Gender Equality In Sports Essay Example

Gender roles are still presented and taught in the classroom by teachers and friends and are extremely harmful to both girls and boys in their future as they gain educational and career opportunities. Stereotypes about how girls and boys should behave and how their learning styles differ have influenced the future professions these people choose. Therefore, this relates to the concept of gender stratification in which there is an “unequal distribution of power in which gender shapes who has access to a group’s resources, opportunities, rights, and privileges” (Guest p.197). The teachers who are considered role models for these young people also depict gender biases due to the concept of the cultural construction of gender. In other words, “ the ways in which humans learn to perform and recognize behaviors as masculine or feminine within their cultural context” (Guest p.186).  How does gender play a key role within a high school setting today? Gender played essential roles in my high school experience through sports, academics, and classroom culture.

Sports are a culturally significant field in which individuals learn about gender roles. Specifically, male-dominated sports such as football and basketball would have more recognition for their programs in order to thrive compared to other sports teams such as the girls’ tennis and field hockey teams. For example, our varsity girl’s field hockey team last year had a good season because they were undefeated and got to compete in the regional championship tournament. However, the field hockey team’s accomplishments did not make it to the school news and were overlooked. However, when the men’s basketball team won their game the school news team would make an announcement to highlight the team’s accomplishment. Thus, the “boys received more words of praise for their successes” than the girls (Guest p.187). The girl’s field hockey did not receive the same treatment as the men’s varsity basketball team because they did not get the true recognition that they deserved. 

Gender inequality is apparent in sports, but from an academic perspective, things can be mixed. On the other hand, my high school was inclusive in academics because they encouraged girls to participate in stem-related clubs, extracurricular activities, and classes. In fact, most leadership positions were occupied by girls in stem-related clubs. There weren’t any gender studies classes that were being taught or offered at my high school due to a variety of reasons such as a lack of interest within the student population or the lack of resources. There is a significant difference between sports and academics when it comes to gender performance. 

Transitioning from high school to college made me realize that academics weren’t the only thing to consider, gender also played a central aspect within a classroom culture. Specifically, language would be used in an inclusive and not inclusive way. For instance, there weren't any clearly marked gender-inclusive bathrooms and there weren’t more than two bathroom options at my school. Teachers would lack a sense of nonbinary visibility for people who identify as queer, transgender, pansexual, or consider themselves to be gender fluid. Moreover, teachers would not be consciously aware of proper pronoun usage which causes an absence of gender inclusivity.