A League Of Their Own Social Roles

“A league of their own” is a film which follows the story of a women’s league baseball team. The film was set in 1943, a period when baseball was predominately a male sport. The sudden arise of a women only team was met with ridicule. This essay analyzes the social structure of the women’s baseball team with a focus on the concept of status inconsistency. We examine the negative view of the females as baseball players and how the females developed to overcome that problem.

The film is set during World War Two and the war threatens to shut down Major League Baseball. In an attempt to keep baseball popularity, women’s league baseball was created. The film follows the sisters, Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller, who are recruited to play baseball. The sisters meet other females at the tryouts and eventually form their team, the “Rockford Peaches”. The idea of females playing baseball was initially ridiculed. However, as the Peaches displayed their baseball skills and progressed through the league, they proved that women were able to play baseball to a high level.

The concepts of status and role are vital to our analysis of the team’s social structure. Status refers to the social position a person occupies in a setting. Roles are the expectations of the individual that are attached to their status. Being a woman …show more content…
The film deals with the concept of status inconsistency between being a women and being a baseball player. The female teams were mocked due to the general opinion that women did not belong as baseball players. Women were expected to fulfill different roles such as being housewives and mothers. Through analysis of the social structure of the Peaches team, we saw how they were able to overcome the status inconsistency. Through dedication, they improved as players. Through compromise, they were able to satisfy the requirements of the roles of their conflicting