Performing Gender in the 2022 Olympics
Jenny Freedman
SO316: Women in Modern Society
February 19, 2022
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
To start off, it is key to define and differentiate gender and sex, as the two terms are the basis of what I analyze in the 2022 Olympics. Sex is generally defined as the given identity determined by X and Y chromosomes, such as male, female, and intersex. Gender, on the other hand, refers to a socially constructed range of identities. The chromosomal narrative of biological sex often is confused for gender, which is furthermore culturally tied to an individual’s preferences, abilities, roles, expectations, and more (West et al. 1987:127).
With the social construct of gender deeply rooted in American culture, this collides with the concept of an athlete, which is typically associated with masculinity. The idea of an athlete and a woman juxtapose each other, which places women athletes in a position where they are forced to go against their ascribed identity (Watson 1987:435). They are often perceived as unfeminine women, which, in turn, is associated with being a lesbian. This brings in the fact that we live in a very heteronormative society, and women who are out as lesbians face stigma from those unwilling to recognize the openness and fluidity of sexuality. Jennifer Waldron introduces the “myth of the lesbian athlete”, labeling it as such not because it is true or false for all women athletes, but that it is a story used to label them all (Waldron 2016:337). Furthermore, the fact that sexuality, gender, and athletic prowess are associated in the first place forces each individual to be placed in a specific identity that only leads to greater assumptions.
As Davis-Delano states, the feminine apologetic in a way places the focus on individual women athletes, and it’s important to look at the cultural and historical context that places them in that position. Negative stereotypes that are typically placed on female athletes include being masculine, lesbian, and inferior to male athletes, while positive stereotypes include being hardworking, strong, and smart. Culturally, there is more focus on negative stereotypes over positive ones. There is a prevalent idea that women’s sports games are more boring than men’s, but oftentimes the rules and uniforms are different for men and women. Additionally, many women are conditioned to downplay the importance of sports in their life in order to be an “appropriate woman” with a focus on marriage and children. On the other hand, the women ice hockey players on the Blades, featured in Nancy Theberge’s Higher Goals: Women’s Ice Hockey and the Politics of Gender, go against the gender binary and are proud of their identities as competitive athletes. In Davis-Delano’s study, they found that there wasn’t a tremendous amount of apologetic behavior, but it absolutely existed.
Within the Olympics, there is high amounts of pressure on professional athletes to manage and negotiate their public image, as their career and earnings depend on it. In assessing the prevalence and functioning of the feminine apologetic within these athletes, it is pertinent to ask: how are these athletes willing to be caught on camera? How are they presenting themselves and are they emphasizing their femininity through appearances and actions? Such athletes face a dilemma in trying to promote their sport so it can be economically viable without sacrificing their morals.
METHODS
SO316: Women in Modern Society
February 19, 2022
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
To start off, it is key to define and differentiate gender and sex, as the two terms are the basis of what I analyze in the 2022 Olympics. Sex is generally defined as the given identity determined by X and Y chromosomes, such as male, female, and intersex. Gender, on the other hand, refers to a socially constructed range of identities. The chromosomal narrative of biological sex often is confused for gender, which is furthermore culturally tied to an individual’s preferences, abilities, roles, expectations, and more (West et al. 1987:127).
With the social construct of gender deeply rooted in American culture, this collides with the concept of an athlete, which is typically associated with masculinity. The idea of an athlete and a woman juxtapose each other, which places women athletes in a position where they are forced to go against their ascribed identity (Watson 1987:435). They are often perceived as unfeminine women, which, in turn, is associated with being a lesbian. This brings in the fact that we live in a very heteronormative society, and women who are out as lesbians face stigma from those unwilling to recognize the openness and fluidity of sexuality. Jennifer Waldron introduces the “myth of the lesbian athlete”, labeling it as such not because it is true or false for all women athletes, but that it is a story used to label them all (Waldron 2016:337). Furthermore, the fact that sexuality, gender, and athletic prowess are associated in the first place forces each individual to be placed in a specific identity that only leads to greater assumptions.
As Davis-Delano states, the feminine apologetic in a way places the focus on individual women athletes, and it’s important to look at the cultural and historical context that places them in that position. Negative stereotypes that are typically placed on female athletes include being masculine, lesbian, and inferior to male athletes, while positive stereotypes include being hardworking, strong, and smart. Culturally, there is more focus on negative stereotypes over positive ones. There is a prevalent idea that women’s sports games are more boring than men’s, but oftentimes the rules and uniforms are different for men and women. Additionally, many women are conditioned to downplay the importance of sports in their life in order to be an “appropriate woman” with a focus on marriage and children. On the other hand, the women ice hockey players on the Blades, featured in Nancy Theberge’s Higher Goals: Women’s Ice Hockey and the Politics of Gender, go against the gender binary and are proud of their identities as competitive athletes. In Davis-Delano’s study, they found that there wasn’t a tremendous amount of apologetic behavior, but it absolutely existed.
Within the Olympics, there is high amounts of pressure on professional athletes to manage and negotiate their public image, as their career and earnings depend on it. In assessing the prevalence and functioning of the feminine apologetic within these athletes, it is pertinent to ask: how are these athletes willing to be caught on camera? How are they presenting themselves and are they emphasizing their femininity through appearances and actions? Such athletes face a dilemma in trying to promote their sport so it can be economically viable without sacrificing their morals.
METHODS
Women's Ice Hockey
The Setting
The first game I analyzed was the Women’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Game on February 7, 2022, in which the U.S.A. team played against Canada. I streamed this event live through Peacock TV, and the World-Feed commentators were Aaron Murphy and Sami Jo Small. According to the commentators, the Canada and USA Women’s Ice Hockey have a heated rivalry that has lasted for generations, which was later reinforced by interviews with the players. Additionally, on February 17, 2022, I watched on YouTube, “Team USA Women's Hockey Today Show Olympic Interview,” which contained a live post-game interview with Kendall Coyne Schofield, Abby Roque, Lee Stecklein, and Hilary Knight.
The Appearance
During the game, the majority of players have longer hair that is tied back in ponytails or braids, which are shown coming out of their helmets. The choice to display hair denotes a feminine appearance, even though the rest of the gear is the same athletic gear that men wear. In a mid-game interview, Abby Roque is wearing earrings with her hair in bun, which are signals of femininity and have gendered significance. A referee who was shown getting off the rink after getting hurt mid game has headband and earrings. This also contains significance, as, even though she is not a hockey player herself, she is in a career related to athletics, especially in a male-dominated sport. In the February 7th post-game interview, the players were presented in Olympic jackets with their silver medals and their hair down.
The Behavior
The post-game reporters repeatedly reinforce that the USA and Canada Women’s ice hockey teams have one of the “best rivalries in sport.” Due to the “fierce rivalry between the two teams… they’ve gotta get gritty.” When introducing the players at the beginning of the game, they mention their age, achievements in past Olympic games, and schooling. In the interview, they specifically emphasized the younger player’s age many times, such as when they add “from a 19-year-old” onto a statement. Next, Hilary Knight was asked how women’s hockey has changed throughout her Olympic career, and responded, “the game gets faster and more physical.” This dynamic is shown when a commentator remarked after an aggressive play, “young Abbey Murphy didn’t need to touch Desbiens, but you saw her give her a little arm,” which upset the opposing player.
During the post-game interview, Al Roker mentioned that Lee almost decided to retire after the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, but she said she couldn’t stay away from the group because “it’s so special and [they] went through a lot to get there.” This relates to the way The Blades discuss their passion and commitment to their team. The gender discrimination almost creates an unspeakable bond between many women ice hockey players, as a lot of them face the same struggles in terms of appearance management and the feminine apologetic. In Alex Cavallini’s 2022 Olympic Introduction on the USA Hockey YouTube Channel, she explained that her 5th grade hockey coach “looked at [her] more than, you know, a girl, he looked at [her] as a hockey player.” She mentioned that her parents were concerned if she should be playing goalie so young. Going into a primarily male sport at a young age can work as a tool to connect girls with the same interest and drive for athleticism, even though it disrupts gender norms.
The first game I analyzed was the Women’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Game on February 7, 2022, in which the U.S.A. team played against Canada. I streamed this event live through Peacock TV, and the World-Feed commentators were Aaron Murphy and Sami Jo Small. According to the commentators, the Canada and USA Women’s Ice Hockey have a heated rivalry that has lasted for generations, which was later reinforced by interviews with the players. Additionally, on February 17, 2022, I watched on YouTube, “Team USA Women's Hockey Today Show Olympic Interview,” which contained a live post-game interview with Kendall Coyne Schofield, Abby Roque, Lee Stecklein, and Hilary Knight.
The Appearance
During the game, the majority of players have longer hair that is tied back in ponytails or braids, which are shown coming out of their helmets. The choice to display hair denotes a feminine appearance, even though the rest of the gear is the same athletic gear that men wear. In a mid-game interview, Abby Roque is wearing earrings with her hair in bun, which are signals of femininity and have gendered significance. A referee who was shown getting off the rink after getting hurt mid game has headband and earrings. This also contains significance, as, even though she is not a hockey player herself, she is in a career related to athletics, especially in a male-dominated sport. In the February 7th post-game interview, the players were presented in Olympic jackets with their silver medals and their hair down.
The Behavior
The post-game reporters repeatedly reinforce that the USA and Canada Women’s ice hockey teams have one of the “best rivalries in sport.” Due to the “fierce rivalry between the two teams… they’ve gotta get gritty.” When introducing the players at the beginning of the game, they mention their age, achievements in past Olympic games, and schooling. In the interview, they specifically emphasized the younger player’s age many times, such as when they add “from a 19-year-old” onto a statement. Next, Hilary Knight was asked how women’s hockey has changed throughout her Olympic career, and responded, “the game gets faster and more physical.” This dynamic is shown when a commentator remarked after an aggressive play, “young Abbey Murphy didn’t need to touch Desbiens, but you saw her give her a little arm,” which upset the opposing player.
During the post-game interview, Al Roker mentioned that Lee almost decided to retire after the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, but she said she couldn’t stay away from the group because “it’s so special and [they] went through a lot to get there.” This relates to the way The Blades discuss their passion and commitment to their team. The gender discrimination almost creates an unspeakable bond between many women ice hockey players, as a lot of them face the same struggles in terms of appearance management and the feminine apologetic. In Alex Cavallini’s 2022 Olympic Introduction on the USA Hockey YouTube Channel, she explained that her 5th grade hockey coach “looked at [her] more than, you know, a girl, he looked at [her] as a hockey player.” She mentioned that her parents were concerned if she should be playing goalie so young. Going into a primarily male sport at a young age can work as a tool to connect girls with the same interest and drive for athleticism, even though it disrupts gender norms.
Women's Figure Skating
The Setting
The second Olympic event I investigated was the Women’s Free Skate on February 17, 2022. I streamed this event live through Peacock TV. The commentators were Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski, and Johnny Weir.
The Appearance
They are shown walking to enter the stadium in buns with hair clips, earrings, and puffy jackets and vests, which indicate femininity. However, their outfits on the ice are very outwardly feminine dresses with glitter, mesh, velvet, cutouts, and short, flowy skirts. The skaters are always shown with a full face of makeup. Although the figure skaters’ appearances greatly differ from many other athletes in winter sports, it is important to note that the athleticism the sport requires is certainly not any less. The four-minute free skate is comparable to having to sprint a four-minute mile, and it must include 7 jump elements, 3 spins, 1 step sequence, and 1 choreographic sequence.
The Behavior
Similar to the trends I noticed in Women’s Ice Hockey, the figure skater commentators emphasized the young skaters’ ages many times. This included statements such as, “the 15-year-old leads this event,” and “she’s just 15 years old!”. On the other hand, the way the reporters describe the athleticism and skillsets of the skaters differs greatly from the descriptions in ice hockey. It is a more feminine sport, which categorizes it in a more artistic category instead of masculine and athletic. Anna Shcherbakova is described to maintain “incredibly difficult technical wizardry with beautiful artistic skating, musicality, and presence.”
CONCLUSIONS
My observations of the 2022 Winter Olympics work to both support and challenge my conceptual framework and the feminine apologetic in different ways. I saw signs of progression towards a more gender neutral or non-binary world of sports in Women’s Ice Hockey, as the event appears formatted and discussed similarly to Men’s Ice Hockey within the game. This is consistent with some of the attitudes of The Blades, as they saw themselves to maintain the same skills and athleticism as males in their sport. This factor, in turn, lessens the need for the feminine apologetic, or at least makes it less visible. Data from Davis-Delano’s article results in a similar claim concerning behavior among female athletes.
Women’s Figure Skating, on the other hand, can in some ways reinforce tradition constructions of gender, especially when compared to the appearance of ice hockey. The focus on appearance and descriptions of it as more of an art than sport can feminize the event. Similar to the reasoning behind the myth of the lesbian athlete, the femininity within figure skating is neither a good or bad concept on its own; rather, it’s the cultural context that the sport is placed in that minimizes the athleticism and strength required. The core issue in the predominant view of the Olympics and sport in general is the deep association of athleticism with masculinity.
The second Olympic event I investigated was the Women’s Free Skate on February 17, 2022. I streamed this event live through Peacock TV. The commentators were Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski, and Johnny Weir.
The Appearance
They are shown walking to enter the stadium in buns with hair clips, earrings, and puffy jackets and vests, which indicate femininity. However, their outfits on the ice are very outwardly feminine dresses with glitter, mesh, velvet, cutouts, and short, flowy skirts. The skaters are always shown with a full face of makeup. Although the figure skaters’ appearances greatly differ from many other athletes in winter sports, it is important to note that the athleticism the sport requires is certainly not any less. The four-minute free skate is comparable to having to sprint a four-minute mile, and it must include 7 jump elements, 3 spins, 1 step sequence, and 1 choreographic sequence.
The Behavior
Similar to the trends I noticed in Women’s Ice Hockey, the figure skater commentators emphasized the young skaters’ ages many times. This included statements such as, “the 15-year-old leads this event,” and “she’s just 15 years old!”. On the other hand, the way the reporters describe the athleticism and skillsets of the skaters differs greatly from the descriptions in ice hockey. It is a more feminine sport, which categorizes it in a more artistic category instead of masculine and athletic. Anna Shcherbakova is described to maintain “incredibly difficult technical wizardry with beautiful artistic skating, musicality, and presence.”
CONCLUSIONS
My observations of the 2022 Winter Olympics work to both support and challenge my conceptual framework and the feminine apologetic in different ways. I saw signs of progression towards a more gender neutral or non-binary world of sports in Women’s Ice Hockey, as the event appears formatted and discussed similarly to Men’s Ice Hockey within the game. This is consistent with some of the attitudes of The Blades, as they saw themselves to maintain the same skills and athleticism as males in their sport. This factor, in turn, lessens the need for the feminine apologetic, or at least makes it less visible. Data from Davis-Delano’s article results in a similar claim concerning behavior among female athletes.
Women’s Figure Skating, on the other hand, can in some ways reinforce tradition constructions of gender, especially when compared to the appearance of ice hockey. The focus on appearance and descriptions of it as more of an art than sport can feminize the event. Similar to the reasoning behind the myth of the lesbian athlete, the femininity within figure skating is neither a good or bad concept on its own; rather, it’s the cultural context that the sport is placed in that minimizes the athleticism and strength required. The core issue in the predominant view of the Olympics and sport in general is the deep association of athleticism with masculinity.
Works Cited
Davis-Delano, Laurel R., April Pollock, and Jennifer Ellsworth Vose. 2009. “Apologetic Behavior among Female Athletes: A New Questionnaire and Initial Results.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 44(2-3):131-150.
Theberge, Nancy. 2000. Higher Goals: Women’s Ice Hockey and the Politics of Gender. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Waldron, Jennifer. J. 2016. “It’s Complicated: Negotiations and Complexities of Being a Lesbian in Sport.” Sex Roles 74(7-8):335-346.
Watson, Tracey. 1987. “Women Athletes and Athletic Women: The Dilemmas and Contradictions of Managing Incongruent Identities.” Sociological Inquiry 57:431-446.
West, Candace, and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. “Doing Gender.” Gender & Society 1(2):125-151.