Gender Issues In Hockey Essay

For many years hockey was perceived as a male sport that increased masculinity due to the aggression, violence, and body contact associated with the game (Gilenstam). In general, sports were considered a male norm and gave men more power over women, as women where perceived as fragile and weak (john). This social perspective on gender roles created barriers and challenges for women that wanted to participate in the sport. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers associated with women partaking in hockey and the way women hockey players challenged social norms. Overall, the research questions are to determine if women who played hockey were seen as a social threat that deteriorated masculinity and if the social perspective on gender roles impacted the way women that played hockey were perceived as well as the way the sport was perceived.
In the early 1920’s Canada started to change from an agricultural work force to an industrial work force (Gilenstam) This …show more content…
Justine Blainey was a twelve-year-old girl who wanted to be challenge and increase her hockey skills by playing at the highest level (john). Blainey was unable to do this as womens hockey was for amateurs only so, she then applied to be on the men’s league but was denied, just as many other girls tried to do (john). In addition, men’s hockey was prioritized over women’s hockey giving women less rink time to play and practice.
Overall, women faced gender inequity in sports as sports where perceived as masculine (Catherine). Not only hockey but any physical contact sport was seen as a man sport that women should not take part of and the women who played hockey were criticized and viewed as manly and lesbians (Catherine). All in all, women that played hockey where perceived as threats to the social norm, as femininity contradicted the definition of