FREE ESSAY ON GENDER AND SPORT SOCIALISATION

GENDER AND SPORT SOCIALISATION

POSITION PAPER 1 "Examine the link between socialisation, gender and sport."
Socialisation is a life long process whereby the individual learns the appropriate roles
and norms of behaviour within a particular society. From birth, children are socialised
into sex-linked roles; in many instances males are expected to behave in a 'masculine'
way and are encouraged to be involved in activities, such as sport, that are
traditionally regarded as male. Women however are usually expected to behave in a
'feminine' manner; a vast contrast to the encouragement of males to be strong, powerful,
forceful and aggressive. This is reflected in women's participation in sport, and more
importantly, their coverage in the print media, which is minimal in comparison to their
male counterparts.
Sport holds a significant place in our society. However women's sport coverage suffers
due to the positioning in newspapers, with their sporting stories often placed at the
bottom of pages or at the inner, most inaccessible pages of the sports section. Women are
often described in ways that stress weakness, passivity and insignificance, and in ways
that deflect attention from their athleticism. The use of the words "As others
floundered…" (Herald Sun, 5/3/2001, pg 41) in a newspaper article about Karrie
Webb's recent win, is evidence of how this particular media source portrayed her win as a
lack of competition rather than her own sporting talent. 
The media's "linking of the skill of key sports with maleness and the constant exposure
of the public to this process, has the effect of inferiorising femaleness and female
activities. By implication, it seems that women cannot do certain skilful things that the
media value highly." (Williams, Louise. 'Silent Armies Storm the Last Male Bastion'. The
Weekend Australia, February 16-17, 1985). Such examples include "…powerful
tackles…impressive slam dunk…' (The Age, 24/2/2001) which are viewed as
predominately male skills, and an attribute women cannot compete with.
Notions of femininity influence views about how girls should be. This can create conflict
for girls who participate in sports that require 'unfeminine behaviour' and produce
'unfeminine bodyshapes'. Women are depicted in the media in ways that reinforce the
prevailing community attitudes and stereotypes about them. They are not viewed as strong,
heroic figures to be idolised on the basis of their talent and sporting achievements.
Rather in many cases, women's coverage is on the basis of 'sporting fashion'. A classic
example of this being the extensive coverage of women's fashion in the Australian Open
tennis tournament recently held in Melbourne; Anna Kournicova becoming a symbol for
women's tennis due to her glamour, and not necessarily her sporting achievements.
We are re-socialised throughout our lives by society, with an emphasis placed on the
gender roles of men and women and their place within society. Within the sporting world
we are socialised to view women as being subordinate to men. Women's sport does not
create the enthusiasm and have the extensive public support that men do, which is evident
by the minimal coverage of women's sport in the print media in comparison to the
extensive coverage of the male dominated sporting scene.