Affirmative Action

Today we talked about affirmative action. I believe it is reverse discrimination. I do think people should be given the same opportunities, but I do not think they should be ginen them based on their gender, race or any other minority characheristic. If the law says you must interview a female or a certain ethnicity, then that might not bring out the best candidates. The organization could say, ok we need a woman to interview to make this fair before we offer this job to a man so lets give sally an interview. Sally might not be the best candidate for the job because they are just trying to meet the rules of the law by interviewing any woman not really the best woman. Maybe something needs to be done, but affirmative action is not the answer. Applicants should apply as numbers not names, birthdates, or genders. Evem then, this won't solve the problem. There is still a personal interview and if they liked a woman on the application but see its a woman in ther interview, they can still discriminate. Regardless of the rules set out, personal discrimination will still take place. Women were given the right to vote so many years ago, but despite the law, discrimination still exsists so what is one more law going to fix, nothing. if anything it will cause more issues.

Kelly Uemura

Heterosexism/ Homonegativism

On Thursday in my Women in Sports class we watched a video called, It Takes a Team. I found this short video to be an eye opening experience for me. Being able to see the real experiences homosexual athletes go through was something I had never seen before. I've never been apart of someone's "coming out" experience and this shed light onto this stressful experience. I found it very nice that they presented both sides of the situation, being the teammates as well as the athletes. Most always you only hear from one side. Most often you hear that when Athlete's come out, they get criticized for being homosexual, it was nice that the movie showed a couple athlete's that were accepted for who they were.

The story that stood out to me the most was a guy named Cory from the Masconomet Football Team. He was very masculine, tough, and one of the captains on the football team. When he came out to his football team, his teammates said that they would have never guessed he was gay, because of his masculinity. He received acceptance as well as positive responses from his teammates. Most of the other athlete's that were interviewed in the film received negative responses from their schoolmates or teammates, which is commonly heard of.

With society now days there is more acceptance than there was before, but we still have a long way to go, considering homosexual athletes are still being criticized and not all groups offer a supporting environment. I can see how difficult it can be coming out to your teammates as well as how uncomfortable it can be for the teammates. This raises the question as to how Cory’s football team now takes and views Cory in situations such as changing in the locker rooms together, or if perhaps, this might affect female teams more?

-Jessica Franklin; Kin 338I sec. 3201

Film: "It Takes a Team"

I thought the film did a very good job in showing how all people should have the same opportunities in sports despite their choices. It was very interesting to hear how men and women came out to their teams and what they had to go through. Its good to hear that their teams supported them and didn't see it as a big issue but it was also sad to hear that one of the basketball players would get left out of team activities just because she was lesbian. I think that its very sad how these individuals have to live their lives a lie and put so much effort in trying to fake that they are heterosexual due to fear of exemption. Teams should always be supportive of their teammates and shouldn't discriminate them in any way because they are all like family, and for someone to be left out ruins the essence of a team.

IOC and transgender athletes

I thought the debate in class was very interesting today regarding the IOC and NCAA and transgender athletes. I think the two year requirement is a good rule to have. If there was not that rule and athletes were able to play during the process of their transition, then that means and man could play on a women's team from the moment he takes his first estrogen pill and a women could compete as a man as soon as she takes her first hormone pill. This would definitely be an unfair advantage. And who is to say that athlete would make the opposite sexes team, wouldnt they still have to try out.My question is if an athlete is on scholarship, is that scholarship revoked ones they decide to go through the process of becoming the opposite sex and if so, when in the process is it revoked. Would their scholarship just carry over?I am also not quite sure how many college athletes this effects. I have seen documentaries about middle aged people doing this because it was not until they already went through life, that they decide to make the change. I think there needs to be a policy in place if this is a big issue in college sports.

Kelly Uemura

Film: It Takes A Team

The film was successful in highlighting the influence a team has on its individual members. Nevertheless, the film showed the reality of the issues that many homosexual people deal with everyday. Although many of the people interviewed throughout the film described their teammates as being all around supportive, they also touched base on particular situations when people used derogatory language that brought them back to the reality; that not all people are open to understanding and respecting their sexual preference. Over time, the thought of homophobia has changed.

Kristine Huliganga
KIN338I

It Takes A Team

The film it takes a team was an interesting film. The film dealt with athletes that are homosexuals coming out. Most of the athletes that came out about their sexuality were very nervous because they did not know their teammates were going to respond. Most of the people in the film were very supportive of their teammates or teammates who are homosexual. They encouraged them to come out, which brought them closer with the team. This kind of behavior is what the society needs because we should not isolate a person because he or she is different.

Nnaemeka Oguguo
KIN 338I TuTh 9:30-10:45

“It Takes a Team”

The movie was very interesting to me because it was nice to see the issue from both sides of the spectrum. Most athletes that came out about their sexuality were nervous about it. When interviewed about their experience some were mentioning that their teammates were very supportive and some were mentioning that they weren’t as accepted any more. I think that is a big step to come out about your sexuality to your teammates who you spend a lot of your time with if you are a serious athlete. If I was in this situation I wouldn’t treat that person any differently, but it would be weird. In all the movie was very informative and I enjoyed it.

Melissa Ames
kin 338I.S6

IT TAKES A TEAM

After watching the film in class, It takes a team I felt better about men and women who are gay or lesbian and play sports. In the film a lot of the interviewees said that their teammates were very supportive and accepting of him or her "coming out." A team should work together and support each other no matter what so that's great that some teams can be so accepting.

Tanya Mason
Kin 338I.S6

Stereotypes and Sports

All this talk in class about stereotypes for women in sports has really got me thinking. I am a women, however I have never played sports in my life, so I had no idea how hard it can be to plays sports and still "be a women". I was unaware that women were looked at as being gay if they played basketball or dykeish if they played softball. I know women that play sports tend to be more muscular, however that doesn't make them lesbian at all. Being tough and muscular is a great trait to have if you ask me A women who plays sports should be able to define herself as whoever she wants to be. It must be really hard for women to keep their heads high and go play a good game when their being labeled and put down by these stereotypes. It's to bad that our society has formed these stereotypes to put down women. The same goes for men who play sports. If a man was gay and on the football team, it's to bad he can't express his true identity because our society views gay men as weak.

Tanya Mason
kin 338I.S6

LGBT, what is the issue?

The whole discussion in class today really had me thinking about all of the different ways people view LGBT’s in relation to my own beliefs. The whole stigma about homosexuality is extremely perplexing to me. The fact that dominant ideals in society are so narrow minded to believe that only a man and a woman should be together regardless of individual happiness is absurd. Even in the realm of sports you would think that with the pressures and discrimination put upon athletes and their sexualities that they would be more accepting to them. Instead they make matters worse by distancing themselves when if they only banned together and acted as one they would have much more of an influence on the media and the rest of the world. Which leads me to present issues such as Prop 8, the idea that people are even considering putting a proposition into law that overtly discriminates against a certain group of people is completely contradictory to the definition of democracy and the ideals for which this country was founded? This cannot be right, could it? Is it possible that with the transition that is steadily being made towards the acceptance of LGBT’s in sport could it have a positive influence on the change in ideology for all people?

Ashley Cole
Kin 338I.S6

Ex-women's coach sues school, alleging gender discrimination

When I was looking at some articles on ESPN.com, I came upon a very interesting article. The article was titled "Ex-women's coach sues school, alleging gender discrimination." The article basically dealt with some of the things we talked about two weeks ago in class. According to the article, Surina Dixon (the ex-women's coach) believed she was fired because she complained about gender discrimination and advocated for gender equity. According to Dixon, she was offered $75,000 per year, while the Men's basketball coach Tony Harvey was given a four year contract which will pay him $150,000 per year. Dixon also claimed that she originally signed a four year contract, but it was changed to a one year deal by Charles McClelland (the new athletic director.) This article reminds me of exactly what we talked in class about the ex-coach at Fresno State because. Both cases are similar in the sense that it seemed that they were both fired because they decided to speak up about the discrepancy between men and women sports. In my opinion, examples like this article are one of the reasons why women do not speak up against schools that are clearly treating men and women different because they are afraid they will lose their job. Examples like this article are also one of the reasons why we cannot improve as a society because there are people who still believe women are inferior to men. I look forward to hearing how the case turns out because am curious to see how the courts will rule.

Nnaemeka Oguguo
KIN 338I

College Basketball Assistant Coaches

Did you guys hear about Dalonte Hill salary for the next three seasons of college basketball? He will be getting paid about $ 420,000 dollars for the next three seasons. My first reaction is that the school might be breaking Title IX's regulations, but as i read on the article it said that Kansas State is a private school. It may seem as though this article has no meaning but it does because schools who are federally funded, now have to compete with salaries given to assistant coaches and their staff. This could potentially eliminate more men's and women's sports for those schools just to stay competitive among elite schools. This guys makes more money than Washington State's staff at $330,000 dollars, he makes more than Wisconsin's staff who make $402,799 dollars and he will make just under Texas's staff at $425,000 dollars. If other schools decide to compete with this salary for one assistant coach; not only will it affect other sports but the women's coaching staff who make significantly less. There will be no equal pay for women who led their teams to national titles and Title IX will again be blamed for being a scapegaot.

Lorenzo Gonzalez
KIN338 sec. 1

Women's Volleyball

In class we have discussed many different types of sports activities that women participate in. Although I am not a very athletic kind of girl, I still enjoy watching and learning about different types of athletic participation. Most of us can agree that going to a sports game, whichever the sport may be, really enthralls the attendee and makes them feel a part of the game. I just recently attended my first women's volleyball game and found it incredibly interesting and motivating in many aspects. I noticed the female players on the teams were so intense in every motion they displayed. They were aggressive, determined, and to my surprise played very much like men. You could tell in their faces how serious they felt about the match and their opponents. I also noticed how supportive the girls sitting out of the game were to their fellow teammates. They cheered their teammates on throughout the entire game. Even if they were falling behind with scores they still were extremely enthusiastic and keep a positive outlook. I really enjoyed the supportive attitudes the most out the whole volleyball tournament. Observing my very first women's volleyball tournament was a really eye opening experience. I could not believe how hard these women played. You could see the strength in their eyes. From an observer in the stands the women played just as well and as strong as men.
- Katie Wilson, Kin. 338I

Gender Roles in Skating

   In class, we categorized the characteristics of male and female. each had its own distinct adjectives that society characterizes each gender.  If we look beyond the separate dichotomies, we can see many similarities that each sex holds.  The middle ground between males and females hold a sense of ambiguity for many of middle america.  If males merged into the female characteristics, the men are perceived homosexual or confused and if females have male characteristics, the women are assumed homosexual as well.  The importance of categorizing what a male and female is very important in judging figure skating.  If a female skater performs very strongly, powerful, and is muscular built, she is described as athletic and a manly skater.  However if a female skater performs very delicately, thin, and skates as though she is a ballerina on ice, she is more likely to place higher than the more power, stronger skater.  The bias in the judging is due to tradition and the conventionalism of society and the sport.  The sport is set in their old traditions and seem to never devise from it.  The sport does not want a butch of butch or athletic skaters to be the idolized "Princess" ice skater.  The sport wants to revere the importance of figure skaters to be dainty, pretty, skinny, flexible, and athletic.  There is contradictory.  For example, Nancy Kerrigan  was praised and honored as being the princess American figure skater, while Tonya Harding  was the truck-driver/trailer trash American figure skater all because of each skater's looks.

Rhea Sy

Kin 338i (Tues/Thursday 2-3:15)

Gender Roles

Today in class we talked about gender roles and how prevalent they are in our society. I can agree that no matter what there will always be some sort of roles that are associated with gender but doesn't mean I like the roles. The problem of gender is it associated with our ever day lives and our ability to be successful in anything even sports. People in society take gender as a way in which females and males should act. When someone steps out of that gender roles they are looked down upon and people do not understand why they are acting out. Women are constantly having to prove their femininity and their athletic ability. A female athlete has to overcome the stereotypes of being a female athlete by women and by men. The more feminine a female athlete is the more publicity and recognition they will receive from the public. The better of an athlete a female is the more she is perceived as as man. A women should not have to be manly to be good at sport or anything is society but they are. Over the years our society has gotten better for female athletes but the issues have not completely been overcome. I hope that things will get better and things will change but they will only change if we change it.
Milissa Prothro Kin 338I

what society taught us... how to feel.

The recent class discussion has been about the various Title IX controversies. Although Title IX was enacted to ensure the equality of education, I agree that Title IX has been used as a scapegoat for the budget mistakes of major school programs. The major issue most people have with Title IX is that it cuts into the funds that were once appropriated to key school programs. When I refer to key school programs I am talking about those sports programs that usually have the best overall win-loss records overtime. It wouldn’t be right to disregard that a team’s win-loss record has no influence on the amount of extended support a program receives. The bottom line is that the more you win the more free “stuff” or athletic apparel or merchandise you receive from sponsors. As a result, the winning teams receive preferential treatment from directors, coaches, and sponsors. I’m not an advocate for this type of behavior but unfortunately this is what I’ve experienced while playing sports. In a sense when you receive all the benefits from this type of behavior you don’t stop to think of those other athletes that dedicate the same amount of practice time you do but receive half the funds. I agree that change is needed, but this change has to start from within a school’s infrastructure.

Kristine Huliganga
T/TH; KIN338I-01 {3201}

Title IX

In class, we've been discussing Title IX and how it has influenced althetics over the last 36 years, since it was enacted. I recently read an article that states that "in the past year, however, two separate and rigorous examinations of athletic participation data provided clear evidence that both men’s and women’s participation have actually increased during the last 15 years" (Cheslock, 2007; Government Accountability Office, 2007). As we discussed, there is no surprise that there is this increase. What did shock me some was that the racial and ethnic diversity influence participation. When Title IX was enacted, sponsorships favored the female sports with the "highest levels or racial and ethnic diversity." More recently, however, sponsorships favor sports with "fewer athletes of color." The article does state that this should not be surprising in that most female sports in which colored athletes participate are already NCAA sponsored. Yet, we still need to support athletes which will continue to provide racial and ethnic diversity in sports so that participation can continue to grow. Should the sports with "fewer athletes of color" receive more sponsorship? Is that, in a way, discriminating against those that play the sports with the "highest levels of racial ethnic diversity?" Also, to stay in compliance with Title IX would you encourage more female participation in sports to avoid cutting men's teams?
BWells
Kin338I.S6