Stereotypical+views+of+stereotypical+girls


 * 1) 1. Artefact

This picture perfectly sums up the division of what young girls are exposed to growing up, whether it is in the media or the people around them. The picture shows what is meant to be the same person yet being completely different in terms of the type of girl she is. It emphasises the perceived division of the stereotypical girly girl and sporty girl. The picture is saying that one person cannot be both sporty and girly, they must be separate as they don’t work together. This is of course not true but it does represent the common misconception of young girls. This is an ever increasing issue in today’s society as there are more opportunities for women than there ever has been. Even with this increase in sporting opportunities the issue still remains that adolescent girls are not engaged in as much competitive sport as they were when they were younger. Why is it that there is such a change in participation levels once girls reach a certain age? There are many theories blaming the influence of the media on many different levels including motivation of girls and portraying the stereotypes of male, female, girly and sporty. There is no denying that this is an issue and to try to improve the issue we must first understand it. There is plenty of evidence to confidently say there is a significant decrease in participation levels of adolescent girls in competitive sport. There is an equal amount of research suggesting different reasons why this occurs. One of the largest factors that are believed to cause this change is the media and its influence that it has on young girls. The media can have different modes of influence including motivation or rather lack of motivation for girls to remain in competitive sport due to the lack of coverage of women sporting events. Another form of influence the media has is they portray what is perceived to be the ideal male and female, it is human nature to want to improve and be better, however there is close to no coverage of women in sport but rather models and clearly not sporty girls. This creates an illusion that there are no good looking sporty women, thus creating and supporting the stereotype. Due to the lack of coverage the saying out of sight, out of mind is very appropriate. John Dwyer from the university of Geulph in Ontario, Canada was involved in a study of young girls to try and figure out what it was that caused such a dramatic and sudden decline in the participation of moderate to vigorous physical activity among adolescent girls. The research is reliable the girls were a mix of race and socio-economic status in a heavily populated city. The study was in the form of recorded focus sessions in which a select number of the total 73 participants attended. These recordings were then further analysed by other professionals. Their findings were that the perceived barriers to participating in physical activity included; lack of time, technology related activities, influence of peers (parents, friends, teachers), concern of safety, accessibility to facilities and their cost, competition and body related issues. The main finding though was the fact that participation levels among adolescent girls is constantly declining.
 * 1) 2. Issue
 * 1) 3. Literature review

Although the research is reliable, it must be noted that there is hardly any mention of the media playing a role in the decline of physical activity. This can be explained due to the fact that the research and its findings were based from the accounts given by the girls themselves. This could mean that if the media does play such a big role in preventing girls from participating in physical activity, it can be assumed the girls are unaware of the scale they are being influenced. Another possible explanation is that the media does not play as significant role as many people may think. It is an extremely easy thing to blame for a lot of society’s issues. There is so much controversy to do with the concept of media influence that it has become somewhat of a back up excuse for people’s problems. Parents can be a prime example of this, the classic story of an overweight and or depressed child, when discussing the topic parents will often blame the media or tv shows their child may watch. Not only is there a clear issue evolving in today’s society with adolescent girl’s lack of involvement in physical activity and competitive sport, but there is clearly another issue in understanding the reasons why it happens.

A study done by Alan Goldberg explored the relationship between female high school girls perception of social status and their chosen or preferred activities, such as sport or shopping. A wide variety was available for the girls to choose from and the study was done via a five point Likert scale. A total of six hundred and twenty-seven females completed the survey and were a mix of both athletes and non athletes. The results were significantly different between the two however did not provide substantial evidence to suggest there is a significant relationship between groups in a quest for peer approval.

This is very interesting in terms of the results indicating that the girls involved in the study were not concerned with or seeking peer approval. The survey however may not be entirely accurate do to the potential for lack of honesty when completing the survey. It could be said that the girls answered the questions dishonestly in order to make themselves look better. If this were the case then it further enhances the theory of girls wanting to be accepted and approved by their peers. The article also concedes that although there have been many positive developments in terms of women in sport; there remains the ongoing tension between the traditional image of femininity and that of the female athletes.

It can be said that due to the results of the survey, girls who are involved in sport are for the most part not concerned with peer approval, and girls who are not involved in sport are also not concerned with peer approval, must mean that there is a clear split in terms of whether you are a sporty girl or not. This further proves the idea behind the artefact.

It is clear that there is an issue with the involvement of girls in competitive sport. However even more of an issue is the number of theories and research that has been done yet still has no definitive answer as to why. This is due to the fact that there are many different reasons as to why girls once they reach adolescence, choose to stop or lessen their involvement in sport and physical activity. It is critical to understand that many cultures place great emphasis on what it means to be a woman. There are very strict rules and social changes that are made when becoming a woman and continuing to act like a woman. An example of this is in the Arab culture. It is fine and even encouraged for primary school aged girls to participate in sports such as soccer and athletics. They do not have to cover their body or hair as they are not yet a woman. However once they reach puberty, their whole existence changes. They stop playing sport as it is seen as a male thing to do, it is also due to the fact they must cover almost their entire body and it is simply not practical to play sport in such attire. This is one of many both social and cultural groups that is has influence over the issue and does not seem as if it is going to change.
 * 1) 4. Cultural and Social Analysis

In the western culture, specifically Australia, it is commonly accepted that we are a sporty nation. In comparison to other countries and cultures this is true, however although there are many opportunities that many would consider a privilege to have, the amount of girls that participate in competitive sport is rapidly declining. Since 1900 when women were first allowed to compete in the Olympic games, there has been massive changes and progression for female sporting codes. Although there are still positive changes being made such as higher funding, more coverage through the media and general recognition, perhaps the majority of girls are no longer motivated to remain in competitive sport as it is no longer a novel and inspiring thing to do. This could be creating an even larger division in society between stereotypical sporty girls and those not involved in sport.

Another motivational factor could be that due to the massive progressions of male and female equality in society, women are not being rewarded for their efforts and perhaps cannot see the point of even trying as it seems to be made clear that males dominate the world of sport. This can be seen in a comparison of two Australian athletes. Mark Webber, who is currently the highest paid Australian sporting figure, and Lauren Jackson who is Australia’s highest paid female athlete. The difference in annual salary is enormous with Mark earning over 13 million dollars for a six month season, Lauren however earned around 1.3 million playing in two different leagues for both America and Australia. Although this is not a small amount by any means, the amount of effort put in, is not reflected in her pay. Finally, due to the recent and overwhelming concern with obesity and chronic disease caused by lack of physical activity and poor diet, most of the emphasis has been on eating healthy and only needing to be active for around 30 minutes per day. This is not a good way to increase participation levels of girls if the government is say you only have to do half an hour of activity to be healthy. It allows girls the easy way out and to feel guilt free. There must be more emphasis on the benefits of participating in competitive sport and the opportunities that it affords. My chosen artefact is a picture showing the idea that girls have to be either sporty or girly and must fit one of the stereotypes. It focuses on the fact that you cannot be both as they are too different. This is a reflection of the majority of adolescent girl’s views. The media and their peers enforce the fact that there is a difference in girls that are sporty and girls who are not. The girls have little chance finding a balance once reaching adolescence as they are constantly exposed to the views of others. I believe people have forgotten one of the fundamental and most important factors, and that is let them decide what they want to do. If a girl doesn’t like sport, then it shouldn’t be assumed that she is the stereotypical girl who loves to shop and so on. I believe there is too much emphasis on the fact that girls are no longer interested in playing sport and they all want to be on gossip girl. I believe that society is creating reasons and excuses for what they see to be a problem rather than merely observing the situation. In order for girls to be more active in sport, there must be a change in the way we view sport and its barriers such as advancement in technology and the way that we are constantly looking for machines to do tasks for us. The bottom line is that girls should not have to choose whether they are the stereotypical sporty girl or the stereotypical girly girl. They should be able to do what they want and not have society categorise them into what they have decided you ‘fit’ in to.
 * 1) 5. Analysis of Artefact

1. 6. Reference list

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009). Australian Social Trends.Dwyer, J., Allison, K., Goldenberg, E. & Fein, A. (2006). Adolescent girls' perceived barriers to participation in physical activity. Telama, R. & Yang, X. (2000). Decline of physical activity from youth to young adulthood in Finland. //Medicine Science Sports and Exercise// Alan D. Goldberg, Timothy J.L. Chandler. (1991). Sport participation among adolescent girls: Role conflict or multiple roles? Diane Carlson: An Examination of Friend Conversations, Peer Criticism, Appearance Magazines, and the Internalization of Appearance Ideals Body Image and the Appearance Culture Among Adolescent Girls and Boys