Impact of Gender and Cultural Issues on Sport in Australia

Year 9 Health & Physical Education

Impact of Gender and Cultural Issues on Sport in Australia

-EXEMPLAR-

Sport has always been regarded as the domain where gender and culture become equal. I disagree with this statement and will prove this through the remainder of the essay. To prove that sport has not always been regarded as the domain where gender and culture becomes equal I will discuss the importance of looking at gender and sport, the roles of social and cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity, why gender and cultural equality is important in Australian sport, the significance of the UN Resolution 58/3 and sport as a low cost – high impact intervention in promoting gender and cultural equality.

Before I prove to you that sport has not always been a domain where gender and culture become equal, we need to firstly outline the importance of looking at gender and sport and outline the roles of social and cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity. Australia prides itself on being a sporting nation, therefore it is important that sport promotes equality, whether that be gender or cultural. Sport in Australia is on television during prime time, is a common past time for the majority of Australians and is an institution which transcends age, gender, culture and background. Because of this, sport should encourage gender and cultural equality.

Being masculine and feminine is not simply being male or female. Masculinity and femininity are actually constructed by society and cultural influences. We are taught by society and our culture to behave and act a certain way to be classified as masculine or feminine. Some examples include males ‘should' be tough, do not cry, hard working and strong to be seen as masculine. On the flip side, females ‘should' be quite, polite, emotional, wear dresses and raise children to be seen as feminine. Being identified and identifying oneself as belonging to a particular cultural group plays a role in how one engages in sports and physical activity. These unrealistic gender and culture stereotypes push males and females to behave and act in certain ways to ‘fit into the box' to be masculine or feminine. Ultimately, people who try to ‘fit into these boxes' fail and as a result lose confidence, have low self-esteem and feel disengaged from society. There is where sport has been regarded as a domain where gender and culture become equal, but has this always been the case?

Unfortunately, sport has not always been a domain where gender and culture has been seen as equal. In the past, women were not allowed to participate in major competitions, such as the Olympics, and the sports that females were allowed to participate were not professional. These days more women are allowed