Essay On Gender Issues In Sports

Gender issues - Is sport sexist?
In the last century, gender roles of men and women have gradually begun to change in our world, notably in sports. In recent times, female athletes have made tremendous progress in achieving gender equality within sports but are still not given the respect they should have. With the evolution of gender equality women have started to participate more and more in sports but there are still areas where gender equality still exists. Sports are sexist for many reasons making it harder for women to gain respect.

Whether you are on the soccer field, on the ice, in the gym, on the tennis court or in the swimming pool, female athletes have to put up with sexism. In the Western society gender equality has always been an issue within sports and stems back to ancient …show more content…
Media plays a dominant role in spreading false stereotypes of women in sports, female athletes who play sports are perceived as being lesbians, tomboys and that all women’s sports are inferior to men’s sports. Another problem is that women’s sport is so underrepresented because media coverage is predominantly reserved for men which leads young women to be drawn away from sports. For example TV times are not equal and both genders have to fight over who gets to be showed and men are usually given the time. This is not only not fair but women also have to challenge the sexual exploitation of their bodies in the media. Many women who play sports aren’t taken serious because people will be more focused on the women's appearance or what she’s wearing. The media coverage of female sport bodies are seen as sex symbols instead of being recognized as strong willed athletes. This has caused a gap in our society because these sexual exploitations add to the sexual injustice that female athletes encounter. This problem has lead women sports not to be taken as seriously as men