Complete List of Terms and Definitions for Gender in Sports

Terms Definitions
Name two women who hold power positions in sport to an extent? Catriona Le May Doan with her speaking and bradcasting career in sports and Pat Summit with her extremely successful coaching career
What is the association in Canada that works to promote equality for women in sport and physical activity? The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS)
How can sport truly benefit women? Beyond helping a woman feel fit it also can make her feel less vulnerable, more independent, and more in control of her physical safety and psychological well-being
How might equity be changed in sport? By changing the gender logic
What fact about the IOC surprised Bloom? From 1894-1981, the International Olympic Committee had no female members
What is "reverse discrimination"? Offering programs for the females that is not available for the males
Cultural Ideology Refers to sets of interrelated ideas that people use to explain behaviour and social life
-Ideology is so deeply rooted that we take it for granted and use it as a form of "cultural logic" to make sense of the world
What has been the most dramatic change in the world of sports over the past generation? The increased participation of girls and women
Dominant definitions of women in the culture, does that have an impact of women in the sport? The BOOK would respond to this and say YES it does have an impact
Male Identified Orientations and actions of men are used as standards for defining what is normal
Who is Margie Wright? The softball coach at Fresno state who got the men's baseball team to buy her a press box because of inequality issues
-She argued about equal funding for the Male and Female baseball teams at Fresno State
What are some historical types of inequalities faced by women? Access to facilities
Quality of facilities
Availability of scholarships
Programme operating expenses
Provision and maintenance of equipment and supplies
Recruiting budgets
Scheduling of games and practice times
Travel and per diem expenses
Number of coaches assigned to teams
Salaries for administrators, coaches, trainers, and so on
Provision of medical and training services and facilities
Publicity for individuals, teams, and events
Male Centered Men and men's lives are the expected focus of attention in sport programs
Who is Babe Didrikson Zaharias? The top female of the last century
Who is Danica Patrick? She is challenging the gender logic by competing in Nascar which is an all men's sport where females are never seen
What is the status of gender equity in Canada? Canada has achieved gender equity representation at three Summer Olympics, despite the fact that there are more events for men than women
Girls and Women as Invaders -Participation of girls and women in sport has always presented a threat to the preservation of traditional gender logic; this is why girls and women have often been excluded
-Women exclusion in sport was falsely rationalized by physicians and educators; myths still exist in cultures where literacy rates are low and men control the production and distribution of knowledge
In order to increase fairness and gender equity in sports, we must change: 1. Alternative definitions of masculinity
2. Alternative definitions of femininity
3. Changing the way we do sports
Equity Providing everyone with the opportunity to reach the finish line (example would be providing women only hours at a gym)
What was the controversy around Brandi Chastain? She took her shirt off after scoring the winning penalty kick at the 1999 World Cup of Soccer for the US team and this was seen as an act not suitable for a woman
What are the 5 reasons for increased participation of young girls and women into sports? 1. New Opportunities
2. Government Equal Rights Legislation
3. The Global Women's Rights Movement
4. The Health and Fitness Movement
5. Increased Media Coverage of Women in Sport
What are the conclusions for participation of women in sports? That the organization of the sporting world is male dominated, male identified, and male centered. Therefore, female athletes, coaches, officials and administrators are considered qualified if they do their jobs "like men".
What government legislations helped women's involvement in sports? 1. Women's program of the fitness and amateur sport act
2. Sport Canada Policy on Women in Sport
-these are the main ones
"The goal of having women in 20 percent of the top decision-making positions in sport organizations around the world by 2005 has not been achieved. At the current rate or progress, it is possible that job equality in most sport organizations will not be a The future does not look too bright for women and the change will take a long time to happen if it does
Who is Clara Hughes? Clara Hughes of Winnipeg is one of very few Olympians who has won several medals at the Summer AND Winter Games which is surprising given that she is a female
Should girls be allowed to play on boy's teams if they have the talent and if there is no comparable opportunity for girls? As CAAWS recently pointed out, "there have been court challenges, usually under provincial Human Rights legislation, but legal opinion has largely been that females have the right to compete for a position on a male team on the same basis as males, as long as they demonstrate sufficient skills and ability to meet the requirements of the team"
"Gender logic" Influences how we think of ourselves and others, how we relate to others, and how social life is organized at all levels, from families to societies
-Varies from culture to culture
-Based on a simple-binary-classification system
Who is Billy Jean King? She was noted for her contribution to the women's rights movement
Equality Providing everyone with an equal starting line (such as equal funding for men and women's teams)
Male Dominated Characteristics of the men are used as standards to judge women
Who is Lisa Fernandez? Known for the most strikeouts in female softball
Binary Gender Classification System Is based on the assumption that heterosexuality is natural and normal and that those who express feelings, thoughts, and behaviours that do not fit neatly into the two socially constructed categories of masculine and feminine are "out of bounds" when it comes to gender
Who is Jennie Finch Jennie Finch is one of the best soft ball pitchers but is not portrayed as this on the cover of sports illustrated, she is portrayed for her looks instead of talent
Homophobia and challenges faced by gay men and lesbians in sports -The myths that all female athletes are lesbians has been used to exclude and discourage all women from playing sports
-Today, lesbians play sports, but their identities have been erased as much as possible in the publicity and media coverage of women's sports
What are the 7 reasons to be cautious when predicting future participation increases? 1. Budget cutbacks and the privatization of sport programs
2. Resistance to government regulation by those benefiting from the current structure
3. Backlash among those who resent changes favouring strong women which challenges the norm that men are dominant
4. Underrepresentation of women in decision-making positions in sports
5. Continued emphasis on "cosmetic fitness" where women are judged on looks not talent
6. Trivialization of women's sports
7. Homophobia and the threat of being labelled "lesbian"
What do hiring committees look at when hiring coaches? Objectively: years of experience and win-loss record
Subjectively: ability to recruit and motivate players, command respect, build togetherness, etc.
We can change ideologies when we assess how we talk about and do sports by: 1. Eliminate the language of difference and domination associated with sports and sport participation
2. Refrain from using labels such as sissy, tomboys, fag, and wimp in conversations and relationships
3. Object to coaches who motivate young men by telling them to go out and prove their masculinity on the playing field
4. Speak out against language that bashes gays and demeans women
5. Discourage the use of military metaphors that masculinize descriptions of sports
What are the reasons for the underrepresentation of women in coaching and administrative positions? 1. Men have used well-established connections with other men in sport organizations to help them during the job search and hiring process
2. Compared with men, most women applicants for coaching and administrative jobs do not have the strategic professional connections and networks that they need to compete with male candidates
3. Job search committees often use subjective evaluative criteria, making it more likely that women applicants will be seen as less qualified than men applicants
4. Support system and professional development opportunities continue to be scarce for women who want to be coaches or administrators, as well as for women already in these positions
5. Many women know that it is difficult to work in athletic departments and sport organizations that have corporate cultures organized around the values and experiences of men.
6. Sport organizations are seldom organized to be sensitive to the family responsibilities of coaches and administrators
7. Sexual harassment is more likely to be anticipated and experienced by women than by men
Some women athletes express negative attitudes toward the idea of feminism and they make a point to distance themselves from social activism related to women's issues. Why do you think this is the case? A lot of women don't want to be seen as a feminist, so they stay away from issues dealing with it. Many are afraid to confront these issues of inequality.
How did we do in Canada at covering both male and female athletes in the Olympics? Bloom thinks they did a good job and if a women athlete had won a medal they were getting the same coverage as the men
Why is equity sometimes hard to achieve? Because some fundamentalist religious beliefs restrict options in some cultures such as the Muslims who require the females to not show any skin when in public
Four Strategies for achieving gender equity are: 1. Programs that promote lifetime sport participation
2. Programs that embody an ethic of care and connection between teammates and opponents
3. Programs that provide coaching and administrative opportunities for lesbians, heterosexual women, and gay men.
4. Programs bringing boys and girls, men and women, and heterosexual and GLBTs together in shared sport experiences that promote new ides about gender and sports in society
Rea equity requires: The development of new models of sport participation, and new organizations shaped by the values and experiences of women and men who do not see themselves in terms of dominant definitions of masculinity
Achieving gender equity requires: Fundamental changes in how we think about gender and how we play sports
Celebrating Masculinity in sports Men's achievements in power and performance sports have been used as evidence of men's aggressive nature, their superiority over women, and their rights to claim social and physical space as their own