Putting Respect in Perspective - Aaron Crouse

The 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in the United States marked the beginning of a new era for women’s soccer.  The tournament was expanded to 16 teams, games were held in massive NFL stadiums, and media coverage was significantly increased.  As illustrated through the video in class, many critics believed that the U.S Women’s Soccer team would end up embarrassing themselves by playing in front of empty stadiums as crowds would not be interested in a women’s sport.  These critics ended up being dead wrong.  The American women would end up taking home gold by defeating China in penalty kicks in front of a sellout crowd of 90,125 at the Rose Bowl, marking a newfound victory for not just women’s soccer, but women’s sports overall in the United States (FIFA, 1999, paragraph 3). In an age where is it extremely difficult to meet, yet alone form a relationship with a professional athlete, the 1999 USA Women’s National Soccer team stands out as a team that really did right by their fans in my opinion, leading to the ultimate success of the FIFA World Cup.

One of the major differences that made this team stand out from others was their willingness to engage in grassroots marketing with their fans.  I doubt that any NFL, MLB, or NBA teams would be willing to hold open session camps (for free) and give each youth athlete the attention and time that these U.S. women’s players did.  For anyone who has ever attempted to obtain something as simple as an autograph or handshake at an NFL training camp or before an MLB game, I think you can agree when I say that there is a disconnect (for the most part) between today’s athletes and their fans.  I was very impressed with the way this team presented itself to the public.  Becoming so personal with the youth athletes that came out to see them at the camps not only helped with ticket sales, but also helped in encouraging participation in youth soccer for girls.  The current success of the U.S National Women’s Soccer program along with the popularity of girl’s soccer in middle and high school can be greatly attributed to this team.  Based upon this video and coverage from the Olympics, I would say (that in general) female athletes are much more likely to be appreciative and warm up to their fans than males.  While I cannot prove that this is completely based upon gender differences (or possibly differences in salary), I was very impressed with the way in which the U.S. women genuinely appreciated the individuals who came out to support them.  While fans often defer to male sports for role models and idols, I personally wish more of our male athletes approached interviews and their supporters in the way females do.  In having to “earn” their fans with more difficulty, female athletes have a better understanding the time and effort that goes in to supporting a team and a player.  Not only are many of these women great athletes, but we are also able to find out who they are as people.  You can only learn so much about a person from what you see on television, read on twitter, or get out of a 30-second interview.  Many current male athletes should take a lesson from the 1999 USA Women’s National soccer team and really get out to meet their fans.  These individuals spend their time and money to come out and watch you play a game, the least you can do is sign an autograph or give a kid a high-five.  It may be insignificant to the athlete, but it is something that the fan or child will remember for the rest of their life.  When in doubt, defer to the actions of the 1999 women because they did it right in my opinion.

Men are Bigger, Faster and Stronger - Aaron Keyer

There is a reason male professional and collegiate athletics have higher attendance, higher television ratings and generate more revenue than any women’s sport. Men are more exciting to watch. I would like to first state that I am completely in favor of women playing competitive athletics and have gone to my share of women’s sporting events. I have a good friend who plays on the women’s basketball team here at BGSU and I am completely supportive of her. However, when it comes down to what we talked about in class about are all men really bigger faster and stronger in my opinion the true answer is yes they are.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are some freakishly athletic females, however are there any females who really have the speed, strength or toughness to really be competitive in the NFL? Are there any females that could really withstand going across the middle and getting hit by Ray Lewis? Maybe there are some, no one really knows, which is a product of another thing we have been talking about in class, socialization.

The fact that men are bigger, faster and stronger is definitely a product of genetics. Men are built differently, with bigger, broader shoulders and on average a taller frame. This fact only supports my claim that no matter of socialization, men are simply just built to be bigger, faster and stronger. Both men and women play basketball competitively at the collegiate and professional levels. I still think you’d be hard pressed to find a woman that could be competitive in the NBA. I know Britney Griner is dominate in women’s basketball, I just have a hard time believing that the most dominant women’s player would have success backing down Dwight Howard in the lane or trying to body up LeBron James as he drives to the hole.

In my opinion, it is evident to me that men are bigger, faster and stronger. I know there are amazing female athletes in this world, and I respect them to the fullest, and in no way could a lot of men compete with some of the women in this world. However when it comes down to men and women who have the same training and athletic endeavors, men are just bigger, faster and stronger.

Icons of Femininity: Barbie Entry #3

In class we talked about the different icons of femininity such as “Barbie.” I believe that Barbie can be a role model in a positive way and also in a negative way. According to our class discussion, Barbie teaches young girls that, “we girls can do anything…” (N. Spencer, personal communication, September 4, 2012). This is the positive role modeling that Barbie portrays to younger girls. Women can do anything they want to as long as they put forth their heart and mind into it. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. What I don’t believe Barbie portrays in a positive way, is her body structure. I believe she is created this way, because that is what today’s society considers women to be beautiful, which is not the case. Basically what society is saying that in order to be beautiful, you have to be skinny, tall and wear blobs of makeup. She is also telling women that they have to wear high heels, wear fancy clothing and not get messy. ALL women are BEAUTIFUL, skinny, tall, fat, short, green and blue! In my opinion, if someone does like you, because of who you are, that is their fault and move on. Don’t change who you are for anyone. If you want to wear basketball shorts, color your face purple and play football, do so! Don’t let anyone stop you from being you! I think the reason why the numbers of women participating in Sports have decreased is, because of icons like Barbie and the women in social media and magazines. Women can still be beautiful and play sports. 

-Alicia Jefferson 

What's the Difference?

This following blog is a response to the questions on slide 8 of last Thursday's PowerPoint. The first question says are all men bigger, stronger, and faster than women? This question is easy to answer because there are women out there that are bigger, stronger, and faster than most men. Now the thing I think here is that we don't always get a chance to see these women in action because they are overshadowed by men. Typically when we see a women lift a weight in the olympics, she is followed by a male lifting more. When we see a woman run track in the olympics, we then see the males run the 100m and they beat the women easily. So there are women out there bigger, faster, and stronger than men. We just don't see them. The second question asks if not, at what age(s) do the differences emerge? I firmly believe that we start seeing the skills of both genders really coming into play during their high school years. These years are when kids are starting to mature, hit puberty, and develop the most. The third question is do men dominate in some physical skills and women in others? I firmly believe this. Men for instance are more prone to taking hits in a football game all day, than they are standing on a balance beam. This is because of their body types. Men usually tend to be more broad in the shoulders, and carry more weight in general. This is why it think men are usually better in the physical aspects of sports than the grace aspects. The fourth question is how much does hard work and/or technique factor into differences? I firmly believe hard work and technique  play a huge factor in these differences. The harder you work at your techniques the more mentally sound you will be come game time. I'd rather be a hard worker, and have worked on my technique than to be lucky when a game was on the line. Finally, the last quest is how much should we consider the process of socialization? I think this is huge to why so many girls drop out of sports compared to males. Females have so much pressure on their shoulders to remain feminine, and act womanly. They see all these fashion shows, makeup commercials, celebrities in dresses, and they think they have to be like that. Males on the other hand constantly see athletes. No one wants their boy to grow up, and be a cheerleader (at least I don't think so). They want their son to grow up, and do well in a big time sport. The mother's of these young girls also influence their daughters to have a womanly appearance. However, the father wants his son to be as tough as possible.

Patrick McFall

Same Sports, Sex Type Behaviors Ryan Viselli

     When looking at the slides and discussions we had in class, in some sports it was interesting to learn that males and females who compete in the same sport are expected to act masculine or feminine.  In gymnastics males are suppose to show off a tough exterior when performing routines. Women however are expected to be graceful and ladylike in which they are expected to smile.  Is this fair to both genders that they are expected to act in a different manner when performing the same sport? 

     From past experience I feel like women have to be feminine in hockey and growing up around many female hockey players, I always thought it wasn’t fair.  In women’s hockey there is no contact.  If girls are playing against other girls, I believe they should be able to install contact in hockey.  This would bring out the best competition when watching women’s hockey and I also believe it would bring more popularity to the sport.  There are risk factors in which injury can occur, but I believe if women are facing each other there is risk that would happen anyway.  No matter what gender, athletes want to be competitive and perform to the best of their abilities and not be judged on how the manner their expected to show.

     I feel that this shows female inferiority and that men are supposed to be powerful and show dominance.  It doesn’t give women a chance to show power and authority and I believe that women should be able to have the same rules as men when playing against the same sex.  As we saw in class, women are stronger than we think they are.  When watching the sport science episode of Lucia Rijker, I was surprised of how strong and powerful she was and she showed that she could compete against the guys.  She didn't look masculine, she looked like an athlete trying to compete and thats what athletes should be judged on.

     In society I believe we expect each gender to act a certain way and when that behavior is not shown, people are discouraged by it.  In a sports atmosphere I believe we should worry about the results and the competition rather than focusing on the way an athlete is suppose to be perceived.

Aaron Crouse - More Than Just the Game

Many activists support the idea that females should be allowed to participate against male athletes in the case that they possess the skills and physical tools to compete.  As McDonagh and Pappano argue, “athletics should be gender-neutral, a human activity and not a pumped-up, artificial rendition of men’s strength and women’s weakness as a definition of sex identity” (p.3).  There have been cases in the past in which women have suited up alongside men in professional and collegiate athletics.  During the 1992 and 1993 preseason, female goaltender Manon Rheaume played games for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the only woman to participate in professional ice hockey to this date.  There have also been eight female kickers that have played NCAA football including Katie Hnida, who was a member of both the New Mexico Lobos and Colorado Buffaloes division 1-A teams.  Hnida became the first woman to play in and record points in an NCAA game during the 2002 SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl (Kagan, 2002, pg. 1). 

While these athletes have only provided a small sample size of women receiving the opportunity to participate on an equal playing field with men, advances are also being made in other areas of athletics (even during this week alone).  Just this past Sunday, Shannon Eastin became the first female to ever officiate an NFL game during the Detroit Lions 27-23 victory over the St. Louis Rams.  The EA Sports video game NHL 13 being released on Tuesday September 11 has expanded its game play to feature women create-a-player options along with including women’s hockey legends Angela Ruggiero of the United States National Team and Haley Wickenheiser from the Canadian National Team in its “Be A Legend” mode.  While this may just appear as a minor step in improving gender equality, Wickenheiser states, “"I'm excited to be a part of NHL 13 and hope that the addition of women's hockey legends will encourage greater participation in hockey from young women everywhere." (Good, 2012, p.1).  When considering womens’ role in athletics, it is important not to only look at on the field participation, but also responsibilities such as officials, front-office executives, and smaller parts in marketing and even video games.  These positions might not be as glamorous or exciting as actually playing in the games, they all add up in to making sports more gender-neutral.

Gender Differences in Sport - Aaron Keyer

Gender Differences in Sport

After reading the article about Caster Semenya, I’m not sure what to think about dominant women in professional sport. In a way, I feel as if it is fair and should remain legal for intersex athletes to compete in women’s sport, due to my opinion that an intersex athlete is less likely to completely dominate a female sport than they are to completely fail in a men’s league. On the other hand, if I were female, I wouldn’t like the idea of having to compete against someone with male genetic makeup.

I think this is a very hard situation to define and resolve as it is very easy to see both sides of the argument. In no way is it Caster Semenya’s fault that she has higher levels of testosterone, however in women’s sport that does provide an advantage over the other women which could be seen as unfair. However, Semenya has female DNA as well, and in that regard I feel like it would be even more unfair if she was forced to compete in male competition.

There is no way to really solve this problem fairly with today’s rules. Every league has such strict rules on who can compete and the standards that need to be met in order to compete that there would have to either be separate competitions for intersex athletes or a more outlined, defined rules as to which competitions intersex athletes can compete in.

As seen in the history of sport, some women have broken down the barrier and competed successfully in men’s competitive sport. Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam have done it in golf and there have been several women to compete in football. Although there have been women that have had success in men’s sport, I don’t believe it is fair to say that intersex athletes should have to compete in men’s sports.

Either way this is a very hard topic to define and create a set of rules that will be fair to everyone. There is no real right or wrong answer and there is a valid argument on both sides.