Homosexual Males In Their Respective Sports example essay topic

... Also, if deployed skillfully, it could unite wider sections of the population than any other social activity, transcending differences of nationality, sex, age, social position, geographical location, and political attitudes". (MacClancy, 1996, pp. 10-11) While the Soviet Union was in power, they used their political backing to submit their ideologies on their people. They were, in a sense, forced to like what their government liked. Those who had athletic abilities were not given the choice to play the sports of their choice, they were told what they could play, and everything was dictated to them. Here in America it was not to that extent, but there were other barriers keeping athletes out of certain sports.

One of the greatest areas discrimination takes place, is women's sports. Society still places little emphasis on the importance of women athletes. In fact if a person takes a deep look at cultural and societal norms, they can see it is still set up that women should not be in sporting events. A great deal of the time society fails to see that there is a place for women in sports. Is there physiologically a difference in males and females? Yes.

Should they be pitted against each other in sporting events? No. But, just because males and females are physiologically different it does not mean one gender is superior to the other, or that one of them should not play sports. The typical male dominated society might say women can not perform at the high levels that men can. They might say that women's bodies are only set of for having children. On the other hand, "sports feminists may reveal some of the unexpected ways in which sports are already constructed in order to benefit men.

For instance, men run the marathon faster than women. But if its length is doubled it is women, thanks to their greater reserves of fat, who come in first. Males might shine at tasks which require relatively short bursts of high energy but woman, it seems are naturally better endurance athletes than men. The only Briton to have swum the English Channel three times without stopping is a woman. Sports feminists may also demonstrate the ways by which the mass media trivialize, marginalize, and women's sports". (MacClancy, 1996, pp. 14-15) I am guilty of discriminating against women in sports.

I fit the typical stereotype of a guy who doesn't want to watch the females play because the level of competition is not as high. On the whole I find women's sporting events boring to watch. This is not the right way to be and I should change my way of thinking but it is hard when most of our society feels the same way. It is my opinion that people turn to racism, prejudice, and discrimination; they do not know how to act around people they are not familiar with, or spent much time around.

For Instance, society cringes when it comes to homosexuals and sport. "Many male sports are represented as epitomes of markedly masculine activity, to be strictly understood in a heterosexual mode. Many spectators and viewers are still uncomfortable at the site of muddy, muscular footballers embracing and kissing after one of them has scored a goal. In this cultural domain, open expressions of male homosexuality are taboo. As the gay athlete Brian Pronged argues, the pronounced unmasculine behavior of gay athletes gives the lie to the conventional interpretation of men's sana in corp ore sa no and threatens to blunt the competitive edge coaches try to instill in their charges". (MacClancy, 1996, p. 16) I would say that women are singled out for this more then men.

If she is already being discriminated against, and homosexual, it adds even more fuel to the fire. They receive most of the outwardly prejudice remarks. I also believe this is true because, the male dominated thought on sport does not want to recognize that there are homosexual males in their respective sports. To do this they just keep silent and try to ignore that they are there. In a way it is like what we have done with the military and the whole "don't ask, don't tell" type of situation. I am sure at some point down the distant road of sport culture these problems will be resolved, but I do not see this trend changing soon.

Many athletes have the conception there is ability, for social advancement from playing a professional sport. I would say this is not true, largely because of our racial and discriminatory prejudices. Athletes are there for entertainment. There is a saying that applies to this situation. "You can take the man out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the man".

Most of the professional athletes come from the middle class. The ability to move to the upper class takes more than just money. People only keep the athletes around as long as they are at the top of their game because they enjoy the entertainment. But as they decline or age, they spit them out as fast as a person can sneeze. Most athletes that finish their sports careers return back to the social standing they came from. Others think along this same line.

"While conventional wisdom advises that a professional sports career is a guarantor for social advancement, for every "rags to riches" success story, one can identify just as many "riches to rags" stories. Barry McPherson and associates observe that "many athletes lose any social and economic gains they made during their playing careers after they retire". For far too many minority athletes, physical injuries and / or diminished abilities often cut them down at a relatively early age. Without marketable skills or formal education to fall back on, the final scenario is all too familiar for the truly unfortunate ones: substance abuse, irregular employment, downward mobility, and sometimes prison (Eis in and Wiggins, 1994, p. 231). The world hides under a front. It says you can be great and the only thing holding someone back is themselves; and through a little perseverance and hard work you can do or become whatever you want.

This is not true; society dictates to us what can happen. Racism, prejudice, and discrimination exist, because man has not chosen otherwise. As long as they exist, they will stop people from being treated equal. Conclusion The concept of a perfect world where race, color, religion, political stance, and gender are all equal is a good goal to strive for. Singling out individuals or groups based on any of those characteristics is wrong. We all have room to grow, and can make a better effort to be open-minded.

Sports would be a perfect place to let down the barriers. There is bias in sport today. There is racism and discrimination. Only by a conscious effort can anything be done to help move past our present state. Racism and discrimination should not be in sports, because all humans are of the same species regardless of color or origin.

We all bleed and we can all die, therefore, we should all be equal.

Bibliography

Eisen, George, and Wiggins, David K. (1994).
Ethnicity and Sport in North American History and Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Du Bois, W.E. B, (1961).
The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Fawcett. MacClancy, Jeremy, (1996).
Sports, Identity and Ethnicity. United Kingdom: Oxford International Publishers. Hoffman, Frank W., PHD, and Bailey, William G., MA, (1991).