Leveling the playing field in sports
Females do not have equal opportunities and are not held to the same standards as men in sports. Men have been stereotyping women as not strong or athletic enough to participate in sports. The patriarchy has made society more interested in and favoring men’s athletics over women’s sports. However, during girls basketball games there are many empty seats, no cheerleaders, just players, parents and family members; this is accepted as the norm.
People continue to disregard what undermining equality does to female athletes. Many sports are categorized and labeled by gender such as tackle football being only for men. High school tackle football is titled a coed sport, but there is usually only one female player per team and they are usually the kicker. Steve Lepire, Principal, “We’ve had one girl for many years in a row.” While this does technically follow Title IX, I would argue that having only one woman on a team full of men does not make it equal.
The stereotype of female sport leagues being perceived as not entertaining also harms the recognition of player’s specific achievements and accolades. The women’s college basketball star, Catlin Clark, has broken numerous records. However, if a male athlete was breaking similar college records there would be more recognition and respect towards their accomplishments.
The men have continued to put these female athletes in a stereotype. I am a woman in sports and I have been playing various athletics for my whole life. I wrote this article to highlight the importance of female sports and how men have continued to underview them in all settings regarding athletics because it is something I have been surrounded by since I was little. Though stereotypes regarding sports being solely male has been a long lasting idea, the development of women’s stadiums and equal coverage of women’s sports creates hope that women’s sports as well as men’s sports will share an equal acknowledgement in the future.
