Female Athletes: Challenging Stereotypical Gender Roles

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English 101 16 May 2011 Female Athletes: Challenging Stereotypical Gender Roles In the American society, there are specific gender roles which people are encouraged to follow. The male is associated with power and dominance which they can express through sport. On the other hand, the female is associated with beauty, grace and submissiveness. These female characteristics might satisfy the gender norms of society, but they go against the qualities that a female athlete must embrace. While the female athlete receives some positives through their participation in sport, their abilities are constantly being downplayed in order to emphasize their femininity. With this in mind, the American sport culture takes away from the female athlete’s ability by accentuating their female characteristics in an attempt to satisfy the gender norms. Female athletes struggle to balance the many facets of their identity while maintaining their stereotypical gender role, which commonly takes away from their athletic identity and performance. The female athlete must embrace and portray many masculine characteristics such as power, aggression, and strength in order to be successful. One reason to explain this is pointed out by the noted author and professor of sociology Judith Halberstam as she states, “Gender is a social construct” (119). The female athlete is constructed to reflect her athletic environment. However, by embracing these characteristics, the woman is seen to be abandoning her gender. These gender roles are reinforced throughout society at an early age and can be seen through the ways children establish and practice their gender at a young age. This is supported through a study by Perry and Pauletti, two professors at the Florida Atlantic University, who state, “Preschool children believe strongly that people should conform to gender roles, and they strive hard

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