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.