I recall my sister telling me the story of one of her co workers who couldn't decide what extra curricular activity to enroll her daughter in. She expressed that she didn't want to put her daughter in a sport like soccer and my sister asked her why. The lady said she didn't want her daughter to become a lesbien and turn out butch. My sister was shocked and replied "I play soccer. I think it's a great activity". If you don't already know, my sister is a very pretty girl. She is the farthest away from butch you can possibly get. She enjoys dressing up and primping herself and in most cases ends up looking like some kind of runway model when she leaves the house, expecially when she's going to work (she is known at the office as the girl with all the shoes - 4 inch christian loboutins being her staple item). The lady was shocked and embarrassed, "you play soccer? You're not a tom boy at all!". I also play soccer so you could imagine my surprise when my sister told me this story. Do people still think like this? What time period is this woman from? Apprently alot of people still think like this and it is evident in the messages expressed in the media, especially around sports.
Feminists point out that sports are an area of compulsory heterosexuality. Participation in many sports is influenced by the maculinity or feminity of that sport (eg. football and figure skating being on opposite end of the scale). Particiption in sport is often effected by stigmas that go along with them. For example, if a man participates in figure skating or ballet there's a pretty good chance people will label him as gay, therefore it is unlikely that a boy who is brought up by a traditional family will participate in dance, and would probably go into hockey instead of figure skating - possibly due to encouragement and maybe to avoid the social consequences of choosing the latter. I'm getting a bit off topic. Media surrounding sports makes it hard for people to appreciate the value of participation in sport (especially for women) by indirectly supporting stereotypes. Female hockey player's have their identities kept very secret except for anything that shows they are "real" women. Facts like their martital status and having children are important for the public to know (Men in sports who are not heterosexual are often closeted until their career is over for fear of the repercusions of being outed). Majority of accomplished female athletes are not known about (compared to men) and when they are, they appear in ads wearing "appropriate" feminine attire - a result of combining business and social ideologies. This brings me to my out of sport beef with our culture as we know it.
http://sports.popcrunch.com/the-50-hottest-female-athletes-of-all-time/
Women are subjected to mixed messages in the media. Strength and confidence is valued but so is thin. Too much muscle is masculine. You must be strong but don't look that way (in some places this changing). Sport and exercise is promoted as a means to get strong and healthy but cultural messages are telling women they shouldn't have muscle. What's a girl to do? In some cases these messages are so conflicting they hinder the participation in fitness that is good for feeling good and getting healthy.
My text book mentioned that some women do not go to the gym because they feel like they aren't thin enough yet and won't look good when they go to work out. I have personally heard this said. My own ears have actually heard this excuse for not working out!!! EARTH TO MATILDA!! Hypothetically: Without considering the impact of social ideology on these women's self esteems, and let's just say that the only reason to work out is to look good, isn't this the exact opposite way to accomplish the goal of losing weight? If exercising is how one is to lose weight, then not exercising because one feels self conscious about one's weight will most certainly not solve the problem. In real life, these women are missing opportunities not only to improve their self esteem but also to change their lifestyle and improve their health. This is because of all these mixed messages.
I have decided that I want to make some sort of group or effort to change the way big business and media dictate participation in sports and fitness, especially for women. It will be hard and almost impossible, but a movement needs to start somewhere. People should be free to be who they are and sports should not be used a way to impose a personhood on someone. It's okay to be a butch soccer player or a pretty in pink one as long as you're happy. And going to the gym shouldn't be a decision based on how you look now, maybe not even how you will look after, but how you feel and how it will impact your lifestyle. And no decision regarding sports participation should be made according to your sexuality or someone elses.
Note: In women's beachvolley ball, there is a rule that an athlete can not participate if her bikini bottom has THICKER than 7cm sides. Obviously this has nothing to do with performance and more to do with entertainment - of men.
http://sports.popcrunch.com/the-50-hottest-female-athletes-of-all-time/
