...If Tiger Woods was a female...

Referring towards the Tiger Woods case, the question that came to mind immediately is, “how the world would perceive if Tiger Woods was a female athlete instead of a male”. Tiger Woods had cheated on his wife with numerous women and decided to take a break from Golf. He was a famous young golfer that accomplished a lot of goals that men are still trying to achieve. I feel that he was not taken serious about this case and basically just had a slap on the wrist. If the roles were reversed and a Tiger Woods was a female, her career would be jeopardized, names would be said about her, and her life would not ever be the same. What was the most shocking to me was how Tiger Woods is a man of color, but the public did not judge him by his color, but only by the actions he did. It showed me that time has passed and views have changed. I was surprisingly happy to see that racial equality is coming together.

StacyA
Section 3023
Kin 338I
TTH 2-315

Final

• Did your view of women in sport change as a result of this course? Why or why not?

My view of women in has sport changed significantly as a result of this course. I had no idea of the full extent to which women have progressed in field of athletics. This course opened up my eyes to the struggles women have been through. I really had no idea there were as many restrictions as there were at one time. I thought that women and men has somewhat equal ground in the sports world. I knew there was a difference between the genders, but I had no idea how big. This course made me realize that women still have a long way to go in regards to equality.

• If you could share one idea from this course with others, what would it be, and why?

If there was one idea I could share with others that I learned from this course it would be that title IX is a scapegoat for actual mismanagement of funds. I found the classroom discussions regarding this information to be the most controversial and interesting. I came from a high school that had a very strong football team. While playing softball we had to pay (Individually) for our equipment, uniforms, etc. The football team got money to build a new stadium, new for new equipment, for nice buses and for the best hotels for away games. Our men's swimming team was cut to allow for more funds for the football team, and everyone was under the impression that it was because of title IX.

Kelly Peters
Tu/Th 2-3:15
KIN 338I

Beauty Mark-Film

For my second blog I chose to talk about the movie we saw in class, Beauty Mark. This film particularly resonated with me because I have struggled with a distorted body image for most of my life. This film in particular speaks to those who feel as though they don't conform to abnormal, unrealistic images/societal standards. In this film, Diane Israel, a former runner and triathlete talks about her own story. What I found interesting right off the bat is that she acknowledges a lot of issues, fears, and insecurities she never fully addressed prior to the making of this film. I think she had an incredible amount of strength and was very brave to talk about some of the things she did. When I played sports growing up I had a very distorted image of myself. I would workout twice daily on top of 3 or 4 hour athletic practices. I got positive reinforcement in the form of compliments from my peers which only fueled the process. What I was doing only hurt me though. I lost a lot of muscle through dieting and overexercising and dropped a lot of weight in a short period of time. After a few years of doing this to myself I found that I was always tired and that my athletic performance was suffering because I wasn't fueling my body properly. It was during these few years that I experienced 3 or 4 serious injuries. I was already calcium deficient due to the fact that I was lactose intolerant and after a doctor's visit, in which I was told my bones were very weak and starting to deteriorate, I realized I needed to make a change. Like Diane, a lot of my issues surrounded a dysfunctional family and competition between my brother and I for attention, so i can definitely relate. I always thought that if I was thin that everything would be okay and that I would be happy, but it was so much more deeply rooted that that. What I came to realize, and what this film reinforces is the idea that you have to feel good about yourself inside and out to be happy, so while I still exercise on a regular basis and enjoy being involved in recreational activities I strive to live my life at a less frantic pace just as Diane Israel does.

Kelly Peters
Tu-Th 2-3:15
KIN 338I

Women in the NBA

Many people might have heard by now the rumors going around that Commissioner David Stern's assertion that a woman may play in the NBA in the next decade. The possibility that a woman might play for an NBA team in the next 10 years was originally raised by Sports Illustrated in late November, early December.

"I don't want to get into all kinds of arguments with players and coaches about the likelihood," Stern told SI. "But I really think it's a good possibility."

As we all know from taking Kinesiology classes such as Women in Sport and Socio-Cultural Dimension of Sport, different people are going to have totally different opinions. Coach Phil Jackson of the Lakers has a positive opinion about women playing in the NBA and was quoted,

"(The girls) were all four to six inches bigger than these boys, and they got beat by 40 points," Jackson said. "It was one of those things that opened my eyes to the differences. Even though the girls had skill and knowledge as a group and the boys hadn't played together, they just trapped and pressed and did all kinds of things that changed the game."

To clear things up about this quote, Jackson was referring to a girl's high school state champion team playing against a group of middle school boys who have never played together, during a youth basketball camp.

This is a great topic that should be discussed and opinions should be shared. However, I have created this blog for great discussion amongst anyone who has fair opinions. Please share your opinions if you have anything to say, I am, and I'm sure everyone is interested in what others have to say about this wonderful topic.

Erik Moran
Kin 332i
TuTh 12:30-1:45

Accomplishing All with a Disability

Earlier in the semester the guest speaker that came to visit the class true had an impact on my views in life. Unfortunately, I cannot remember her name. :) She told the class about her experience at sea as a disabled women rowing and breaking records. She was the first women and even disabled women to row across two seas. This accomplishment was incredible to me. I wish the class was more impress or involved with her presentation with us as a class. I never really knew much about the sport rowing and all of the hardships that come along with it for example all of the injuries, lack of sleep, and how the constant water effects your body. I felt honored that she came to my classroom and shared her experiences with us and the pictures were great!!! I am blessed to have a healthy body that can do more than a disabled person could do in their everyday life. But I do not think I have enough stamina, strength, and will to experience what our guest speaker experienced while she was rowing across the seas. I will never forget her trip to our class and I will tell more people about her and help people get more informed with the sport of rowing.

Jacqlene Corbin
KIN 338I
Sec. 3023
Thursday December 17, 2009

SEXISM IN SPORTS MEDIA

Sexism in the sports mediaTennis phenom Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 in late November for her profanity-laced altercation with a line judge during the U.S. Open in September. Not only was Williams fined but she was also placed on two year behavioral probation as a result of the tirade. This blog is in no way excusing the actions of Serena Williams during the U.S. Open match. But instead I plan to use this common altercation as way to evaluate some of the gender role biases that we have in society which have emanated through the sports media we have today. I also plan to evaluate how we revere athletes for their drive and passion but yet when the passion is expressed in a way that is seen as inappropriate we ostracize the same athlete we once praised for their unrivaled fervor. Technology has allowed human error to be diverted in sporting events; with what seems to be an endless amount of camera views we are able to dissect and scrutinize every little detail of a sporting event. The theory behind this precision is a great advancement in sports documentation. An ugly side of this advancement in cinematic technology is the fact that we now live in a world of the 24 hour news cycle with a news and sports media that grows more invasive and speculative with each passing day. An unfortunate byproduct of this saturated sports media is that hours of the reporting are left to speculation and opinion based journalism where aspersions are cast, and presumptuous accusations are made to the athlete’s motivations for their public gaff. In retrospect we scrutinize an indecent act for hours when the circumstance itself happened in the heat of the moment and lasted no longer a minute or two. The fact is the human condition of competition has the capacity to reveal the most beautiful aspects of human capability; and sometimes reveals less desirable facets of human failure. Because sports has become such big business to corporate America we often times lose sight of the fact that athletes are human and that they make mistakes in the heat of the moment. We see this image manufactured by corporations to pedal product or build that athletes brand. But in essence it is just a glossed up façade of “All-American” wholesomeness that is next to impossible for any athlete in the public eye to live up to.

Now this false expectation is something that both male and female athletes have to deal with. But Female Athletes are expected to adhere not only to the societal expectations for athletes, but gender specific expectations which are perpetuated by society’s gender stereotypes as well. After taking women in sport the glaring double standard placed on women is evident; not only female athletes, but women in power as well. The societal expectations for women are filled with a kaleidoscope of mixed messages and oxymorons. We expect female athletes to compete; but “do it like a lady”--To win but “do it with grace” –to be “aggressive” without defeminizing themselves. It is an expectation without a clear message. This gender double standard is a point which Sabrina Williams brought up in context to the media coverage as well as her stern fine. There has been many notorious male players like John Mcenroe who have thrown outright fits on the court and have been seen as a hot head and regarded in an amusing light more so then in a negative one. The media coverage of males in any sport acting in this manner doesn’t even make the 5 o’clock sports center; but when a female acts in a similarly aggressive way its fouter for weeks amongst sports reporting media. The fact that is this minor story received so much play during the busy sports season full of the world series, college and professional football, the start of the pro basketball season is direct interpretation of the crude double standard and the sexist sports media; where the only time you typically hear about female sports in the major headlines is either when a scandal arises or history is made; which is a complete disservice to female sports accomplishment and entertainment value.

Ryan Adams

9:30 tues/thurs

Course: KIN 338I

Section: 3018/3023

Dirty Play In Womens Sports

Elizabeth Lambert, a soccer player for New Mexico, became an Internet sensation for her actions during the Mountain West semifinal versus BYU. Video of Lambert from the game shows her throwing elbows, committing dangerous tackles, and yanking a girl down by the hair. This game would never receive national attention, but Lambert's actions put her in the national spotlight. While she was not ejected from the game for her actions, her school suspended her indefinitely. Women's sports receive more attention for bad behavior, than for outstanding accomplishments or great play. Stories of bizarre behavior of women in sports might bring them attention, but it is the wrong attention. Women in sports who receive the most media attention are the ones who sexualize themselves, or those who behave badly. Most people watch sports for there entertainment value. Personally I found this story entertaining and I watched the clips of her dirty play multiple times. This story received attention for this very reason. Dirty play happens all the time in men’s sports, but the attention received for dirty play in men’s sports is much less than the attention Lambert received. In society women are expected to behave "lady like", and not act out in aggression. In society men are allowed to show their aggression and outbursts are more commonly acceptable. The reality is that women will always receive attention in sports for all the wrong reasons.

David Johnson
T/Th 2-315 Kin 338

Money and Sports

I made this picture to show what I learned from Kin 332I. Money makes the world go round. :)

Adriane Vazquez

Kin 332I T/TH 12:30- 1:45

Kerrie Kauer

Middle Eastern Women in Sports

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ2jYLCloFo

In the video Nada Zeidan is a very involved and popular female athlete, she participates in rallies, and archery. In the video she speaks about how in Arab countries men don't like women to compete with them, especially if you will beat them. Nada Zeidan says that at first she was not being accepted, but slowly over the years people began to be a little more accepting of her being a female participant in "mens" activity. Nada Zeidan said that when she first began archery there were 16 other women, and today she is the only one. Lucky for Nada her father was very accepting of her participating in sports. At her work in the hospital she requested to work in the mens division and they call her "superwomen". Why? Are they trying to say that not all women can do what they do?

Coming from a middle eastern family I can kind of touch base on where Nada Zeidan is coming from. Although my family does not come from an Arab country, they still have those old fashion values. Growing up I was always involved in sports, and my father was okay with it, but my grandfather never thought it was right. He always suggested I just take dance lessons. At family reunions when my male cousins will make teams to play basketball they will never include me or any of my other female cousins. Even if i were great at a certain sports, my family will never allow me to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional athlete.

In the middle eastern culture, men always rule. Even if you are a 20 year old guy you can demand your mother to do things for you. The idea of women not being able to participate in sports is not the only thing that women are held back from, it goes down into our roots, where it has always been patriarchal. Men will work women will stay home and bare their children. There is a very interesting tradition in my culture (Armenian) such as a certain meal. It is called "xash", it takes about 7 hour to prepare, and usually women will prepare the meal. This is popular in the winter season. Men will gather at some ones house on a sunday morning, they will eat the "xash" drink vodka and not allow any females to be there while this is all happening. Although slowly this is vanishing, in my generation this no longer exists, but when my older uncles and grandfathers gather they go by the "rules".

I see that the middle eastern traditions are changing as the generations here in the US expand, but back home, they are still as hard headed as they were 100 years ago.

Liz Avedisian

TTH 9:30-10:45

Beauty Mark

The movie Beauty Mark was a very enlightening movie for me to see. When the movie started I Thought that Diane was going to be ranting about body image and women that have eating problems or women that even over exercise. After the first ten minutes I knew that this wasn’t going to be like other movies I have seen. When Diane began talking about her own personal experiences, it just tied in all of the issues that she was presenting. I was shocked by the things she had gone through in her life. Her mother, who was a beautiful woman, was so concerned with her outward appearance, that she eventually went crazy and was sent to a mental hospital. Also the fact that her father had pushed her so hard and was so competitive with the brother was another reason that she began to run her own body into the ground. After finding out that she was raped as a child, it just added to the difficult life that Diane was faced with. It is amazing that things that she is doing in trying to explain to people that body image isn’t the most important thing in the world. It is better to feel good about one’s self on the inside rather than focusing on outward appearance.

Ray Wertz
Tu- Th 2-3:15

Lambert Suspended indefinitely at UNM

Elizabeth Lambert was suspended indefinitely from playing soccer at the University of New Mexico because of her rough play in the game against Brigham Young University (BYU). The video, included on ESPN's College Sports cite, displayed Lambert engaging in a little more than rough play. I would say it was absolutely outrageous and unacceptable. The video showed her punching other players, tripping and continually kicking them to the ground, elbowing, and finally viciously yanking another player's ponytail until she was pulled to the ground. Lambert's coach, Kit Vela, commented after her suspension that, "Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship." The only punishment for all her actions during the game was at the 76th minute when Lambert received a yellow card after one instance of tripping. The news reporters in the video constantly ask where the refs, other teammates, and coaches were during her actions. No one responded to her multiple acts of obvious violence until the 76th minute! Worst of all, her coach did not pull her out of the game and address this behavior. After the game and facing her consequences, Lambert apologized for her actions, saying she was "deeply and wholeheartedly regretful. I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary. This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them."

Lambert's actions have received an abundant amount of media attention. However, it is the wrong kind of attention and is undeserved for women in sports. Women have been working so hard to draw attention to their participation in sports, and Lambert's actions have pushed their efforts back farther. Her actions were uncalled for, but one has to wonder if the consequences would be so severe for men sports. Society is so used to excessive rough play from males in sport. It was even quoted in the video on the cite that "What is rare is when women athletes are involved in any of this kind of behavior." This draws a line between what the expected actions are in male verses female sports. I am not saying it is unfair for women not to play as rough as the men; I think that all excessive rough play by any player is unacceptable. It is interesting though that the media does not chose to cover as many of the events of rough play that occur in men's soccer or football. People view excessive rough play in men's sports constantly, and people hear what players do that is not caught by the referees' eyes, yet they do not think that those players should be pulled from the game. They rather agree that men are just being men and allow them to continue with their rough play. This behavior should be addressed as it has been by UNM and the coaches of Elizabeth Lambert. This behavior takes away from the game and damages the value and beauty of the sport.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4629837

Shari Russell
Professor Kauer
Kin 338i, sec. 3023
T/TH 2-3:15

Tiger Woods

Bernice Embry Id# 006286902
Kerrie Kauer
Kin 332I

Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers of all times has recently become one of the media’s favorite topics. However he hasn’t been in the news everyday since his car crash due to his actions on the golf course, he has actually been in the news everyday due to his “transgressions” he had with multiple women. He and his wife have been seen on numerous of magazine covers their relationship status is constantly being discussed on daytime television programs, news programs, radio stations, etc. One may even notice that his family mistakes are also discussed on sports channels such as ESPN.
So what is the problem one may ask? The problem is that as an athlete it isn’t right to completely disassociate Tiger from his sport and completely expose his personal life with intense criticism to follow. We as sport fans live for the times when our favorite athletes do amazing things in their sport, but is it fair for the media to try to slain their character by enhancing their mistakes as humans and constantly put them in the eye if scrutiny? No it is not fair, however drama sells and just like with actors, music artist, and any other type of entertainer the media has the ability to make or break their identity with the way the present topics to the fan bases. Yes, Tiger was wrong for committing adultery and getting caught red handed, however, his “transgressions” don’t take away from the fact that he is an excellent golfer. So the important think to remember when the media presents people through their times of adversity, is look at what the media is comparing when dealing with the athlete’s contributions to their sport and the athlete’s personal lives.

Folding of the Sacramento Monarchs

I have always had a soft spot for both the Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Monarchs because my relatives in Sacramento are avid fans of both. But I was quite surprised to find out that just a few weeks ago, the Maloof brothers decided to get rid of the Sacramento women’s basketball team so that all of their resources could be “dedicated to bringing the Sacramento Kings back to championship caliber form.” It was the first time I’d heard of a women’s sports team being sacrificed for a men’s team at the professional level.

From a financial standpoint, I suppose their reasoning for getting rid of the Monarchs was somewhat logical. According to the article (that can be accessed with the link below), attendance at women’s basketball games were declining despite the successes of the team. But from an equality standpoint, I don’t think that what the Maloof brothers did was fair at all. It isn’t the Monarch’s player’s fault that they aren’t getting spectators for their great playing, yet they have no choice but to be separated and placed into different WNBA teams for the 2010 season.

I believe that situations like this emphasize the importance of increasing awareness of and interest in women’s sport. Had WNBA game attendance not gone down, I’m sure that the Maloof brothers would not have made the decision to disband the Sacramento Monarchs.

http://www.sacbee.com/breaking/story/2338081.html

Maria Gerene Garcia
Section 3023
Tu/Th 2-3:15pm

Body image and Rock Climbing

Over the years men and women have become increasingly more competitive in the sport of rock climbing, which has caused more people to become aware of the phenomenon of gravity. Gravity of course is one of the limiting factors in climbing, the heavier you are the stronger you need to be to over come the gravity on your body. People see up and coming climbers that are able to climb a very difficult climb after only a year or so of climbing, and most people have taken ten years to be able to climb the same grade. In many cases where a male or female athlete has had a eating disorder which has made their strength to weight ratio very high. This has enabled them to climb very difficult climbs with out having a lot of experience in climbing. This has caused many competitive climbers to develop eating disorders to help and control their body weight. The problem with this is with eating disorders people are more prone to injury and many other physical and mental side effects as well.

Chad Gilbert 338i

Homonegativity

Beginning in the early 20th century, doctors predicted that women partaking in athletic activity would give rise to more lesbians. Supposedly, women were to remain passive and inactive in order to maintain their heterosexuality!? Unfortunately, these beliefs are still somewhat prevalent in our societal beliefs. Instead of women athletes simply gaining power amongst our male hierarchy they instead are stereotyped as homosexuals. So they gained strength, muscle, and assertiveness but right when women are about to gain equal power within our society, society goes and rips it away—again. Our American society associates weakness with homosexuality, anything or anyone that is homosexual automatically carries a negative association. Not only do women athletes suffer from this but male athletes do as well. Coaches and teammates use discriminative language; for example, if an athlete is unable to complete a pass properly he/she is called a “fag.” Athletes and coaches, even spectators, should all refrain from using negative slurs; otherwise, this prejudice will only continue on to the next century.

Amanda H.
KIN338I Sec3018

First Female Ascents, continued....

I recently came across an article that compliments my previous blog, “First Female Ascents” and brings up another issue that women face in the male dominated world of rock climbing; problem downgrades after the FFA. Women have a hard enough time getting the recognition they deserve for being the first female to complete a rock climb, only to then have it downgraded because “a girl did it”.
There is a large, international, online database, 8a.nu, where climbers have an account (much like Facebook) and log in and post their ascents. Some people use this database as just a logbook to record what they have done, but many more use this as a scorecard, raking themselves against everyone else in the world by ratings. Ratings are a huge deal for climbers who are trying to push their limits and gain recognition for their accomplishments. So when people see that a female has done a hard climb, such as 5.14a, they go out and try it because many have the mentality that “if a girl did it then I’m sure I can do it”. This causes more ascents of the climb, and many times, eventually gets downgraded to a 5.13d. People who write the guidebooks see that particular climb had had more ascents than another 14a in the area and assume that it must be easier, but really its just more popular now. How disheartening for the woman who accomplished a 5.14 ascent, something that only few have done, and then have some guy say that is a lower grade just because she and a few others did it. Unfortunately this is the case for many boulder problems and sport routes that have had female ascents.
The article “Sex Cells” discusses this topic and touches on the fact that women have very different bodies than men do. We have very different strengths and weaknesses than they do. Climbs are usually established and graded by men with a particular way of doing it that caters to a man’s strengths. Usually women have very different ways of doing the moves because of our different strengths, and it seems like some men feel very chided by that, and downgrade it.
Climbing ratings are very subjective, and usually size dependent, and as it stands, women are the scapegoats for this subjectivity since they are generally smaller (in stature and finger/hand size) enabling then to utilize smaller holds, or preventing them from reaching the next. So maybe more females should start establishing routes that only we can do. That’s an idea…

Minority Sports

Growing in a minority city, going to a minority school, and playing sport for the minority school was pretty interesting. I played basketball for Compton High School 9th-12th grade. I played freshsoph 9th grade and Varsity 10th-12th grade. In 9th grade we did not have enough uniforms for every play on the team. We had three different set of uniforms but none where a complete set. So basically we had mix match uniforms. This was very tacky. My 10th grade year we did not have uniforms at all. We had to use the boy’s JV team uniforms after they used, which was very nasty and unsanitary. My 11th grade year we received new uniforms but they were ugly and cheap looking, which was still an embarrassment; but we were happy because we finally received uniforms and did not have where the boy’s JV team uniforms. My senior year we got the best coach ever. He actually cared about us. He said in order for us to feel like we can compete against the others teams we have to look as good as the other teams. He got us brand new jerseys. We had three sets of uniforms with matching warm ups. Having these uniforms did boost our confidence levels up. We didn’t feel like the little poor kids in the Moore League anymore. We played against all the Long Beach Unified School District, which was a richer district than Compton Unified School District. The teams would have nice uniforms and matching from their heads down to their toes. I felt that because we were in a minority city and because we were women no one care about are needs as athletes. How are we supposed to play basketball without any uniforms or feel like we can compete against these richer schools and their top of the line uniforms? Those with power and money manipulate those without power and money. Since we were from Compton and were women two negative against us we got swept under the rug and it did not seem to bother anyone.
SMH!
Adriane Vazquez
Kin 332I T/Th 12:30-1:45
Kerri Kauer

The Final 2 Questions

1)Did your view of women in sport change as a result of this course? Why or why not?
It sure did. I didn't know much about women's sports before this class, and what little I did know was either distorted or wrong. I thought many womens sports were just clones of men's sports created to appease those whining about equality. I have seen that women's sports actually have a feel of their own and an identity all their own.
2)Complete the following sentence: I used to think — but now I think —:
I used to think that womens sports were few and far between, now I know that there are alot more than those I knew about, and that there is still a heated debate as to how much attention should be paid to those sports.
-Jesse S.
TuTh 2:00-3:15

As of today. . .

I admit I don't pay much attention to women's sports (not like I have to go out of my way to avoid coverage though) but it still struck me that there was a very large pay difference between NBA and WNBA players(it's sticking with me). While I guess this can be attributed to minimal attendance and therefore minimal income, I still thought it strange that the salary cap for a WNBA TEAM is lower than the minimum salary for a 3 year NBA player.(http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/04/09/wnba-salaries-fall-short-male-counterparts/) It baffled me that the disparity is that large, but I guess that may lie in the fact that the income disparity for the leagues is so big.
-Jesse S.
Tu-Th 2:00-3:15

As it always has, Saturday Night Live produced skits this past weekend that poked fun at several stories currently headlining the recent news. One skit that stood out satirized the amount of media coverage that Tiger Woods has accrued due to his unusual behavior. At first, all we knew was that he backed into a tree with his car in the middle of the night. Then, we found out that he was slightly apologetic for doing something wrong. Days later, it surfaces in the news that he had actually been cheating on his wife and had lied about it. As of today, we find that Mr. Woods had been “unfaithful” with more women than previously thought. Tiger, who is married to former Swedish model Elin Nordegren with whom he has two kids, had been reported of having romancing as many as twelve women.
This past weekend, Saturday Night Live produced a skit where Tiger is making a public statement about his current situation. The joke: He needs to be saved from his wife before she hurts him. I must admit, I do think it is a funny skit. However, I can’t help but feel guilty knowing that what Tiger did was serious, and that the media is simply using it for entertainment and then laughing it off. Coincidently, Rihanna was the musical guest for the night. It was only months ago that Rihanna herself had been physically and emotionally injured by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, making the Tiger skit even more questionable in taste.

Skit #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BVXiHh95Tc

On a related note, another skit that SNL showed was one in which Governor Mark Sanford, Senator John Ensign and former senator John Edwards discuss Tiger’s affair. The joke here: that their extramarital affairs didn’t get anywhere near the same media coverage as Tiger’s is. As the SNL actors said of their characters: All three of the politicians they played “broke their own vows and violated the public’s trust.” It’s quite stunning when we really think about the message that this SNL skit is conveying about the media. These politicians did very scandalous things, yet suffer relatively little consequence by the media.

Skit #2: http://current.com/items/91675934_snl-mocks-media-for-ignoring-political-affairs-while-reveling-in-tigers-video.htm

Finally, on a good note for Tiger, Nike has decided to stand by him in spite of the acknowledgement of his affairs. Nike Chairman and co-founder Phil Knight said stuff like “the controversy surrounding Woods was ‘part of the game’ in signing endorsement deals” and “when his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now.” Of course, they’re trying to minimize any collateral damage due to Tiger’s behavior while maximizing profits. However, the combination of all of these things going on ought to make us as a society wonder, what is it that we prioritize? Apparently, morals went out the window for good entertainment and profit. Additionally, because these are males who are the center of the news stories, the stories are laughed about and then shrugged off.

Ruben Angeles KIN338I.S1 TTh 9:45-10:45am

Heisman

So after a pretty entertaining sports weekend, well at least for males, I sat back and began of what I was going to write about for this blog. A big part to the end of every year that I look forward to is the Heisman trophy award that is awarded to the most outstanding college football player in the nation. I began to think to myself, do women even receive such an award in any of their collegiate sports. Now, as ignorant as that may sound, please bear with me. ESPN.com, which is a daily visit on my computer, as well as Yahoo sports and a million other sporting websites that I follow had been raving about the Heisman for the past two weeks. Not once in my 20 some years of existence have I ever heard of a WOMEN sports collegiate award ever mentioned in nearly the same breath or the same light that we hold the Heisman trophy too. Now of course I know that there are awards given to female athletes, but in all honesty I couldn't give you the names of them like I could those of Male sports. In college football, theirs the Heisman and many others; in college baseball you have the Dick Howser along with a bunch of others; college basketball has the Naismith award. Other than the Naismith award which I believe is awarded to both sexes, how many of you can name any female college awards? Pretty good question is it not.

(P.S. Toby Gerhart got snubbed for the Heisman)

Aaron Coelho
T-Th 2:00-3:15

Beauty Mark

The Beauty Mark film had a strong impact on me. I think the timing of the film was perfect because it really tied together many of the main themes that our class focused on this semester. I think Diane’s message was very strong: believing in yourself is the first step toward feeling comfortable with who you are. This is never easy and having parents or friends who push you past your limits or constantly tell you that you are not good enough makes self-confidence almost impossible to obtain. As many of the readings throughout the semester have taught us, several factors contribute to our self-efficacy and our feelings about ourselves. Some of these factors; including family, friends, and the media, were all well demonstrated throughout the film. Diane’s parents’ constant pushing, her friends’ relentless training, and the media’s portrayal of what women should look like all played a huge role in Diane’s feeling of inadequacy. Her personal story had a great affect, I believe, on the class because it was something we all could relate to. Throughout the semester, we read about the triumphs and hardships that women in sport go through, but actually seeing and being told one woman’s personal story was very powerful. I feel truly blessed having seen this movie and it really shed some light on a lot of issues that people go through on a day-to-day basis. Her story seems extreme, but thousands of women go through similar situations all the time. It takes just one woman to stand up and tell her story to make a difference in another person’s life who may be dealing with the same issues. I applaud Diane for putting herself out there and exposing many of her darkest secrets. The movie was a selfless act aimed at helping others and those are often the most difficult movies to make.

-Shawna Wilson
T, Th 9:30

Women in Sports and Having Children

I stumbled across this article about this Japanese tennis player named Kimiko Date Krumm while looking for interesting articles about women in sport. Krumm recently became the oldest WTA winner since Billie Jean King. She is 39 and won this title after taking a 12 year gap in her career. I was very happy to read about this, until I reached the end where Krumm said that she would be retiring soon because she is married and wants to have children. Her exact quote was " "I think I won't have any problem in my physical strength over the next five years. But I'm married ... have to have kids and have a lot of things to do," she said. "I think I can play tennis for the next two years." " I was bothered by Krumm's quote because she says that she has no physical inability to hinder her from competing, but that she would want to give up her career just because she is married. While I understand her motives for retiring early, I wish they were different. I feel as though many women feel compelled to give up their careers and talents once they get married and have children, while it is typical of men to keep their careers and be the breadwinners. Even in the video that we watched in the class featuring Babe Didrikson, one can see the feminine changes in her appearance she made after getting married. Although she still kept her career, she felt the need to change herself after getting married. It bothers me to see women who have so much going for them, give it all up because of the idea that women should be the one to stay home and raise children. I recently read a Forbes article praising women in power who have managed to excel in their careers while still having a family. Most men in the Forbes top lists are married with children, but it is rare enough to see women doing the same that they had to write an article on it. I hope that one day it will be the standard to have women in power with a home life, not the exception.

Article: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Sep27/0,4670,TENKoreaOpen,00.html

Charlene Chang
KIN 338-01
T Th 9:30-10:45 AM

Cultural Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Exercise

The reading "Cultural Beliefs and Attitudes of Black and Hispanic College-Age Women Toward Exercise" greatly resounded with me. I was never aware of the influence that my ethnicity and how my parents were brought up influenced my approach towards exercise. After reading this article, I've noticed all the little ways my ethnicity clouds my opinions concerning exercise.
An Asian woman, specifically Taiwanese, I was raised to think of exercise as a leisurely activity. I have never seen my parents go to the gym or play a sport competitively. They do not have a daily exercise routine or count calories. Most Taiwanese people think that taking a 15 minute walk down the street is enough exercise to benefit you for the week. The odd thing is that Taiwanese culture puts a lot of emphasis on body type and looks. They believe that slender is better and that a size 6 is too big. The largest size that most stores in Taiwan carry is a size 4. Parents, aunts, and even family friends will tell you without remorse how "fat" you look, when you've only gained five pounds. They will tell you that you eat to much and that you should exercise more, but they won't ever cite the health benefits of a proper diet and exercise as a reason. It is all about outer appearance. I've recently become more health conscious and have never felt better in my life. I didn't know why I didn't try to exercise more before or eat healthier, but now after reading this article and hearing my thoughts echoed in the quotes of the women interviewed, I understand more of why I used to think of exercise in the way that I did.

Charlene Chang
KIN 338-01
T Th 9:30-10:45 AM

Final two questions

What did you learn from 338i? How would you respond in five years?
I took a lot away form this class and have a better understanding about women in sports. I learned about feminist and how that relates to politics. I learned that even with the onset of title nine there are still many issues that women face in sports today. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) battle for equality on the most elite levels like the Olympics and strive to be able to participate in sport. When researching for my panel presentation, I got an idea of the difficulties a coach encounters when having to “come out”. If women’s sports received more coverage by the media I’m sure I would hear more about the negative recruiting that goings on in women’s sports and especially women’s basketball.
I would respond in a similar manor in five years. I would like to think that I would know more about women in sports in five years. This class has opened my eyes to some areas in sports that I wasn’t too familiar with. I thinking being a male, I haven’t paid to much attention to what has been happening with women in sports. I think in five years I will have a better understanding of women in sports than I do now.

I used to think________but I know think______.
I used to think I knew a lot about women in sports but I know think I have a broader view and perceptive of women in sports.

Albie Sears
Kin 338i
T/TH 2-3:15

What is Nike really trying to sell?

I came across this Nike ad while searching for marketing campaigns that featured female athletes. Serena Williams is one of the most well known female athletes in the world and is one of the best female tennis players as well. I studied the ad for a while and could not find anything positive about it. Nike is using Serena's "titles" or in other words her breasts to promote their brand. What does this say about Nike as a brand? I feel that it is stating that they are a brand that cares about getting attention by any means. Ads such as these show that Nike has no concern for gaining the right type of attention for their brand, but that they are willing to sexualize female athletes and their body parts to help market their brand. What kind of message does this send to female athletes? It seems that with ads like these Nike is more concerned with marketing the body parts and looks of female athletes rather than their athletic ability. I think that Nike should take a better approach to their marketing strategies and market their female athletes while they are exhibiting their athletic abilities. I feel Under Armour did a good job of doing this when they marketed Olympian Skier Lindsey Vonn in the Dick’s Sporting Goods ads by showcasing her skiing abilities and not focusing on her physical appearance. Hopefully Under Armour is starting a new marketing trend that promotes female athletes in a more positive, unsexualized manner, and that other brands like Nike decide to follow and decide to market their female athletes better in the future.

Adam Grubb

Kin 338i

T-Th 2-3:15

Beauty Mark

Watching “Beauty Mark” I believe has made some sort of impact on all of us that watched it. Listening to someone’s troubles and triumphs firsthand really has that much more of an appeal. Personal stories tend to keep our interest longer and are more likely to be remembered. We go to see what personally affected Diane and attributed to her unique health behavior. Eating disorders are well known disorders, but excessive exercising is not. I never really thought that it could be an option. Most people get fit and healthy and stop once they feel satisfied with their results. How could anyone that has reached that point not see that they have amazing healthy bodies? How could a woman bodybuilder feel self conscious about her body? How could she or Diane have low self esteem when they have bodies like theirs? That is why it is important to hear their stories. We learned that Diane’s childhood had affected her mentally and emotionally. For those of us that see people with “perfect” bodies that are never satisfied, we never think about the personal troubles they have been through that could be the reason why they continue to strive for an even better body. Unfortunately, these individuals lose themselves in their workouts and put it before anything and anyone else. Family members and partners are also affected because they lose touch with their friend or daughter because they are working out multiple times a day. Even when the individual finally takes time to “relax” and spend time with their family and friends, they are still thinking about their bodies or stressed that they are missing a workout and it could result in a confrontation with who they with. Diane’s obsession with working out sadly ruined the relationship she had with her girlfriend. How do you convince someone to think differently when they refuse to? It just amazes me that fit people can have low self-esteem too. Seeing someone and listening to their story really made a difference. Seeing their faces, listening to their voices, and seeing personal pictures and videos make it so personal, you truly feel for the individual. We saw Diane’s family and see how they interacted with each other. We got to see Diane’s past girlfriend and hear how her excessive exercise behavior had affected their lives. Many girls, outside the athletic realm, also feel the pressure to have “perfect” bodies. It’s hard to be satisfied with your body when the media is pushing the ideal and sometimes “false” body. I say false because we saw a person photoshop a model’s face to fix imperfections and mold it into someone who does truly exist in real life. What everyone tries to be isn’t attainable without digital editing. We all know that what we see in magazines has usually been edited, so why do we keep trying so hard to be it? Self-esteem is something all girls have; from top women athletes to young adolescent girls. It's something that will always be in our minds, the trick is to not let it get out of hand and take over our lives.

Torey Richmond
Kin338I
sec01
Tues/Thurs
9:30-10:45am

A Razor's Edge

This article touches upon the issue of sports an the use of performance enhancing drugs. Everyone knows that this is a hot topic in sports today and the reason for that is because we are also aware that many professional athletes not only use but abuse these drugs. The article explains that the motive for use of anabolic steroids is the competitive world we live in. All athletes want to have the edge on someone. Whether be faster or stronger, it is on an athlete's nature to have the advantage. Many of these athletes are lost on that motive itself. They become blind of the side effects and circumstances. Of course, their thoughts are occupied by winning and not the longer-term mishaps.
Steroids can have the following side effects: liver tumors, jaundice, fluid retention, and high blood pressure. On men, shrinkage of the testicles, reduced sperm count, just to name a few. And for women, side effects include growth of facial hair, deepened voice, and changes in or cessation of menstrual cycles. Clearly, taking these side effects into consideration, one must think taking action to take these drugs are just not worth the return value. For the full story, follow this link.

http://thesportdigest.com/article/razors-edge

Andre Zumaeta Kin 332I

Women's College Soccer Update

The article: “Now we can ask, what’s to come?” highlighted the achievements of the NCAA’s women’s soccer throughout the 2009 season from the winner of the Hermann Trophy, the status of the under-20 Women’s World Cup, and North Carolina’s winning streak. College soccer, especially women’s college soccer, does not get much coverage in terms of media and while this article does not make up for the lack of media coverage it does do a decent job of focusing on key points throughout the season that are significant to women’s college soccer.
One such event is that announcement of the recipient of the Hermann Trophy. The Hermann Trophy is an award given to the top female (and male) athlete in the division one league. The article highlighted Kelley O'Hara as the foremost female college soccer athlete to win this award. The author puts O’Hara in a position of great respect as he lists her accomplishments throughout the 2009 season.
The article glanced over the future events of 2010 Women’s U-20 World Cup, will be held in Germany. Commenting on how the U.S.’s involvement is not yet for certain as they have yet to qualify, the author speculated that there is a good chance Boston’s Eagles will be a contender for participation in this global event as two of the team members excelled in the U-17 women’s team.
A striking discovery mentioned in the article is that the women’s North Carolina college soccer team is celebrating its 21st season victory as the NCAA champions. The talent is rich in North Carolina even though the senior class is leaving the team. Star players like Meghan Klingenberg and Ali Hawkins are returning to the team in the recurring season.

Shawn Higgins KIN 338I T/Th 2-3:15

Female Fighters

It has been said over and over that women athletes are not tough enough and that the competition lacks the tenacity that makes male sports popular. In early November BYU and New Mexico’s women soccer teams proved this ideal wrong. The two teams played very aggressively making many dirty plays that one could expect to see in an MMA match. The game was filled with illegal elbows to the ribs, “accidental” punches to the face, and tackles intended to take out their opponent. Most newsworthy though was when New Mexico’s defender Elizabeth Lambert grabbed BYU forward Kassidy Shumway’s ponytail and threw her to the ground. Lambert was clearly out of line for her actions and they were very unsportsmanlike and even more unexpected because she was a girl. This story made headlining news on ESPN because of the nature of the game, if it weren’t for the fighting it probably would not even have been shown on TV. It is a sad reality that women’s sports need something extraordinary to happen to draw attention to the sport. Women athletes are rarely on ESPN for doing something good or performing well but as soon as a fight breaks out or there is a big scandal emerging it will become a story. Another example is in the WNBA in 2008 when the Detroit Shock and LA Sparks got into a brawl in the last five seconds of the game. This was probably the first WNBA fight and was newsworthy because of the fight not the game. To be fair even in male sports fights are always shown because that is what people want to see. The only difference is that fights are expected in a men’s game and uncalled for in a women’s game so society forgives male athletes much sooner than female athletes.

Catch the Action Here for the soccer brawl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmPybFK2_o

and here for the WNBA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7kyCwcuRbI

Eric Fenzke
Kin338I TU/TH 2-315

Paying the Price...

Tiger Woods is an international sports super star. He has won countless titles in golf and is one of the most successful athletes. However, all the fame and glory cannot save anyone from the scrutiny of the media and the public eye. It saddens me that all people are talking about are his misconducts, whether it is about his alleged affairs or his car crash. Honestly, for me, I do not care about all of the supposed mistakes he has had in his life. Everyone seems to think they have the right to judge everyone else, but if everyone looked at themselves and the mistakes in their lives, I think we would all be utterly ashamed. I’m not condoning his actions, nor am I advocating them. I just feel that the curiosity surrounding one man’s personal life is ridiculous. John Daly, a fellow PGA golfer, has supported Woods through this unpleasant situation. Although, Daly is only one of the few who have stuck up for Woods, and he is speaking up about how people need to support the idol. I guess the message of this is incident along with every other public personality that is put under a microscope is that you cannot be a star, as well as just a normal person. You cannot rely on the fact that your friends will be there to back you up. You have to be willing to pay the price every time you make a mistake.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/8407279.stm

Marie Y. Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45 Kin 338I

Kicked Off The Team

After answering one of the two questions for our final written assignment, I realized that I wanted to share a little bit more about how I feel about a certain situation. I wrote about how the Women's Basketball Coach for Penn State, Rene Portland, kicked off her star player Jennifer Harris for being a lesbian. According to sources Rene Portland had an anti-gay recruiting method and a "no lesbian" policy. Portland stated that she would not allow lesbians to play for her and that she wold not tolerate it. According to lesbianlife.about.com, "Coach Portland repeatedly questioned Harris about her sexual orientation, repeatedly threatened to kick Harris off the team if she found out that Harris was a lesbian, and eventually told other players not to associate with Harris because she believed that Harris was gay. In 2005 Coach Portland abruptly told Harris to find somewhere else to play". I couldn't believe a coach would actually kick off her star athlete just because of her sexual orientation. I watched her game video highlights and she was an amazing player that had a huge possibility to play in the NBA. She was really talented and I think her Coach Rene Portland completely ruined her chances in making it to playing professional basketball. That is probably one of the worst horror sport stories I have ever heard in my life and it upsets me that an athlete so talented didn't reach her dream. I feel so bad for Jennifer Harris because she was an amazing basketball player that had her career dreams thrown away because of her sexual orientation. It shouldn't matter if a athlete is gay or lesbian, they should be treated equally no matter what.

Damian Perez

Kin 338 T-Th 2pm-3:15pm

Source of Women's Sport

I was looking around for things to write this blog about, I came to the website womenssportsnet.com – the only source for women’s sport. The title says it all, because it is one of the few website that is designed to discuss women in sport and it turns out to be a great website. It discusses every sport and there are many articles to read. And it made me think of my awareness paper and how there is not one magazine that emphasizes female athletes. But this website just shows that the athletes are out there, the articles are written and yet there still is not a place to publish them. One article I read for the website was titled “The Balancing Act for Young Team USA Hopefuls”, it was amazing. It was an article showing how Rachael Flatt, training for the figure-skating Olympics, still is able to balance AP classes in school and receive excellent grades. This is what young girls should be reading, not looking at magazines that sexual them. Young athletes should have these sources readily available to them because it gives them something to aspire to and great role models to look up to.

Kylie Starr
Section 3023

Equality?

After reading the article about Serena Williams being fined $82,500 and put on probation for her outburst at the US Open earlier this year, I thought that it was a little unreasonable and that it was because she is expected to behavior in a more appropriate manner since she is a female. We see men get frustrated and publicly display it but yelling obscenities and even throwing a racket here and there and not much is really thought of it. However, after doing some research on others that had been fined in the sport of tennis. The only other person that had been fined a significant amount was Jeff Tarango. After seeing what his offensives were and how much he was penalized I began to realize that what Serena Williams was receiving was not so bad after all. I was also really surprised to see that just because she is a female there were not any unfair decisions made about the fines. It was nice to see that tennis has taken a step in the right direction in equality for men and women's sports.

Marissa Herrera
Kin 338I Sect.1

Women For Afghan Women

In my search to post my new blog, I wanted to write about something that was close and personal to me. In search, I came across the Women for Afghan Women website. In their mission statement I found that they are a grassroots civil society organization dedicated to securing and protecting the rights of Afghan women and girls. They are committed to helping Afghan women in there fight for their human rights and challenge the norms that underpin gender-based violence wherever opportunities arise, and focus to influence attitudes and bring about change. They have programs all over the U.S and Afghanistan to help bring about this change. Some of these programs are Family Guidance Centers, Children’s Support Center, and educational and informational seminars. An interesting thing about WAW I found was that their board and staff includes women and men, as well as diverse representation of different age, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Being from Afghanistan, this website opened my eyes in recognize how much help the women and girls in Afghanistan need. Even though America has come a long way in women’s rights, I feel it is important that we influence other countries that are less fortunate like Afghanistan. I strongly believe that in helping Afghan women and girls we will not only further help this country, but we will also help women and girls all around the world.

Ahmad Masood Farhar
Tue-Thur 930 KIN 338I WOMEN IN SPORT 3018 SEC01

Video Games

Although we did not touch deeply into the powerful roles the media plays in women's sport, we are well aware of its influences. One powerful source which was recently brought to my attention was video games. There are a number of video games pertaining to male sports, for example, Madden, Tiger Woods, NHL, 2K Sports College Hoops NCAA 2K8, NCAA Football, and the list goes on and on. Yet there are no video games created upon women's sport! There are women included in some video games but are never a feature, which only drives the force that women in sports are not important enough to include within the athletic realm. There are video games for college athletes, why can't a game be created based on women in the Olympics?! Female athletes are just as influential and talented as their male counterpart and have had to work even harder to achieve their own success within the "man's world" or sports. This is just another example of how society pushes women aside and excludes them from yet another opportunity for recognition and status. The video game industry is a multi BILLION dollar cash cow and could do women in sport a great deal of good, which could open the door to a whole new world. Discrimination is still alive and well within women's sport, and although there is forward momentum there is still many challenges which need to be addressed.

Talisa Bosse
Kin 338I

Response to Beauty Mark

This movie showed me a great deal about how some people deal with their bodies. It shocked me to see how other athletes would go to the extreme on how they had to have their body looking a certain way to win a competition. For instance, some runners and bicyclists thought that if they shed a few more pounds, it would mean that they could gain a few more seconds. This put some athletes in physical danger. Some of these athletes had to be hospitalized because they were destroying their bodies by not eating enough or exercising excessively. It amazed me to see how some people had fat phobia because they were already so skinny.

I believe the documentary showed a good example of how the media makes the world feel like they must look a certain way. When they showed the example of a women getting make up put on her to be put up on a billboard was a big shocker. They digitalized her on photoshop and made her look like someone completely different from where she started at. She looked amazing and flawless when they photoshopped her. This can be a reason why so many people feel like they are not good enough because the media portrays that you must look a certain way.

The documentary also shows how family can play a big role for how a child will grow up. She mentioned how her dad was always pushing for a boy and that she was meant to be the boy in the family. Finally, when the father got a boy, she felt as if she had to compete to get the father's attention, so she trained harder and harder to the point where it exhausted her.

This film showed me a lot of things that I did not know before. It has opened my eyes to see that not every athlete is a god given talent who loves their sport. Sometimes it's done for the wrong reasons.

Sam Rips
KIN 338I
Tues/Thurs 9:30AM

A "Beauty Mark" Story

After watching the video “Beauty Mark,” I realized many things that I did not know, not only about female athletes but of other women as well. Diane Israel, the protagonist of the video, is a psychotherapist that works with men, women, and teenagers who have problems because they want to be thin. What she did not realize was that she also had those types of problems. It is commonly accepted that physical activity can be a healthy habit, but it has also been shown that exercise is best used in moderation. Exercise is a physical stress that can be dangerous if not performed in a reasonable manner. Overtraining is a state where an individual pushes her body through intense workout with insufficient recovery time or pushes their body to the point of failure. This is what Diane did for many years.

Overtraining can lead to what is known as the Female Athlete Triad. This condition is marked by three conditions: a negative caloric balance, menstrual cycle irregularities, and loss in bone mineral density. This, however, does not only occur with female athletes but with non competitive women. A negative caloric balance occurs when more energy is used up by your body than is taken in through diet. You basically don’t eat enough (some women do not eat at all) and exercise excessively so your body loses calories and energy. Eventually most women become too thin. Diane stopped eating when she was twelve! She said that she felt “lost, scared, and angry…afraid of being teased, of not being lovable, of not being good enough…afraid of being fat and afraid of being stupid.” The way Diane felt and saw her body, and the way she treated her body are symptoms of anorexia, which she did not even know she had.

Another symptom of anorexia is amenorrhea, the absence of menstrual cycles. This leads to the second condition of the Female Athlete Triad. A negative caloric balance can lead to irregularities in the menstrual cycle. It should be no surprise that the menstrual cycle might shut down if the woman’s body is not in a healthy state. This is what happened to Diane. She did not get her menstrual cycle until she was 30! When the menstrual cycle is irregular or absent, it is likely that the reproductive hormones are not being produced or secreted at normal levels. Normal levels of these hormones are essential for maintaining healthy bones. Unhealthy bones lead to osteoporosis or low bone density, which in turn leads to bone fractures, especially stress fractures. Diane’s anorexia kept her from growing up. She had 17 stress fractures and she ran on broken metatarsals for years. She did not eat enough so her bone density was like the bones of a 70 year old woman. She said, “I just trashed myself… I felt like trash… I trashed myself and didn’t eat.”

The drive to be thin can be very dangerous and some women do not realize the bad things that they are doing to their bodies. In the video, Paul Campos, the author of “The Obesity Myth” comments on the notion that “everyone is supposed to be thin, blonde, and 21 for their entire lives and they are committing some kind of a crime, apparently, if they don’t make all their efforts to do that.” Diane said that she did not know a lot of people who felt good about themselves for being who they were, so she decided to make a film about how beauty is portrayed in our society and how difficult it is to feel good about our bodies in our culture. What she did not expect was that she would have to face her own “demons” along the way. That was her story and I think that many of us learned from it and can try to avoid it or help someone that is going through the same situation.

Miriam Mendez
KIN 338I Section 3018
T/Th 9:30-10:45

The Distortion of Femininity

What is femininity? A common response may include the words beauty, grace, and petite. All of these words are representative of an image(s) many of us think of when this question is posed. Media has had a very impressionable influence on our society as a whole but seems to target women’s self image the most. The majority of women find themselves in constant or frequent comparison with the images of women portrayed in the media. Women depicted in many forms of media resemble what femininity should mean to a society. If women viewing these images allow such infiltration of thoughts and belief of doubting femininity within themselves, which this society grossly values, then there will be an everlasting, inter battle in the mind of many women who cannot attain such outward characteristics. Mary Jo Kane, director of Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport said, “Media should represent the reality of sports, combining beauty, strength and power; showing a female athlete when she fails and when she is victorious; and accurately depicting what and who women are in sports.” The images of women athletes who are “hyper feminized” (according to societies definition of femininity) as sexy, seductive women, are contributing to negative message media proclaims as truth –being sexy is feminine and femininity is a necessary characteristic of women. Images of female athletes should include a well balanced and accurate image of who women are as a whole.

L. Willits
Kin 338I (S.6)

Uncovering "Beauty Mark"

After analyzing the video “Beauty Mark” and looking at how biological, social, and psychological issues play in the role of young women athletes. I realize how women athletes are more vulnerable to have a low self-esteem, anxiety, disordered eating attitudes, and lower self-perceptions. These negative outcomes begin to develop when any biological, social, or psychological issues come into play. The fact that we are seeing more women athletes having eating disorders should make us become socially active and prevent this from happening. Definitely one of the reasons why we are seeing an increase of athletes with body issues is due to how beauty is portrayed in society. Media portrays women like models, which makes women become bulimic, and anorexic. As well as getting pressured by media images, these athletes are also experiencing culture barriers by parent’s ideals. For instance, parents typically want their daughters to be active in sports and compare them to their sons. Therefore, we have to work together and stop young athletes to develop a mentality that they are not strong enough. Also, women athletes have to create an approach against negative media images and politically fight against eating disorders.

Feel free to preview a short piece of "Beauty Mark"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ2_lEzLqbI

Anabelle M.
Kin 338I - 3023

Atlanta to get first women's soccer-only stadium

Thursday, December 03, 2009 - On December 3, 2009, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) expansion team Atlanta Beat announced a new partnership with Kennesaw State University (KSU) to construct the first women's-specific soccer stadium. The stadium, located in Kennesaw, Ga., will be the only one in the world of its magnitude.

"This stadium will be the only women's soccer-specific stadium of its kind in the world," said Fitz Johnson, owner of the Atlanta Beat. "I think this partnership is a great match between KSU and the Atlanta Beat."

The stadium will be home to both the Atlanta Beat WPS team and the KSU Owls women's soccer program. Scheduled for completion in 2010, the stadium will cost $16.5 million, will seat 8,300 and will feature 14 private suites. The natural-grass pitch will draw elite level games, including U.S. National team matches and elite exhibition games. Johnson also said he expects the venue to host concerts in the future.

"This first-class facility is the perfect venue in which to showcase our championship women's soccer program," said KSU president Dr. Daniel S. Papp.

Johnson also hopes the stadium will lead to WPS championships for his Atlanta Beat.

"We expect them in the WPS championships. We are building the stadium to be the world's best, and hopefully our team will be the world's best, as well," he said.

Retrieved from http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/News/National-Womens-Sports/2009/Dec/Atlanta-to-get-first-womens-soccer-only-stadium.aspx


I believe that this is a great move supporting the women in playing soccer. Probably, after this move there will be more major leagues for women in soccer that will be covered by all stations.

Khodr Saleh
Kin 338i Tues/Thurs 2-3:15

George Lopez pokes fun at Marion

For those of us who are unfamiliar with Marion Jones story, “on Jan. 11, 2008, Olympic gold medal winner Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to perform 800 hours of community service after she pleaded guilty in October to lying to federal agents about her use of performance-enhancing drugs and her connection to a check-fraud case.” More recently Marion has expressed interest in joining the WNBA, having resurfaced in the media recently she opened herself up to criticism from her past. George Lopez mocks Marion for being manly enough to play in the NBA but quickly makes a comment about how she could only play for a team whose record is less then respectable this season. Previous to the course I don’t think that I would have paid very much attention or even gone to look up and find out who Marion Jones was but I felt that the joke pointed out the popular notion among society that women are still inferior to men in the sporting world and also provided commentary on how women athletes are viewed as too masculine because of their physical appearances.

Christina Lisk

Kin 338I sec 01

2:00-3:15

Sports.Period.

Dealing with your menstrual cycle while exercising or playing a sport can sometimes be difficult. Cramps, bloating, headaches are just a few symptoms that women feeling during their period. However, the article "Exercising with "Your Friend" explain that there is no significant research that supports that being on your period can effect performance. The article argues that exercise is actually good for women during their cycle, and that "performance of work-related or athletic activities is not compromised by the hormone fluctuations of the menstrual cycle" (332). The benefits of exercise ring true whether a women is on her period or not, and can definetly ellivate mood and create good self-esteem and confidence. Albeit, some women may say, to the contrary that they feel greatly effected during their cycle. I think this article is important for women to share with each other, so that those women who use their "friend" as an excuse can get a reality check. However, from my own experience and from many women I know, having your cycle does effect your performance, your mood, your motivation and concentration. A good friend of mine had such bad cramps she had to go home from school or work on the first day of her period because she would be literally throwing up. I never had symptoms that extreme, yet I have experienced pain from cramps, which ultimately hinder my good mood, making it hard to motivate myself or to stay concentrated. Ultimately, I think that some women have exaggerated the effects that occur during their period, yet many women experience severe symptom's that most definitely effect their sport or exercise regime.
Megan O'Brien
Kin 338i tu/thur 2-3:15

World's Hottest/Most Controversial NASCAR Driver?

With Danica Patrick, NASCAR gets its groove back - ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=4725407

Most people in general do not care one ounce about NASCAR; yet, news like this makes national, and even international, headlines instantaneously. Danica Patrick is easily considered one of today's hottest and most well known racecar drivers. Men watch her race more to witness what they idolize in copies of Maxim.

What surprised me most about this article is Mr. Brown's obvious distaste for Ms. Patrick's driving on the NASCAR circuit and for driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Mr. Brown goes so far as to claim that Patrick is "a flash in the pan for NASCAR and Earnhardt a never-was for his Cup career." This article is full of bias and even features some outright nastiness. He depicts Ms. Patrick as a pop culture icon, a sex image, and a driver devoid of any talent.

Also, I wonder how serious NASCAR is about her driving abilities. Obviously garnering this type of media attention will help increase the sports sponsorships, race attendance, and followers. Do they see Ms. Patrick as a "circus act" for the rejuvenation of a failing sport?

Finally, what if it works? What if a female driver can be successful in increasing revenue enough to help bring the sport back to life? More importantly, what if she proves she can outdrive all the good ol' boys of sprint cup racing? What if she wins a race? What if she wins the Cup at the end of the season? I am interested in seeing if she can prove all the critics wrong. A woman champion in what has always been viewed as a male's sport could lead to some interesting "consequences."

Tori Dario
KIN 338I, T/Th 9:30am