and in many cases forced to under appreciate themselves by the media because of sports. Our society tends to under appreciate women who play…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Inequality In Sport

    • 1933 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “I don’t want to be a great female athlete. I want to be a great athlete” (unknown). Taking a look back on history, we could not possibly keep track of the number of times women were not given equal opportunity as men. It started off with rights as a whole, and then moved to voting, and even to this day we continue to battle with equal pay. Due to our biological makeup, men are key to our survival. As we have come to evolve and expand our knowledge, our past does not align with our present or even our future. Women have now moved themselves up the ladder and are making leaps and bounds just for a sense of equality. There is one roadblock that still to this day we have not been able to battle through. This is the world of sports. This is a world of blood, sweat, and no room for tears. This is an industry where it…

    • 1933 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays