http://sports.espn.go.com/videohub/video/video?id=4628040
This is a video of a soccer game in which one girl (#15) is obviously acting violent to the other players in a way that is not acceptable in the game of soccer. Being a female soccer player myself, I know how violent it can get out on the field during intense games. However, this is not a prevailing act. This raises the conclusion that violence is not only spurred among men in sports, but in females as well. It is not right to assume that only males would harbor enough aggression inside them to externally display it during a sports game because as #15 shows, this is clearly not the case. She was doing things hurtful to the other players although it was just a game and therefore, she exemplifies, and thereby condtradicts the issue at hand.
It's interesting to me that in the leagues that didn't really establish different games for the female division of the sport, for example, AYSO, (as opposed to softball/little league) that we see more violent coverage in the media of these female sports. This observation implies that maybe people still aren't entirely okay with the idea of female athletes since they focus on the violence it spurs in girls as opposed to their athletic abilities. If this were a boy soccer team, ESPN coverage would probably cover it more lightly and dismiss it playfully. (I am pretty confident in this assertion because my boyfriend watches ESPN ALLLL THE TIME and I'm forced to watch with him and I notice the differences between female and male coverage frequently.
The video also contradicts the idea that sports only produce positive impacts in female because as we see, the girl has been reduced to doing inappropriate acts to express her anger in losing the game. However, this does not mean that it's okay for men to engage in this kind of behavior and not be called out as well. It's important to think about the violence fostered by sports for both genders because we shouldn't be in a society that positively reinforces men for violent behavior and then put females under similar circumstances and expect them to not act with some aggression. We shouldn't want either gender or any genders to be super violent and reinforce their behavior when they are. HOWEVER, I do not think that the negative impacts sports evoke outweigh the positive because sports have the ability to bring people together and find common interests. It also teaches various characteristics such as teamwork, determination, persistence, and others that can be useful and as we can see from the video, the majority of participants were not engaging in inappropriately violent behavior, rather it was just one of the girls.
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Wow! I was absolutely blown away when I watched this video. I could not believe the violence that was going on in a college level soccer game. This may be a result of my lack of interest in soccer and choice not to follow it but never did I know it reached this extent. I agree with Arielle in that for sports like AYSO that did not create a new sport for women, there is almost an expectation that if men are allowed to be violent when playing the sport, then so are women. But for sports like softball, the baseball equivalent for females, these actions would not be acceptable. Regardless of gender, I believe these actions to be disgraceful and out of line. Sports don't need to be aggressive and even when losing, there is no reason to bring your aggression out on your opponent. As an athlete I find much value in sport without violence and fell as though because women look up to men in the athletic world as role models because they have been playing for longer, there is no exception for actions like those of number 15 in this video.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when watching this video, not because a woman was performing such violence but because a person in general was. The New Mexico player was extremely violent, often times after a play was made and thus unnecessarily displaying aggression. Although many scholars say that there are only positive effects of girl's sports, I believe that this video of the BYU vs. New Mexico soccer game refutes this statement. Sports games stimulate demonstrations of violence in females as well as males. When scholars ignore these actions, they are emphasizing the differences between the genders and the way they are supposed to act - completely ignoring the similarities. Rather, this situation projects the theory that a sport itself - not gender differences - promotes violence, thus supporting the theory of social constructionism. If the same environment can create the same reactions amongst people of different genders, the notion that gender differences are formed by societal actions is reinforced. Though the overarching effects of sports are beneficial for youth, the violence factor is worrisome. #15's atrocious and violent actions are completely unacceptable, regardless of her gender or the effect that her gender has on her.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important to differentiate between aggression that goes toward the sport and violence. For example, while football might be seen as a violent sport, a hard hit is just part of the game. In soccer, muscling for position on the ball or a hard slide tackle are also parts of the game. This video, on the other hand, shows a player going beyond the normal aggression of the game. The first few shots that are shown could be construed as part of the game, but the last one (where she pulls the other player by the pony tail to the ground) is definitely "down right unsporty." I don't think that this type of behavior would be tolerated in a man's sport either. For example, Bruce Bowen, a former player for the Spurs in the NBA used to be known as a dirty player because he went beyond the normal aggression and often took cheap shots at other players ankles. His obvious flagrant play was not tolerated by the media, just as this New Mexico's players were not tolerated. In this case, I don't really think that gender has very much to do with how her actions were viewed. When talking about unsportsmanlike conduct, gender is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteMany women athletes are outraged when men consider them to be less capable of playing sports just because they are women. This video points out the strength of women athletes but to the other extreme. The violent actions of Mexican player, Elizabeth Lambert, depict an extremely harsh and violent women athlete. This is probably not true amongst the majority of women athletes and should not be taken as depiction of their image as a whole. By making this footage, ESPN either on purpose or not sets a negative tone for women athletes. It is unfortunate enough that they are considered as being less capable than men athletes; they do not need another incident to degrade their reputation. Male athletes, even much worse, have done so many violent acts but those incidents do not go under the spotlight as women athletes’ fights. Therefore, this video reinforces the gender norms commonly held in society, that men can be more tough, but women are more soft. As a result, a little deviation from that norm would be placed under a huge spotlight.
ReplyDeleteWhen I watched this video, I was so shocked that how come a soccer player could hit the other player's back or even pull other player's hair and make that person fall on the ground in the game. No matter men or women, playing sports should follow the rules, and I do not think that the New Mexico soccer players in the video have follow the rules of game. In addition, I think that the New Mexico soccer players do not portray what we have seen in class, which is women athletes are mostly showing feminine side to public. We usually do not see female atheles be mascular in media; even though there are female athletes in media, there are also male athletes who mainly showing they are playing the sports instead of the female athletes. We have the idea of female athletes who are all feminine, but not masculine. Thus, watching this video has a different point of view that not all female athletes are as feminine as we think of. In addition, this video gives me the idea of female athletes are also involved in the sports' violence. Not only male athletes involved in the sports' violence, but also female athletes, too. This video gives me the view that female athletes are not portryed as feminine as I have seen in class, instead, when female athletes are in the game, they could play as masculine as male athletes.
ReplyDeleteI’m at a loss of words how outrageously belligerent Elizabeth Lambert is and how she didn’t get thrown out of the game after she almost snapped the opponent’s neck off. I agree with Arielle how the media exaggerates the violent coverage of women’s sports because women are attributed to play by the rules more than men, and that women are less hostile. Undoubtedly, Elizabeth Lambert’s behaviors should not be interpreted through a gender lens, but rather on a psychological level. Although such violent fouls are more prevalent in men’s sports than women’s, Lambert’s behavior is very rare and I think she needs some serious anger management therapy. Some scholars argue that female sports are beneficial for girls’ behaviors for teaching them competitiveness, self-assurance, and teamwork, but I think it only applies when the girls are young. Sports certainly evoke violence for both genders, but bad sportsmanships do exist among both genders equally but occurences among women are conveyed in a negative light by the media.
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