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)
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Competitive nature is not gauge of gender traits within individual people in relation to thier sex. On the contrary, competitive nature is a human nature trait that is embedded in all of us. It has nothing do with gender; however our society has successfully defined competitive nature as super masculine. As a result, women are seen as masculine when they exhibit comeptitve fierceness on the playing field and we rob our women of their femininity when they engage in sport. This robbery is the most detrimental of our society because we take away the spirits of our athletic women. Competition breeds excellence and our women have every ounce of comepetitve nature as men do. Therefore, in order to truly have positive change in our society we cannot look towards tangible legislation anymore. We must learn to cherish our athletic women and celebrate their greatness on the field as well as allowing them to keep their feminine spirit. I believe that off the field an athlete has the right to be whoever they want to be, one the field, it now becomes "BEAST MODE" and athletic greatness is exhibited irrelevant of gender and sex. Sport is sport regardless of who plays it. Love and cherish our women and repect their nature as competitors.
Adam Renteria
KIN 338I T/TH 930-1045
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