“The single most dramatic change in the world of sports over the past generation has been the increased participation of girls and young women”. (J.Coackley, 2003, page 216)
This may be a factual statement, but in many societies, women do not have an equal opportunity to participate in sport. Even in Britain, where laws have been set up, such as the sex discrimination act, to enforce equality this still remains true. This could be the case due to a number of reasons. Firstly, biological reasons, such as child-birth which could restrict their opportunities to participate in sport.
Secondly, physiological reasons, women are weaker in terms of raw strength. They have generally got smaller frames and smaller hearts. However, women do have a higher pain threshold than men and their vital organs are better protected. I can then come to the conclusion that women are actually more suitable to contact sports than men and research has shown that women out perform men on ultra- endurance races. This evidence runs along side the feminist theory that women are just as capable as men but it’s just seen in society that men are the dominant sex when it comes to sports.
Thirdly, social reasons women’s role in has traditionally been in the home which prevent them participating. Traditionally women have not been encouraged as sport is seen to be masculine. It’s this type of attitude that feminists want to prohibit because no or little changes can be made if people still perceive women as the weaker sex.
Lastly, cultural reasons because sport is masculine it is seen to be un-lady like to participate in sport. Also some minority groups have dress codes for example, turbans which could prevent them playing sport but this affects both the male and female population. This is one of the weaknesses of the feminist approach; it does not address other factors which are also associated with gender in significant ways. These include social class, religion, race, nationality and disability because all of these are important issues when discussing discrimination in sport.
However, sport is not just gendered to support male attributes. Men can be disadvantaged in sports that are considered to be “feminine” and so suitable for men. For example dance, ice-skating and aerobics. These sports promote qualities such as grace, sensitivity, emotion and a general aesthetic appreciation.
Conflict theorists disagree with the ideas of the Feminist theorists as Conflict theory believes that society is a system of social structures and relationships, which are shaped eventually by economic powers. (J.Coackley, 2003)
However, these two theories do share some of the same ideas. They both believe that there is inequality in society relating to sport, although the emphasis is not on gender. Throughout history there have been many links between society and sport and the discrimination that occurs today is often as a result of that history and tradition.
Conflict theory focuses on economic issues, class difference, and the need for transformation in how society and sports are organised. (J.Coackley, 2003) This means that they believe that sportsmen and women don’t have control over the conditions of their participation. They also believe that sport:
“Serves as a tool of economic exploitation and aggression” (J.Coackley, 2003)
This means that people with power can use sport to promote attitudes and connections that enable them to sustain that authority and privilege.
However, social class doesn’t play so much of a larger part of sport today as it did in the past. During the twentieth century, there have been improved social conditions, work is less demanding, fewer hours are worked, medical care has improved as has people’s diets. There is also better transportation, more labour saving devices such as machines and people now have more time to spend on recreation and sport. After World War two there was generally a better standard of living and more money for leisure. More people are able to play sport and the media reflects society’s interest in sport because these days the class division doesn’t really exist in sport as sports have now become available to all those who want to take part in them. If progress is to be made then Conflict theory suggests that it will have to be at the expense of another group – maybe the white majority or the middle-upper classes. However, it may be that these groups are preventing this from happening as the upper classes are most likely to have more money and influence so they make more money out of sport therefore will prevent progress being made for the equality in sport as it will disadvantage them.
Women are also affected by the social class idea which means that they are not only discriminated against because of their sex but also if for example, they are in a lower class, they will be at even more of a disadvantage due to the cost of participation and the amount of free time they have available. Conflicts theorists believe that the emphasis should be taken off the amount of money and commercialisation of sport and concentrate more on…
“The development of a humane and creative society, so that sport can become a source of expression, creative energy, and physical well-being” (J.Coackley, 2003, page 41)
It is important to remember that commercialism and sport are closely linked to media exposures which are also related to both the Feminist and Conflict approach to women in sporting society. Coackley (1994) suggested that for sports and business to flourish successfully together they need to be in market economies and in large densely populated cities. The attending spectators would also need the time, money and freedom of movement to attend such events. Whilst such a high standard of living is necessary so is an effective transportation system to ensure that spectators can get their chosen event.
However, commercialization of sport is now more than just paying to spectate at events. It includes advertising, endorsements, buying clothing (leisure wear), sports goods and paying for participation. The sports council has estimated that half a million jobs in the UK are dependant on the sports business.
“All sports that are watchable have potential for commercial exploitation…. (and that)…Companies sponsor events to make money” (Cashmore, 1996)
Although there is a lot of money to be made in the commercialization of sport, there is an obvious difference between the male and female performers’ sponsorship and advertising schemes which links in with the media.
Honeybourne et al (1996) define the media as:
“A form of mass communication, usually comprising the press, television and radio….The media has a direct influence on the values and morals of a society since it reaches such a large proportion of the population”
As this statement declares, the media plays a vital role in the sporting society. The feminist theory proposes that women don’t get the publicity and consideration they deserve. This could also link back to fact that society sees Women as the “weaker sex”. An example of women being “miss-interpreted” is the female tennis player Anna Kournikova. Anna Kournikova has made more money out of advertising and modelling than she has out of tennis. Feminist theorists may believe that if Anna Kournikova was not as good looking and was not perceived as a “sexy” role model then she would not have made all that money. Where the emphasis is based on talent when it comes to males in sport, the emphasis is based more on good looks when it comes to females in sport. This is because a lot of people (males in most cases) who watch women’s sport want them to look aesthetically pleasing to the eye. This is not always the case but you just have to look at an event, such as beach volleyball, to see that they have that dress code to boost ratings and publicity of the sport.
Conflict theorists would say that some newspapers (mainly tabloids) are aimed at a certain social class. However, they can also be quite sexist when writing about sport as their target population is males buying sports specials on Saturday evenings to find the results written by male journalists.
The feminist theory and the conflict theory do share some of the same thoughts as women and social class can link together. For example, women in middle-lower income families often feel the restraints of child nurture and homemaking.
Without money to pay for child-care, domestic assistance, and sport participation costs, these women just don’t have enough opportunities or time to play sport. Also they don’t have access to the gyms and maybe can’t afford the travel to get to the places where they want to play sports. Furthermore sports are usually social activities occurring among friends, and, if a woman’s friends don’t have the facilities enabling them to play, she will have even fewer activities which would lead to her being less motivated for interest in participation. However, this is also true for men but men are more likely to have an arrangement of relationships from sport interest.
Women in upper-income families frequently face a different state of affairs. They have the money and resources to pay for childcare, domestic assistance and sport participation. They often participate in sport activities by themselves, with friends, or with family members. They have social networks made up of other women who also have the resources to maintain high levels of sport participation. (J.Coackley 2003, page 336)
Women who have been brought up in these families often have played sports during and since their childhoods and have attended schools with good sports programs; however, they have experienced the same constraints as their lower-income counterparts. Their opportunities are much greater than those of lower-income women, even though they may not be equal to those of upper-income men. (J.Coackley, 2003, page 338)
However, these theories have their weaknesses. Both the conflict theory and feminist theory under-estimate the importance of other factors when it comes to explaining how people relate to others, organize social life and especially in terms of discrimination in sport. These other factors include race, ethnicity and age. Conflict theory also underestimates the value of gender and sexual orientation.
Also the feminist approach under estimates the importance of social class, disability, religion and nationality.
In conclusion, both the feminist and conflict theory produce good arguments about sports role in society; nonetheless, there is also evidence to show that they do not touch on other factors which are just as significant as their views. To gain a true understanding of sports role in society and also relate it to women in sport then all the theories should be revised before making an accurate opinion.
References
Books used
J. Coackley, (2003), Sports in Society Issues and Controversies, Eighth edition, The McGraw-Hill Company, 1221 avenue of the Americas, New York.
F. Kew, (1997), Sport Social Problems and Issues, Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd, Oxford, England.
C. Critcher, P. Bramham, A. Tomlinson, (1995), Sociology of Leisure, E & FN Spon, Padstow, Cornwall.
N. Baugniet, G. Jones, D. Morton, D. Walters, (2000), A Level Physical Education through diagrams, Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, England.
Websites Used
http://
Other Material
Professor Alan Clarke, 12th October 2004, Personal Communication.
Steve Monaghan, December 2003, Personal Communication.
