Essay on the Nature of Sports: Gender Bias

Gender bias is when women and men are not treated equally. In that case, you find that sports Women have advanced into higher ranks, but still, the unfair gender biases exist. Historically girls and females have not been given equal opportunities as men in sports because of organizational support and rules, societal attitudes and norms, and relative perceptions on physiological differences between the sexes. Not only that, even the female physical educators and medical doctors were against women sports as they thought that vigorous activity among them would endanger their reproductive capacities and result to unsightly muscle development. In that regard, it led to the first sports endeavors for girls and women to be limited to activities like tennis, swimming, golf, croquet, dancing, and archery. Therefore, this topic will entirely cover the gender bias in sports.

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In connection to that, the Female American athletes due to gender bias got less coverage in the media and the only attention they got emphasized majorly on how ladylike, or sexy, attractive they are and their attires (Krane, Vikki, and Reed Kaus, 2014, 159). Moreover, the media portrayed female athletes as being dismissive of their actual abilities and inferior to their male counterparts. Also, the little coverage of the press received classified female athletes as sexual objects by the spotlight on their strength and looks. In that conjunction, to make matters worse, the media was even focusing more on women who do not fit in the traditional feminine mold than focusing on outstanding female athletes. In such terms, subtle stereotyping influence went beyond the athletics track, where female athletes received messages that discourage them by being told that their ability is inferior as compared to that of men, the physical appearance is more crucial than skills, and their athleticism is unattractive. Such criticisms discourage many of the female athletes from sports even though that exercise helped them to prevent chances of depression, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and strengthen their bones. Thus sports biases against women are not only harmful to athletes but all women.

For instance, TV news tunes out when it comes to women in sports despite the dramatic increases in the number of women and girls playing professional sports, college, high school, and youth. Up to date, such gender biases in sports have not come to an end; even it has been observed that the media focus on women has even gone down from 5% to 3.2%. In such terms, basketball is the only female sports that can be focused on media up to 81.6%. The major puzzling issue is that regardless of the participation and interest increase in womens sports it cannot be reflected in any highlights shows or news (Fink, & Janet, 2015, 331-342). Such discriminations demonstrate social change unevenness. In connection to that, the sports survey has been conducted as from 1989, for every five years women appeared rarely, but in case they appear they were portrayed as the butt of a joke, or the sex objects. With time the womens absence, in general, replaced that overt of sexism. As Womens sports was rarely covered at any given point are female athletes are interviewed, they are only being portrayed as girlfriends or mothers who are on stressing their roles towards athlete positions.

Even the news is delivered differently when it comes to women sports. I that case, you find the delivery becomes flat and the Sports announcers who are famous for their colorful commentary and boisterous, seem to rein in their enthusiasm and humor once the female athletes appear on the onscreen. Hence showing that the gender disparity that is being portrayed upon the female athlete to be extraordinary. Regardless of the efforts of broadcasters in making admirable attempts to diversify the reporting teams regarding gender and race, that idea has been overlooked. Up to 2014 women in an ancillary sports reporters and sports anchors were 14.4% and 5% respectively (Cooky, & Cheryl, 2017, 1-32). Such discriminations touched the Purdue University professor of womens, gender and sexuality studies to stand up for womens sports and ensure that they are on the radar not only for fans but for both generations of boys and girls to come. To see womens and mens sports at the same lens by shifting the perceptions of culture on gender expectations and roles.

Therefore, gender parity has been a major obstacle for the female athletes to move forward for ages now. To raise a solution that can put a stop on that is to form multiple committees with the aim of promoting equality in athletics. In such terms, those numerous boards will call upon equal opportunities for women and men to participate on the same basis in athletics. Establishment educational programs on gender-sensitive, and ensure that sports facilities are accessible in all schools. Also, ensure that women reference on progressing games and actions are included in the Olympic Charter, and try as much as possible to support and encourage women promotions in sports. In that regard, ensure that reporting on both men and womens sports should be done with the same enthusiasm. Hire sports anchors or reporters who have background or interest in women sports to avoid gender biases.

Work Cited

Cooky, Cheryl. "We Cannot Stand Idly By: A Necessary Call for a Public Sociology of Sport." Sociology of Sport Journal (2017): 1-32.

Fink, Janet S. "Female athletes, women's sport, and the sport media commercial complex: Have we really come a long way, baby?." Sport Management Review 18.3 (2015): 331-342.

Krane, Vikki, and Reed J. Kaus. "9 Gendered social dynamics in sport." Group dynamics in exercise and sport psychology (2014): 159.