Final Blog

To rebuttal against Deford's statement that we should embrace the fact that professional athletes are not role models. For one, many people watch and are influenced by sports, especially the younger audience. If we let athletes get away with things, such as Ben, we are showing are youth that it is ok to do whatever you want when are a high profile athlete and that you are above everybody else, This is not the mesage that is needed for today's generation. I think you can look at Michael Vick's case and people can learn from that. He was a high profile athlete but was still punished which is how it should b. That shows kids that you cannot get away with whatever you want.
The thing that made the most sense to me from our class was the social class issues. Talking about Marxist ideas made sense to me because I had a class about those issues. The topic that was hard to appreciate at first was hegemony. The most powerful or memorable part for me was learning about the first women to run a marathon. That really stuck out to me and helped me realize what they went through.

Concluding Thoughts

Dear Class,
For this last blog it is imperative that you bring a hard copy to class. I only give you half credit for it if you don't. Ok, with that positive start let's get to work. This week Frank Deford wrote an article about Ben Roethlisburger. I promise I am not attempting to revisit Big Ben again, but Deford's argument strikes me as the antithesis to the project that this class engages in on a weekly basis. Deford says that we need to embrace the fact that all high-profile athletes are not role models. To me this smacks of a type of sensibility that does not understand or respect the cultural power that sport holds in American society. Sport is a site that is constructed, but still remains a place to resist, transform, and perpetuate the status quo (not just of sport, but of society in general). In the first part of your blog pretend you are providing a rebuttal statement to Deford as an NPR affiliate/ sport pundit. Use at least one conceptual example, one historical (time/incident specific example) and one reference to a reading from our class to make your point. It doesn't need to be very long, just very clear and convincing.

Second, in under 250 words, discuss one thing from the course material that made the most sense to you. Discuss one concept that took you a few attempts to grasp or appreciate, and one concept or incident that remains the most powerful or memorable to you. Please take care with this section as we will use this part of your blog to conduct our class's closing activity.

Wise, Zirin, Coakley

Tim Wise’s main and strongest argument is centered around white privilege. He plays a game where he compares situations where white people engaged in violent or questionable acts and were seen as being patriotic, and not a threat. And then shows the opposite, when a person of color does similar things, even on a smaller scale, they are feared, criticized and seen as anti-American. This difference arises purely because of skin color. 

Zirin’s main argument with respect to the Ben Roethlisberger’s sexual assault case is that Roethlisberger should thank his lucky stars that he is white. He has been accused of raping a 20-year-old student in a bar. Thanks to lawyers, wealth, fame and his skin color, Roethlisberger may escape jail and even a trial. Comparing this to the Michael Vick case, Vick was suspended from the NFL for his conviction of fighting and abusing dogs while Roethlisberger may walk away with no charges for possibly raping a woman.

These white privilege-isms tie to McIntosh’s examples from “Unpacking the Knapsack” because white people are so used to conveniences in life due to skin color that it becomes normalized and expected. White people are equipped with many things automatically. Vick had the lawyers, wealth and fame like Roelisberger, the only difference: Vick is black, and Roethlisberger is white. Roethlisberger is automatically privileged.

With respect to patriarchy, supremacy and classism, supremacy and particularly white supremacy is most evident in the Zirin article. Vick was charged and convicted while Roethlisberger escaped conviction. In Zirin’s article, patriarchy is the result once again of skin color. Both males are wealthy, but Roethlisberger is a byproduct of white privilege putting him higher up than Vick. As far as classism, that is most evident in Wise’s article. White people can get away with more socially unacceptable acts because of their skin color. When white people reciprocate these actions, they are reprimanded.

Coakley’s argument of black athletic destiny is that many young black, men, grow up believing the black body is superior when it comes to physical abilities in certain sports (286). They believe that the only way they will be recognized in society as being successful is through athletics. Coakley notes a great difference between black and white athletes. Black athletes are driven in athletics due to biological predispositions. They have the genetics to make them successful largely due to their history, whereas white athletes, particularly men, succeed in sport due to cultural and social influences. This is why scientists do not conduct studies to identify genes that would predispose a white person to succeed in sport. The white hockey players and white skiers grow up with skates or skis on when they are taking their first steps. They have the environment to thrive in their skill, without having the genes to make it possible. 

zirin, wise, coakley

Zirins article emphasizes strongly that being white, wealthy, and having a high athletic ability can ultimately save people from prosecution. This can be seen when comparing Ben Roethlisberger to Michaels Vicks criminal trial. Ben Roethlisberger was acquitted of all charges when he was accused of raping a 20 year old. It was said that he was acquitted because he was white, rich, and extremely talented at football; and that he should thank god for his ‘whiteness.’ When compared to Michael Vicks trial about regarding dog-fighting charges, he was convicted and sentences. Some argue that this shows how inferior women are in comparison to dogs and how being white comes with privileges (being acquitted of charges).

Wises article argues that whites should be punished just as blacks would in the same types of situations. Being white is not a free pass to threatened act violent towards others and should come with equal consequences. If blacks were to do the same crime as a white individuals, the black would be punished more sever. Wise alludes to role reversals in regards to certain situations (if a black did this, do you think a white would be treated the same if he were to do it too?). These two articles relate to “Unpacking the Knapsack” because whiteness and privileges that follow are everywhere around us without society even realizing it. It’s when we think about those -what if?- situations that we bring these differences to light.

Coakley’s argument in his article refers to blacks and their “athletic dynasty” and obligations to play sports as their means of upward mobility. They feel that sport favors them because of cultural and biological influences are superior to whites. These actually can aid blacks in their success in sport. For blacks, people believe genetics play the major role in success; they can jump higher and run faster and have a better overall athletic ability. But for whites, it’s their social and cultural aspects that result in success as apposed to biological and genetic forces. I see it this way, white success athletic ability doesn’t lead to questioning but when a black succeeds in sport, people are constantly analyzing and trying to reveal why they succeeded.

1. Zirin article

· Zirins main argument in the article he wrote about Ben Roethlisburger was that if he were anybody other than himself this case would be treated totally different. He makes the point that if he wasn’t white and a rich pro football player the circumstances would be much different. He compares his case to that of Michael Vick and makes a good point by saying that Vick was in trouble for mistreating dogs and got suspended and had to go through a lot to make up for it. Zirin says that we’ll see how important the NFL thinks of mistreating women by the punishment Ben gets. The case against him was very strong and if he wasn’t a famous football player there would most likely be no question about what would happen to him at trial but instead the case won’t even go that far. This relates to “Unpacking the Knapsack” because Peggy talks about the privileges whites get and many of them are applying the Ben in this case. He has the privilege to not get in trouble and have it be based on his race. He also has the privilege to have legal help if needed and not have his race work against him. If under any other circumstances it is clear things would be much different. This case is also another example of patriarchy. The man over powering the women and getting away with it. He has more power than her and in the case she wouldn’t have been portrayed in a good way, which is part of the reason why she decided against it. The whole situation is totally unfair and promotes the hegemonic ideology.

2. Wise article

· In Tim Wises article about white privilege he makes his point and main argument very clear. He basically says that to be white you can get away with so many things compared to if you did the same things but were of another race. I like how every paragraph is a really good example to prove his point. Every example starts off with what if a black person did this when really a white person did it. It’s easy to see how people would have reacted if someone black did do that but most don’t consider it a big deal that whites are actually doing or saying those things. One good example was about President Obamas wife. He says what if a black person was saying insulting things about a white presidents daughter because a white person actually did that about Malia Obama. It’s really sad that these things are accepted and not thought of as offensively as they would have been if it was turned around. This relates to Peggys article where she says “I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.” This article totally shows the idea of white supremacy. It gives many examples where white people are thought of as superior to other races. It’s really a sad truth to face.

3. Coakley Chapter

· Coakley talks about the idea that many black men have through their lives that they are destined to be athletes. They believe their bodies are superior and made for this reason. Many believe that there are few other ways they can gain as much respect other than in sport. Many black people feel as if there aren’t many opportunities for them in other fields compared to the opportunity they have in sport. They strive to be better than everyone when it comes to athletics. These ideas actually help some black men to succeed in sport. It doesn’t give the opportunity to all though. Many don’t succeed and end up feeling like there are no other options. It’s a common belief among them that in a white world sport is made for blacks. This also causes problems for black men that don’t want to compete in sports. Many people try and say that a lot of achievements blacks have in sport is based on their genetic abilities like being able to run fast and jump high. When white people succeed in things people don’t think of it like that. With whites it based on social and cultural things to help them win but with blacks it’s thought of as biological and genetic. People don’t feel the need to question whites on their abilities but when it comes to blacks they feel a need to research and have an explanation. Experts criticize these ideas and say that ability like jumping can’t be linked to one specific gene.

In Zirin's article about Ben Roethlisburger, he argues that legal action should be taken against Roethlisburger and he should be punished according to his crime. Even though he's not yet been convicted, Zirin argues that sexual assault is a serious-enough accusation that punishment from the NFL should be issued, in the form of suspension and various other atonements. He argues that Roethlisburger is getting off easy because he resides on a "white pedestal of wealth and fame," and that if he were black he may not even make it to trial before being sent to prison. The evidence against Roethlisburger seems overwhelmingly convincing, but because of his race, fame, and wealth, he's not yet been convicted. Zirin compares this case with that of Michael Vick abusing dogs, and notes how seriously he was punished. Zirin firmly believes Roethlisburger should be punished accordingly, without our society's ideology of white supremacy working in Roethlisburger's favor and playing a role in viewing him as innocent.
Wise argues a similar view, that whites should be treated and "punished" as blacks would be when doing the same things. He argues that white supremacy shouldn't be a free pass to threaten others and act in violent manners without consequences, because if black people did the same things they'd likely be punished, and in a far more severe manner than if whites were even punished at all. Wise gives several examples of racist acts performed by whites, and asks readers to imagine what would happen if blacks did the same things to white people. If roles were reversed, the reactions and punishments would be quite different. However, thanks to the ideology of white supremacy, whites can "get away" with such actions without facing dire consequences.
The two arguments in these articles are compatible with McIntire's "Unpacking the Knapsack" examples because white privilege is so widespread and normalized that often our society doesn't even realize its effects. It only becomes evident if we compare white experiences to black experiences and look at their differences that we realize how biased our society is. If we think of role reversals, like in Wise's article, then we become aware of white privilege, but this happens far too infrequently to be able to start trying to change the status quo of white supremacy.
Coakley discusses the myth of black athletic destiny, and how it is explained by how blacks, especially men, are raised to believe they are superior when it comes to physical abilities and certain sports, and that it is their destiny to excel. This belief pushes them to train harder in their specific sport, yielding incredible results and success. This myth of black athletic destiny is further perpetuated when they feel that their chances of gaining respect and prestige are small in other contexts and realms outside sport, and when they experience restricted opportunities in other potential occupations. All these factors preserve the myth of black athletic destiny, and heavily influence the choices blacks make in regards to sport choice and beliefs that they can achieve superiority and success.
Sociologists make several critiques about the genetic explanations of black athletic achievements. One of them is that human actions can't be reduced to the effects of particular genes, and that environmental factors play a huge role in activating and suppressing genes. Various chemicals and hormones also play a part in gene regulation, which are in turn influenced by the environment as well. Sociologists also critique that athletic ability and success in a sport requires a great many genes, and that this only provides a partial explanation of athletic ability. There is no evidence that shows that specific sport performances are enhanced by skin color, and to say black athletic achievements are based solely on genetics is ridiculous.
Studies similar to these aren't conducted on white athletes, because when whites succeed in athletics it's viewed as a result of cultural and social factors. Skiers from Austria, for example, are good because of their environment and the opportunities they had growing up to ski with friends and family. This is a readily simple explanation, and one that would be boring to study.

In Zirin’s article, he makes the argument that money, whiteness, and athletic ability save people from court persecution. Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was accused of raping a 20-year old girl, and was not convicted of any crime. Zirin states that this is because he is white, rich, and is extremely talented at football and that Roethlisberger should “thank the heavens” for his whiteness, wealth, and talent because those three things make him able to get out of tough situations (Zirin 1). The strongest argument Zirin makes is when he compares Roethlisberger to Michael Vick. Michel Vick was not only convicted for dog fighting, but also he had to educate youth on the harms of dog fighting in addition to his punishment. These two happenings seem to show that dog fighting is more important than women, and that being white gets one things he did not earn or deserve, like in the Vick/Roethlisberger example, not being convicted of crimes.
Wise’s argues that white people are rewarded for their inappropriate behaviors through positive reinforcement of being called brave or defenders of the country when protesting political happenings or certain people in office, like Obama for example. He also argues that if black people were to do the same they are strongly sanctioned for their actions and are said to be acting their color. Wise strongest arguments come from a “game” in his article where one is to imagine what would happen in certain circumstances if colored person were to act or say racial slurs just as a white person would and actually has already said about President Obama. His conclusion was that the black person would be punished, when white person would not. One of examples was: imagine hundreds of blacks marching to Washington, armed with guns and spoke of wanting a political revolution. They would not be viewed as “brave defenders of the 2nd Amendment” but instead as acting their color by being violent. (Wise 2) Through the imagination game, it can be clearly seen that black people are strongly sanctioned for trying to protest, while white people are praised when they protest or say racial slurs about Obama.
These arguments are related to McIntosh’s specific example of unpacking the knapsack because she claims that white people are equipped with certain things automatically, for example bank accounts, credit cards, jobs, attorneys and status. Vick was convicted of a crime for dog fighting, while Roethlisberger was not convicted of any crime when accused of raping a girl. Dog fighting is a less serious crime than rape, so this shows that Roethlisberger, a white man, was equipped with good lawyers likely due to color of his skin, in addition to his wealth. These concepts are related to our discussions of White Supremacy because each article displays an example of how a white man escaped punishment while a black man could not. In the Zirin article, this was shown when Roethlisberger was not convicted of a crime, while Vick was, and displayed in the Wise article when white protesters were not sanctioned, while black ones usually are. Classism and Patriarchy are not as relevant to the Zirin article when comparing Vick and Roethlisberger because they both are upper class and they are both male. Therefore, they are both extremely privileged, but Roethlisberger is more so than Vick due to his skin color. Classism applies to the Wise article because white people tend to be in a higher class than white people. Because of this, it makes it acceptable for white people to act inappropriately, and even have their behaviors deemed as “brave” or noble because they are the privileged class. Unfortunately, if these behaviors came from a black person, they would be sanctioned (Wise 2).
Coakley’s argument of black athletic destiny is that young blacks, especially males, feel that they are culturally and biologically obliged to participate in sport. They feel that sports are the only way that they can gain wealth and status. The critiques that socialists make about black athletic achievement is that blacks attribute all of their achievements to biological factors, when if a white person is successful athletically, it is attributed to cultural and social influences. Blacks feel genetically superior to whites, so they feel obligated to successes in the athletic arena. This idea of being biologically superior could cause increases in motivation to succeed, contributing largely to why they are so successful. Studies are not done on NHL hockey players and Skiers from Austria because few are interested in studying the white athlete due to the fact that white successes are attributed to social and cultural factors, rather than genetic or biological ones. Another reason is that white hegemony creates a world where white success is seen as socially normal, so very few people see the need to study them. (Coakely 10).

Correlation and Causation Video

Revisiting Constructions and Ramifications of Race

The last two weeks we have explored the social and historical construction of race in the US. The legal construction of whiteness in the nineteenth and early twentieth used to deny people citizenship and the Federal Housing Act were used to perpetuate structural inequalities. This week, Dave Zirin of The Nation wrote a searing article about the privileged treatment of quarterback Ben Roethlisburger of the Pittsburg Steelers's after being accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in Milledgeville, GA. The NFL Commissioner has yet to make a decision regarding suspension. Zirin makes a compelling comparison to Michael Vick's treatment after his conviction for running a dog-fighting operation in the same state. This same week, white anti-racist writer and educator Tim Wise (see ICON), used a similar argument to indict white conservatives' actions and rhetoric against President Obama. Regardless of your athletic or political affiliations summarize each author's main argument and provide their strongest or most compelling piece of evidence, example, or sub-argument. How are these arguments compatible with McIntosh's specific examples from "Unpacking the Knapsack"? How are these concepts related to our discussions of Patriarchy, White Supremacy, and or Classism?


Next, review Coakley's chapter (on ICON). This should provide a good reinforcement for the remainder of our lecture and compliment the documentary In Whose Honor? that we screened in class last week. Summarize Coakley's arguments about the myth of black athletic destiny. What are the critiques that sociologists make in regards to genetic explanations of black athletic achievements? Why are these studies not conducted on white goalies in the NHL or skiiers from Austria? As always I appreciate your questions in class and critical inquisition of the existing sport studies scholarship. I think it is important to revisit this topic this week since bodily destiny is something that is damaging, but seems real when reviewed out of context. It is also important to remember that correlation and causation are two different relationships. It is important to understand the differences when dealing with codifiable yet flawed constructs like skin color and race. Correlations are relationships of variables that are either positive (both variables increase and decrease at the same rate) or negative (one variable increases and the other decreases). Causation is harder to prove, but often incorrectly concluded. For example, if I die in a collision while driving my manual transmission VW Beatle while eating an ice cream cone one might claim there is a correlation between fatalities driving stick-shift cars and eating. We could collect data on that and try to figure out the strength of the relationship of the variables. However, it would be wrong to conclude that ice cream kills stick shift drivers. However, correlations can lead to proving causation, but there has to be a lot of evidence. This cheeky video does a better job of explaining this I do.

This week you need not post your blog publicly. I would like you to use the following questions as a guide to the last four readings assigned. Some of them are a bit more complicated than others but I think they are all really interesting. Type your answers to the questions and bring in a hard copy for me to next week's class. Next week's lecture we will begin by finishing up the last ten minutes of the video as it concludes by discussing the absurdity of colorblindness in a structurally and historically racially stratified society. In our lecture we will discuss structural inequities in sport as well as racial representation in sport through the media. These readings touch on all of these themes to a degree, but also push us to consider how identities, even racial ones are a bit unstable and how we often do not have control over other people's perceptions, reactions to, and appropriations of identities.

Sam Regalado "Roberto Clemente: Images Identity and Legacy"
How does Roberto Clemente contribute to providing Latin ballplayers a mouthpiece in which to disrupt the status quo in baseball?
How are race and class defined differently in Puerto Rico in the 1960s?

C. Richard King and Charles Fruehling Springwood “Body and Soul: Physicality, Disciplinarity, and the Overdetermination of Blackness”
How does intercollegiate sport act as a space that reflects white supremacy through racial signification? Where do white, black, and red bodies fit in this world according to the authors? Where and how is power located? How is this connected to the hegemonic political and or economic structures? The media?

Katherine M. Jaimeson “Occupying a Middle Space: Toward a Mestiza Sport Studies”
What is the population that Jamieson is studying in her research? What do they have in common? What is variable?
Identify and explain the modes of consciousness that Latinas utilize in their collegiate softball environments.
How does this article enhance your knowledge of the fluidity of “subjectivities” (identities)? Do you have an experience with a fluid identity or performance thereof?

C.L. Cole and Dave Andrews “America’s Son: Tiger Woods and America’s Multiculturalism”
Explain Berlant’s concept of “American Citizenship”? What does it hinge on or require? What threatens it?
How is this post-immigrant American image mapped onto Tiger Woods without being threatening to white America?
How did Nike refute Wood’s self-proclaimed multiracial status through the Hello Word?
How did the Hello World fail to challenge the racial relations in sport?
How is anti-affirmative action rhetoric and the fall out of the Hello World campaign used to recode Woods as a multi-cultural sign of colorblindness?

Race as a Site of Power in Sport

What is Sage's critique of the the myth of upward mobility through athletics for black men? How is his critique of intercollegiate sport as a "mixed blessing" related to an athlete's power in a sporting system that uses amateurism as regulatory ideology (98)? How does the "ol boys" network or the lack of African American administrators in intercollegiate sport relate to your understanding of hegemony? Keep in mind the four ways that consent is maintained.

Peggy McIntyre lists several examples of white privilege. Briefly respond to a time where you have benefited from one of these privileges or explicitly been denied these privileges. How is Peggy McIntyre's arguement in "Unpacking the Knapsack?" rejected by SI writers in the article "What Ever Happened to the White Athlete?"

Gender and Sex Inequalities

The cult of manliness, the Victorian Era, and Play Day Era all worked to demonstrate the former struggle of gender. The women referred to as the "New Women" (Cahn 344) began challenging the Victorian gender arrangements and began to participate in male only activities, which included sports. As men hold the more masculinity aspect, naturally they are assumed to be better then the woman, but as the woman began to join in the everyday life and activities of the men, the women were criticised that they may become more manly women and lose their femininity. Which may also damage the woman's internal organs and threaten their possibility to have children in the future. Sage also mentioned how organizations were put directly towards men, an example of this would be boy scouts. When the Play Day Era came about, it was to help women be able to be more involved in the sports and organizations and give them more of an equal opportunity. It wasn't just in a central location either, teams all over the nation were forming to help get women more involved. An example of this came into reality is the 1932 Olympics when women were allowed to participate, since before this year, it was prohibited for women to participate. The Victorian Era, almost challenged and helped the women and equal opportunities and it supported them in not only sports but gaining recongnition as human beings in the nation. A main cause of the downfall of women and their recognition is the way the

media plays into factor, as they tend to put a main focus on men's sporting events.

Mike Messner points out the men and women are different in sports since athetics focus on a main thing that men have, which is their masculinity. But that the gender and sexuality are very different when analyzing sports, since it is assumed that atheltic men are straight. Unlike the male assumption, as a women athelete, their sexuality is not assumed right off the bat.

During high school Messner chose to try and demonstrate his masculinity by picking on the weakest link. By doing this, it allows others to see how strong and passive he is, instead showing weakness as a male athelete. But in fact, it just shows what it has come to to live up to our stereotype that has been set on our gender.

Pistol Pete

Kriegel, Mark (2007). Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich. Free Press. ISBN 0743284976.

gender and sex inequalities

The Victorian Era led to more opportunities for women through education, the workforce, and technologies. This era stressed women’s physiology, fashion, and their social expectations within the structures of society while also reflecting social class and race. It was thought that exercise was unfeminine, muscular, and even subject to uterine cancer. The Play Day Era brought women together and enabled them to play sports. The women wouldn’t “compete” but they would all play together, against each other. The Cult of Manliness arose in the latter 19th/20th centuries and became a direct link to male masculinity. Thusly sport and male privileges are interconnected through structures and ideologies of American sport. Through structure, males are said to hold the power or what counts or what is considered to be “sport,” and through the ideologies that sport reinforces by valuing the male body.
Mike Messner’s claim is that one of the dominant notions of men playing sports is to promote their heterosexuality and masculinity. Messner states, "An important dimension of this reconstruction of hegemonic masculinity through sport involved a linkage between masculinity and heterosexuality” (224). Women's participation in sports allowed people to question sexuality along with gender, it is known that the more masculine women are, the more likely it will be that they get the label of lesbian.
In Messner’s sexual story he and his teammates exemplified heterosexuality in sport by reacting to effeminate peers with a mixture of homophobia, rejection and aggression (233). On my college basketball team, there were many lesbian players. It was interesting to watch the way certain individuals would react to those who were lesbian. Many of the straight teammates were homophobic and wouldn’t like to change in the locker room or would do other things relating to homophobia.

Sex/Gender Inequalities

The cult of manliness, Victorian Era, and Play Day Era worked to both challenge and reinforce inequalities in sport. The cult of manliness, which was sparked by the rise of women in the workforce and public life following the industrial revolution in the late 19th century, gave men a new way to maintain patriarchal gender relations through sport. Because sport often demanded "masculine" qualities of strength, aggression, and courage, the male dominance threatened by the emergence of the "new women" was now expressed in sport. Women were looked down upon if they engaged in sport, as it went against the Victorian ideals that a woman was to be petite, fragile, weak, and submissive; therefore, not many engaged in sport, and those that did were experienced derogation and public ridicule for challenging traditional gender roles. In the Victorian Era norms were mostly reinforced nearly excluding women participation from sport for reasons that women were seen as homemakers, and not seen as able to handle the vigorous demands of sport. However, norms were challenged by the growing popularity of bicycling, baskette and basketball among women. The emergence of the bicycle was a huge step for women because it gave them a chance to socialize, be somewhat independent, and allowed them to get out of the house, which was previously seen as dangerous. The Play Day Era also gave women more freedom in the realm of sport, by allowing them to have greater access to sport by means of "play days," where women from various colleges got together and played sports with, not against, each other. Although this gave women more access and exposure to sport, the play days also reinforced gender constraints by its emphasis on socializing and motherhood rather than athleticism, and preventing aggression and competition.
The dominant interrelated notions of sex and gender that shaped the way sport was structured in the past also influence the way sport is structured today. Sport is still seen as a male preserve, and is set up in a way that has a male bias and allows for men that participate to confirm their masculinity and heterosexuality. Furthermore, males who do not participate in sport are seen as queers, or homosexuals. Sport is often structured in a way that male qualities such as greater height, strength, and weight give athletes a competitive edge, and thus reinforces sex and gender inequalities. Moreover, female participation in sport is kept in check by thoughts that sport participation may make female athletes more masculine, or even turn them into lesbians. The media also reinforces sex and gender inequalities in sport by emphasizing male sports, trivializing and marginalizing female sports, and by portraying female athletes with sexual overtones and as more of entertainers than athletes.
Messner suggest dominant notions of sexuality and gender have been constructed differently for men and women in regards to sport. According to Messner, sport involvement offers a "normalizing equation for men: Athleticism=Masculinity=Heterosexuality. (225)" On the other hand, sport involvement is a paradox for women because in demonstrating athleticism and exerting masculine qualities of strength, courage, and aggression in sport, the female athlete's feminity and sexuality are often questioned.
Messner does not agree with the use of homosexual as a category because it incorrectly labels groups of people and can be based on false assumptions. Messner encourages people to challenge the binary, and challenging the idea that female sport participation automatically leads to becoming a lesbian.
Messner and his teammates constructed/performed heterosexuality by discriminating and ridiculing Timmy. Messner was afraid, embarrassed, or intimidated by his attraction for Timmy, therefore he tried to hide the attraction by name-calling and treating him as an outcast. Furthermore, Messner elbows Timmy a few years later to demonstrate his aggression and dominance. I have never experienced or participated in this sort of construction, but I do know that boys will pick on the smaller/weaker ones to make themselves seem more masculine and aggressive.

The cult of manliness, the Victorian Era, and the Play Day Era all reinforce/challenge former social constructions of gender because it allows us to see an ideology that projected male dominance over women. If a man did a sport, he was considered more masculine than those who don't. Women weren't looked at as athletes, they weren't "good enough" to play men's sports. If they did, then they would have very expensive "medical bills" because, "Medical experts and exercise specialist disagreed among themselves about the effects of athletic activity on women's reproductive cycles and organs." This was in the early 1900s. The cult of manliness was a way to toughen up boys in order to "masculinize" them so that in the future they would be involved in sports and run the male ideology. The Victorian Era allowed women more freedom within the world. It allowed them to get an education and get better work. However, in the sports world, women were still denied when it came to playing sports and even watching them. Then came the Play Day Era. This allowed women to eventually become more involved with sports, thus break the ideology that allowed only men to compete in sports. More and more women's teams were being developed, and eventually, in 1932, women were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.


Mike Messner explains that sexuality and gender are built very differently between males and females when it comes to sport. "As many people have pointed out, sport participation offers a nomalizing equation for men: athleticism = masculinity = heterosexuality." (Messner, 225) This basically means that because a man participates in sports, he is a straight man and has no chance of being a homosexual. "For women atheletes, the equation has nearly always been more paradoxical: athleticism? femininity? heterosexuality?" (225) So does this imply that is a women participates in athletics, her sexuality is in question?


In his high school story, he rejects his classmate, and thus enters into a hegemonic state of masculinity with his team. As he tried to become the head honcho of his team, he acted out towards the weakest guy on his team. In his teammates eyes, this probably said that he will pick on the weakest link, but still makes him masculine. However in my eyes, it just makes him look pathetic.

Gender Inequality

The cult of manliness, the Victorian Era and the Play Day Era all worked to reinforce and challenge social constructions of gender. The cult of manliness was sparked by industrialization and a new need for men to express their masculinity. It largely endorsed “masculine” traits such as courage, ruggedness and hardiness (Sage, 139). The cult of manliness led women to play sports for health reasons and only in moderation (Sage 140), thus emphasizing their “gentle” feminine nature and creating an ever-widening gender gap in sport. On a similar note, the Victorian Era also reinforced current gender norms by keeping white, middle-class men at the center of sport and marginalizing or trivializing women. The women who did attempt to break the social constructs were labeled “New Women” and according to Cahn represented “both the appealing and threatening aspects of modern womanhood” (3). And although these women made great strides, Cahn goes on to admit, “women athletes invoked condemnation as often as praise” (3).

The Play Day Era challenged social constructions of gender to a degree, by giving women more access to sports. However, it also reinforced existing norms by keeping a focus on motherhood, wellness and playing for the joy of the game. Competition and aggressiveness were severely frowned upon and a great deal of the day was focused on relaxing and getting to know women from other schools. Many of the gender related issues that are prevalent today are similar to those in the Victorian and Play Day Era. Women athletes are often still viewed as overly masculine, or even as a lesbian. Or they are viewed with very sexual overtones, as entertainers or celebrities with less focus on their athleticism. The media continues to emphasize male sport as “real” sport.

Messner states that the need for men to “come to grips with their heterosexuality” emerged at the same time as the rise of modern sport (224). Therefore, sport was the window men were able to use to assert their masculinity and thereby cement their heterosexuality (225). On the other hand, women athletes appeared to be a paradox. Does athleticism breed femininity, thus proving heterosexuality? (225). Messner encourages society to break down the binary of homosexuality vs. heterosexuality but to be wary of putting too much value on the rhetoric involved (227). In Messner’s sexual story he and his teammates exemplified heterosexuality in sport by reacting to effeminate peers with a mixture of homophobia, rejection and aggression (233). In my high school we had some very feminine girls on the basketball team along with some very masculine ones. The more masculine girls were definitely stigmatized and treated differently even though they were excellent players and a major reason for the success of our team.

The cult of manliness and Victorian Era challenged the former social constructs of gender. Women began challenging Victorian gender arrangements and started to participate in previously male arenas of public work, politics, urban life, and even athletics. These women were referred to as the “New Women.” (Cahn 344) However, the male gender ideology labeled aggression, physicality, competitive spirit, and athletic skill as masculine attributes necessary for achieving true manliness. Thus, sport and male privileges are interconnected through the structures and ideologies of American sport. Critics, such as physicans, sportswriters, male athletic officials, and public educators felt sports would create manly women who would not be attractive to men and sports would induce same sex love (Cahn 347). They also stated that women athletes were in danger of adopting masculine dress, talk, and mannerisms. They felt that too much exercise would damage female reproductive organs and they would not be able to have children. There was even the extreme that said that the excitement of sport would cause women to lose control, conjuring up images of frenzied, distraught co-eds on the verge of moral, physical, and emotional breakdown (Cahn 345). In the 1880s, there was the bicycle and basketball craze of women. This challenged the former constructs of gender because leaving the home during this time period was considered “dangerous”. It was a big deal that women were leaving their homes. However, the Play Day Era reinforced social constructs of gender. Teams from different areas came to one location and they played not against, but with each other in a less competitive manner. The sports were set up in a controlled manner so that they were not going against the status quo. By decreasing competition and controlling the games so that they were fun, women were reverted back to the way females “should” participate.
Today, many sports are constructed so that the taller, stronger, faster, and more lengthy individual has the greatest chance of winning. Often, weight comes into play also. These characteristics are bias to men, allowing men to be dominant to women when these characteristics are included. Through these structures, the basic ideology is that men are better at sports than women.

According to Mike Messner, sexuality and gender have been differently constructed for women and for men in sport. Messner says that sport participation offers a normalizing equation for men: athleticism=masculinity=heterosexuality. But for women, the equation has always been more paradoxal: are women athletic? feminine? Heterosexual? It is not fair, when a man participates in sports, he is “normal.” But, if a women participates she is considered manly or a lesbian.

Messner’s critique of homosexual as a category is that he feels heirarchial and reductionist theories have incorrectly named groups of people, such as working class women, and that they made naïve assumptions (228). He believes that women can participate in sports and still remain the same gender, feminine or masculine. He challenges the binary with the purpose of disrupting past assumptions about homosexuals, such as the example above.

Messner’s “Sexual Story” consisted of two parts, both providing an example of heterosexuality. First, Messner and his teammates rejected Timmy as a member of their basketball team by being aggressive towards him and calling him a faggot. Secondly, Messner realized that in order to step up his own game and become a better player he needed to be more aggressive. As a result, during practice he set a pick on Timmy and elbowed him directly in the stomach, making it look like an accident. He felt that picking on the weakest member of their team would make him feel tough. My own experience refers back to high school basketball. I was undersized, being 5’2”, but so was our team as a whole. However, we made up for this disadvantage by bring physical and aggressive. When rebounding, I would use my elbows and give a more aggressive bump with my butt. Or, when driving in the lane for a lay-up I may have lowered my shoulder so they would get out of my way.

Gender and Ideology

The cult of manliness along with the Victorian Era and the Play Day Era both reinforce and challenge former social constructions of gender. One of the social constructions involves patriarchy and the all around dominance of men over women. It proposed an ideology and or system of personal relationships that legitimate male power over women and the services they provide. Sage says, "the cult of manliness was set up as a way to promote a broadly based devotion to manly ideals, to toughen up boys for life's ordeals." (139) A bunch of organizations such as the Boy Scouts, the YMCA, and athletic clubs preach this. This goes along with the whole concept of patriarchy which is to promote and maintain male dominance. Sage says, "a patriarchal society is driven by a male-centered ideology rooted in a male worldview; mainstream thought is male-stream thought." (59) Organizations such as the ones listed above are helping to maintain that very ideology. The Play Day Era came about to get women involved with sports and helping them break out of the previous ideology which had denied them equal opportunity in sports. Teams and organizations were forming all around the country to help get women active. The Olympic Games are an example of how women were starting to be included into main-stream sport, because up until 1932 no women were allowed to take part of the games, but now over half of the participants in today's Olympic Games are in fact women. The Victorian Era both reinforced and challenged former social constructions in that it led to women having more opportunities to succeed by having a better education, better labor, and having the right to divorce. Even though women were starting to gain more recognition they still were being shut down by the sporting world. They were discouraged from watching and participating in sports because women were supposed to be passive, obedient and attractive to her male companions. Dominant notions of sex and gender have shaped the way sport is structured today by still having a primary focus on male sports especially in the media because men's sports are what sell to the public as opposed to women and generally are more entertaining to watch than women's sports.

Mike Messner claims that one of the dominant notions of men playing sports is to promote their heterosexuality and masculinity. He says, "an important dimension of this reconstruction of hegemonic masculinity through sport involved a linkage between masculinity and heterosexuality." (224) It is different for women, the perception of participating in a sport calls into question women's sexuality along with gender, it says that the more athletic and masculine women possess the higher the chance of them being a lesbian. Messner gives a great equation that shows the difference in the dominant notions that have been constructed. For men it's athleticism=masculinity=heterosexuality. For women it's athleticism? femininity? heterosexuality? (225) Messner thinks that it is best to challenge the binary and create a new discourse and practice that disrupts and fractures the gay and lesbian categories.

In Messner's sexual story there are a few instances of when heterosexuality was performed. One was when Messner first had a crush on Timmy and rejected the idea by insulting him and going along with all of his teammates and their aggression towards Timmy. By having hatred or power over someone who is weak or small helps further establish your heterosexuality with your peers and puts you into a "normal" category. Another time was when Messner felt that he wasn't being enough of an aggressive basketball player and decided to throw an elbow into Timmy's chest which made him fall to the ground. Instead of choosing to do this on another teammate he decided to find the weakest one who couldn't stand up for himself and that was Timmy. When I was in 10th grade I was on the basketball team for my high school and their was a kid who went out for the team who was gay and nobody knew about. It got out to everyone on the team that he was in fact gay and for the remainder of the season nobody would hardly speak to him or even acknowledge that he even existed.

Title- Pre, The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend

Author-Tom Jordan

Publisher- Rodale Books

Messner- Gender and sport, Sexuality

In patriarchal societies, where a system of relations exist that legitimate male power over women, this inequality is portrayed through institutions, cultural practices, and within the media. The Victorian Era led to more opportunities for women through education, the workforce, and technologies. This era stressed women’s physiology, fashion, and their social expectations within the structures of society while also reflecting social class and race. It was thought that exercise was unfeminine, muscular, and even subject to uterine cancer. The Play Day Era arose to bring women together as a whole; sport for women by women. This was a way to bring all different female teams together and play more with each rather than against. The Cult of Manliness arose in the latter 19th/20th centuries and became a direct link to male masculinity. Thusly sport and male privileges are interconnected through structures and ideologies of American sport. Through structure, males are said to hold the power or what counts or what is considered to be “sport,” and through the ideologies that sport reinforces; by valuing the male body (strength, power, mass) and otherwise falling under the androcentric standards of sport.

Messner states that sexuality and gender are constructed differently between men and women in the world of sport. “Sport participation offers a normalizing equation for men: athleticism=masculinity=heterosexuality,” (Messner 225) whereas for women it is different. There is a circular question between athleticism, femininity, and heterosexuality; what a man does in sport can be seen as “normal” and when a women does the same thing, it is questioned as to whether or not one is a lesbian (manly). Along with others, Messner believes in challenging the binary, basically challenging the idea of female sport leads to homosexuality; a women can partake in athletics and still remain the same “gender.” He argues that the hierarchical theories have incorrectly names certain groups of people, the working class women, in relations to differential accesses to structured constraints (resources, opportunities, livelihoods, ect…)

Messners high school “Sexual Story” is broadly consisted of two situations; him rejecting Timmy and engaging in hegemonic masculinity of the rest of his team in the context of sport. Then, in order to insure/secure his spot as the leader on his team, he tried to be more aggressive, elbowing the “weakest” kid on the team in order to show his masculinity. I remember playing football and/or basketball in high school during gym class and me being one of the shortest kids, I was always being pushed around and felt like I just wasn’t as good as the others. I to tried would try to exhibit more aggressive, more dominant behaviors when a person bigger than me was guarding me.

Describe how the cult of manliness, The Victorian Era and The Play Day Era reinforce and or challenge former social constructions of gender? Use specific historic examples from lectures or your readings, particularly Cahn or Sage to illustrate this. How do dominant interrelated notions of sex and gender shape the way that sport is generally structured today? According to Mike Messner, how have dominant notions of sexuality and gender been constructed differently for men and women (223-226)? What is Messner's critique of homosexual as a category? In what ways in Messner's sexual story did Messner and his teammates construct or perform heterosexuality in sport(233)? Share an instance from your sport or physical activity experiences in which you have witnessed or participated in this construction. Please post this as a comment.

Seabiscuit: An American Legend

By Lauren Hillenbrand

Published by Random House, NY

Copyright 2001

biography

by sarah reinersten

Playing With Fire

BY: Theo Fleury, Kirstie McLellan Day

Published: October 2009

TITLE-

Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias

AUTHOR- Susan E. Cayleff

PUBLISHER- University of Illinois (1996)

Title: "My Life"

Earvin "Magic" Johnson with William Novak

Publisher: Fawcett, 1993

Alonzo Mourning

Mourning, Alonzo w/Dan Wetzel, Resilience (New York: Ballantine Books 2008).

Andre Agassi. Open: An Autobiography.

New York: AKA Publishing, LLC. (2009)

Andre Agassi

Open: An Autobiography
Andre Agassi
Random House 2009

Available on Amazon, and at the Iowa City and Coralville libraries.

Title: Favre

Authors: Brett and Bonita Favre

Publisher: Rugged Land, 2004

-Already had the book

Jason Peter

Title: Jason Peter- Hero of the Underground

Author: Jason Peter with Tony O'Neil

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, Copyright (2008)

My current roommate had previously read the book and recommended it to me

Joseph Dorinson, Charles E. Schumer, Joram Warmund - 1999 - Biography & Autobiography - 264 pages

Muhammad Ali

Title: The Greatest: My Own Story

Author: Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham

Publisher: Random House; 1st Edition (October 1975)

Purchased the book from Amazon.

ALLEN IVERSON

Author:Larry Platt

Publisher: Harper Collins


Copyright:2002


I got it from the Iowa City Public Library

Author: David Halberstam

Published by: Hyperion, New York

Copyright 2005

Got the book from a coach of mine.

The First Coming

The First Coming, Tiger Woods: Master or Martyr?
By John Feinstein
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group
Copyright 1998
I got it at the University of Iowa Library, and amazon had many new or used copies available.

Title: "On the Court with Lisa Leslie"

Written by: Matt Christopher

There are many copies on Amazon for a fairly cheap price.

Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph by Vivian Stringer with Laura Tucker

Crown Publishers: New York

I bought it on Amazon and they had a lot of copies

Title: Favre: The Man The Legend

Author: Members of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Bob Friday - Project Coordination and Design

Mark Hoffman - Book Photo Editor

Jack Emmrich - Photo Technician

Louis K. Saldivar, Enrique Rodriguez - Graphics

Louisa Boardman - Assistant Sports Editor/Copyeditor

Sherman Williams - Photo Editor

Garry D. Howard - Sports Editor

Thomas Baylerian, David Wise - Marketing

Members of Mojo Media, Inc.

Joe Funk - Editor

Jason Hinman - Creative Director

Published by: Journal Sentinel, Inc. 2008

2 copies on Amazon

Phil Jackson The Last Season: A Team in Search of its Soul

Title: Phil Jackson The Last Season: A Team in Search of its Soul
Author: Phil Jackson , Michael Arkush
Publisher: The Penguin Press; First Edition edition

Agassi, Andre (2009), Open: An Autobiography. New York: AKA Publishing, LLC. There are 9 copies of this at the Iowa City Public Library but none at the University Library.

Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson, written by Stephan Currie
Mason Crest Publishing Company (2008)

I chose Standing Tall, written by Vivian Stringer and Laura Tucker. Crown Publishers: New York. Copyright 2008 by C. Vivian Stringer. I chose it because I got the book for a holiday a while back and have not had the chance to read it yet.

Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by Coach John Wooden with Steve Jamison. McGraw-Hill Publishing. I borrowed the book from a friend. 

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins

Berkley Publishing Group 2000

American Victory

Authors: Henry Cejudo and Bill Plaschke

Found on Amazon

Biography Paper

Payton by Connie, Jarrett, and Brittney Payton and foreward by Brett Farve (Rugged Land, New York: 2005)

No difficulty finding this book. I found it at Borders.

Iceman: My fighting life
By Chuck Liddell with Chad Millman
Penguin Books, 2008

David Halberstam. Playing For Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made (New York: Random House, 2000).

Already had the book, so had no problem locating one.

Letters to a Young Gymnast (the art of mentoring), Nadia Comaneci

69 on Amazon unsure about UofI library.

Please post your book and an uploaded photo of the book cover or photo of the athlete, coach, owner, etc., that you are doing your project on. If it is not set it stone, put a book you are interested in. I want you to use this as a place to gather ideas. If you had a difficult time locating your book, make a note of it so your classmates will avoid a wild goose chase if they change their choice. I've provided you an example of what I'd like you to do below.

Rosemary Walner, Sheryl Swoopes (Boston: A&P Press, 2001).

or

Walner, Rosemary (2001), Sheryl Swoopes. Boston: A&P Press.

There are five copies of this on Amazon and one copy at the Iowa Public Library.

One of your classmates was able to upload this great South Park video that was quite applicable to our discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes lectures. Thanks Reiko!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x20aws_the-museum-of-tolerance_fun

Discrimination in Children: When blue-eyes and brown-eyes were differentiated from one another the children started to act differently. There was an immediate difference in their attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs about one another. Whoever was “superior” for that one day truly believed their teachers word and felt that they were. There was name calling; “brown-eyes” or “you’re stupid” and even fights at recess. In addition, there were differences in math scores from one day to the next. When “superior”, the kids always scored better. It was as if the inferior group’s mindset was so distraught that they could not focus or function as well, something is their head was telling them they were “dumb” or not capable. The inferior students suffered structural discrimination as they did not get seconds at lunch, extra recess time, nor were they able to use the drinking fountain. In addition, they were at an age where they respected authority.

Discrimination in Adults: The discrimination in adults was mainly about a person’s traits. They assumed that blue-eyed people were disrespectful, could not learn as fast, and needed instructions explained several times. They were being prejudice and making a “rush to judgment.” The prison staff was much older and therefore at a much later stage of development. As a result, they were not as respectful to Jane as an authority figure, especially those who were on the bottom and shared the blue eye characteristic with her. The adults had a harder time handling the situation because they were older. The children were able to learn the lesson at a young age and then implement what they learned throughout life.

With the prison staff, Elliot chose to set her experiment up with blue-eyes on the bottom. This was beneficial because there were more minorities, or people with colored skin, in the brown-eyed group, resembling prisoners. However, this time they were superior and supposed to represent the correctional officers. The blue-eyed group was to represent persons in prison. Therefore, roles were switched to emphasize what discrimination is and what it feels like. It was the correctional officers chance to feel what it is like being in their prisoners shoes. If blue-eyed persons would have been on top, the situation at the prison would have still been the same. A majority of whites would be in charge and people with colored skin discriminated against. Therefore, this was their chance to see that no matter the color of your skin, or eyes, everyone should be treated fairly. No one is superior based on these characteristics.

The correctional officers were considered part of the disempowered group. However, in this case, they were able to understand the extent of their disempowerment as the blue eyes went from “superior” to “inferior”. Since they had once possessed power, it was easy for them to tell when they did not. This was displayed when the blue-eyed people spoke back to Jane and she criticized their every word. They soon realized whatever they said did not make a difference. They had no power and had to consent to the status quo, or whatever Jane was telling them. One particular lady spoke up amongst the blue eyes people to try and resist the status quo, but she could not win. The other blue eye individuals did not speak out to help gain power and stand up for themselves. Jane was using the ideology of racism, except that she chose eye color instead of skin color. Jane maintained power by continuing to criticize and provide examples of how blue-eyes were inferior. For example, she used the verbal and written test.

My most memorable part of A Class Divided involved the students. As third graders, they acted in ways that I never expected and they understood what was happening. One student even said, “I felt like a King, like I was better than them.” I could not believe the feelings they expressed having, I didn’t think third graders would be able to fully comprehend what she was trying to teach them. Also, I certainly did not expect there to be such a difference in their math scores.