1 Chapter One: Sports Feminism
Section One: The Fundamentals
A) What do we know about sport? What are common assumptions we make about sport and society?
Exercise 2: Sports are Political in Nature
Whilst sports can create an environment that unites individuals of different backgrounds and celebrates our differences- it continues to uphold a political agenda. Through politics, sports have been a light-force for creating meaningful change amongst its community (fans and players alike), however political action from unjust environments and regulations are qualities that have enabled sports to be what it is today. For example, sports were not always just and equitable. Professional sports teams often reflect the values of those in positions of power. Thus, who is represented on the team, who can have access to training, proper gear, playing time, etc. is dependent on that decision maker. Minority individuals have faced discrimination, verbal abuse and obstacles created to make it difficult to succeed. Furthermore, when an individual is apart of two or more minority groups (ex: black, woman, low socio-economic status, etc.), they face further difficulties in receiving equitable, and equal treatment in the sporting industry.
For example, in the 70s women were banned from competing in marathons. Katherine Switzer protested the ban as it was discriminatory against women wishing to compete in sport. Men attempted to physically remove her from the race, however this is what led to progression for women in sports.
Today we still face inequity. Allyson Felix is an Olympic champion and Ex-Nike runner. As a black, female runner who became pregnant- Nike cut her salary by 70% simply because she was pregnant despite her male colleagues who also had children. However even without pregnancy, Black and female athletes continue to face disproportionate salaries compared to male counterparts. It has led to activism and boycotting against larger brands for being discriminatory against minority groups, and continues to serve as an example as to why sports are very much political (for good and for bad).
What surprised me?
Under the prompt “Sports are Universal Language” I saw some perspectives that were different to my initial thoughts. At first, this prompt makes me think “well of course sports speak a universal language”. There are so many indicators as to why. For example, I think everyone can appreciate that the involvement of individuals in sports speaks volumes for their personal passion and love for whichever sport they play. They can respect the careful and strategic gameplay, the cleverness, the respect required amongst teammates, coaches and referees. There is a deep emotional connection tied to it which is why so many people- even viewers follow it so closely. They can also appreciate the physical commitment, integrity, and grit that comes with it as it is needed in every sport. It speaks volume to the character players have and dedication to their sport. There is also an element of a shared understanding as sports are played across the globe, bringing people together to create shared experiences of winning and losing, and teaching a lot of lessons. In these ways, I think sports universally speak the same language. However, some of my peers made comments to how sports can sometimes speak a foreign language amongst players. For example, the idea that sports represent equity and fairness is simply not true in all aspects. Sure it opens a path to create change to achieve fairness- but that typically means to do that, inequitable and unfair standards are present. For example, to some accessing sports is not seen as an obstacle as they have connections, education, income and resources to support the demands of sports (equipment, training, transportation, long periods travelling without working, etc.). For many, they do not have these equitable circumstances. For some, housing conditions, income, transportation, education, and support are not accessible and hinders them from partaking in the sport- whether they are incredible at it or not. So in this way, sports may not speak a universal language.
Exercise 3: Notebook prompt
What are some other metanarratives about sport that you are familiar with? Find an image or video clip or draw something yourself that captures this idea…
So what? Why does any of this matter? Does it matter? As something we grow up with – live with – play through – we don’t often interrogate the meanings of sport, and perhaps we don’t want to.
But being aware of these assumptions and metanarratives is especially important, I would argue, because of the centrality of sport to our everyday lives, the role that sport plays in shaping our childhood and worldviews and….. [finish that thought]
| Do you Believe in Miracles?: https://youtu.be/qYscemhnf88?si=Xfvfw_aVjyXOKWim
This clip demonstrates one of the biggest under-dog wins in history- where in 1980, Team USAs hockey team (composed of mostly college kids), was unfavored to win in all regards against the dominating Soviet team. This game took place during the cold war, and the win by USA was symbolic of triumph, and freedom over the soviet union at the time. A metanarrative about sport that immediately comes to mind is “The underdog win”. This exemplifies how an individual or team faces overwhelming and unfavorable odds such as lack of experience, fewer resources, underdeveloped skill compared to their opponent, leaving them to seem unlikely and unfavored to win. Despite the odds being against them, they and overcome what a the majority deems near impossible, triumphing through pure determination, passion, and resilience. I think that considering this metanarrative is so important because it is relatable to pretty much everyone. We all face some kind of adversity to some extent, and hearing a story about an unsuspecting person rising above and beating the odds inspires us all to find the will-power, the passion and the thing that drives our motivation to exude our best performance and commitment to becoming better. It tells us that despite odds being against us, despite other individuals having more access to “better” resources, we can still be successful if we are passionate and stay true to ourselves. It is a powerful story that ignites a spark within ourselves to take action and create change, and defy societal norms that tells us “we can’t”. It reminds us to be resilient and instills a sense of empowerment to those facing multiple inequities- especially true for marginalized communities. At the same time, as powerful as “the underdog win” may be, it is important for members of the sports community to not gloss over the reality of hardship. That’s why giving voice to underdogs is so important. When a person of a marginalized community- seen as an underdog wins, it gives power to their voice and visibility to make meaningful change, to shed light on the inequities faced, and spread awareness. Just because certain people are still successful despite the hardships they face- doesn’t mean all people should have to face these hardships when they are disproportionally inequitable and often targeted upon specific minority groups. Underdog wins are a powerful pathway for meaningful change within sport. Being aware of these assumptions and metanarratives is especially important, I would argue, because of the centrality of sport to our everyday lives, the role that sport plays in shaping our childhood and worldviews and “finish thought” how it shapes our personal identities. Everyday throughout our lives, we learn of metanarratives and become us accustomed to hearing them that we subconsciously internalize the core of their meanings. Whether we relate to some more than others like “the underdog win”, or our societal norms values some more than others such as “the pursuit of excellence”, it impacts how we view the world, how we view sport, and overall impacts our actions and behaviors towards others and ourselves. Whilst they can be quite positive, they can be negative too, and its important to recognize both sides in different contexts. For example, we may become very harsh on ourselves when embodying “the underdog win” metanarrative and punish ourselves when we place a goal on a pedestal and it is really difficult to achieve, we may fail, or it doesn’t come in the timespan we want. We can begin to compare ourselves to others, and be the subject of scrutiny to our own self. It shifts blame away from the true mediators of adversity and inequity from structural politics such as income, housing, accessibility, education, transportation, etc. and place the blame on ourselves for not being “enough”. Mirroring this idea, when a societal norm values “The pursuit of Excellence” or “Competition and Victory”, it can cause the public to place blame on ourself for not succeeding in their timeline. From not winning a school game, not making the team- to not getting that job promotion, not getting an ideal job or education that aligns with success, society can overinternalize the idea of competition and what it takes to become the best leaving for a pretty cut-throat, and sportsman like environment which actually goes against the very thing sports stand for. |
B) What is social justice?
Exercise 4: Padlet Prompt
Think back to the last section and try to look at some of the ideas we discussed differently. How might sport and social justice actually co-exist?
Record any images, video clips, or gifs you added to the padlet and identify a point of intersection between sport and social justice (can be an issue or a barrier or a debate or something you would like to explore in more depth in this course) . Screenshot or paste in your response below.
| Equity and Representation:
When thinking about the topic of equity and representation, the first thing that came to my mind was the inequity that pregnant women athletes face in professional sports. The image above shows Alysia Montano, a one-time USA Olympic bronze-medalist and 3-time world champion for the 800m race. Her experience with large sports brands like Nike showcase inequity and unfair treatment for pregnant women with a lack of support from their sponsored brand, drops in pays for these athletes, and poor maternity leave support. Similarly to Olympian Allyson Felix, who was told to “know your place and just run” and offered 70% less pay prior to her pregnancy by Nike, Alysia spoke out about continued lack of efforts by Nike and large sports brands to support women who become pregnant. This shows how there continues to be a major gap for women in having equitable fairness in sports contracts, compensation, and maternity support despite gender or reproductive status.
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C) Social Justice Reading
(note: this activity is optional!)
D) KINESIOLOGY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Exercise 5:
Exercise 6:
What are the implications of bodies-at-risk discourse and the refusal to understand the health gap from a social justice perspective, according to the authors of this article?
| As a nursing student, I have learned a great amount about inequitable health implications for minority groups across different conditions. I had never actually thought about how this may appear outside of a clinical setting- such as sports. This is a really interesting concept to link and one that is important to know since health and wellbeing is such a big element of sports.
According to the author Harrison Jr. et al. (2021), bodies-at-risk discourse highlights the deep-rooted structural and social inequalities that exist in societal structures and the sporting industry, targeting athletes of marginalized groups. As such, these inequities place these athletes at greater risk of harm, illness, and injury whilst playing sports. The broader social influence involves racism, sexism, classism, ableism and more that are directly intertwined into sports as a system, and creates biases amongst individuals subconscious and/or conscious minds. Looking at it from a social justice stand point allows us to examine the very structures created to make inequity for marginalized populations, examine the history as to why and how this has taken place, recognize the negative consequences of these structures and take action to create meaningful change in society to in turn make the sporting industry more equitable and accessible for individuals at risk (bodies-at-risk). Refusing to understand the health gap from a social justice perspective only perpetuates these inequalities and dismisses behaviors, policies, and actions that pave the way for oppression, discrimination, and unfair risks. By looking at it in a social justice lens- we can look at social determinants such as but not limited to race, accessibility, resource distribution, class, income, age, disability, gender, etc. and how it disproportionately impacts athletes health or wellbeing who have with one or more intersecting minority. If we only look at it on an individual scale- or even only an organizational scale rather than a societal one, we miss out on targeting the root cause of the issue which lies within our systemic policies, guidelines, frameworks, etc. which is ultimately what guides and outlines behaviors, actions, and accessibility for who. Doing so on only a personal level does not make grand-scale change, or even meaningful ones as it does not stop the obstacle from being created at its core. Additionally, failing to use a social justice lens means we miss out on learning and understanding the historical, cultural and political ways that have caused these oppressive systems, and fail to understand the unequal distribution of power at play. By considering all of these elements, we can then better understand the experience, health, and wellbeing outcomes for athletes in sports and seek to improve them. |
Section Two: Sport Feminism
Exercise 7: Notebook Prompt
What is feminism? What does it mean to you? Choose one of the images below and explain how it captures your understanding of feminism (or find one that does speak to you and paste this into your pressbook with an explanation of why it matters to you.
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To me, this picture embodies what feminism means to me. This picture includes a woman, Katherine Switzer running in the Boston Marathon of 1967. Although she was not the first woman to run the Boston marathon (Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb), she was one of the first women. At this time, societal opinion and strict rules did not allow women to run marathons, or it was really taboo. Despite this, Katherine challenged the norm that “women cannot run marathons” due to their physical weakness, and therefore do not belong in this sport. She entered the race officially under a gender neutral name “K.V. Switzer” so that she was allowed to run. Once running, other runners started noticing she was not a male. Unfortunately at this point, some of the runners and workers tried to physically remove her from the race, but Katherine kept running. Despite the physical aggressiveness and intimidation, she continued running striving to prove people wrong, change societies perspectives about female runners, and advocate for change. I chose Katherines story over Bobbi’s story simply over this picture, and her commitment to turn Bobbi’s statement into a reality. This picture to me embodies what I think about feminism. To me, feminism involves creating equitable and equal accessibility to opportunities and resources across all domains in life- whether that be healthcare, sports, politics, education, employment, etc. Feminism is about recognizing the historical and political discourse that has created a system of oppression that continues today that limits women from accessing and gaining in the same ways their male counterparts do. To me feminism does not mean women should rise above men, it means we should place women’s needs- and adjust the areas in which we are disadvantaged to the same level and standard as our male counterparts. There does not need to be competition between men and women, or extremist action to make one sex be “better” than the other, because we are all uniquely different and that is what brings positivity and diversity to life. Feminism is not about bringing men down to bring women up- it is simply acknowledging the ways in which historically we have discredited women, and taking genuine steps towards bringing down these inequitable social forms from its core. This photo highlights how feminism embraces unity and being a strong forefront together. I chose against the photo of Katherine being attacked by other male runners, and showed this one as the men did not see her as “less than” or “undeserving of running the marathon”. They saw her as an equal, they stood with her in her political statement, they shared the road. It is about supporting one another, learning from past mistakes and being better to embrace the change which is exactly what these male runners show- standing together and not apart.
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Exercise 8: Notes Prompt (optional)
NB: Cornell notes is a great resource that teaches effective notetaking. Unfortunately, our system can’t save notes taken in the H5P app, so this is fully optional.
Exercise 9: Crossword Activity
Exercise 10: Padlet Prompt
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| I do feel like the landscape is changing around women’s sports. I also believe people do care about women’s sports- however it is no where near the same appreciation as male sports. I really like the picture demonstrated, it shows the rise of women’s sports being able to gain its own space, recognition, appreciation just as men’s do. Its not overshadowing the male side- but its co-existing and more visible than it once was. It was really applicable to last year because 2024 was a year that female athletes were dominating the media and getting more coverage in sports articles, pages, and media about actual sport-related things like player stats, their story, their progression, game stats, etc. in the WNBA- a sport that is very male dominant (especially in the media!). I love that the WNBA has gained more of a spotlight and how Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were able to be a great role in this change and doing so with respect towards one another showing true sportsmanship and passion. I think more women and more men are gaining an appreciation for women in sports- however it has a long way to go to be “equal” in all aspects. For example, we need more individuals to care about women’s sports beyond just viewer engagement or social media engagement. Although it is important to boost their representation- we need more people to care about equitable opportunity for women’s sports- such as leagues and competitions similar to that of men’s (for example the women’s hockey league compared to men’s!) and more care towards having equitable salary for women in sports, equitable support and coverage for female athletes, equitable access to health services for female athletes, and yes equitable representation in the media. Additionally, although some content I see on social media such as Instagram of Facebook draws some progressive and supportive comments regarding women in sports such as Clark and Reese, there is still so much hate. A lot of comments are negative or diminishing their genuine talent, skill, hard-work, and right to be there down to sexually objectifying comments about their appearance and bodies. Or, sexist comments belittling them and unjustifiably comparing them to men. Fortunately, because of more media representation, we get to see more advocacy in these comment sections and men and women alike respond to “trolls” like them. Which also furthers the steps for change by calling out discrimination, sexism, and racism as we see it. Again, there is much more love today for women in sports compared to 20 years ago. However, there is a long way to go, however I think we heading in the right direction. |