Femininity and Athleticism: A Synonym
It is no secret that girls quit sports at a younger age than boys do. It is no secret that there is greater female participation in sports amongst the youth population than the teen population. It is no secret that many girls have less access to sports than boys do. It is no secret that gender roles and stereotypes are present in society. It is no secret that in all parts of the world women are sexualized for their bodies. It is no secret that females in the sports world are deprived of equal opportunities. There are a lot of reasons why females quit sports but today we are just diving into one: the masculinity stereotype. It is time to erase these factors that play into a girls reluctance to play sports and start fostering a new type of culture where femininity and athletics do not contradict one another.
According to a study by womeninsport.org, 64% of girls will have quit sports by the time they have finished puberty. There are many possible reasons for this, but the one discussed today is the simple fact that as an individual becomes a teenager, they are more conscious of what people think about them. This is something that happens to all people of different genders, races, and ethnicities. As puberty hits and middle school and high school are approaching, the common teen starts to care more about what their peers think: am I too skinny? Am I not skinny enough? Is my hobby cool? Am I smart enough? Am I too smart and nerdy? For the average teenager they question everything about themselves and a percentage of such questions may relate to their athleticism. Evidently, this self doubt and excessive care can be extremely detrimental for girls in the sports world because sports are seen in society as a more masculin activity. And as girls start to question their role in the world and explore their femininity, these questions may drive them away from their athletic hobbies.
Although there is a lot of work being done to eliminate this stereotype, and we have made great strides, part of this idea still remains in countless adolescent girls. The idea of athletics being a masculine hobby causes girls to quit in fear of body image issues and social backlash. For example, on the Women's Sports Foundation website page “Do You Know the Factors Influencing Girls’ Participation in Sports?“ it states “During socially fragile adolescence, the fear of being tagged “gay” is strong enough to push many girls out of the game.” The fear of social backlash added to the criticisms of an evolving body are just enough to keep many out of sports. Girls are scared that their bodies will get unattractive and muscular. Girls are scared that they won’t be able to find a significant other. Girls are scared that they will be called gay. Girls are scared that their feminity will be taken from them.
The masculine feminne constraint forces many females to feel like they can not be a “girly girl”, for lack of a better term, if they play sports. For many girls, especially during adolescence, they want to feel beautiful and feminine, which is something that they do not see sports contributing too. Is it because sports is associated with strength which is a word that, throughout history, is strongly related to men? Serena Williams once said “Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they’re afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive.”
This may seem like a larger societal issue that we can not change. However, we need to make sure that girls around us see the reality. Sports and femininity can simultaneously exist. You do not have to give one up for another. Being athletic, healthy, and active is not masculine: it is beautiful and feminine. We need to start fostering a culture where girls do not feel the gender norm pressures to quit sports. We can do so by having conversations with the girls around us, by showing how beautiful our sport is, by showing the “girly girl” side next to the athletic side, and so much more. As cheesy as it is, we can change the world one girl at a time.
Sources
https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Reframing-Sport-for-Teenage-Girls-small.pdf