In class today, I was caught by a quote made by Duane. “Don’t count one gender out of something that everyone can enjoy.” I thought this was relevant not only in the context for professional sports, but I saw a link to “Throwing like a Girl” too. In the article, the author writes about how most girls are never taught to throw properly. The fathers usually teach the sons how to throw at a very early age. Because of the neglect of women in throwing-education, mothers are not very good resources for their daughters in the world of sports. Is this cycle of skipping women keeping out a gender from something everyone can do? Yes. According to the article, there are no anatomical differences between men and women that cause them to throw differently. It is all in the process of learning. Hillary Clinton, for example, is a strong, powerful woman in government, but when it comes to throwing a pitch, she falls short. Her “girl-like” throw earned her much criticism in the media while her husband was admired for his “manly” pitch.
The phrase “throwing like a girl” implies that a throw is wrong. The phrase does not even bring about anything like “throwing like a woman,” but a small child. How diminutive is this? This stereotype has been ingrained in the minds of children who have grown to be adults all over the country. If the negative chants in gym classes consist of female-centered insults, how does this make young girls feel? Many women find it so derogatory over time that they just give up. How much talent could we have lost to those bullies? Nobody wants to “throw like a girl” but what if girls were taught to throw just like boys? This would incorporate so much more enthusiasm into sports on the female sides and maybe some girls could find their hidden talents.
Another area in which women are left out of sports is financially. We discussed professional salaries in class today, and how women make much less than men. How can you make what you love a career when you’re not getting paid fairly for it? A surprising amount of female athletes end up posing for magazines, showing off their bodies to “feminize” themselves in an area of masculinity. This certainly shouldn’t have to be done.
Relating back to Duane’s quote, an entire gender is being left behind in sports. Anyone can enjoy sports as long as they are in an environment supportive of their needs. Unfortunately, American athletics is less than helpful to the women who want to show their talents to the world.
In the small groups, my group (Duane, Sam, Bre, Jess, and I) talked about how women aren't taken seriously in many sports. We discussed how Bre couldn't try out for baseball here and although she could try out in high school she couldn't actually compete. It's exactly like your blog post. How come females are looked down on in sports? If a man can do it why can't a women?
ReplyDeleteAs a girl I wasn't taught how to throw, it was fine to throw a ball around with my brother but I was never taught technique. Therefore, I understand Hillary Clinton's issues. I don't exactly understand where the problem is with her throw though. I think it's commendable that she threw a ball out at a baseball game, not many females would ever take a team up on that offer. Instead of judging her, we should be applauding her for doing something that many others don't do.
I like you "Throwing Like a girl" reference here because it speaks directly to the ways that we have discussed the ways feminine and masculine facilities have constructed our intepretations about the role,duties, and most importantly, the capabilities of a woman versus that of a man. The way society, and most certainly media portrays women as less capable in physcial strength at times creates commentary about our mental strength as well, which is why I think these feminine stereotypes have become so problematic. Essentially, these things really devalue us a feminine creatures, beacause thay have so many negative connotations especially in the way we are so often characterized by being juxtaposed to the mental, physcial and social capacities of a man. With that being said, sports is certainly a way which constructs for us another mechanism in which we can draw unequal differences between men and women.
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