terms 2

Conditional self-worth- concept that people, especially atheletes, values themselves differently under a certain condition. For athlete this could be whether they played well or not in there last game
Messner: your only as good as your last game


Suppression of empathy- concept that highly affects men. Men are encouraged to suprssed any form of sympathy for others because it shows weakness and vulnerability- not commonly held masculine traits.
This is shown in football and the NFL


The pain principle- concept that it is engrained in men to tolerate as much pain as possible and fight through it in order to be masculine and “tough.” This was displayed when Messner talked about how NFL players become legendary for their toughness, and recognized for their tolerance of pain.

terms

Right to life v. pro choice- conflict in the stance of whether or not abortions should be legal or not. Pro life people advocate the person has rights to life when they are conceived whereas pro choice people see it that a woman should have power over her own body and that that a fetus only become a person after it is viable, and could survive with the mother’s body
Ex: This debate is very important in terms of poverty because impoverished women may have less children if abortion is known of and available.

Moral absolutism v. Moral Relativism- refers to the debate as to whether there are universal, natural principles with hold a common moral truth, or whether there are conditional moral truths relative to ones situation and influences.

Two Terms

Concerted Cultivation: the ideal physical manifestation of this concept are the cliche piano lessons almost every household in suburbia seems to partake in. As Annette Lareau describes the term, values, lessons, activities, and morales of the the upper middle class seem to be very important aspects of parenting. Parents seem to pride themselves on the lessons of self-motivation and knowledge to make their children more aware of the various social institutions. 

Opting Out: this word refers to the act of quitting work for household needs. This idea is especially seen in housewives and women who are forced to tend to their household's needs: a trend referred to as the "third shift" by Michael Messner. In most of the examples presented in the book, women are not doing the literal meaning of the term "opting out" but instead have no other choice because of financial circumstances.

Definitions

1) Strategic Friendliness- a study done by Jennifer Pierce which shows a strategy that lawyers use to get ahead in their field. By employing strategic friendliness they try to "win over or dominate" another person. Messner uses this term when defining the CEO coach's style of coaching. He argues that the CEO coach is no less competitive than the Drill Sergeant coach, but he uses strategic friendliness, or quick thinking and exceptional talking ability, to get ahead of his competition.


2) Pain Principle- the pain principle is a concept brought up by Don Sabo. In this principle Sabo is discussing how male athletes tend to want to fight through pains and injuries for in order to achieve the glory of winning. Men tend to thwart their bottled up feelings and emotions (of their struggles striving for success) towards their opponents in order to play at their highest level.

Terms blog

I thought that the most interesting terminology was involved with the coaching titles. That is, Teddy Bear, Crossing Guard, Drill Sergeant, CEO. The teddy bear is the coach for young individuals and they are very soft and caring. This is typically attributed to the "soft" coaches who are soft spoken and easy going. They understand the game of young children. They coach young children and they hardly ever get mad or yell at the kids. This is not common for women to have these coaching jobs although it is seen as less competitive and a less powerful position. The next coaching spot up is the Crossing Guard. This coach brings coaching to the next level. They get increasingly more competitive and louder. They yell more and use their power more often. They require respect from their team. They are much more demanding then the teddy bear coach. Then is the Drill Sergeant. This type of coach is much louder and is completely a one sided method. They do not listen to anyone else, but simply give orders and rules. They are extremely competitive and not sympathetic at all. They are much more harsh then the other two levels and are by far the loudest of the coaches. Then is the CEO. The CEO is almost always male, and is naturally respected. The kids never question them, and listen to them. The CEO does not have to be loud, they are simply respected. These different levels of coaching seem completely accurate to me which is fascinating. I have played three sports my entire life and these definitions were spot on. I began with the Teddy Bear, and then moved through the stages until the CEO. I never saw this as gender stereotype until I realized the only woman coach that I had that was female was the Teddy Bear. Then each coach who yelled was a male and I had an assistant coach that was female who acted as the Teddy Bear simply listening and helping us with our problems. Now that Messner pointed out the gender divisions of labor, I have realized how apparent it truly is in our society.

Term Definitions

Culture of Silence: The reluctance to speak up about a matter which is known to exist, but is not discussed or acknowledged due to communal, unspoken consensus. An example of this would be Our Guys, a book by Bernard Lefkowitz in which he describes a 1989 gang rape of a "slightly retarded" 17 year old girl by a group of high status athletes. There were 13 boys in total, 6 of them leave before the rape begins. These 6 boys KNOW what's about to happen, and know that it is wrong, but because they are all members of the same team, they don't say anything to an authority figure. Of the 7 who stay, only 2 actually commit assault, the other 5 serve as the audience members who facilitate the rape by cheering on the 2.

Dynamics of the Athletic Male Peer Group: Audience: These are the "wannabe boys and men who actively applaud and support the words and practices of the Leaders - High Status boys and men at the center of their group who perpetrate misogynist, homophobic, assault at the Target - vulnerable, feminized object of ridicule, degradation, sexual assault, and conquest. Also, the Marginals are the lower status group members who support leaders with their silent complicity. An example of this can be the rape described by Lefkowitz in his book Our Guys, where the 17 year old girl serves as the Target, 6 boys who first leave are the Marginals, the 2 who actually rape the target are the Leaders, and the 5 who cheer them on are the Audience. Although this is the rape of a female, a male often serves as the target. For instance in fraternities, sports teams, the military etc, where there are all males, and all have to have initiation rituals (hazing).