Gender Bias In Sports Essay

Is there gender bias in sports? If so, are men favored in gargantuan proportions. In endeavoring to answer this question, we have to take a step back in order to analysis the reoccurring historical background of female roles in American society, where the social phenomenon of gender bias even still perpetuates to this very day. Due to gender socialization, boys and girls at very young ages are usually taught that there are boundaries that they cannot cross; this very idea that has been passed on to American families for numerous generations essentially segregates the roles of boys and girls in society, where boys, in a sense, wear blue plants, and take part in construction projects while girls wear pink skirts, and cook good family meals. With …show more content…
Moreover, the study connected to our topic of gender bias in sports, as it proved that male characteristics and dominance is favored in largely proportions, even when through the perspectives of women sports players. In this study, 14 skilled freshman, sophomore and junior girl athletes (7 softball and 7 gymnastic athletes) between the ages of 18- 22 who had a long history of participating in each respective sport were interviewed for one hour each. What the research found was that regardless of their “great” physical appearance or their many accomplishments, everyone knew of their limitations as female. When asked to depict what feminine is, the terms “girly,” “cheerleader,” “throw like a girl,” and “beauty model” were thrown out. Some of the athletes took their views a little further, as exemplified from Diane (a softball player) who admitted that in defining feminine, she thought of stereotypes about “the girly way of doing things.” She used her mom who is not athletic, as an example, stating that she was “weaker and slower” and that her incompetence in throwing a ball exactly pictured a “more feminine throw than a masculine one.” Many of the girls, in addition, considered themselves as a “tomboy,” and based on their