Gender+Bend+It+Like+Beckham

Name: Justin Smith Student Number: N8099383 Tutor: Michelle Newcombe

=Running Like a Girl: How Equitable is the Playing Field when it comes to Women in Sport?=

//"Sport gets kids out of the house and it puts them in an environment where they have to work with other people regardless of their gender, or their age or their religion. It’s one of the ways in which we can enrich kids’ lives in moving through into the future."// Lauren Jackson (ABS, 2011)

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__**Introduction of artefact:**__

The Youtube clip is a promotion for the Lingerie Football League (LFL). The clip tries to promote women’s football by saying that the game has changed, embracing the fact that women are now participating in sport. The clip primarily focuses on the game play of the league and creates the notion of professionalism by referring the female players as athletes. However, the entire notion of this artefact is questionable as to why the women have to be objectified in sexy lingerie while men play in proper protection. This clip promotes both the positive and negatives of women in not only sport but also in culture and society, and raises the question “how equitable is the playing field when it comes to women in sport?”

__**Public Health Issue:**__

The public health issue that arises with this cultural artefact is the participation and limitation of women in sport. With sports like the lingerie football league being the only available options for women to play in there becomes an issue with physical activity and participation. A lack of physical activity can lead to a variety of health problems including diabetes, cardiovascular problems and obesity (K. Fox & M. Hillsdon, 2006) Not only does this artefact provide the issue of women participation in sport it also comments on the social inequality that women have to be objectified. This in itself is a public health issue for women in a sense that the way the media portrays female athletes can pose many self-esteem issues on girls and lead to more serious problems like depression and anorexia nervosa.

__**Literature Review:**__

Sport is not intrinsically gendered. However, in a patriarchal society definitions of masculinity and femininity have been imposed on certain sporting events (A.Engel, 2010) very little has changed in terms of women’s participation in sport and also how women are seen and portrayed in playing sport. In 1968 Metheny wrote “acceptable sports for women should be aesthetically pleasing to watch, demand accuracy but not undue strength; although they may be competitive, they should not involve bodily contact.”(Metheny as Cited in Engel) a prime example of this philosophy that is still around today would be the Lingerie Football League. It is obvious that the inequality of women in sport is still an issue in today’s society.

Research shows that in Australia only 59.9% of women aged 18-24 are participating in a sporting or physical activity and only 28.5% are participating in a sport that is associated with a club. (ABS, 2006) furthermore the research shows that the level of participation was decreasing as women were getting older.(ABS, 2006) With regards to children, girls are at an even lower participation rate of 54.2%(ABS, 2006)

Research displays that physical activity, especially vigorous aerobic exercise, has been found to reduce mild to moderate depression. (Brown, 2002) Browns methodology was via survey and found that women were more inactive than men and were highly linked to suicidal tendencies. The results of browns survey found that students who participated in physical activities were approximately 4% less likely to commit suicide. (Brown, 2002)

An indication of why participation rates for women and girls are so low is that the roles of officials, umpires, and positions of authority are scarcely given to women (Claringbould & Knoppers, 2007). Furthermore the coverage in the media as well as payment for professional female athletes, especially in American Football, does not come close to men’s wages in the game. Migliaccio & Berg report that women playing professional American Football can be paid the sum of $1 per game as a technicality.(Migliaccio & Berg,2011) This is also evident in a vast array of other sports in all countries, the most common issue being women having to pay for their own travel expenses and equipment. Amongst being a blatant inequality on the playing field it provides absolutely no incentive for women to keep participating in sport. From a sociological standpoint the identity that comes with playing sport has also been proven to be a barrier that is limiting female’s participation in various physical activities. As mentioned before there is a definite cultural relationship between masculinity and sports, this in itself can be a determinant for participation. This becomes apparent after reading Harris’s journal article: //The image problem in women’s football.// Harris’s methodology was personal interviews with girls and women from an English college. The findings were that girls were not participating in football because they feared they would be labelled as a ‘Lesbian’ (J.Harris. 2005)

Research shows that there is a definite gender conflict when women participate in sport because they are expected to enact both masculine and feminine tasks. (Fallon, 2007) This becomes an issue when women aren’t participating in sport because they don’t want to be labelled as homosexuals; not only does it decrease participation and physical health but it can also affect the athletes self-esteem which can then lead to an assortment of mental health problems. Unfortunately at the other end of the spectrum female athletes are portrayed in the media as sex icons to promote the aesthetics of the sport. As the world of sports is purely male dominated (Bruce, 2007) Bruce reports that the media is only showing the “Firsts, Bests, Onlys, sex symbols, wives, mothers, and victims.” (Bruce, 2007) and that female media coverage can be as little as 10%. With the media portraying only the best looking and sexiest athletes in such a limited window of coverage, there forms a competitive nature for female athletes, which can lead to drastic measures taken by the women and can lead to negative health problems such as anorexia athletica. Sudi writes that anorexia athletica can occur when an excessive amount of concern about the body can occur, especially when athletes compare their level of ‘fatness’ with that of other, more successful athletes.(Sudi, 2004)

__**Cultural and Social Analysis:**__

A socialist feminist analysis of sport provides insight into how capitalist institutions and patriarchal relations work together to produce the kind of sport which is commonly practiced. Simply put: capitalism creates the structures in which sports operate, and that patriarchy prepares and selects the people for the structures. Sport culture is dominated by sport that is governed by the need to run a profit. As mentioned previously, female media coverage of sport is less than 10%, which in turn compliments capitalist theory because in order to turn a profit franchises such as the team, sports stores, equipment and television need to provide what the fans of the sport demand. As sports culture is male dominated the franchises pay more attention to male sports to make sales and turn a profit. Cunningham states that “previous diversity frameworks have focused on the desired end state of diversity management strategies, for example cultures that value diversity and capitalise on the benefits that diversity can bring to the organisation have largely failed.” (Cunningham, 2007)

Social theorists can attribute the slight increase of participation by women in sports to the role they play in society. Since women are becoming a more prominent figure in the work force Bray suggests that women are doing the same jobs as men that this participation is transferring over onto the playing field. (Bray, 1988) stating that the divide in sports between men and women to be institutionalized by heterosexual relations that are associated with patriarchal labour. Furthermore Weber believes that the inequality is being noticed because of the visibility of women’s conflicts and struggles have led to a broadened understanding. (Weber, 2006) Claringbould & Knoppers agree with both Bray and Weber and believe that the visibility of female inequality and the acceptance of females into the workforce has created tokenism. However, the researchers write that this is not necessarily a bad thing stating that “the recognition of tokenism also played a role in the decision of women to become members of the sport governing boards.” and that “becoming a token member on an all male board can be seen as a way of undoing gender.” However, it seems as though as a society we are still more comfortable seeing women participating in traditionally female sports, as this is what society deems to be ‘normal’ for a specific gender. (Flanagan, 2008)

Massengale writes that gender equity, in most cases, is still a goal and not yet a “mission accomplished. Many areas in women’s equality have been vastly improved. However, women’s participation in sport is still compromised and as a result is contributing to the under-representation of female athletes in sport.(Massengale, 2010) Research has found that environments in which women’s sports are valued and celebrated has led to more women pursuing leadership roles in sports.(Massengale, 2010) To put it concisely, in society women’s sports are ignored because of male dominance and capital theory, the social constructs of masculinity has also been called into question alienating and further discouraging participation of female athletes. Society needs to change the way it perceives masculinity and throw away the constraints of the social norms of masculinity and femininity, especially on the playing field to allow a more equitable playing field.

__**Analysis of the artefact and my own learning reflections:**__

As mentioned in the introduction of this artefact the Youtube clip is a promotion for the Lingerie Football League. The film promotes both the participation of women in sport and how women are being objectified, or so I thought. However, upon reflection and analysing the artefact and literature it has become apparent that rather than being objectified by wearing lingerie instead of uniforms, the women are conforming to society’s social norms and interpretations of masculinity and femininity. To counteract society’s emphasis on sport being purely male, the players of the Lingerie Football league have embraced the femininity aspect by wearing lingerie. Furthermore, the clip states that “barriers will be broken” I believe that this is a reference that the league will in fact try to break the gender barriers that plague females’ participation in sports. As a symbolic one of the females takes a stick of lipstick and smears it across her face as war paint, I believe that this represents the conversion from a female object into a masculine tradition. What can be gathered by analysing this artefact and the literature it is safe to assume that there will be no instant resolve for inequalities on the playing field. However, I believe that if current trends persist that there is a chance that over time women will have more of a dominance in sport, blurring the lines of masculinity and femininity and creating a level playing field for both men and women.


 * __References:__**

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011). "A Slam Dunk for Australia's Progress." Retrieved on: 03/11/2011 @http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats%5Cabs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/F76899DDA864D514CA25793700162ED9?Opendocument

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006). "National Centre for Culture and Recreational Statistics Women's Participation in Sport And Physical Activities. Retrieved: 01/11/2011: []

 Bray, C.(1988). "Sport and Social Change: Socialist Feminist Theory" //Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance// 59, (6), P.50

Brown, D.(2002). "Physical activity, sports participation, and suicidal behaviour among students". //Medicine and science in sports and exercise,// 34 (7), P.1087

Bruce, T.(2008). "Women, Sport and The Media: a Complex Terrain". Retrevied on: 01/11/2011 []

Claringbould,I & Knoppers, A.(2008) "Doing and Undoing gender in Sports Governance." //Sex Roles,// 58 (1) p.81

Cunningham, G. (2008). "Creating and Sustaining Gender Diversity in Sport Organizations". //Sex Roles,58// (1) P.136

Engel, A. (1994). "Sex Roles and Gender Stereotyping in Young Women's Participation in Sport". //Feminism & Psychology,// 4 (3), P.439

Fallon, M. (2007). "An Exploration of Gender-Role Expectations and Conflict among Women Rugby Players". //Psychology of Women Quarterly,// 31 (3) P.311

Flanagan, K. (2008). "Gender Barriers in Sport". Retrieved On: 31/10/2011 [| http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2050]

Fox, K. (2007). "Physical Activity and Obesity". //Obesity Reviews,// 8 (1), P.115

Harris, J. (2005). "The Image Problem in Women's Football". //Journal of Sport and Social Issues,// 29 (2), P.184

Massengale, D & Lough, N. (2010) "Women Leaders in Sport: Where's the Gender Equity?". //Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance,// 81 (4), P.6

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Migliaccio, T & Berg, E. (2007). "Women's Participation in Tackle Football". //International Review for the Sociology of Sport,// 42 (3), P.271

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Tauschmann, K. (2004). "Anorexia Athletica". //Nutrition,// 20 (7-8) P.657