Conclusion--Haoyan Gu

After this semester, I have learned a lot that despite the passage of Title IX and other gender equality campaigns, we still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality in sports. Before taking this class, I only knew about women being in positions in sports where they were discriminated against and treated unfairly. I learned that gender inequality not only exists in women’s sports, but also in men’s sports. For example, Keeling Pilaro, a boy who was playing on a field hockey team, was banned from playing because he was “too good” to play with girls. This raised a controversy. If women can play with men to achieve gender equality, does it achieve gender equality to let men play with women?

Writing blogs and comments are new to me because I have never done these before. However, writing blog entries and comments has helped me to see various opinions from other students and they absolutely have affected my thinking on gender. After reading other’s blogs, I could also see agreements on the topics and disagreements. There are no right or wrong answers, therefore, each comment itself is valuable to see and think deeply about.

Overall, this class is useful for my career because sports are the most popular way to spread words to the public, and gender is always a hot topic to discuss. Gender inequality is a serious problem like racial discrimination. In my future career, I will deal with both males and females. In order to help achieve gender equality in sports and not make mistakes on this issue, studying this subject will definitely be helpful in my future career.

Conclusion (Kaleb Kuzma)

Looking back on this class, I learned that even after Title IX and many movements there is still a divide between male and female sports. Female sports are still not quite comparable to men’s sports in respects to popularity. Throughout the whole class, most of the male athletes were very well known but the same cannot be said for the female athletes that we discussed. I also learned a lot of new information regarding sexuality and sport. I had never even heard of some of the transgender or transsexual cases that we read about and discussed in class so that was sort of an eye opener for me.

I think the class blog was one of the most useful parts of class for me. I found the class blog to be very helpful for me because it was a different way to analyze articles rather than just reading them and taking quizzes or something. The blog entries also helped to understand other people’s viewpoints and maybe look at other sides of a particular story.

I enjoyed the readings about the “Jordan Effect” the most. I knew that Michael Jordan had obviously had a huge impact on the sports world but I wasn’t completely aware of the impact he had on the city of Chicago and his respective sponsorships.

Overall, I think the most valuable thing that I will take from this class that will be useful in my career is that there is always another viewpoint behind a story. It is very important to read and understand the situation before joining one side or another.

Kia Tyus: Conclusion

In class I learned a lot about sports and the effect that sports has on media. I realized, that as much as women sports have come, there is such a long way to go. Coming into class, I would have thought that women’s sports were on the come up at a fast pace. I realized that there are still only a few known female athletes that have a high “Q” level. An example would be Serena Williams. I also realized that even though there are a lot of talented female athletes, they are still portrayed in a sexual way instead of looked at for their skill level.

I also learned that the media helped Michael Jordan cover is child which he helped conceive out of marriage. This shocked me because it is hard to believe that the media helped an athlete out. I feel as though the media in today’s society is always on a hunt for a good scandal.

I found most useful the difference between male and female sports: the popularity, the media attention, the talent, and the profit. Male sports are dominating especially the four top sports, those being: basketball, football, hockey, and baseball. The only well known female sports is basketball and tennis in my opinion.

I enjoyed the Michael Jordan and Serena Williams readings the most. I enjoyed this because they are both two of my all time favorite athletes. So any time I get to talk about them I enjoy it.

Writing blogs helped me focus on the class more. It forced me to read the articles, which helped me, have a better understanding on each topic that was discussed in class.

I think the Billie Jean King presentation was most informative because she really broke barriers when she won the Battle of the Exes and she really paved the way not only for tennis players but also for women sports in general.

In my career I think this class is just great knowledge to know for your career. Anybody working in the sports field should have an understanding of conflicts and great history of both male and female sports.

Kia Tyus: Transsexuals in Sports

When it comes to transsexuals playing in sports I disagree with it. For the simple fact, it won’t be fair to competitors all the way around. Renee Richards changed into a girl and continued to still play tennis. Many on her competitors would forfeit competition because they were either uncomfortable with it or they felt like it was an unfair advantage. 

When it is a male changing to a female they would already have the muscle power and speed to be an immediate game changer. So, from that stand point, females who have been training their whole life will be at an unfair advantage even if someone such as Richards waited two years to compete. Now, granted Richards did lose competitions late in her career, but I feel as though that is mostly because of old age more than it being an even level playing field.

When it is a female changing to a male, I feel they wouldn’t have a disadvantage to the competitors and wouldn’t help their team as much. As a student previously said in class, men have been training their whole life building muscle and speed, plus they naturally grow into stronger individuals. I feel the female changing into a male and playing on a male team would more gain media attention for the wrong reasons, than for what the team is trying to accomplish in their respected sports.

Overall, I don’t see how a transsexual playing on a sport team would end up being a fair to the team or individual.

What Gay Men Are Really Thinking in the Locker Room: Ellen Chlumecky

This article discusses the myth that people may believe that gay athletes are more or less prone to check out other athletes in the locker room. The author made a point of mentioning how all men check each other out no matter their sexual orientation. It is a natural action that all men do no matter the situation. Males compare themselves to others and how they compare to others. All men are all competitive, masculine drive, and are visual in nature.

            The author made a point to say that homosexual men’s libidos are no more aroused than heterosexual. Anyone who thinks differently is ignorant and insecure. Men who are secure in themselves take it as a compliment when a gay man hits on him. The author discusses the reason men believe that gay men are ready to hit on them are the differences in sexual orientations comes down to values, beliefs, and maturity. The author gave some introspection on how certain males react. The males the author interviewed seemed to be secure in themselves and don’t seem to assume that just because a male is gay that he wants to hit on him.

            I really loved this article. I have always believed that men who believe that just because a male is gay that he’s automatically checking out every single male straight or gay. It’s completely ignorant. Men who think that all gay men automatically just check them out are too into themselves for their own good. I love this article because it put people who are ignorant into their place.

What Gay Men are Really Thinking in the Locker Room: Kia Tyus

I do believe that men are not as creeped out by having a gay man in the locker room, as people would like to believe. I feel like while in the locker room if your not physically in a stall, you will probably get looked at by whoever is in the aisle with you.

It takes a certain level of maturity and self-security to realize that just because a gay man looks at you doesn’t mean that they are “looking at you” in that way.

Around the locker room, many men are okay with a gay man being around especially men that are married to females. I think that men are still afraid of how the media and other teams will portray them if they publicly accept the fact that they are okay with having a gay man in the locker room.

What happens in the locker room can also transfer to the field or court. The last thing a straight man wants is to have everyone thinking they are gay. In sports trash talking sadly plays a role. Straight men will probably get sick and tired of what is getting said to them on the court or field. That may cause anger towards a gay man in the locker room.

Overall, I agree with the article, if a straight man is so uncomfortable with one or two openly gay men being in the locker room, then it shows a lack of maturity and shows insecurity on the straight mans part.