The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft just completed two weeks ago and the league will officially begin on May 16, 2014. However, the TV viewership for watching the WNBA draft or women’s sports is low. Clearly, there are several reasons why women’s sports leagues are often seen as inferior to men’s sports leagues.
The gender stereotype has always been one of the controversial topics in sports. Women possess the purity and world of talents, and they can do anything that men do, but they are often ignored by the society and the TV viewership which was not impactful when women perform the game at the highest level. Concerning the gender stereotype it continues to rise.
While there are some successes that women excel in sports, they still face the gender challenge. According to statistics, women’s sports don’t have the same amount of weight as men’s sports. What do women have to prove in sports? The physicality? The domination? Overcoming the gender challenge never seems to go away.
People live in society where men still dominate sports. As a result, women’s sports are often regarded as far inferior to men’s sports. Writer Ana Rodriguez stated the theory suggesting that traditional women didn’t fit the competitive characteristic of sport as men and should be what the theory may call with common terms “housewife” or “mom-at-home” role.
Rodriguez wrote via Daily Sundial:
One of the theories behind this is that society didn’t like to see women in roles that go against the norm of what a woman “should be.” The traditional female traits include being sexy, highly feminine, passive, graceful and weak. Nowhere does the word “athletic” appear on the list… The idea of a strong, fast, powerful woman leaves many feeling uncomfortable because it isn’t seen as an attractive or traditional characteristic.
According to sports blogger Andrea Adelson, selling physical appearances (sex appeal) to the media is vital if female athletes want to obtain a sponsorship deal. Adelson cited that female athletes want to sell sex because beauty is vital to American society. The media focuses women on sex appeal more than a sport, which makes women’s sports less vital than they are as female athletes.
Sports competition requires superior talents, and physical and mental toughness. Regardless of the gender, the society and fans love to watch sports competition because they are able to perform sports with the talents, determination, dedication, physical and mental toughness. The gender itself should not be a concern when it comes to sports competition.
According to Tara Jones, WNBA star Brittney Griner is a talented player who can dominate the court and dunk the basketball over players, and the American society loves it because she can play the game like a man. Is it erroneous for American society to think that in order to increase TV viewership, a woman has to play game like a man? Most certainly.
There is no doubt in mind that women possess the ability to play numerous sports that has nothing to do with the gender itself except for their talents and abilities only. In order for women to compete in sports competition, they are required to be trained. Once they are highly trained, they can become elite athletes in the world.
A story came from USA Today two months ago that Jen Welter became the first female to play in a men’s pro football league in a contact position, which shocked the world. Unfortunately, the gender stereotype and issue may never end but being a woman didn’t stop Welter from playing the game of football.
Regardless of physical appearance, women possess the abilities to perform numerous sports such as basketball, soccer, hockey, car racing, and name a few. The sports world needs to accept the fact that women can do anything except for the gender difference. Any sports that women excel, they deserve a compliment, not a “look down” on them.
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