There have been numerous changes in North America in the last century. Many aspects of life have considerably altered when we compare our present day society to 100 years ago, or even a decade ago. One thing that persists is women’s struggle for equality compared to their male counterparts. Women’s equality rights (compared to the men) are still far from being achieved. This means that although we have seen many changes and much improvement in women’s lives with respect to gaining rights and freedom, many liberal feminists still believe that women have a long way to go before they achieve equality. According to liberal feminists, gender inequalities based on gender attribution is the root of the problem and hence what we need to fix. The inequalities between men and women can be seen in various domains within our society. One of these domains is sports where women are treated unequally because of their gender. Liberal feminism allows me to analyze these inequalities.
Women have been fighting to gain equality in sport since 776 B.C. at the Games of Hera. These games honored the Greek goddess who ruled over women and the earth; these games were organized by women because they were not allowed to participate in the first ancie
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For example, in the case of Anna Kournikova, perhaps the sexual attention she receives could result in her being more preoccupied in her looks rather than improving her game. ” (Women and Sport: From Brighton to Windhoek Facing the Challenges…http:) Liberal feminist perspectives have allowed women to identify the inequalities that have oppressed women and to move forward. Equal in the type of media coverage they receive, equal in their status as athletes and equal in their salaries. the “fragile female” stereotype in order to maintain a male hierarchy domination. Though the idea of boys against girls, (boys are better) was the same as elementary school, the attitude of the girls seemed to have changed dramatically. The general media needs to recognize female athletes based on their athletic talents not their appearances just as male athletes have been historically represented.
Frustrated women on the WTA tour have referred to Anna Kournikova as the “Tennis Barbie”. One may assume that this is a logical reaction because a step towards gaining equality would mean a step towards lessening men’s power and diminishing their male hierarchy that has dominated society within and outside of sports. It was just like elementary school when we played boys against girls. Such constructs allow the dominant group, heterosexual men, to maintain power and control over sub-ordinate the groups, women and/or homosexuals within society. Though she suffered negative media coverage as a result of publicly announcing her lesbian sexuality, she raised global awareness with respect to the issue. So where does the media play a role? Cases such as Anna Kournikova’s make many wonder whether female athletes are socialized and influenced by the media to look good, where as men are socialized to become better athletes.
The topic of sexuality has become an increasingly hot topic in the sports. “Equal opportunity to participate and be involved in sport whether for the purpose of leisure and recreation, health promotion or high performance, is the right of every women, regardless of race, color, language, creed, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, political belief or affiliation, national or social origin. It has been recorded, that the chair of the Wimbledon committee has admitted that Wimbledon pays women tennis players less than the male tennis players.
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10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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