The Ongoing Fight Against Deviance and Feminist Effort in Women's Sports

The Ongoing fight Against Deviance and Feminist Effort in Women's Sports

Throughout history there has been significant controversy over women's sports. The main conflict that incorporates deviance sets the standards for is between women's and men's sports programs. Feminism has been a strong movement in women's sports, but it has not been able to advance to the level where the same standards and opportunities are set for both men and women, but also agreed on by both men and women. There are ongoing studies that relate to the growth of women's sports and their popularity, but women athletes still have to face the inferiority of funding, training, availability of leagues, pay, promotion, and coverage compared to men's sports.

Women athletes are still questioning whether or not their athletic ability is not only being recognized, but also respected. It is hard to prove yourself to an audience that may not accept you. The differences when compared to men's competitive sports are unparallel and make one wonder why the development of women's sports has been steady, yet not always equal. Inferiority is something women deal with every day, but when it comes to playing a sport that man have designed and perfected there are standards for fans, for publications, and more importantly for women. There is more to prove when you are a woman athlete and more at stake.

Ever since the passing of the 1972 Title IX Education Amendment Acts, there has been a rise in women's sports and more interest in improving them (Messner, Duncan, Jenson 122). However, it is thought that sports are too physically demanding of women and they are thought of as victims when it comes to physical activity. Qualities such as competitiveness and aggression have always been associated with masculinity. The oppression based on gender inequality is obvious to many feminist legal theorists. Sports are not thought to be "feminine" activities and sometimes women athletes are questioned about their sexuality. Sometimes comments arise like, she plays like a man. This can sometimes be demeaning, but also something to overcome. The public seems to be lost in general hysteria if anything does surface about a female athlete and the lesbians that do play sports are sometimes not considered to be real women. This inspired the Olympic sex test to ensure that competitors entering for events restricted for women were in fact women (Graydon 9). This can seem unethical and extreme in the world of sports. There has always been a dominating belief that because sexual attractiveness and of a woman and her domestic role has overshadowed her abilities, so that she is not really deviant and non-threatening (Graydon 8).

With growth of women's sports there arose the questioning of if sports offend women's sense of what a heroine should be. Women were to crown the victorious at the Olympics in 1896 and this was their only task (Graydon 7). That perspective changed after the first women became involved in the Olympics in 1900, even though the sports were only golf and tennis, the movement continued to grow from there. Even at this point in time the Industrial Revolution had a significant impact on sport and the notions of masculinity, discipline, and power. It is suggested that men needed a recreational approach after hard labor that would be physical and release tension. Women's sports were actually inspired by church organizations that formed clubs because it added impetus to Saturday, a day that could be used for recreational fun (Graydon 7).

Women participating in a high school sport increased from 294,015 in 1971 to 3,666,917 in 1972, proving that women were interested enough to handle competition (Messner, Duncan, Jenson 122). Scholarships became available to women and there were an increasing amount of women's sports on campus. Because there are four levels of women's sports, high school, collegiate, professional, and Olympic, there are different debates and harassment at each level throughout the years. However, there is an overall belief by many feminists and others that women are playing sports that men have shaped and dominated over the years. Therefore, there is an overall control by men over sports as a whole. There is fear that women may overstep their boundaries and many of presently the view that sport is a male endeavor is advocated through educational systems, governing bodies of sport, government agencies, sport promoters, and the media. There are set standards and expectations for those who want to display their skills and compete. It is almost that a women has something to prove when competing, but sports have progressively have embraced women's sports and given them praise, but is it equal to the praise that men get in sports? There is a 2:1 ratio of promotion of men's sports to women's sports in magazines. That is why coverage of different women's sports is crucial. Throughout collegiate and professional women's sports only 3.5 to 5 percent column inches in the sports section of newspapers, but in telecasts the numbers are even more disappointing (Messner, Duncan, Jenson 125).

The language used in sports coverage for women differs greatly from the language in coverage a men's game receives. There also have been approaches toward women athletes as sex symbols to promote the sports. Promotion is especially when some telecasts, magazines, or newspapers do not think that women's sports are newsworthy. The announcers and the camera angles speak for themselves for a televised game. Women athletes have been stamped with gender marking and hierarchy of naming by gender (Messner, Duncan, Jenson 125). The fan base is not nearly as large one for a men's competition, whether it is because the fan base is mainly male or because men actually do have different strengths and abilities. Either way, the outcome of a game and the probability for someone to tune into a women's sporting event goes hand in hand with whether that sport should receive coverage.

It is true that Men and women have different strengths and different outlooks on sports. There are physiological differences between the sexes that are relevant to sports performance, but not always equal opportunity calls. Men and women may strive for the same goals such as fame and fortune or to do succeed in a sport they enjoy. Social groups have been formed within competition groups and there is a clear-cut barrier of sexes in competition groups. Grouping by ability is much easier to group by individual characteristics. It has been constant progress of narrowing the gap between male and female performance. However, men and women differ greatly in genetics. Women are by nature smaller than men, lack massive muscle development, and they have a slower oxygenation rate (English 274-275). The ultimate advantage of flexibility and hip structure help women be more advanced in sports such as gymnastics or diving.

It is a right for all women to demand equal opportunity, press coverage, and payment and not just for a form of respect toward their gender. Women still receive 30 percent fewer sports participation opportunities and $133 million less in athletic scholarships for college than men and the average professional salary can differ in millions to a man and a woman that have played the same sport for the same amount of time (Dworkin and Messener 348). Women are still fighting for practice space on all levels of competition. There is the matter of respect and self-esteem at stake when men are paid more, have more opportunities, and are covered more throughout sports. Participation in women's sports will decrease if interest decreases when there aren't prominent well paid women in sports. In a study done women's magazines were subjected to emphasize fitness, beauty, pleasure, and participation while men's magazines promote competitive sports, power, and performance. (Dworkin, Messener 350). This is proof that women have self-esteem issues even early on and are more likely to have a negative reaction to sports if it's not socially accepted. There are those lucky women who overcome this and prove their strengths to the world, but these women aren't being promoted as much as men athletes are.

Overall the differences are explainable in some cases, but outrageous in others. Men and women battle for definition in the sport world, but it is hard to compete with the sex that has been creating and dominating sports for so long. There may be large differences in ability, but discrimination will continue as a result of deviance in our society. Most people who have defined and questioned women athletes are men because there is a feeling of dominance and control over something they have created the norms for. Feminism is a large factor in sports and there will always be a question about how outside factors shape how women accomplish things and critics' reactions to certain accomplishments if you're a woman. The media and onlookers may undermine women, but it's the drive of the women themselves that has broken some boundaries over centuries. However, the deviance men have acted upon over the years shows that the standards for competition will never be equal and until equality is met defining roles in sports, women's role will not be accepted.

"Competition with those close to one's own ability usually provides the most incentive and satisfaction, except where style of play is very different. It is imperative to make recreational leagues on all levels of skill available to people of all ages, sexes, income levels, and abilities, because everyone has an equal right to sport's basic benefits" (English, 1978, 274).