GENDER &
SPORT
Does equity require ideological
changes?
If you Let Me Play -
NIKE
• [Link]
/watch?v=AQ_XSHpIb
ZE
• Initial reaction?
• Deeper analysis?
Questions:
How did sport come to embody & recreate male power and
domination?
Why does gender inequalities in sport (and other areas) still persist?
How does existing sport practices contribute to the reproduction of
existing relations between genders?
Can sport contribute to bringing about equality between women &
men?
Equality, Equity,
Reality & Liberation
Gender
•What does it
come to mind
when reading
the word
GENDER?
What is Gender?
• GENDER is a set of
power relations whereby
men, as a social group,
have more power over
women than women have
over them; however, this
relationships is not fixed,
rather it has been
challenged and
transformed throughout
the times.
HOWEVER…
• Despite this gender
unbalanced, women
have gained ground in
many areas in the last
few years. Whether
education, the
economy, politics and
certainly sports,
women have seen her
role augmented and
valued more than
before. And thus,
female sport
participation have
increased dramatically.
WHY FEMALE PARTICIPATION
HAS INCREASED?
1. New opportunities
2. Government legislation
3. The women’s movement
4. The health and fitness movement
5. Media coverage
1. GROWTH OF OPPORTUNITIES
There is no question that girls
& women have benefited from
a steady growth of
opportunities for participation
and competition;
Greater access to coaching &
facilities
Government policies &
funding
Increasing publicity given to
women athletes
2. GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION
• Canada - Women in
Sport: Sport Canada
policy, 1986
• USA - Title IX in 1972
3. THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
• Females are enhanced
as human beings when
they have opportunities
to develop their
intellectual and physical
abilities. CAAWS =
Canadian Association
for the Advancement of
Women and Sport and
Physical Activity.
4. THE HEALTH AND FITNESS
MOVEMENT
Mid ‘70s increased
awareness of health
and fitness has
encouraged women to
become involved in
many physical
activities, including
sports.
Lisa Bavington, York alumni
5. MEDIA COVERAGE
• Progress has been
made in Canada. An
independent study
found that the CBC
has reported equal
coverage of men and
women at the last
few Olympic Games.
(Why?)
Olympic Swimmer Penny Oleksiak
Who is a Woman?
• Some people say genitalia,
others chromosomes,
others the ability to bear
children, and others
hormone levels. For all of
these there are examples
that can be given for
exceptions to the rule:
infertile women, genital
variances, intersex people,
varying hormone levels,
etc.
• [Link]
watch?v=qFFPcIcAUUs
Caster Semenya
Transgender and Transsexual
Athletes
• It has been only this
year that the IOC has
been forced to
respond with rules to
address this issue.
Thus, the rule reads:
“athletes who have
changed sex legally
and surgically and
who have been
taking hormones for
at least two years”
are allowed to Kristen Worley, Canadian
compete. trans post-op athlete.
Reasons to be cautious about
opportunities for women:
Budget cutbacks & privatization
Resistance to government policies
Backlash among those who resent changes
Under-representation of women in
coaching/administration
Emphasis on “Cosmetic fitness”
Trivialization of women’s sports
Homophobia and the threat of being labelled “lesbian”
Budget cutbacks &
privatization
• “…it seems like the
only time women’s
programs are treated
equally is when cuts
must be made.”
Women are under-represented at the leadership
level
Women face stereotypical
notions about their competence
despite their formal
qualifications & technical
expertise
Women are assumed to lack
the proper training, motivation,
and skills to succeed.
Women must prove themselves
and work their warm up the
sport hierarchy whereas the
competence of men is often
taken from granted
Men’s World
Women who choose to enter a
primarily man’s world must learn the
language, symbols, myths, beliefs, and
values of that male culture
A strong & informal male network
(and a weak female network) exists
that enhances men’s (and discourages
women’s) opportunities.
Male elites ensure the maintenance of
the status quo, and their own power,
by selecting those individuals most
like themselves.
Women are also badly under-
represented at all levels of coaching
• Not only do women coach
less than men, their %
decreases further as the
level of competition
increases. At the
university level, the
number of full time
coaching positions held by
women has actually
decreased over the last
decade despite the increase
in females athletes.
WHAT CHANGES ARE NEEDED TO
ACHIEVE GENDER EQUITY?
• Between 72-88,
there were 1025
official complaints
about gender
inequities in the
USA. NOT ONE
OF THEM resulted
in any cuts of federal
funds at any of the
schools.
Summer Olympic
Participation
City Males (%) Females (%) Total
Atlanta ‘96 6606 (64%) 3512 (36%) 10,318
Sydney ‘00 6582 (61%) 4069 (39%) 10,651
Athens ‘04 6296 (59%) 4329 (41%) 10,625
Beijing ‘08 6282 (57%) 4746 (43%) 11,028
London ‘12 6098 (56%) 4862 (44%) 10,960
Rio ‘16 6350 (55%) 5194 (45%) 11,544
Winter Olympic
Participation
City Males (%) Females (%) Total
Lillehammer ‘94 1215 (70%) 522 (30%) 1,737
Nagano ‘98 1386 (63%) 787 (37%) 2,176
Salt Lake ‘02 1513 (63%) 886 (37%) 2,399
Torino ‘06 1548 (61%) 960 (39%) 2,508
Vancouver ‘10 1522 (60%) 1044 (40%) 2,566
Sochi ‘14 ? (@60%) ? (@40%) 2,874
Strategies:
• Confront discriminatory
practices
• Be an advocate and a
watchdog
• Keep track of data in your
organization and issue a
“gender equity score card”
every year
• Learn & educate others about
the history of discrimination
in sports
• Object policies that would
result in a decrease in
women’s sport participation
More Strategies:
• Package & promote
women’s sports as revenue
producers
• Recruit women athletes
into coaching
• Use women’s hiring
networks when looking for
coaches and administrators
• Create a supportive work
climate for women in your
organization.
Warning:
• Striving for equity in
activities and
organizations that have
been shaped over the
years by the values and
experiences of men
will not eliminate some
of the most important
problems women face
as they play and work
in sports.
Does female participation increase
empowerment among them?
• Women’s participation in
sport may challenge
traditional notions of
women’s capabilities and
provide positive role
models for girls and
women. However, sport
does not appear to be
effective vehicle for
developing the athlete’s
consciousness as a woman
or encouraging activism
regarding the concerns of
women.
Why not?
Many women athletes have
expressed negative attitudes
toward feminists and
feminism. In other words,
those who play elite-level
sports emphasizing power &
performance are not likely to
be “boat-rockers” critical of
the gender order. A possible
reason for this is that women
athletes may feel they have too
much to lose if they are
associated with civil and
human rights issues for
women, because other might
identify them as ungrateful or
even question their sexuality.
An athletics program is gender
equitable when either the men’s
or women’s sports program
would be pleased to accept as its
own the overall program of the
other gender.
If male athletes, coaches,
administrators, and other
personnel in men’s programs
would not consider trading places
with their counterparts in
women’s programs, then gender
equity probably does not exist.
IDEOLOGICAL STRUCTURAL ISSUES
The Gender Logic of Sports
When people participate in sports, they often learn a form
of “common sense” (hegemony) that leads to the
conclusion that women are “naturally” inferior to men.
Many people continue to compare women and men in
terms of performance differences and then go on to say
that differences will never disappear because men are
simply physically superior to women. Of course, most of
these people never wonder what kinds of physical skills
athletes would need if sports had been shaped by the
values and experiences of women instead of men. For
example, if most sports had been created by and for
women the motto for the Olympic Games would not be
Citius, Altius, Fortious (faster, higher, stronger); instead, it
might be “Balance, Flexibility, and Endurance”
Conclusion
• Gender refers to all humans.
• Sex refers to the way we are born. Historically
accepted as a binary form but not accepted as
inclusive enough anymore.
• Sport has accepted and challenged these notions.
• There is much to be done to be fully inclusive and
accepting.
• Numbers (whether professional athletes or
participants at the Olympic Games) do not confirm
a full acceptance of women as athletes yet.
Late news
• Women have been allowed to watch
soccer games in Iran fir the first time in
decades. However, those attending will
be ‘caged’ from the men
“Play like girls!”
• At the Nagano Olympics in 1998,
Canada’s men’s team had a terrible
time and finished 4th with Gretzky
• A cartoonist at the national post
created this cartoon with the caption
“play like girls”. It was burned outside
Humana’s office
• Means girls are very skilled & tough
Accommodated
men’s differences
• Showed an example of manny
pacquiao (featherweright champ) and
Anthony Joshua (heavyweight champ)
• They will never fight eachother bc of
their physiological differences