Women in Sports

My pre-game ritual was to chant along to the song “The Distance” by Cake. The lyrics went:

“ He’s driving, and striving…

He’s all alone, racing and pacing and plotting the course

He’s fighting and biting and riding on his horse…”

But I would sing, “And she’s racing and pacing and hugging the turns, she’s going the distance.” People would correct me and say, “Sweetheart, it’s he.” But I felt like the “he’s” got to do everything. There were not, and still are not, any female professional football players. In the movies, the “he’s” always got the most dramatic and important roles. A “she” had never, and still has not, gotten to be President. The “he’s” were, and usually still are, the head of the families, while the female is left in charge of errands. “He’s” brought, and still generally bring in, the largest salaries. In other words, “he’s” dominate society. Thus, the media and business circles, as well as the rest of the world, appeal to the interests and desires of the males—their most significant consumer.

I hated not having my desires considered. I wanted to be the first “she” pro football player, the firs

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Swoopes, on the cover of a magazine, glowing in her success and achievements (as well as endorsements), is testimony to the success of women. ’ So, although we are still struggling to accept what is new and different—and struggling to place emphasis on the female needs as well as the male ideal--our efforts do seem to be, like the latest female athletes, “in motion. This is a far contrast from the Swoopes cover of 97.

Many media portrayls of female athletes work against the projection of the “successful, strong new female,”. Concepts and perceptions, rather than the actual competition or event, are what is currently the most-talked about issue in women’s sports.

Yet, what, one may ask, are women becoming more successful at? Are they more successful at fitting into the sports world of men? This is a problematic issue, because if we are trying to fit into this male designed world, females will always be inferior in the area of sheer talent and ability. The magazine’s puts a lot of focus on romance, pregnancy, and sexual predators; and then thrown over there on the side, we have the small print concerning the actual athletes. Apparently, I was not the only one who hated the subordinate role of the female. We push those “troublesome lesbians” back in the corner, back into their closet, because they aren’t what we want sports to represent. The men’s game may highlight speed, strength, and competitive fury. ” Only the images of female athletes that please this gaze are presented, despite the many other personas present in the world of women sports. These traits may once have been reserved to describe a male, but they now can also describe the female.

We avoid masculine females because men, sports largest audience, have no desire to watch a group of females “who look like men but can’t play like them. We should not try to be a threat to the men, but to instead be something separate and apart. The desire, the emotion, is present in both games, but from there, the women’s and men’s games have differing qualities to be appreciated.

Approximate Word count = 2343
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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