The Gendering of Sport
Jenny Freedman
AM 356: Sports Cinema
March 23, 2023
Sports films historically tend to reflect the cultural phenomenon that women are more useful for their bodies and appearance rather than athletic skill. On the other hand, since the women’s’ and civil rights movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s and second wave feminism, American culture has shifted from an overt form of heteronormativity and misogyny to more subtle ways in which our culture reinforces gender roles. The social outcome is highlighted by the stereotypical association with women athletes to being queer. What lays behind such an assumption is gender essentialism, or the attribution of unrelated traits to an individual due to their expressed gender identity. The modes and methods in which women are featured or not featured in sports cinema are key in assessing gendered outcomes in sports and our overarching culture.
Gender and sex can be commonly used as interchangeable terms, so it is necessary to define their differences. 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, and expectations (Freedman 2022). This brings into question how much sex defines who we are and how biology defines which gender identity we identify most with. I maintain the belief that gender is an extremely small factor in predetermining behavior, skills, and personality. There are always outliers, which makes me question any significant matter-of-fact statements concerning the innate and unchangeable consequences of biological sex.
The social construct of gender being so deeply rooted in American culture 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). 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 (Freedman 2022).
As Pat Griffin states in “Changing the Game: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport”, “addressing sexism, heterosexism, and homophobia in women’s sport requires that past conceptions of gender and sexuality be recognized as social constructions that confer privilege and normalcy on particular groups: men and heterosexuals”. She notes 3 ways in which homophobia is manifested in women’s sport: silence, denial, and apology (Griffin 1992). The consequences of going against the grain in sport, whether that be for gender, race, or sexuality, can be drastic. Such outcomes are clearly shown by the backlash to Billie Jean King being outed as lesbian and sports reported Lisa Olsen being driven out of the country after speaking out on being sexually harassed.
Lisa Olsen’s story is told in the ESPN documentary, Let Them Wear Towels, which describes the trials and tribulations of women breaking into the male-dominated industry of sports writing (Stern and Sundberg 2013). Through video clips and firsthand narratives, the documentary highlights the violence embedded in a sexist sports world and overarching culture. It is important to consider the passing of Title IX in 1972 and its impact on women’s access to sports. The feminine apologetic places the focus on individual women athletes, but it’s equally 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.
Such ideology is reflected in the sports commentators featured in Battle of the Sexes (Dayton and Faris 2017). Many scenes reveal ideological elements of gender essentialism. One commentator stated, “The men have families that they have to support [and they] are simply more exciting to watch. They are. They’re faster. Fact. They’re stronger. Fact. It’s just biology” (Dayton and Faris 2017). Another man expressed, “the male muscle is always just a little bit stronger than the female muscle” (Dayton and Faris 2017). The rampant misogyny displayed in Battle of the Sexes was imperative in understanding the level of ignorance and common thought at that period in time. Women players were not treated professionally, as shown by Billie Jean King’s description from a commentator as a “very attractive young lady” and comments including “you’re certainly cuter than the men” and “she’s a beautiful lady and I like beautiful ladies” (Dayton and Faris 2017). Such sentiments place women’s bodies and looks under a microscope. They echo that women are only useful if they are attractive or sexualized.
Women in sport have historically been portrayed as almost comical, as described in “Half-Court Basketball: Power & Sex” by Heather Ross Miller. She expresses when describing the audiences’ reason for watching the Bobkitten play, “the feeling was one of generous amusement, you went to see the Bobkitten play because she was a girl playing with all those guys. Not because she was good with a basketball” (Ross Miller 1992). The focus is on the ascribed gendered identity of the player rather than her gameplay, assess to sport, or comfort. In sport, even today, everything is gendered, including dress, team names, mascots, rules, and more. In fact, women weren’t even allowed to play full court basketball until 1971 (Ross Miller 1992). Womens’ regulations in the sport world signal expectations and assumed abilities. Battle of the Sexes highlights how emotions and social consequences are embedded within sport outcomes. This is specifically shown in the cinematography of the scene where Billie Jean King is crying and then smiling in the locker room after winning and it transitions into a side shot of Bobby Riggs looking down somberly (Dayton and Faris 2017).
Just as it is important to discuss significant moments in which women have had impacts on sport and been featured in sports films, it is key to assess where women are not represented properly. In Friday Night Lights, for example, there are very few scenes that delve into the emotional development of a feminine-presenting character. One of them depicts a high school girl, Melissa, asking Mike Winchell, “Are you gay? Can you prove it?” (Berg 2004). When one of the only scenes featuring a woman is in a sexual context in a sports film, the placement and roles of women are implicitly defined. Black women, in particular, are put on display as cheerleaders on the Dallas Carter team in the final game of the season. Assessing the intersections between race and gender is critical in gaining the full picture of women in sport. In many ways, women's rights movements and civil rights movements have and continue to parallel one another.
All in all, the gendered narratives featured in many sports films simply reflect the overwhelming amount of gender essentialism in American society as a whole. Sports films reveal deeper historical and cultural trends that continue to take a hold on how our society is structured and functions. Great leaps have been made in progress for women’s’ rights since the 1970’s, but even nowadays there is misogyny that continues to infiltrate whose stories are put at the forefront of sports films.
AM 356: Sports Cinema
March 23, 2023
Sports films historically tend to reflect the cultural phenomenon that women are more useful for their bodies and appearance rather than athletic skill. On the other hand, since the women’s’ and civil rights movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s and second wave feminism, American culture has shifted from an overt form of heteronormativity and misogyny to more subtle ways in which our culture reinforces gender roles. The social outcome is highlighted by the stereotypical association with women athletes to being queer. What lays behind such an assumption is gender essentialism, or the attribution of unrelated traits to an individual due to their expressed gender identity. The modes and methods in which women are featured or not featured in sports cinema are key in assessing gendered outcomes in sports and our overarching culture.
Gender and sex can be commonly used as interchangeable terms, so it is necessary to define their differences. 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, and expectations (Freedman 2022). This brings into question how much sex defines who we are and how biology defines which gender identity we identify most with. I maintain the belief that gender is an extremely small factor in predetermining behavior, skills, and personality. There are always outliers, which makes me question any significant matter-of-fact statements concerning the innate and unchangeable consequences of biological sex.
The social construct of gender being so deeply rooted in American culture 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). 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 (Freedman 2022).
As Pat Griffin states in “Changing the Game: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport”, “addressing sexism, heterosexism, and homophobia in women’s sport requires that past conceptions of gender and sexuality be recognized as social constructions that confer privilege and normalcy on particular groups: men and heterosexuals”. She notes 3 ways in which homophobia is manifested in women’s sport: silence, denial, and apology (Griffin 1992). The consequences of going against the grain in sport, whether that be for gender, race, or sexuality, can be drastic. Such outcomes are clearly shown by the backlash to Billie Jean King being outed as lesbian and sports reported Lisa Olsen being driven out of the country after speaking out on being sexually harassed.
Lisa Olsen’s story is told in the ESPN documentary, Let Them Wear Towels, which describes the trials and tribulations of women breaking into the male-dominated industry of sports writing (Stern and Sundberg 2013). Through video clips and firsthand narratives, the documentary highlights the violence embedded in a sexist sports world and overarching culture. It is important to consider the passing of Title IX in 1972 and its impact on women’s access to sports. The feminine apologetic places the focus on individual women athletes, but it’s equally 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.
Such ideology is reflected in the sports commentators featured in Battle of the Sexes (Dayton and Faris 2017). Many scenes reveal ideological elements of gender essentialism. One commentator stated, “The men have families that they have to support [and they] are simply more exciting to watch. They are. They’re faster. Fact. They’re stronger. Fact. It’s just biology” (Dayton and Faris 2017). Another man expressed, “the male muscle is always just a little bit stronger than the female muscle” (Dayton and Faris 2017). The rampant misogyny displayed in Battle of the Sexes was imperative in understanding the level of ignorance and common thought at that period in time. Women players were not treated professionally, as shown by Billie Jean King’s description from a commentator as a “very attractive young lady” and comments including “you’re certainly cuter than the men” and “she’s a beautiful lady and I like beautiful ladies” (Dayton and Faris 2017). Such sentiments place women’s bodies and looks under a microscope. They echo that women are only useful if they are attractive or sexualized.
Women in sport have historically been portrayed as almost comical, as described in “Half-Court Basketball: Power & Sex” by Heather Ross Miller. She expresses when describing the audiences’ reason for watching the Bobkitten play, “the feeling was one of generous amusement, you went to see the Bobkitten play because she was a girl playing with all those guys. Not because she was good with a basketball” (Ross Miller 1992). The focus is on the ascribed gendered identity of the player rather than her gameplay, assess to sport, or comfort. In sport, even today, everything is gendered, including dress, team names, mascots, rules, and more. In fact, women weren’t even allowed to play full court basketball until 1971 (Ross Miller 1992). Womens’ regulations in the sport world signal expectations and assumed abilities. Battle of the Sexes highlights how emotions and social consequences are embedded within sport outcomes. This is specifically shown in the cinematography of the scene where Billie Jean King is crying and then smiling in the locker room after winning and it transitions into a side shot of Bobby Riggs looking down somberly (Dayton and Faris 2017).
Just as it is important to discuss significant moments in which women have had impacts on sport and been featured in sports films, it is key to assess where women are not represented properly. In Friday Night Lights, for example, there are very few scenes that delve into the emotional development of a feminine-presenting character. One of them depicts a high school girl, Melissa, asking Mike Winchell, “Are you gay? Can you prove it?” (Berg 2004). When one of the only scenes featuring a woman is in a sexual context in a sports film, the placement and roles of women are implicitly defined. Black women, in particular, are put on display as cheerleaders on the Dallas Carter team in the final game of the season. Assessing the intersections between race and gender is critical in gaining the full picture of women in sport. In many ways, women's rights movements and civil rights movements have and continue to parallel one another.
All in all, the gendered narratives featured in many sports films simply reflect the overwhelming amount of gender essentialism in American society as a whole. Sports films reveal deeper historical and cultural trends that continue to take a hold on how our society is structured and functions. Great leaps have been made in progress for women’s’ rights since the 1970’s, but even nowadays there is misogyny that continues to infiltrate whose stories are put at the forefront of sports films.
Works Cited
Berg, Peter. 2004. Friday Night Lights. Imagine Entertainment.
Dayton, Jonathan and Valerie Faris. 2017. Battle of the Sexes. Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films, and TSG Entertainment.
Freedman, Jenny. 2022. "Performing Gender in the 2022 Olympics." Unpublished.
Griffin, Pat. 1992. “Changing the Game: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport.” Quest 44(2):295-311.
Ross Miller, Heather. 1992. “Half-Court Basketball: Power and Sex.” Changing the Game: Title IX, Gender, and College Athletics. Editors: Kelly McFall and Abigail Perkiss. The University of North Carolina Press: 2022.
Stern, Ricki and Anne Sundberg. 2013. Let Them Wear Towels. Break Thru Films.
Watson, Tracey. 1987. “Women Athletes and Athletic Women: The Dilemmas and Contradictions of Managing Incongruent Identities.” Sociological Inquiry 57:431-446.