Is it only oppression if you let it oppress you? Discuss.

The Heywood and Dworkin article I read last night just blew my mind in the matter of objectification (or is it?) of female athletes in the media. When forming opinions about what to think of such matters I like to really chew over matters discussed in such articles and see if I can incorporate some of these ideas into my own ideology. When it comes to women in the media I’ve basically been taught to think that the male gaze dominates all and that women are usually objectified through sexualization in one way or another. However, in recent times I’ve been noticing that representations of women have been tending to stray further from this subordinated femininity. I haven’t really been able to find the right ideas that express what I’ve been noticing but I think “Bodies, Babes, and the NBA” are right on target with pinning down what’s been going on, at least with athletes anyway.

There is such a diversity of images of athletes that to argue that those that do not portray them either in action in their sport or fully clothed would be to ignore the real say that athletic women have in their own portrayal in magazines and calendars. There is a camp of third-wave feminists which fully supports the notion of self-possession discussed on page 87. This is something that struck me as a new and justified response to concern about appearing sexy in print and on screen. The athletic body is not only something to be proud of for its contours and appeal, but also for the fact that the athlete has worked for it. Unlike the body of, say, a Playmate, the athlete’s body took hundreds of hours of strenuous work and commitment to the goal of finely tuning her body to become a highly able “machine.” This body is her body and she is going to flaunt it at will and with unflinching pride.

I do agree with the authors in pointing out what is problematic about the portrayal of athletes is that this is considered to them to be a major way to get attention as a skilled athlete. They assert their existence in the “hyperreality” and in many ways to bring attention, attendance, and funds to their much-ignored sport. Coming upon this point in the article made me flinch because of its allusion to prostitution, and it also made me think of some of the deeper implications of this kind of portrayal in the media. Even though the athletes and probably many other women see their strength as empowering, what about those that view these images with visual pleasure in mind? Which point of view even matters more in pop culture anyway? What’s the point of making such a statement if everyone is going to overlook it in favor of their own perception of what you’re doing?

In a slightly different direction, I’d also like to mention the subject of lesbian desire. I really wish the authors had touched on this more in “Bodies, Babes, and the NBA” after leaving us hanging on page 82. Miller cites “targeting lesbian desire” as a reason for the recent glorification of “masculine” (i.e. muscled, well-sculpted) women’s bodies, which is problematic as it buys into the linking of sexuality and gender inversion and stereotyping of athletes as lesbians. Heywood and Dworkin take this point down in the following paragraphs of their article but it leaves me to wonder just what lesbian desire is attracted to. Is there a specific image of lesbian desire? Gay desire? I mean the objects of straight desire can have so many faces, so does there have to be just one lesbian sexual ideal?

Built For Something

What are our bodies built to do? Are they built to last, are they built to go through extreme situation or are they built to grow? If bodies are meant to grow, physically as well as in other ways, then the oppression that the female gender has been subject to over the years has stunted growth. And in relation to sports and not just sports but to growth, it seems that the female body was only meant to reproduce. Who says females can’t play like males? And why is it bad to “throw like a girl”. Female athleticism has been down played from a young age. Making it so that sports has become a very male dominated, testosterone land where women are not widely enough accepted. The reason for this I believe is how we construct the female body. As it has been seen in the media, the popular female body has always had some kind of sex appeal to it. Historically, the female body has been overly sexualized to the point of obsession and blindness. It seems that media and society can’t see past the ignorant veil they have constructed. This sex appeal that the female body has seemingly forever been framed around has carried over to sports and female physicality. In many articles our class has read, we talk about the potential of the female body and how it has been largely un-explored and I believe this to be true. There are biological differences that separate gender and socially constructed differences that separate gender and in context to female physicality and sports, there has been no growth in the area. Females are heavily influenced at a young age to perfect their body, but not in a physically strong and practical sense but in more of a sexually appealing sense, perfecting their body in the name of vanity rather in the name of good health. Though I feel the cover of “good health” is often used as a scapegoat. There are many instruments that are used to keep the female athletic body repressed and oppressed, such as the looming question of a women’s sexuality if she would ever dare to play a sport that is not conventional to her gender. This is problematic because homophobia is often used as an instrument to hide the real sexism that is going on against the athletic female body. Females are breaking records in many of the same sports that men play, reinforcing the idea that the female body’s physicality has not yet been explored as deeply. Even in advertisements we see that athletic men and women are posed very differently and marketed in different ways. Men could be seen standing upright, tall and looking like they’re in power; compared to women, we see maybe a back shot, or a woman standing in a more crouched position to indicate femininity, because their already physical and sport like bodies do not do so. Our society is so image based and we as a society are so obsessed and blinded by these images that we vie for them in vain. I feel like we really forget what our bodies are built for and are fogged by assumptions on what the female body is built for, when I feel like all our bodies are just meant to grow.

Women are still sexualized...even in Sports

As we have already discussed, there are alot of stigmas and stereotypes attached to female athletes regarding their sexuality. In class, we have particularly addressed the issues of women fulfilling masculine roles that in the societal perspective, deems them bisexual or gay. I thought it extremely interesting how sexuality has such a close connection with women and sports, because essentially it seems really detached from a women's athletic abilities or pursuits. After becoming aware of this from our reading and class discussion I was curious to see how this looks in the reverse perspective, where women are hyper-feminine and fulfilling feminine expectations while also being acknowledged as athletes. I looked to bleacher report, which is a open source sports network of a variety of journals, and I looked particular at the articles dedicated to "The 25 Sexiest Female Athletes to watch for in 2012". Under this headline, there was a journal dedicated to popular pole vaultist, Jennifer Suhr. The image of her, as you can see, shows her on a vault pole which is right, she is clinching onto the pole and holding herself up, and she has spanks and a sports bra on.




This image seems to reflect a female stripper, which may I implicitly say that stripping has absolutely nothing to do with pole vaulting. This was discomforting to see, because it changes almost everything which this article is intending to recognize her for, which ultimately that is her skill in pole vaulting. From this picture, headline and the image, its displeasing to admit how immediately sex and sexuality is connected to female athletes. In this case, the image matches our (our meaning society ) visual expectations of a females sex appeal. On a positive, this somewhat breaks the stereotype of a masculine woman in sports, but then immediately imitates other stereotypes which in this case, limits our perspective of appealing female athletes. For us, the only appeal seems to be anything close to this image, and not images that show women in non-seductive poses or not focusing on eroticism but perhaps the appeal of a woman who has muscles or "looks" strong. If we can only accept these images as counting for female sex appeal, I do not believe that we can effectively get rid of the stigmas and stereotypes of bisexual or gay female athletes.

Double Standards In Sports

It seems that we just can’t escape the gender roles and expectations placed on us by society. I guess the gender roles and expectations that exist in our everyday lives just aren’t enough, they have to exist in sports as well. A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team compete against another or others. By that definition it would seem that believing sports differ significantly for males and females would be sort of a hard thing to assume. I mean after analyzing that definition, it seems to me that a male or female is capable of executing or being involved in any sport. Right? Well according to the ways of our American society there are still dos and don’ts for males and females partaking in sports.

Take conduct for example. Females “misbehaving” in a sport often makes headlines. After losing or making a mistake in a sport they are not socially expected to show their anger or disappointment through physical (unless they are crying, then its okay) or unladylike means. Take Serena Williams for example (check out the link below). There have been many instances where she was in news articles and on television for yelling at referees or saying something rude during a match. Her behavior is looked at as unladylike and a display of poor sportsmanship. Now take Kobe Bryant for example: A popular basketball player, who like many other male athletes, often yells obscenities at referees and other athletes. When this happens the male athlete is simply deemed “angry” and displaying his frustrated emotions. But a female exhibiting the same behavior is in the wrong? Double standard? I think so.

http://www.newsy.com/videos/unsportsmanlike-behavior-or-just-unladylike/

There are also various stereotypes attached to certain sports as well. For example men play football and basketball while women figure-skate or cheerlead. If a sex is found participating in a sport that is not of that individual’s sex “typical sport,” then they are often presumed to be gay. As if a girl can’t enjoy participating in a football game and pursue to be apart of a football team unless she is attracted to females. Or a guy must be gay if he is an extraordinary gymnast or figure skater. (These stereotypical generalizations sound even more ignorant as I re-read this text. How could anyone rationally believe them?) It seems as though that the overall appearance of the sport has a lot to do with whether it is a “male” or “female” sport. If the sport is graceful, has low to no contact, or even produces or maintains a feminine-like figure like ballet, tennis, or figure skating then it is a “female sport.” If the sport is full contact, tough, or down-and-dirty like football then the sport is considered a “male sport.” The descriptions of the sports coincide with what society expects of men and women overall. Women should be dainty while men should be rugged; therefore, it makes sense that heterosexual women play “dainty” sports and heterosexual men play “rugged” sports. It’s only natural. . .Yeah right.

Why do you think these social norms exist in sports? Is there a way for them to become extinct in todays society? Why is it okay for a man to publically and outwardly display his frustrated emotions but not socially accepted for a female to do so? Why are sports so gendered?

Leaving Ladies Behind

In class today, I was caught by a quote made by Duane. “Don’t count one gender out of something that everyone can enjoy.” I thought this was relevant not only in the context for professional sports, but I saw a link to “Throwing like a Girl” too. In the article, the author writes about how most girls are never taught to throw properly. The fathers usually teach the sons how to throw at a very early age. Because of the neglect of women in throwing-education, mothers are not very good resources for their daughters in the world of sports. Is this cycle of skipping women keeping out a gender from something everyone can do? Yes. According to the article, there are no anatomical differences between men and women that cause them to throw differently. It is all in the process of learning. Hillary Clinton, for example, is a strong, powerful woman in government, but when it comes to throwing a pitch, she falls short. Her “girl-like” throw earned her much criticism in the media while her husband was admired for his “manly” pitch.

The phrase “throwing like a girl” implies that a throw is wrong. The phrase does not even bring about anything like “throwing like a woman,” but a small child. How diminutive is this? This stereotype has been ingrained in the minds of children who have grown to be adults all over the country. If the negative chants in gym classes consist of female-centered insults, how does this make young girls feel? Many women find it so derogatory over time that they just give up. How much talent could we have lost to those bullies? Nobody wants to “throw like a girl” but what if girls were taught to throw just like boys? This would incorporate so much more enthusiasm into sports on the female sides and maybe some girls could find their hidden talents.

Another area in which women are left out of sports is financially. We discussed professional salaries in class today, and how women make much less than men. How can you make what you love a career when you’re not getting paid fairly for it? A surprising amount of female athletes end up posing for magazines, showing off their bodies to “feminize” themselves in an area of masculinity. This certainly shouldn’t have to be done.

Relating back to Duane’s quote, an entire gender is being left behind in sports. Anyone can enjoy sports as long as they are in an environment supportive of their needs. Unfortunately, American athletics is less than helpful to the women who want to show their talents to the world.

Athletic Feamle Bodies: What is Accepted?

What is considered to be an appropriate female body when it comes to athletics? This question has arisen numerous times in both this class and other classes that I have taken here at Allegheny, but I still do not know if it has ever been answered. So many people have different opinions about what an ideal female body should look like that I don't see this question ever being fully answered.

Looking at the pictures above, which one looks more "natural" to you? Most people would pick the one on the left and think the one on the right would be too masculine even though she is a boxer. Further analyzing these pictures, both women are wearing boxing gloves yet the woman on the right still appears far more masculine because of her muscles and the intensity in her face. The picture on the left seems like someone imitating a boxer and her lean stomach is clearly shown beneath her sports bra compared to no stomach being shown in the right picture.

Relating these pictures back to some of our readings, Changing the Game by Pat Griffin mentions the idea of mannish lesbianism (p. 217). Which many people may assume by the pictures above that the woman on the right has masculine and lesbian characteristics. This would then cause people to question her sexuality and if her boxing career is as a female boxer or a "mannish lesbian". And yes I am saying that mannish lesbian has been created into a category that is in a separate sphere from female athletes.

This then brings in the idea that is also presented by Griffin about homophobia in women's sports and how it may have manifested itself there. As we discussed in class today, sexuality and homophobia are intertwined within sports. And if sexuality is removed from sports then, theoretically, homophobia would disappear as well. This then would erase the image of the mannish lesbian and finally ending the discrimination of a muscled female body (hopefully).

Going back to the question asked in my title, what is the accepted female athletic body? With the information that I have discussed above, I am wondering how you would analyze the pictures that I have provided. Do you think one is more accepted then the other? Why? When you first looked at the picture on the right, did you think about or question her sexuality? Female athletic bodies are a major discussion in the media and just within our normal conversations. I ask one final question, will we ever stop talking about the ideal female athletic body?

The next time you are watching women's basketball, soccer, boxing, etc. look at their bodies and think about what Griffin was discussing and how it really does affect our outlook on their bodies regardless of the talent that they may have. Also listen to the commentary and see if their bodies are ever mentioned and if they are, carefully listen to what they are saying and see if it is realted in any way to sexuality or sexual preference.

Men in Figure Skating

In class we discussed women breaking into the world of male sports, so in my blog I want to talk mostly about males in a sport that is considered predominately female.

Now the majority of sports are not considered exclusively women’s by mainstream society, but one such is figure skating. As a competitive skater and a coach for the majority of my life, I have had a lot of exposure to males in the skating world. After the beginner levels, most boys either drop out or switch to classes geared more towards hockey. Figure skates are easier to learn on than hockey skates, and fairly frequently I get the father of a four year old boy who insists on putting him in hockey skates even though he can’t even stand up on the ice in them. Strong skating skills are necessary in order to be successful as a hockey player, and parents are hesitant trust my judgment because I’m a woman giving them hockey advice. For the most part they accept that I am more knowledgeable, however I did once have a particularly stubborn father who was convinced that I was giving him false information and insisted on talking to the (male) head of the hockey program who told him the exact same thing that I had. I don’t know why he was so reluctant to believe me or why he was so adamant about starting his child off in hockey skates, but maybe if there were more fluidity between gender and sports he wouldn’t have been so against anything to do with his son figure skating.

One figure skater that was always surrounded by a huge controversy concerning his sexual orientation until he came out in his autobiography this past January is Johnny Weir, also known as Johnny Queer. Known for his flamboyant costumes and artistic performances, Weir’s sexuality was constantly questioned by the skating world. Even though he does define himself as gay, what right do we, as viewers have to put him there? Every single male figure skater has their sexuality questioned at one time or another, but not usually so regularly and on such a national level. Even in commentary, Johnny Weir is constantly referred to as flamboyant, fun, controversial, and dramatic- never as an athlete. His achievements are overshadowed by perceptions of his sexuality through his performances. This youtube clip, while geared towards humor, undoubtedly shows exceptional instances where Wier’s sexuality is targeted more than other male figure skaters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqCJ75A0J54 .

Figure skating is a sport that needs male skaters, not just for individual competition but for pairs and dance partners as well. In fact, men become very sought after as partners because of the vast difference between the number of female and male skaters. Because it is a sport where men and women compete separately but equally, and often together, it is perfectly acceptable for both men and women to be coaches even if the vast majority are still women. I think that because it is more acknowledged as a coed sport, both sexes are able to coach without as much question to their sexuality as in predominately male sports. Every male figure skater I know has gotten their sexuality questioned at one point or another, but I don’t believe that the idea that male athletes in “women’s” sports are all gay is as widely accepted as women being gay in “men’s” sports is. However, there are still overwhelming assumptions about men in figure skating that stop a lot of little boys in their tracks.

What’s Wrong with Muscles?

Hitting the gym has become a phenomenon within American culture. There is an underlying sense of pressure that we must shape and control our bodies to look a certain way in order to gain acceptance. Like discussed in the book Fat Shame, we live within a fat aware culture and because of this we strive to make our bodies physically disappear. However, not all individuals go to the gym to lose weight, many people go to build muscle. When I go to the gym I typically see strong, muscular men lifting large amounts of weight. I feel like seeing muscular men at the gym is the norm. But is it normal to see large, muscular women? Perhaps, the typical reaction to seeing this type of woman is to stare, judge or be confused by her oversized body. Her sexual orientation may be called into question because she is not visibly feminine. Why do we respond this way?

Perhaps it is due to the idea that male bodies represent power and strength, while female bodies are soft, delicate and small. Women who are muscular athletes carry a social stereotype of trying to get away from femininity by transforming their bodies into something that is viewed as masculine. In Pat Griffin’s article “Changing the Game,” athletic women are viewed as “mannish lesbians” because they are strong, physically active and are without men (218). This term first began in the 1930s referring to females who had been “depraved of sexual appetite and preference for masculine dress and activity were identified as symptoms of psychological disturbance” (217). Women’s sport teams became known as the home for mannish lesbians. They were separated from men due to the social belief that women could not compete against men. Women were believed to have limited physical abilities in comparison to men. This separation led to sexism and homophobia within sports, which help to create a larger gender gap. Athletic women threaten to create an imbalance in the social constructions of power because they defy gender roles (218). The term lesbian works to control and devalue women within the sporting world. Moreover, the term helps to desexualize the female athlete. Our culture has inscribed assumptions and stereotypes onto female athletes because they do not follow socially constructed norms of female behavior. Ultimately, sports help to empower our culture’s gender norms.

[hetero] sex sells

As we have established through examination of our society and discussion in class sex sells; and not just sex, but hetero sex. And sports are no different. As pointed out in Bodies, Babes, and the WNBA we live in a visual world created of images, and much of those images are intended to have a sexual connotation or message to get the public support or acknowledgement they desire. While I agree that feminizing female athletes in ads can be demoralizing, and exploitive, I want to argue that they do the same thing men do, they just do it in a different way.

In Bodies, Babes, and the WNBA, they write about the different views of “old-school” and “new-age” feminists in regards to the media and the woman’s body image. Where as the older way of thinking was that the media is evil, and it is “the portrayal of women at their worst.” I agree with the newer way of thinking that “the media is the air we live and breathe, and we manipulate t for our own ends, and aren’t we so clever and aren’t we hot babes?” (78).

Masculinity is a culturally accepted sexy trait, but only in men. And when women portray a sense of masculinity, they can be seen as non-sexy, or as we have read, they can be portrayed as a “mannish-lesbian”, especially in sports. We have talked and read a lot about the different views of how women are displaying their bodies. Some say that they are doing so based on cultural and societal pressures, and other believe that they are showing their strength and showing off their hard work.

What I believe in regards to female athletes in advertising is that they are displaying their bodies in a heterosexualized world, and in order to equalize their sexiness, the pressures to increase their femininity are raised. Men also use sexuality to their advantage in our image driven culture. However, they may be able to stand in a dirty uniform with a powerful look in their eyes and get the same desired effect a female athlete may get by posing half nude in a ridiculous scenario. The general idea of sexiness in men includes a great deal of masculinity, testosterone, and at some times dirt and sweat. All of these can be encompassed in an athlete coming off of the field. But when this athlete is a female, the idea of sexiness is gone.

So, though I do agree that women are at times over sexualized, and can be portrayed in more pornographic ways then men, I feel that many times female athletes are in full awareness of what they are doing in manipulating their body image to show off their [hetero] sex appeal. In women “femininity=sex appeal, masculinity=achievement, as if never the twain shall meet” (88).

I don’t feel that women should necessarily take their sexualized and ‘feminized’ bodies out of our image driven world, but I think the whole idea of what is sexy needs to be reevaluated and more inclusive to masculine women, and feminine men.

How can we start with this? Where can we start? Does it need to be within women’s sports, men’s sports, both, neither?

My Realistic Passion

Combining sports and school is my dream. I was raised as that girl with a dad who loves sports and a brother who played every sport out there. By the time I could remember I was throwing around a ball. I was playing with with harbors and cooking sets that they sell but my interest was in active sports. I was playing catch with my dad at the age of 5 and since then I have had an outstanding interest in sports... And more broadly competition. At age 11 the genre difference took control of my life. When I played on an all boys team until age 11, people were confused as to why I could "keep up". Honest to God, I've neve been more confused in my life. I didn't understand why, as a girl, I had to leave a team evacuee I was becoming a pre-pubescent age. As I grow older I get that society wanted us to be separate... But why would we have to separate if I was "keeping up".

In the readings it talked a lot about if all people, men and women, we're trained equally our differences would be so minuscule. For 6 years I was trained on the same pace as "the boys" and was equal and beyond the standards of a competitive athlete. I regularly out-shown boys of my same age it it was insisted that we were separated.

I've been through it all as a collegiate female athlete. I get the lesbian talk, the "you're too good to be a girl", the "why are you stronger than me?!", but at the en of the day no matter how strong I am physically

Is There Any Room for Women As Just Athletes, Not Sexual Icons?

Since professional sports leagues – particularly the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA -- have been conceived in the United States they have always been dominated by male athletes. Males after all, created them in order to allow for the competition of other male athletes. I stress the term athletes, because, for the most part, that is typically what we view these male players as. They are athletes first, and anything else secondarily. Certainly, many of them turn to provocative forms of advertising, like Mark Sanchez on the cover of GQ, or Dave Beckham’s cologne advertising, but they receive recognition by the media typically through their performances, not their provocative advertisements.

Women, on the other hand, seem to be more frequently brought to the attention of popular culture not by their personal successes but by sexualized representations of them in the media. Indeed, they are often brought to the attention of the media by their own by their competitive nature in their respective sports -- i.e. Maria Sharapova or Danica Patrick – but their continued depictions are often sexualized images of them. Certainly, they are recognized for their success, but we remember them rarely for their continued success, but instead for their overtly sexual images in publications and advertisements. Part of that is simply because they are so apparent and often so frequent.

Which begs the question, is there any room for women as simply athletes in competitive sports? Or does the media simply feel compelled (or even required) to paint them as sexual icons in order to appeal to appeal to a greater range of audiences?

In addressing that question, I’ll turn to the WNBA and the huge salary disparity between that league and the male equivalent, the NBA. The WNBA is often stereotypically portrayed as a league of tomboys. As such, it is neither as critically proclaimed nor nearly as talked about as the NBA. For comparison, the average salary for a WNBA player is around $50 thousand, compared to over $3 million for NBA players. The WNBA is rarely accepted to be as elegant as women in tennis, nor is it as widely accepted as female soccer. And further, rarely is it ever considered to be as lively as the NBA, simply due to the often-startling disparity in athleticism between the two leagues.

But rarely is the WNBA ever brought to the attention of the media through sexualized imagery, partly due to its ‘tomboyish’ preconceptions. Tennis (and to an extent soccer) doesn’t necessarily have these same preconceptions. Athletes such as Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova have ensured that tennis will remain a feminine sport.

And that may be part of the reason why the WNBA hasn’t seen nearly as much critical success as such sports as tennis. As Heywood and Dworkin indicate in their essay, the possible answer to the sexualized nature of female athletes in sports may lie not in naivety or their willingness to objectify themselves, but instead as a concerted effort to achieve equality with their male peers.

Athletes already know the criticisms and reject them… They know, and they do it all the same, both because they do not experience themselves as manipulated and powerless, and because like many others in the MTV generation who are fighting high debt-to-income ratios and diminished permanent job prospects, they see rightly visibility in the media as the only ‘real’ outlet for the achievement of selfhood this culture offers. (Dworkin, Heywood, 85).

Certainly, there seems to be some truth in that suggestion. Due to the male-dominated nature of most professional sports, female athletes are inherently at a disadvantage, both athletically and with regard to media coverage.

It then stands to reason that becoming a sort of sexualized public icon is one of the few ways in which females can really even the playing field. By openly flaunting their female figures, regardless of how exploitative it may appear, female athletes stand to close the substantial media – and, in turn, income gap – between them and male athletes.

Control Through Homophobic Sexism

Basketball was my sport from middle school until college. I played on three teams year round had season tickets to the WNBA Connecticut Sun and lived for UCONN basketball . I'm a typical product of my hometown Storrs, Ct. Guess you can say I was obsessed. Where I am from basketball is the norm for boys and girls yet I grew up recognizing that I was a tomboy when on the court in my long 'boyish' shorts and slicked back pony tail. Perhaps 'tomboy' is the childhood precursor to Griffin' term, 'mannish lesbian'? In middle school I definitely tried to accommodate for this image by dressing more 'feminine' during school hours. Silly little girl I was. Griffin points out a shift from promoting a feminine image for sports to one that promotes a heterosexual image. I think it is important to recognize that the feminine image is an integral aspect when promoting a 'heterosexual image'. They are closely linked and reflect the interconnected relationship of sexism and homophobia.

Griffin says the mannish lesbian is a stereotype used as a scare tactic against female athletes for going against the sexist and heterosexist status quo. I love her ability to draw out a real world example where homophobia is used as a tool for sexism. Many people often question why women's sports are not supported and valued equally to that of mens. My sports crazed brother would tell you he enjoys women's basketball more than mens because it is often played as a team cohesive sport (yes he is generalizing) where as men's basketball thrives on the athleticism of superstars. This reflects his personal opinion which is no more valid than anyone else's but so few people ever watch women's basketball close enough in the first place to have an opinion. The point is I think there is something to be said about the role of homophobia in recruiting and choosing to be a spectator. It's taboo to watch and enjoy women's sports. The reason being because female athletes are constructed as "mannish", "lesbians" and even "mannish lesbians". This rhetoric is imposed on individuals and is reflected in the language used to talk about athletes resulting in the stereotyping of entire female sports.

For example, where I grew up softball was the sport all girls dropped in high school because it was the 'lesbian' sport. Yet, ballett is a sport that is free from homophobic stereotypes because it produces the feminine body. It seems as if the sport does not matter at all but the body the sport produces is what is trying to be controlled by sexism, heterosexism and homophobia. I think if not already American culture is very close to reproducing the revolution Anne Crittenden writes about where women, "will inherit the essential source of human self-confidence-pride in and control over a finely tuned body" (114). Yet, this version of a revolution reproduces fat shame, classism and does not do enough to address a status quo desire to control and construct the feminine body. Her revolution only shifts the hierarchy it does not dismantle it. I believe in Griffins arguments but I think it is often hard for us to recognize homophobia and sexism and linked. Why is this and is it even possible to address them simultaneously?

Same Old Issues, New Nude Appearance

In reading Leslie Heywood and Shari L. Dworkin’s, “Built to Win” this week, one thing in particular stuck out to me. Though the article makes many good points, I think perhaps the most poignant point was the fact that in posing nude and seductively (where intentional or not) women athletes raise money and posing nude is a sexist, patriarchal’s construction to keep women subordinated or you agree with the “new age feminists” view that it is empowering for women athletes to display their bodies at their own wills, the bigger issue is why women athletes feel it will bring attention to themselves and their sports to do so. Why is it, that in the second decade of the 21^st century, women’s sports are still as unfunded and, to some extent, ignored as legitimate sports as they were forty years ago?

Though, I’m not arguing that there haven’t been great leaps in the field of women’s sports. At least now, as opposed to fifty years ago, there are women’s sports teams in schools and women actually have the chance to become athletes. Yet, just because women’s sports appear equal to men’s sports, on the surface, there is a definitive gap between the women’s sports and men’s sports. In not attracting as much attention and devotion as many male-based teams, women’s sports teams not only have to justify themselves as legitimate athletic forces, but they also have to vie more aggressively for money to sustain themselves.

So, as the article pointed out, women athletes who pose nude are usually not concerned on whether or not they are playing into a sexist society’s standard of a woman, instead they are more concerned with getting recognition for themselves and for their sports. Whether or not a woman athlete is further empowering women or taking the feminist cause back a step is a legitimate concern, as well as is the debate on which group (“camp A and camp B” as the article calls them) of feminists has the right idea (can’t they both be kind of right?) but these concerns should be secondary. The first question we should be asking ourselves (as also pointed out in the article and of which I took as the most important part) is why the woman have to pose nude to attract attention to themselves as legitimate, hardworking, well deserved athletes. This question is similar to others we have approached throughout the semester, such as when we were reading Farrell’s Fat Shame and we wondered why society blamed individuals for being fat instead of question the foundations on which that hatred in society was built.

The answer is plain in simple. In a world where women are now able to join sports teams and make careers out of being athletically talented, we have, as a whole, unequivocally ignored the actual belief that women athletes are just as good as men. Because of that, because we are still harboring the same sexist values as we did centuries ago (albeit with an appearance of progressiveness and differentness) women athletes are forced to appear as more than just athletes who should be praised for their talents: they are forced to sell their sport in any way they can. And because all know the saying, “sex sells” women athletes who take off their clothes to attract attention are, essentially (although not in every case, as some women might just want to look sexy on the cover of a magazine,) attempting to legitimize their sport and keep its existence from fading into obscurity.

But, how do we change this? How do we get people to see that the issue lies in the little funding and little appreciation of women as athletes as opposed to how they get their teams recognized?