Labels

Sports create a sense of empowerment to most individuals that participate in them. The physical abilities that you must posses in order to be able to compete come from hard work and dedication. Nevertheless, barriers exist in the sports world as well as in society. For example, females who are bulky and aggressive we label them as dikes or lesbians. In addition, man who act feminine or participate in a sport labeled “feminine” such as dancing or cheer are refer to as “fags” or “queer”. Furthermore, society pushes label into athletes all the time, a perfect example of that would be the football player refer to as a “jock”. The word "jock" is hardly ever used to insult anyone it is mostly used to appraise someone for their athletic achievements. Nevertheless, our society depends on labels to define people for who they are. In sports labels serve the same purpose.In reality, labels themselves are not a bad thing however it is the way that they are use in the sports world and in society that creates a negative image for them.

Armando V
Kin 338I.S1

Empowerment of Female Body

I think that the activity in class was very interesting and it made me really think. When the professor told us to choose one that we could support the most in relation with the middle statement, I chose the one about female athletes being the "other" when it comes to society. I felt that this is very true so I knew that I was going to be able to persuade people into coming to my side but I didn't take in mind the center focus which had to due with the empowerment of the female athlete. So I ended up feeling quite strongly about the last position I chose to stay in, which was the one about female athletes breaking the binaries of feminism. At the beginning I didn't really pay much attention to that one but when it comes to relation with empowerment of the female athlete, I feel that they don't have to be choose between being feminine or being athletic because there's nothing wrong with being both at the same time. I think that it empowers women in sport because they are staying in this gray area and don't have to choose what society is telling them to be. It empowers their bodies because I think having an athletic body is sexy, beautiful, and "feminine" just the same as those who don't play sports.

Sexy Female Athletes In The Media

Female athletes who choose to pose provocatively in the media are scorned and criticized. Criticism generally does not come from men but instead from other women. Many women argue the women are degrading themselves and contributing to the objectification of women in the media. I believe female athletes have a choice of whether or not to pose provocatively in the media. I support those female athletes that choose to pose provocatively. I support it because i view it from a business perspective. Female athletes are in the business to make money for themselves. They are trying to sale a product and the product is themselves. Sex sales in the media. Posing provocatively in the media is a way for female athletes to basically advertise and market themselves. When companies sit down and come up with advertising and marketing strategies, do you think their primary interest is the greater good of society? NO. Their primary interest is what is going to make them money? If being sexy makes a female money, i think that she should do it. Most female athletes make more money from posing provocatively in the media than they do from their sport itself. Anna Kournikova is a female athlete who was not a really successful tennis player, however she has become extremely famous and wealthy from posing provocatively in the media. This may not be the best thing for society, but lets face it from an individual perspective, most women if offered the chance to make a lot of money by doing a few sexy photo shoots would do it. I think it is wrong to criticize female athletes for doing what most women would do if given the opportunity.
C. Callier-Henderson
(Kin 338i S.3201)

women in magazines

Media present in our lives can be a bit harsh at times. In the case of a woman the media has taken an unusual role of degrading women as objects, especially in magazines. For example there are two magazines that can be used to show this to be true. Cosmopolitan and Shape magazine do a good job showing that woman are forced into a lifelong beauty contest that they don’t have a say in, but feel forced to. Women are forced to be more feminine than they actually are in order to gain social status. Certain races are more dominant in magazines as well as sexual orientation. We are diverse as women and that needs to show through our media. We live in a very diverse culture. As women we all have different interests. This means that no one subject appeals to every woman. The problem is what are women choosing to focus on? With media as out of control as it is, it makes things hard to believe or too believable. The problem is how women are portrayed in the media; most are degraded as sex objects. Magazines such as Cosmopolitan do a good job showing that this is true. A magazine that is trying to focus on women as an instrument to life would be Shape magazine. Both are all for women looking and feeling good about themselves, but they go about it in a total different way.

Melissa Ames

Nike likes Big Butts

I recently came across an interesting Nike ad campaign that is strongly advocating women in sport. The campaign focuses on women's body parts that are accentuated from working out. In particular the butt, knees, thighs, and shoulders. They tried to target the same group of women that the Dove "real women" campaign did, full figured women. Yet Nike is still saying just because women have athletic bodies, they are still feminine. Women are strong beautiful and independent. Nike is celebrating the larger women who spend endless hours dedicated to playing their sport. Nike is saying its ok to have big butts, tomboy knees, thunder thighs, and shoulders as wide as a man. Those are the real women out there, not some stick thin barbie like model. Nike is helping to empower women which is a positive message being sent out to the real women. It makes them actually feel good about themselves rather than make them feel bad which is normally the case when it comes to women in the media. This campaign serves as a nice change from the normal stereotypical ways we see women being portrayed in advertisements.







Cortney Dupies

Is the media to blame?

"Hey, did you see the Lakers game last night? What about the Dodgers? You think the Kings are going to do well this season?" These are all questions I, as well as many other sports fans, hear on a consistent basis. I've never had anyone ask me, "What do you think of the Sparks?" In reality, I haven't the slightest of interest in the Sparks and I feel as if most people don't. Many of the articles we've read and videos we've seen in class blame the media for this. The common argument is, since the media doesn't cover Women's sport teams, such as the Sparks, then the public won't know about them. In reality though, the media is interested in only one thing, profit. They make money by giving people what they want to see, which happens to be the Lakers, Dodgers, Kings etc. The media isn't going to risk profit loss just because they have a grudge against Women playing sports. In reality, men prefer to watch other men play sports for a variety of reasons. Some men see themselves play the sport vicariously through the athletes, which can be difficult if the athlete is female. Others may feel inferior or even intimidated as they watch a 6'5 Lisa Leslie easily dunk a basketball. The list can go on and on and they all contribute to men not wanting to see women play sports. Regardless of whether you think this is shallow or even wrong, the media shouldn't be blamed for this, because they are not the problem. If the problem is actually solved, then perhaps the general public would be more interested in Women is sport.

Francisco Bueno

Empowerment of Female Body

This activity of discussing different topics and arguments in relation to the female body was pretty unique. First of all it was a different way of class discussion. I felt like we had to take a stand and try to justify that point you related with. It was good to see where everybody stood on the spectrum and what reasons they had for their spot. Rob did make a good point in saying that he could stand anywhere on the spectrum. I felt the same way. I, however, was at the end of the spectrum with the argument about how females blur gendered boundaries and are empowered by their bodies no matter what shape, size, etc. I think though, that in my argument, the females had the mindset of the ultimate empowerment of their own bodies because whatever shape they did change into, if at all, then they were confident no matter what. This confidence that they exude is definitely an empowerment of the female body.

-German Bravo

Rwanda: Care to Promote Women Sports in Rwanda

Recently I read an article that talked about a United Kingdom based non-government organization that is going to Rwanda in order to promote women sports. The group is also aimed at developing a sporting culture that enables and values full involvement of women in different aspects of sports. This article relates to the class in the sense that it talked about promoting women sports. In our class discussions, we always talk about different ways to promote women sports in American and the rest of the world. This group is doing a tremendous thing by traveling to Africa because women sports needs to be promoted in African especially when male sports are the dominate figures in Africa. The group also planned to send top American sports personalities to emphasize the need of women empowerment in sports. The group also encouraged women to participate in sports by providing them with the equipments that they needed to play. The group also teamed up with Nike, which resulted in Nike providing more equipments, appropriate clothing, etc. Hopefully, this kind of treatment can spread to the different parts of Africa where sports are not popular amongst women.
Nnaemeka Oguguo
KIN 338I (Tu,Th.)

Proud to be the "other"

On tuesday I recognized something different about myself compared to the rest of my classmates in relation to the statements that we analyzed in class. I am an "other". Well, at least I was in class. I wasn't afraid to be singled out and stand up for something that no one else believed in, and that was empowering to me. It all of a sudden clicked when I got home from class, many of the most influential people in history were labeled as "others". From different ethnic groups like jews and african americans, to individuals like martin luther king, ghandi, rosa parks, even groups like gays and lesbians in today's society are labeled as "others". People unwilling to compromise their beliefs and convictions at the cost of be discriminated against by society and its standards. These "others" have created more change for this world than any other person who felt like they had to compromise to be accepted. They demanded respect and through many struggles took it. This is by far the most difficult, and stressful way to get what you want out of society but it calls for the most change. In the athletic world it takes "others" like billy jean king and the rower from the movie that we watched in class to get things done, not people like anna kornikova or serena williams, and they used this label to their advantage. It empowered them to be the best at their craft and to stand up for injustice and not to compromise their integrity.While being an "other" does have its moments of anxiety, I think that it empowers people more to prove themselves and show just how amazing and talented they really are.

Ashley Cole

4 Square Lecture

In today’s class of 4 square lecture, I felt that a lot of people did not know with which argument they associated themselves. I believe it was because each one had its good points, which applied to specific scenarios but not others. I think the problem we were having was that each person was trying to apply each argument to specific scenarios and I don’t believe that was possible because each argument was very vague. For example the one about the uniforms, it really came down to what sport the argument was being applied to. The argument about having to negotiate your physical appearance with doing things like wearing make up or bows depended on the individual and the sport she was associated with. The other arguments applied to similar scenarios and I agree with Rob when he said these topics could not go in a straight line.

Alexander Cartagena

Murder Ball

The movie Murder ball that we watched in class was very interesting because it took you into the lives of these Paralympic competitors. It somewhat touched a little bit on each topic we have discussed in class. As far as race and how the 12 different countries were out to get the Americans. It also touched on how the athletes perceive themselves and how they think they are perceived in society. One athlete said he didn’t want to go outside to get the newspaper because he was worried about what people would think of him. The sexual ability of the athletes was really interesting to hear about because I was really curious about that and I’m assuming most people are. Another thing I found interesting was the Canadian Coach’s son who was an able body person and still chooses not to play sports. It showed how children that are into sports tend to be less social or confident, that the boy would get picked on all the time because he was an outcast. This part of the film touched on children in sports.

Alexander Cartagena

Anna Kornikova

Women who play sports seem to be intimidating to society. Those women who look aggressive, determined, or muscular built seem to be less attractive for endorsing products then those women who appear more sultry and submissive. Anna Kornikova is one example. She has not won any major tennis tournaments, yet she is one of the most famous faces for endorsing products. Also she has helped women’s tennis to become more appealing and popular to many young girls. Anna Kornikova is taking advantage of the business industry. Playing professional tennis is an expensive sport. She needs to take the endorsements and sell herself so she can afford her travel, image, and skills as a tennis player. Yes, she is selling her body to make image, however if you have the goods, use it!
Rhea
Kin 338I - Section 06

Women In the Media

We watched the video in class this week on the way that women are portrait in the media, and how the pictures are taken of them. I see the problem that can arise from this that women are seen as sex objects, but at the same time, I think that some of these women want to be seen that way. I know that men in sports are seen as sex figures, and I assume that the majority of them not only appreciate the fact they are seen as attractive, but also enjoy the attention and money that comes from the endorsements. With the exceptions where women are being strictly objectified in the articles that follow with the pictures, which I do not think happens often, I feel that probably the women in these pictures appreciate the attention and publicity that comes along with it.
I am not saying that the level that the pictures appear are equal, because they are far from it, but I am saying that I feel these women see this as an opportunity for them to further their personal careers and most likely help their finances as well. These women have the choice to pose in whatever manner they want, and they choose to pose that way. If they want to do that, then it is their choice.

Rob R.
KIN338
3206.

"Scary Dykes" article

The newsletter article “Scary Dykes” and “feminine Queens”: Stereotypes and female Collegiate Athletes, written by Kerrie Kauer and Vikki Krane is a study conducted to female collegiate athletes. The study was base on the interviews conducted to 15 female athletes on the stereotypes they receive. Kauer and Krane describe the reason why stereotypes are use and the effect they have on the individual well being. They explain that stereotypes destroy the perceptions of female athletes and promote negative ideologies leading to underestimation in sports and in society. In this article female athletes were interview and ask to describe their athletic experience. Some athletes describe how they were view as lesbians because of the sport they play. Even if they were not lesbians they were view as lesbians when a team mate came out. One athlete describes how she was labeled as lesbian for not dating a guy. This article also describes that the main reason why the athletes receive the stereotypes is because of their physical appearance and attire.

Maura Rodriguez

Women In Sports (Maura)

Women in sports, since the beginning have overcome the challenges that faced them in order to succeed. When female athletes succeeds in sports and are aggressive, strong and competitive, society has an unusual idea that these athletes are masculine. And by forming this ideology about women in sports, there is a profound idea that all female athletes are lesbians. Society also has the idea that female athletes are lesbians if they participate in a sport like basketball or football where physical strength is shown. This negative ideology has made female athletes over exaggerate their gender characteristics by wearing feminine clothing and putting make up. In the early history of women in sports, women felt the need to look feminine because this idea was implemented in society to control women in sports. Women could participate in sports only if they wore dresses and if they finish the household duties. Then there was a positive movement in history that changed female oppression in sports, in society and in the work force which permit women to put a stop to sexism. This positive change was the right to vote and the feminist movements organize by females who wanted equal rights and to end sexism. Another great advantage in history was the passage of Title IX in 1972 because this amendment prohibited discrimination against any person who wanted to participate in sports or wanted an education. “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”