Gender Lines
Women in Sports
The highest paid female athlete is Maria Sharapove, at $29 million. While the highest paid male athlete is Tiger Woods at $78.1 million. There is a huge difference today between a male and female atheltes salary and sponsorships.
Recently, more females have been particiapting in sports due to new opportunites, government equal rights legislation, a global women's rights and health and fitness movement and increased media coverage.
Although there has been a great deal of progress made for female athletes, there salaries and opportunities remain limited.
In the News
The Numbers
With increased involvement in sports, more women are making the news about the challenges they are overcoming in a male dominated field. Here are some articles that my classes have assigned me to read:
Erin DiMeglio was the first female varisty quarterback. She was accepted by her teammates through her abilities, but faced a great deal of obstacles to get her spot on the team.
Caster Semenya brought attention to the question of what it means to be a woman and the boundaries that are created between what is the expected preformance of men and women in sports.
Lolo Jones is an example of a high profile female athlete who is receiving attention for her looks and off the stage actions as opposed to her performance.
What do you see?
Have you read any of these articles? What is your reaction? Have you learned about gender inequaility in sports today? Or seen anything through the media or your everyday life?
Share your thoughts, experiences and interaction about learning of gender in sports in and out of the classroom.