SPM 3012 Gender In Sport Unit Discussion Question Provide written responses to each of the prompts posed here. Submit your responses through the “submit” tab on the Gender in Sport Discussion Questions assignment page in Canvas. Minimum word count question 1: 900 words Minimum word count question 2: 300 wordsRubric: 25 points content; 25 points writing Total: 1200 words; 50 pointsContent: use of information and ability to synthesize key concepts from unit Writing: argument, paragraph, and sentence structure; grammar; citing The treatment of girls and women in sport is shaped by the idea that they are “less than” as athletes and as leaders, and thus the disparity in opportunity and social rewards is justified. Across the readings from this unit, you read and saw all the ways that girls and women are affected by the “less than” logic, such as: (a) being sexualized, (b) being paid less because being “less than” detracts from their perceived athleticism or leadership capacity, or (c) being criticized, excluded, or fired for being too feminine or not feminine enough. The Shaw and Frisby (2006) reading presented three frames of gender equity that have produced little long-term success in improving women’s opportunity and treatment in sport. The premise of the frames presented is the “othering” of girls and women in sport contexts, which requires that they must be granted support to assimilate into how existing structures are organized (power). Frame one holds that a woman can be prepared to fit in if she more resembles leadership stereotypes in sports (white male); frame two holds that women’s femininity should be appreciated (as though there is one category of femininity and that traits strictly align within it); and frame three proposes that simply opening up spaces for girls and women to enter sport will rectify gender inequity. Discussion Questions: 1. Explain how orthodox conceptions of masculinity and femininity (as binary) produce and reproduce the idea that girls and women are “less than” as athletes and as leaders in sport. • Use support from the unit to explain how the “less than” logic affects access and opportunity for girls and women in sport (as athletes and as leaders). (Approx. 300 words) • Based on what you read in Shaw and Frisby (2006) on the first three frames of gender equity (fix the women, value the feminine, and create equal opportunity), explain why those strategies for gender equity haven’t been successful in improving the treatment of girls and women in sport. [Consider using the lens presented in the fourth frame (post structural feminism) – disrupt the discourse – to support your position on the constraints of a liberal feminist lens.] (Approx. 600 words) *You will introduce your review of Shaw and Frisby (2006) with an explanation of the “less than” logic, so consider the first bullet your introduction, which will be shorter than your response to the second bullet. In your introduction, you do not need to spend time writing on the reproduction of masculinity and femininity in greater society (as we have established in previous essays that sport is a microcosm of society); in other words, your explanation of the “less than” logic should be only around how it operates in sport. *900 word minimum 2. Title IX was legislation that falls within a “create equal opportunity” frame in sport for girls as participants in federally funded educational programs, but doesn’t apply to any other space. Design an extension of Title IX as it should govern some other domain in sport for women (such as media coverage, leadership in college sports, professional opportunities, … you choose). Include in your legislative statement who it will support, specifically. Detail if your extension will support access and treatment for women in general, or if your extension will specifically support women who are marginalized across social categories (e.g. women of color, LGBTQIA+ women, …). Your Title IX extension should include: • A legislative statement (like that of Title IX: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, …”) that EXACTLY and SPECIFICALLY identifies what “space” in sport your extension will apply (media coverage, leadership in college sports, professional opportunities, etc.). • A minimum of three prongs that operate as indicators that your legislative statement is being implemented in line with your vision (explain how the new Title IX statement you wrote will be measured – these will look much like the full Title IX legislation, which has 3 prongs for measurement). If you choose to implement an intersectional strategy, be sure that your indicators reflect this as well. *Your legislation should be organized as • Your statement • Prong 1 and an explanation (short paragraph) • Prong 2 and an explanation (short paragraph) • Prong 3 and an explanation (short paragraph) *300 word minimum
1200 words, I will send links to the two pdfs.
