Women_and_Sports

Jalen Howard March 25, 2013 English 102-004 Essay I Woman Equality Many people have heard over and over again that men are better in sports than women. Men even get more attention world-wide than women. The most obvious proof is shown on television. If any person in the world would flip through the television right now, they would see it; NFL, NBA, MLB, golf, and so forth. Where are the women events' Where are the WNBA, softball games, and women’ golf events' The male sport population even has their own television channels, such as NFL-TV and NBA-TV; again, where is the women’s part in this' Sure, sometimes, although very rarely, we see a softball game on TV, or a WNBA basketball game, but how often is that' Once every three weeks, I’m sure. Most people would say it is because men are stronger, faster, have more agility than women; basically, men are more entertaining than women. This inequality goes outside of the national attention; it’s even in middle and high schools. Although most of the population believes that men are better than women in sports, I believe that the women could compete with men no matter the sport at all levels of competition. A lot of people will argue that men are better because of genetics, testosterone, and the body types. Even though this is true, I have always felt that women are not given a fair chance to prove men wrong. A perfect example of females that are not given a fair chance is my sister during our childhood years. My sister was one of the girls growing up that proved to every single person she played sports with, or a spectator, that she was just as good as the guy standing next to her. Some women are even more competitive than my sister. Later on, I will give examples of women that went over and beyond the limitations and expectations of girl athletes and even guy athletes. I searched through online data to show that women are treated differently in sports by the size of the balls we use, the dimensions of the courts, and the equipment used for games. Most athletes will tell you that women cannot compete with men; however, many of them will overlook some of the most famous female athletes who have competed in male-dominated sports and overcame the doubts. Do the names Nancy Lieberman, Danica Patrick, Brittney Griner, and Serena and Venus Williams, sound familiar' These women have all surpassed the stereotypes of their individual sports. Nancy Lieberman coached NBA and WNBA teams; she has also practiced and played with an NBA team. Danica Patrick is a race-car driver. People rarely see that or even mention it. Brittany Griner is very tall, very boyish looking, basketball player, who plays for Baylor University. She is one of the few females in this country who can dunk a basketball. Almost the entire tennis population has heard of Serena and Venus Williams; two sisters who are controversially the best of the best in the sport of tennis (McManus). Other female athletes that come to the top of my head when I think of greatness are Jennie Finch, a softball pitcher, who has medals in the Olympics; Billy Jean King, another tennis player; Lisa Leslie, a legend in women’s professional basketball; Mia Hamm, a phenomenal soccer player, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who was an all-around athlete who competed in multi-sports. Another way females are treated unequally in the sport world is the dimensions of equipment used, court/field size, and game population. The differences of these things also depend on the sport. Again, most likely more than half of the population would say that these differences are because of the fact that women aren’t as strong, fast, and agile as men. Being a baseball player and basketball player in high school, I’ve noticed the differences in the sports compared to my female friends. In softball, the women’ balls are bigger, the bats are longer and have a thinner barrel, the bases are 30 feet closer together than on a baseball diamond, and pitchers in softball pitch differently than pitchers in baseball. In basketball, more towards the collegiate level, the three-point arc is closer to the goal, the ball is smaller, and the shot clocks are a little bit longer (Oglesby). Silverman observes in his article, “Differences Between Men’s & Women’s Basketball,” that men’s basketball games generally get more attendance than women’s games. This does not account for every single college team, or even high school team. He states, “Tennessee Lady Volunteers regularly sells out and will draw bigger crowds than the men’s teams.” The women’ basketball team, at Beau Chene High School, pulled in most of the fans for my senior year; the stands were packed. I can remember the intensity of the cheering and booing; it was great. As soon as a girl game was coming to a close, the stands would dissipate. I’m not saying these statistics and observations to disagree with them. I agree with them for the most part. I don’t agree that all women who surpass the standards should be allowed to participate with other females just because of their gender. There should be a committee who choses which women are exceptional enough to be brought to a higher level of playing. Granted, there is the law “Title IX.” In The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 77, No. 2, authors Deborah J. Anderson, John J. Cheslock, and Ronald G. Ehrenberg recites the law, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity….” This law is stating that any program that is funded by a state or federal government must give equal opportunities to its female athletes as its male athletes (Huggins and Randell). However, going back to the previous statement in the paragraph before, I believe that some women should be playing with the men. Brittney Griner is one example. She dominates other women because of her height, skills, and talent. That’s highly unfair. If she can dunk the ball, she can play with the big men, so to speak. So who cares' Who cares about equal opportunities in sports between men and women' Feminists are one group. Feminists believe that every major issue between men and women should be equal. Another group would be the many women who know they are good enough, but apparently, are not according to men’s standards. Women could look up to first female Pop Warner quarterback, Jasmine Plummer, who was determined to be good enough to play a dominant male sport: football. Plummer led her team to its first Pop Warner championship game at the age of eleven (Alipore). Another question may be why it is so important to these particular groups' Even why is it important to people who aren’t into sports, and who could care less' It’s important because many women athletes may feel degraded because they won’t get a fair shot at the sport that they’re confident in or passionate just because they are women. It can be important to non-athletic people because it signifies that if women are unequal in the sports’ world, then women are most likely unequal in other departments of life like the military, jobs, and education, to name a few. I have come to the conclusion that female inequality will probably never go away or stopped being argued about. People have their opinions and that’s okay. What’s not okay is that a person limits another person’s ability or talent just because of their gender. Sure men will always have the upper-hand when it comes to being quick, being strong, and being able to endure more physical activity. That does not mean, however, that some exceptional women can do it too and be all the things that put them on the same level as some men. I think some women were born to break the glass ceiling, to go above and beyond what is expected of them. Why not let them break it then' Is it because people want to protect women from getting seriously hurt or injured by playing on the level that men play' Is it because men are small minded human beings who believe that women can’t do the things that men do and are too egotistical to admit that some women are better than them' Works Cited McManus, Jane. “Can Women Play with the Men'” ESPNW. 9 May 2011. Lexus. 4 October 2012 Web. Oglesby Carole A. Women 2000 and beyond [Online] // www.un.org – Division for the Advancement of Women/ Department of Economic and Social Affairs, December 2007- February 2013 – Huggins Allison and Randell Shirley The Contribution of Sports to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Web // http://www.ifuw.org. - 2007. - February 4, 2013. - http://www.ifuw.org/rwanda/media/women_sports.pdf. Alipore, Sam. “The Gridiron Girl.” Page Two. 28 August 2008. ESPN. 5 October 2012 Web. Silverman, Steve. “Differences Between Men’s & Women’s Basketball.” Livestrong.com. 13 May 2010. Lance Armstrong Foundation. 4 October 2012 Web. Deborah J. Anderson, John J. Cheslock, Ronald G. Ehrenberg The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 77, No. 2 (Mar. - Apr., 2006), pp. 225-250