Sports, Entertainment and Media after the 2nd World War Essay

Sports, Entertainment and Media after the 2nd World War - Essay Example By associating physicality with masculinity, certain sports/activities are labeled as either being masculine or feminine, depending upon the physical nature of the activity. Sports in which the use of body is forceful, dominating or aggressive, are considered fit for males because they are indicators of male power and thus, a definitive expression of physicality. But according to Lisa McDermott, physicality is suggested to be the complex interplay of the body perception, the agency and self-perception and is related to the qualitative understanding the lived-body as experienced and understood by the women when they are involved in sports or physical activities. To explore the meaning and significance the women derive from experiencing their bodies/themselves through these activities and the effects of these experiences greatly helps in shaping their understanding of their physicality beyond that of appearance in particular. By doing so she tries to help us understand the physical and social effect these experiences have on women in identifying themselves. In reference to the research carried out by Lisa McDermott; "Towards Understanding of Physicality, Within the Context of Women's Physically Active and Sporting Lives," this paper will examine female physicality in relation to sports and my chosen game; "Netball." It will discuss how society and media projects and labels certain sports only for males and how the females are subjected to unequal status as being physically weak. The paper will also look into the gender relations based on social and cultural norms. The last part will assess, to which extent; taking part in physical sport has changed the concept of female physicality, subjectivity and gender relations in relation to the existing social norms. Sports and gender Sports in the minds of many, is considered a "gendered" activity which reinforces male power. The stereotyping of the so called "biological difference" between males and females in the past w as used as the basis of exclusion of females from sport. Within the literature of sport sociology, we often find physicality linked with power related to physical power and masculinity. Even though the postmodern society holds out the likelihood of a post-gender society, gender as a system signifying differential values still exists (Firat, 1994) with sport such as rugby, football, ice hockey or boxing, and women still looked at as wives and mothers. An example in this respect is golf, where mothers on golf courses are more likely to be labeled deviant and asked to account for the care of their families than fathers on golf courses (West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman, 1987). Although there are other sports which reflect physical strength and women are actively participate in them, but I'll discuss netball here in relation to physicality. Netball as a sport, which was earlier cited as only for females, entered a new era after the 70s when it began to be restructured into a profession ally administrated sporting organization and better funding.