Creating the Fiction of Gender - Haoyan Gu

From the reading Creating the Fiction of Gender from Messner, I found the article quite interesting because I never really thought about the question of when people started to segregate sex and gender in sport. It is mentioned in the article that Messner’s son “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and children are from heaven.” (Messner, 2002, p. 1) The message I inferred from this quote is that when we were all children, we didn’t know the difference between men and women; but as we grow up, however, we started to divide people by sex and gender. The concept of sex and gender that people acquired in their early childhood could be traced to television where the commercial and TV shows showed certain “stereotype” things that certain gender should acquire. 

The article also mentioned an interesting point that “the children: formal sex segregation” which Messner mentioned the AYSO had 87 boys’ teams and 69 girls’ teams, but the formal cross-sex competition was never existed among those teams. (Messner, 2002, p. 11) From early childhood, children had no concept of boys and girls could compete together, therefore, in the later stage, the concept of cross-gender competition do not really exist.

Given the context and information in this article, I think the fiction about gender and sex we adapt is from the childhood. According last class, Dr. Spencer talked about that sex and gender are two different concepts. Male and female can both be masculine and feminine. However, in our society, most people always think that men should be masculine and women should be feminine because we were taught to think this way from our families and education.

Ladies Day 5 suggestions

Ladies Day 5 suggestions

11)   It’s a sport, not a cause. I think this happens so often that people treat women athletes that there doing things such great things for a culture when we should be treating them just like any other athlete. Women athletes have just as remarkable athletic abilities, skill and other characteristics that relate them to male athletes.

22)   Market to both genders. I thought someone brought up a great point in class that by marketing to both genders you are marketing to women by relating them to women athletes, and by marketing to men you are marketing to the fathers of the female athletes.

33)   Sell sex appeal, Not Sex. The female athletes don’t need to be posting nude pictures to be for people to like them as an athlete. To get fans they just need to do what they do and fans will see their talents and appreciate what they do.

44)   Think globally, act locally. Women’s sports are best at the local levels, that is when there are the most participates and there is an opportunity for the communities to get involved.

55)   Show Patience. Women’s sports are not the most popular in today’s day but looking back on where they have come from they have come a long way from where they were and I think they will continue to grow.

      

These are my views on the 5 suggestions; leave comments on your views.

Dalton Collins

Gender row athlete: What is intersexuality?: Kia Tyus

Gender row athlete: What is intersexuality?

One of the most popular things children want to be when they grow up is a super star athlete. Well a rare genetic disorder know as intersex may stop some children from even attempting that dream. Should future athletes be punished for something that is out of their control?

A South African athlete Caster Semenya is an 18-year-old track athlete who won an 800-meter race and won a gold metal for her efforts. Following, her win, it was announced that she would be tested by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to determine if she is a male of female. Is this fair to Semenya?

Intersex protesters feel like doctors should not make the decision for the baby. I completely disagree, doctors should make the decision based on the chromosomes; really look at if the baby is leaning toward being a male or female.

To me, this will make it easier for the child. As soon as the child is old enough I would tell them the situation and maybe get them into counseling if need be. Think of it as telling the child they are adopted. Yes, that child may be confused at first but with counseling, the child can better understand the circumstances.

As for Semenya, this is a tough situation because I think of it as one of two ways. Even though she is born with both male and female parts, if she chooses to be a female, does that put other female athletes at a disadvantage? If she chooses to be a male, does that put her at a disadvantage? These are things that you all have to consider.

That’s why I feel like you should make the decision based on the chromosomes. I feel like that is the best way to even out the playing field. It is not fair to just completely say that intersex athletes can’t be a part of athletic events.

Children Creating the Fiction of Gender

Messner’s opening statement about his son’s announcement that “men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and children are from heaven” (Messner, 2002, p. 1) was quite surprising to me. Although this particular reading is from 2002 and times may have changed, it is still frightening to think that children believe in this kind of gender inequality. Obviously, kids can be manipulated easily, in this case by a commercial on TV, but for a child to believe that men and women come from different planets is pretty absurd. The article discusses three main points that contribute to this inequality of gender including the performance, structure, and culture of gender (Messner, 2002).

Performance of gender, according to Messner’s “Barbie Girls vs. Sea Monsters” encounter displayed how the girls seemed to perform for each other while the boys were performing not only for each other, but for the girls as well (Messner, 2002, p. 4). In the structure of gender section, Messner referred to the parents never mentioning how similar the two genders were during the soccer games but only noticing their differences. Finally, the culture of gender deals with team colors and names, which come from the social constructs surrounding gender (Messner, 2002).

I found Messner’s article very surprising due to the fact that children believe that men and women are from different planets. If so many people are worried about this issue and feel that the two genders deserve equality, then they should try not to point out the differences. Messner introduces a great example of the parents noticing how different the boys and girls soccer teams were at their games. If gender equality is the goal, then those parents should try to encourage the similarities between the genders in order for the children to realize that they are in fact from the same planet and that they can interact with each other despite their differences.

Messner, M.A. (2002). Center snap: Children creating the fiction of gender.

Kaleb Kuzma

Why is it harder for a Male Athlete to come out as Gay?

In 2013, Jason Collins came out as the first openly gay male athlete in major North American team sports (Arnold, 2013). Arnold stressed the importance of this significant moment because it took athletes till 2013 to come out to the world. Arnold described how people were obviously reacting in a big way. President Obama called Collins commending him on his courage and offered his support. Arnold states that the world is progressing in terms of becoming more accepting of gay rights. However she goes into saying that for a professional athlete to come out and it be construed as “brave,” we still have work to do to achieve full equality (Arnold, 2013).

Arnold went on to talk about how difficult it is for professional athletes to come out to the world. Most athletes are scared of losing their endorsements if they come out as gay. However, she mentions that it seems to be so much more difficult for males than it is for women. Arnold suggests that maybe women are more ready to come out because fans of women’s sports might be more accepting (Arnold, 2013).

While I fully agree with Arnold about more professional athletes should always feel safe to come out, I don’t know if I agree with her that it’s harder for males than females. Coming out is not an easy process for anyone, professional athlete or not. While male athletes tend to be on display a vast amount more, it is not any easier for women to come out than men. I applaud Arnold for her wish for everyone to feel comfortable to come out to the world. I hope for the same and wish that sports fans could be accepting of gay athletes. It shouldn’t matter what your sexual orientation is, it should matter if they work hard in their chosen sport and are positive role models to others.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Arnold, Alice. (2013). Why is it harder for a male athlete to come out as gay?

Ellen Chlumecky

Introduction: Bryce Cylar

Hi my name is Bryce Cylar, I am majoring in sport management with a minor in marketing at The Bowling Green State University. I am from east suburban area of Cleveland Ohio, where I attended Orange High School. In High School, I played basketball, ran track, and participated in one season of football. I wasn’t much of a fan for football, but basketball was and still is my favorite sport. So obviously I am a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. Even though I am a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, one of my favorite players is Dwight Howard, which is why in class I said I would pay to see him. I just like the way he plays, and how he takes the game serious while having fun at the same time. I am also a Cleveland Indians fan, but when it comes to the Cleveland Browns, I can’t claim to be a true fan. It’s not because they suck but because I am not really in to professional football. However, I will watch The Ohio State Buckeyes any day. Moving on, I started college in fall 2010 at Ohio Dominican University; a newly inducted NCAA Division II school in the GLIAC conference. I was able to walk on the basketball program there, and play for two years until transferring to Bowling Green State University for several different reasons. One of the reasons I came to Bowling Green was for the Sports Management program. I am excited to finish up my years in the BG sport management program. Every class has met my expectations, and my expectations for this particular class is to help me grow as an individual, and narrow my career goals in sport if possible.