Role of Women in Gender Identified Sports Now Versus Ancient Rome - Free Essay Example

Has the worldview of the role of women in gender identified sports changed very much from that of the ancient Romans? Look at the role of women in Boxing, Wrestling and Bodybuilding. These women athletes are still treated as second-class citizens. The worldview of women sports figures has not come very far compared to the Roman view of women 2000 years ago. Roman women Gladiators were not only a fad but also treated as not real sports figures. The Roman women Gladiators were taught to keep their femininity, as shown by their hair and the way they were dressed in the arena. So are the women sports figures today. Look at current women athletes versus Ancient Roman athletes. Womens Boxing versus Womens Boxing in the Coliseum, Womens wrestling versus. Women wrestling in the Colosseum, and Women bodybuilders versus Women fighting in the Colosseum. For example, current womens boxing versus boxing in the Colosseum. A marble slab was found in Halicarnassus in Turkey dating back to the first and second centuries. The marble relief from Halicarnassus, now in the British Museum, showcased two women, Amazon and Achillea. These are undoubtedly female names and were called Amazons after the Greek isle of Themyscira (Pontus), which was said to have a population of only women warriors, the Amazons. Their names are inscribed at the bottom of the relief with two objects; which are most likely their helmets. These women were so unusual that some archaeologists today did not even believe that the figures were women and that objects at the bottom of the relief were helmets. This just shows how we still think that women cant be as warriors (Mark). Womens wrestling versus coliseum wrestling. Some female gladiators were slaves but most of them were free women who for different reasons liked the fight, the excitement, and fame. It was considered titillating when women and especially higher class women participated in the games. Some of them killed wild animals, rode horses and fought other female gladiators. (Crowther) During the reign of Emperor Domitian, they sometimes let dwarfs and women fight against each other in the arena. ( Dione Casillas) Womens wrestling was still a sideshow in Grays, a woman Olympic wrestler, the path to the Olympics. She hit a roadblock when she encountered an obstacle all-too-common for female wrestlers: One young wrestler, she says, was forced to cut her hair short by a high school coach trying to discourage her from trying out for the team. Thank God this girl had the cutest face and could rock a pixie cut, Gray said. But it really broke my heart to know there are people still fighting to keep wome n out of combat sports. Its a lot bigger than just wrestling on the boys team, Gray said. Its about women living out an athletic dream and getting to do something amazing with their lives. Women bodybuilders vs Coliseum physical poweress. In 2001 in Southwark England a skeleton of a Roman woman was found and later it was determined to be a female gladiator. She was buried in a potters grave. She had several items that had a gladiator theme, although some researchers believe she may have been a gladiators wife. Then in 2010, another archeological find was made in England of remains of other women who were identified as gladiators by the bones of their legs and arms which had large and strongly developed muscles (McCullough) at Women bodybuilders are still being treated as second-class citizens in the area of sports. Women Bodybuilders the main opposition to modern bodybuilding for women is that people simply dont want to accept the idea of really big muscles on women. So there is a trend toward categories like fitness, figure and fit bikini. An emphasis on attractive women with athletic bodies but not nearly as developed as bodybuilders. However, these competitions are clearly high specialized beauty contests rather than sports. A lot of people, including some who are officials in the organizations in charge of these competitions, want to replace the sport of female bodybuilding with various kinds of beauty pageants. we still see womens bodybuilding as a type of beauty pageantThis is just another sport that women does not let women compete as equals to men, but is treated as a fashion show. (Bill Dobbins Photo, May 2018) Womens Boxing versus Coliseum Boxing. Most of the women who fought in the Coliseum fought for different reasons. Some liked the fight, the excitement, and fame. It was considered titillating when women and especially higher class women participated in the games. Some of them killed wild animals, rode horses and fought other female gladiators. (Crowther) While boxing is often thought of as a being a male-dominated sport, not many realize that women have also played a prominent role in boxing history. Among those who have built the sport into what it is today are amazing women who have dedicated their lives to boxing and have given fans just as much excitement as the men have. (evolve Mixed Martial Arts, Amelia Schonbek, 2018) But in competition, its a different story. Like all women boxers, Ashleys professional fights are restricted to 10 two-minute-long rounds. Thats a total of 20 minutes. Men are allowed to fight as many as 12 three-minute rounds or 36 total minutes. Shorter flight times have long been a thorn in the side of professional female fighters, who see no reason that they shouldnt be allowed to box longer rounds in pro fights when they do so in training. Pro female fighters also say that boxing authorities use their shorter fight times as one of many justifications for paying them less than men. A few months ago, Ashley informally surveyed other pro women boxers, asking them whether womens fights should be longer. One of the major things that stood out, because all these women were pros, was that they werent getting paid, Ashley says. The promoters were saying, Were not paying you because youre not doing the same work [as men].A WOMAN COULD ONLY COMPETE IF SHE CERTIFIED, BEFORE HER BOUT, THAT SHE DID NOT HAVE HER PERIOD. When I asked Paul Wallace, a cosmetic surgeon, dermatologist, and the chairman of the WBCs medical advisory board, about the organizations statement about menstruation, he tried to walk it back. The issue with regards to hormonal changes has nothing to do with the ability of a female boxer to be able to go three minutes rather than two minutes, he says. But, he continues, when considered on top of the other reasons the WBC gave for restricting womens fight times, menstruation must be taken into account. (This doesnt make much sense. Doctors say that its safe to box while menstruating; there is no caveat that having your period could make a medical condition†say, a concussion†more dangerous.) Wallace also says that there is no link between hits to the chest and breast cancer., Women sports figures should be feminine This article is one of many that have studied the role of femininity and sports and have found it to be an issue between the male and female gender roles in sports. Stereotypical gender roles created a boundary that delineated which sports were socially acceptable for male and female participation according to perceived degrees of masculinity, Different sports are considered more feminine. Women boxers, wrestlers and bodybuilders are not considered feminine sports. individuals who participate in highly differentiated sports that aregender-inappropriate will most likely experience negative consequences, such as being labeled deviant: one who departs from or violates traditional social norms (Blinde Taub, 1992; Halbert, 1997; Kolnes, 1995). Women who threaten these standards, such as those who participate in highly differentiated masculine sports (e.g., boxing or football) are sometimes considered a challenge to the boundaries of femininity (a s cited by Halbert, 1997, p. 11). Since boxing is often considered the most masculine of any other sport and is characterized by aggression, brutality, violence, and bloodshed, female boxers are thought to exceptionally gender deviant (Halbert, 1997). Joyce Carol Oates describes the mainstream view of female boxers and writes, Raw aggression is thought to be the peculiar province of men, as nurturing is the peculiar province of women. The female boxer violates this stereotype and cannot be taken seriouslyshe is a parody, she is a cartoon, she is monstrous (p. 73). Female boxers engagement in a sport representing pure masculinity in Western culture causes their femininity to be distorted until it is unrecognizable. Since people are often less familiar with observing women display such stereotypical masculine qualities, including strength, destruction, and vehemence, these athletes are more likely to be labeled as deviant, unnatural, and/or manly (Dworkin, 2001; Krane, 2001; Krane et al., 2004). citizens. (Andrea Paloian, Department of Applied Psychology, 2018) Unfortunately, we have not come very far in the area of womens sports, we still view them as somewhat less than male sports as they did in ancient Rome. Women athletes are still experiencing discrimination and thought to be a fad that causes women to be seen as a fun show to watch because the girls are playing like boys. This was the thinking in Ancient Rome a shown by the treatment of Women Gladiators. After looking at the current worldview of females in male-dominated sports like boxing, wrestling, and bodybuilding, women have been shown to be regarded as less than their male counterparts. Hopefully, this discrimination, which has been shown to still exist from 2000 years ago can somehow finally be put behind us and we can give the women sports figures the respect and encouragement they deserve. They have been treated as girls playing in boys sports for too long.