Sports Vs. Women Essays - Sexism, Womens Sports,

Sports Vs. Women Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People do not recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a man can play, with equal skill, if not better. Right now in some part of America, there is a women who aspires to play hockey for the New York Rangers, but what she does not realize is that the media will not give a positive backing to her effort. This negative coverage will shatter her dream within a matter of seconds. Women today have found the intensity that drives people to play sports. One of the most recent electrifying events that shows women expressing their love for the game, regardless of which game, is when Brandi Chastain tore her jersey off after the United States women's soccer team won the Women's World Cup final. After this incredible display of victory, the media put Ms. Chastain's face all over the world. She was a feature on Sportscenter on ESPN and she was on every news broadcasts for a solid week. But this was not the biggest accomplishment, Brandi made the cover for Sports Illustrated the following month. For winning the World Cup the women each received a sum of $12,500, whereas if the men won they would have each received a s um $388,000. This event also influenced sitcoms. In a March 2000 episode of the television sitcom, Third Rock From the Sun, on of the characters makes a direct quote in relation to the extravagant display of triumph. The character was quoted to say, ?She is about one goal away from ripping her shirt off.? Since the World Cup, taking your shirt off is something that people relate with women soccer and its players. Coverage of another female athlete, Laila Ali, was due to reasons other than ripping off her shirt. The reason that Ali was covered was due to the fact that she is a legacy. She is a the daughter of the famous Muhammed Ali. Laila, 22, started to box and try to follow the famous foot steps of her famous father. The media coverage of this up and coming female boxer is phenomenal. In her first fight, Laila ?Madam Butterfly? Ali, knocked out her opponent, April Fowler, in thirty-one seconds. The main focus of her fame is in direct relation with the fame of her father and his reign of her famous father. Laila fame has brought a whole new light to the world of female boxing. Other former heavyweight champions, George Foreman and Joe Frazier, have encouraged their daughters to participate in this brutal sport. These women who are successful in the business world, working an attorney and a nail salon owner, are very interested in trying to share the spotlight with their famous counterpart fathers. The media has deemed women boxing as an unruly display of masculinity. Labeling women who participate in this sport as a dyke or lesbian. Since boxing is such a brutal sport, some parts of the media have labeled the sport as an act of unnecessary roughness with a strong undertone of un-called for violence. Throughout time women have gone through a lot within the world of sports. In 1999, Newsweek, published an article outlining the ?Leaps and Bounds? the women have overcome to be where they are today. The events outlined in this article include dates which have made history such as in 1920 when the first woman competed in the Olympics and won three gold medals and 1965 when Donna De Varona became the first women to a sportscaster on network television. One of the most important stats within this article lies in the fact that in women sports have taken off so much that in 1996 the WNBA, the first women' pro basketball league is launched. One of the most important public documents was passed in 1972.