Saturday, March 26, 2011
Race, Gender and Sport
We have spent the last couple of weeks talking about performances of femininity and masculinity and their relation to race. So what are the ways in which different forms of masculinity or femininity complicate how we see race? We talked about black femininity, Asian masculinity but what about identities we haven't talked about. Are certain forms of black masculinity more acceptable than others? What about Asian femininity or women who practice Islam? How do these performances influence our perceptions of others? How do we see examples in sport?
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Some forms in which masculinity and femininity complicate how we see race is from the mass media; internet, T.V., books, magazines, etc. They help portray how we let masculinity or femininity complicate race. Also how we let it complicate race, is how African Americans tend to use there boldness, aggressiveness and manly like ways towards people which I think gets in the way of people's judgment about them. I think certain forms of black masculinity are acceptable than others, because people are use to and that's what African Americans are looked as basically now.I don't think women who practice Islam are being as accepted as others and neither do I think Asian femininity is. I think it influences our perceptions of others because once we see enough people doing a certain thing we believe all of that culture or ethnic group behave that way instead of giving each everyone of them a chance, we judge them before hand. A perfect example would be how Americans look at Islamic people. Since September 11th a stereotype that happened, was pretty much all Americans feel threatened when seeing someone of an Islamic culture on a plane with them. We see examples in sport with certain races dominating a sport and then you believe or can almost guess what sport that person likes because they've grown up watching their race dominate it or have success in that area.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the Islamic women, which we talked about Friday and watched the movie on it on Monday, really sort of opened my eyes. Since the war has been going on over in the middle east, I feel like we're more exposed to how their countries operate. And I knew that women were treated much different over there than they are here. I guess one thing that really shocked me was the article about the closing of the gym at Harvard. I feel like they have to respect their religion and all, but why can't they just make an all girls time slots? And thats here in the States, nowhere near the Middle East. Speaking of which, the movie Offsides we began watching was a first hand experience in seeing what really goes on at events like soccer games. The way they were treated kind of shocked me as well. When I kept hearing that the girls would most likely be killed if they got caught sneaking into the game, I just couldn't really believe it.
ReplyDeleteI think that black masculinity forms that are the most accepted are the bigger and the better. For instance, football players, members of arguably the most popular sport in this country, are most likely going to be called more masculine then say tennis players. I'm not saying that baseball and basketball players aren't masculine, but those are much more skill specified sports (shooting a basketball, hitting a baseball), versus football, where many players can play different kinds of positions. These big, strong, athletic black players are the genre of athlete i think most civilians say are the most masculine.
When we look at how race intersects with masculinity and femininity, societies racial stereotypes can become blurred. The most relevant example of this that I can think of is Antoine Dodson. I am sure everyone has seen his “Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband” interview. In this interview, Dodson is very upset but even more evident is that he is flamboyantly gay. He says every word with a sass about it that society associates with women and femininity. This is not how the stereotypical black man “should” act. The most acceptable black male is portrayed in the football or basketball player’s body who is chill, big, strong, and very masculine. These are all characteristics Dodson does not have. As I thought about it more and read this article (http://www.afterelton.com/bg20something/antione-dodson-conundrum), society does not really accept gay blacks. Almost all gay guys in the media and film are white. Therefore, when the media makes such a big deal out of the Dodson interview, people are going to assume that all gay black guys are very feminine and act just like Dodson. That is going to be the image painted in their mind. This perception of gay blacks also has a negative effect on blacks in general. When people watch Dodson make a huge scene and then see white gay guys not making a huge scene, they start to think that it must be because Dodson is black that he acts the way he does. This creates a stereotype of black people as being irrational and dramatic. Portrayals of gay blacks like Dodson aid in suppressing gay black guys in sport from coming out. They may be afraid that everyone will assume that they are very feminine and that they are not strong and tough enough to play sports.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what Danny said regarding the closing of the Harvard gym so that the women could work out. I don’t see why they have to close down the whole gym just for those women. By making such drastic accommodations for anyone stereotypes (and oftentimes negative stereotypes) can easily be formed. For example with these Islamic women, society may start to perceive that these women have to be catered to – that they can’t do much without special accommodations. This sets up a bad stereotype of all Islamic women.
Looking at race and how it interesects with femininity and masculinity can help us understand why people think of race in the way they do. Femininity and masculinity can complicate how we see race because we get one idea in our head about how people should act and when they don't follow those norms they are looked down upon. A lot of our perceptions come from the media and books or magazines. The media often depicts people to look a certain way and that is how we believe things are.
ReplyDeleteWhen we talk about white women being feminine we expect them to have long cute hair and dress in a feminine manner. We expect them to be polite and curtious. However in the case with Jennifer Harris she was expected to be feminine as well, but how the white coach preceived feminine women to look like. Black women have a different sense of when feminine can look like. Also we can't forget to look at how someone grew up and the type of environment they were surrounded by. When people see that black women like Jennifier dress in baggy clothes and have corn rows we stereotype that all black women are like that. We all are taught at a young age of how women and men are supposed to look and act according to the social norm, however many factors can influence ones style, look and actions.
We see how men are expected to be hyper masculine and when they aren't they are looked down upon and thought to be less of a man. In sports we see the black male dominating football and basketball and we expect all of them to be very masculine because that is how those athletes are portrayed. This causes a problem in our country because all people begin to believe that if a man isn't like those athletes, that something is wrong with the.
Looking at the Islam race we see how after 9/11 the perception about all Islamic people was bad. All Islamic people were put under the stereotype of being bad people and looked at as being terrorist. People needed and still need to look at the bigger picture. People of all races do horrible things, that does not mean that everyone of that particular race is a horrible person. Something a few people did made our countries preception of a whole race different.
There are multiple ways different forms of masculinity and femininity that complicate our perceptions on how we as a society view race. The different stereotypes we label certain groups that have occurred over time have influenced these perceptions. Stereotypes like men who play football are supposed to be tough and aggressive and if presented the opportunity to play football, they should. Another example of a stereotype along the lines of femininity is the preconceived notions on how women are supposed to act while participating in sports. For example in the Harris article, Harris was criticized for her homosexuality, short hair, and other traits that society views as not being feminine. Along the lines of a more specific group of masculinity and femininity are the stereotypes that society gives to black masculinity and Asian femininity. Many traits are seen as unacceptable by society when they view black masculinity. They are viewed as being aggressive, prone to violence, and in ways harmful to society as we discussed in lecture. There are certain forms of black masculinity that are more acceptable than the ones mentioned. Attributes like athletic, strong, and competitive. These are traits that are also associated with the black masculine male and are seen as being more productive and conducive to sport. Asian femininity also carries its own stereotypes when it comes to sport. They are seen as being smart and not as athletic as say a black female. These views based on society’s stereotypes of masculinity and femininity can impact our views as well. Being around these society’s beliefs can eventually impact our decisions and views on how we view people in a masculine and feminine way. We see examples through sport from the football field with black masculinity to women’s rowing as seen in the Tsang article and Asian femininity. Every sport in today’s society deals with masculinity and femininity and since sports play a great deal in shaping individuals, these views that society gives along the basis of masculinity and femininity can impact our views as students.
ReplyDeleteThe different forms of masculinity and femininity give people a perception of a race that ends up with a prejudice that people hold against a certain race. The main way these prejudice seem to form is from the media. The media tends to group together masculinities and femininities of different races. Examples like shows seeming to have the smart Asian or Indian kid, or a lot of times the black male is shown as the athlete and tends to not be as smart I believe the athletic piece of black masculinity is acceptable in most cases, the problem becomes that a lot of the time it is matched with laziness in school or being just a “jock.”
ReplyDeleteHispanic masculinity has some prejudice that follows it. A lot of times they are seen as hard working blue collar type, but they are also sometimes seen as “dirty.” Because they are hard-working and take lower paying blue collar jobs they are seen this way. I feel this also comes from how they are portrayed a lot of the time in media, especially all the illegal immigration coverage which can lead to putting that label on all Hispanic Americans.
When it comes to Islamic women, they are seen as below the men in their culture it seems. They are not allowed to do all the things men are, just because they are women. They are “protected” from the outside world such as the soccer game because according to the men they shouldn’t be allowed to hear the swearing and cursing if their team loses. By not allowing the women to live a normal life, I think the world starts to look down on their women because that’s what it seems like the men of their own culture do to them. The film “Offside” is a good example of how the women are not allowed to live the way they want. All the women wanted to do is be a part of the Iranian team’s win that allowed them to go to the World Cup, but were instead treated like prisoners.
Sport helps society distinguish what is considered masculinity and femininity. The standards of masculine and feminine are generally based on white norms. So people of different race and ethnicity have different views of what is masculine or feminine. Since most people see gender norms through white people, so people of different races are "the other." Being of another race or ethnicity already others these people, but gender norms further “others” them. The norms for black femininity and Asian masculinity do not really fit with the norms of white masculinity or femininity. We have only really discussed well known stereotypes of gender. We do not usually talk about Asian femininity because there is no strong stereotype regarding this group. Stereotypes exist because there are people that fit into them and we usually accept these people more openly than those who do not fit into. People are more willing to accept a black athlete over an Asian athlete, male or female as opposed to a studious black male versus an Asian male student. We do not really see anything wrong with someone who does not fit into the most common group, but there are groups which we accept more freely. When it comes to Muslim women in America, people are not as accepting of them as other minority groups. There are many rules and restrictions from their religion that makes their participation in sport difficult. Since Americans want everyone to fit into the mold that already exists here, it is more difficult for them to fit in.
ReplyDeleteWe are more accepting of groups that are willing to fit into what America has already set up. Athletes like Hideo Nomo, who work hard and fit into the norms of America, are more likely to fit in and be accepted here than the groups who focus Americans to knowledge the differences of racial and gender groups, such as Muslim women who used to gym during reserved, men’s free, hours.
Different forms of masculinity and femininity associated with race are portrayed through the media and sport. The first example of this is a video we watched early in semester from an episode of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The scene featured a black man walking into a bar when it was closed and the guys thought the man was looking for trouble or trying to rob them. They were making fun of the stereotype that black men are supposed to have this masculinity about them featuring a rough and aggressive nature. This flows over to the concept of sport where black men are expected to be this aggressive freak of nature in sports such as basketball or football. In some cases this is true but in others it is not and it is unjust when people assume this aggressive nature always carries over off the court. Don't get me wrong there are some men who I've been around who are out of control off the court, but I think it is an unfair compliment when people run into a black athlete off the court and say such things as "I was surprised to find out he was really a nice and calming individual". This is unfair to black men to get this "surprised" reaction out of people. Through the media and what they see on tv in sport they automatically assume they are going to be unmannered and aggressive. This idea is also seen in the Harris article in that she was expected to act this certain way because thats how her coach saw her basketball players.
ReplyDeleteAnother identity we haven't mentioned that comes to my mind is how a male figure skater or male cheerleader is perceived. They are seen to have a certain amount of femininity in the sport they participate in. I remember during the last winter olympics Evan Lysacek became the first US man to win the figure skating competition in 22 years. Everyone around me was talking about how feminine and gay this guy was acting in interviews. People were associating the sport of figure skating with women and expected any man who was participating in it to most likely be homosexual. But little did people know that Evan was dating US olympian gymnast Nastia Liukin at the time and was a masculine man off the ice. This assumption wasn't fair to an incredible athlete who I am sure has fought the stereotype his whole life as a male figure skater.
Islamic women are looked down upon in their culture without any choice by them. The women in "Offsides" weren't allowed to be at the game because they would hear the men swearing and cursing so instead they were treated like prisoners. The way they were treated was incredibly downgrading and incredible to think that it still goes on to this day as that movie takes place just before the 06 world cup. These women don't get the same opportunities to watch sports so i'm sure they don't get the same opportunity to play them. In their culture they are expected to be a certain way and it is not allowed by the government to break away from that mold.
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ReplyDeleteI want to first start by saying Laura has an interesting point when talking about homosexual black males in our society. I have seen that interview with Dodson and didn’t initially make that correlation between his actions and the repercussions it would have on African Americans in general. When looking at black masculinity and its effects it has on the race I think is in the eye of the beholder. What is portrayed in the media and within the culture as masculine for African Americans is a combination of being aggressive , athletic, entertainment, or dangerous to name a few. Very rarely do we see African Americans portrayed as intellects. From the outside of that culture looking in it’s hard to understand why individuals have to be so dangerous or aggressive for example. Yet being a part of the culture maybe you can relate or understand that maybe if you are not “hard” or considered dangerous you just become a target or victim. When you maybe talk a little different than your peers or sound more educated that is not something that warrants respect, instead it’s seen as being weak or not as masculine. What do you do? Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of removing yourself from the environment so you have to conform in some sense.
ReplyDeleteA woman that practice’s Islam and participates in sport is something of a rarity. I only know a little about Islam and their culture but most of that came from the articles we read for class. So I spent some time searching the internet to see if I could find anything related to Islamic practice and sports and I found an Islamic question and answer website where someone asked the question “How Does Islam View Sports and Exercise?” Even though the article basically said that sport and exercise is good there were still limitations that quite frankly would not allow women to participate in certain sports at all. In the article it says that a woman and mans “nakedness” must be covered, no spandex or tight clothing. Already that eliminates swimming, running in hot weather, and basically any other sport that requires a lot of movement and free motion. I’m sure that because women cannot participate in the sports does not mean that they don’t want to, but once again on the outside looking in other cultures may see this as maybe they are not good enough to compete, or they lack the physical capabilities. Our misunderstanding of a cultures lack of participation in sports shaping idea’s of the culture as a whole.
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/islam-and-the-world/worldview/166082-how-does-islam-view-sports-and-exercise.html
Masculinity and femininity can be intertwined with race especially when it comes to sports. One sport that I find this occurs is cheerleading. When one thinks of cheerleaders, they probably think of very bubbley, happy, and outgoing people. Also, when thinking of the race and gender of a cheerleader, one probably thinks of a white female. So, when an African American male cheerleader comes around a lot of people question what he is doing in that sport. I agree with Marble when he said the perception of black males is aggressive and manly and cheerleading is not what one would think of when they think of that. So one might put negative accusations on that African American cheerleader because they are not used to it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think certain forms of black masculinity are more acceptable than others. The athletic, big, tall black male would be much more acceptable in today’s society than a feminine smaller black male. Like danny said, football and basketball players for example are very “acceptable.”
I think the view on Islam woman is one of protection. When you think of them you might think how they do not get the same rights as men, they are not allowed into places where they could be corrupted(like the soccer game in Offsides), and they could even be considered below or underneath men. I think this view on them causes everyone else to maybe look down at them as lesser people, or sort of like children in respect to other woman. Here is an article talking about how Islam women are not treated equal as men www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,185647,00.html and I think this is the basic idea that most people have about them.
For the most part, femininity and masculinity complicate how society sees race because the former gets more attention than the ladder. Race relations can still be taboo in some parts of the world, particularly for people of different races. People seem to be so caught up in one’s sexuality or if they are performing like their gender is “supposed” to, that other power lines get pushed to the side. An example of this is the situation surrounding Jennifer Harris during her time at Penn State. Harris was on the women’s basketball team, but would get continual threats about getting kicked off of the team because her sexuality was in question. More specifically, Harris would have been released of her scholarship solely because there was chatter about her possibly being a lesbian. Penn State’s coach — as depicted in the film Training Rules — wanted her players to act and appear girly in public due to the negative connotations that can sometimes be tied to women’s sport. Through all of this, though, the fact that she was black barely got mentioned. What if the head coach also held her accountable because she favored white players? We’ll never know.
ReplyDeleteThe film Offside does a solid job of detailing how Islamic (Iranian) women are unable to attend men’s sporting events. This is a tremendous issue in Iran. Well, with women at least. Some people, like the girls shown in the film, try to get into games disguised as men. For some, though, the risk is just as high as the reward. These women are supposed to be focused on getting an education and then supporting themselves in their adult life. At soccer games for example, the higher authorities in Iran don’t want women to partake in the yelling and cursing like some of the male fans at the games do. In essence then, these women are deprived of a sporting experience s because they shouldn’t be exposed to certain things that go on during Iranian sporting events.
In sport, I think some citizens tend to cringe or lift an eye if women are playing a certain sport. I think the one of those sports is hockey. I don’t have a personal experience related to this, but I get the sense that, at least in the United States, there isn’t much interest in women’s hockey. In the men’s game, there is hitting of fellow players, or checking. Additionally, there are fights between players. This is sometimes somewhat set up, but is definitely a huge attraction for fans. What if two women started to punch each other on the hockey rink? Mass hysteria (as in a vast media outbreak) would likely ensue. This would never happen in men’s hockey.
Like others have mentioned I feel that the media plays the biggest role in complicating how we see race. African Americans are portrayed more positively in physical sports such as football and even boxing at times. Some people have the unfair stereotype that African Americans are more aggressive than other races so they find it more accepting for black athletes to be successful in aggressive sports such as football. The performances of these athletes generate unfair stereotypes within the sporting society. For example some people suggest that sports like basketball and football are better suited to the African American body type due to the large amount of black athletes represented within these sports. By saying certain sports fit the black athletes physique, they are referring to another stereotype of blacks being faster and stronger than other athletes. It is unfair for the media to make judgments or assumptions about an entire race from a group of people or athletes who do not necessarily represent the rest of the population fairly.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Islamic women and Asian femininity,they are not very widely accepted. In our culture you do not see it as much but after watching "Offsides" in class this week I realized that there are some countries still today that strongly restrict women's rights. One exception to this unfair treatment would be from the Harvard article we read in class earlier this month. In this case there were special exceptions made just for a group of women to exercise, which surprised me.
Based on the tragic occurrences of Sept 11, 2001, there has been a general stereotype of muslims being extremists, vigilante, terrorists, etc. Muslim women as was depicted in the movie "Offsides" showed the treatment of women as it relates to sports. The women in the scenes were not allowed to participate or be in the company of men for a World Cup qualifying game between Iran and Bahrain
ReplyDeleteAs discussed in class, black masculinity as being aggressive on the sporting arena etc is thought of as being more acceptable than being shown in a non sport setting.
We look at Jennifer Harris (which seem to be a popular example) with her corn row hairstyle and her athletic wear, along with her aggressive style of playing basketball, she is already typecasted as aggressive and more athletic than the others.
So when a particular stereotype (if you wish and for the lack of a better word) is set up, it changes with a man doing less than the so called perceived aggressive sports. My classmates mentioned male cheerleaders and figure skaters and the perception that they are gay or just not that masculine as their other counterparts.
It all comes down to how we as a people perceive ourselves, we have help with television being the holder of all knowledge. So what i am saying instead of having preconceived judgment of people that we do not know, why not get to know them?
In everyday life or especially in the media people will try not to focus on race. However when the subject matter revolves around gender race is an extremely hard thing to overlook. This is very apparent when it comes to black femininity and masculinity. The appearance of black masculinity for males is considered to be the norm, but for black females it’s another story. Like we saw in the Jennifer Harris article taking about female basketball, black females are forced to conform to the white standard of beauty in order to be considered feminine. In a black female where her hair natural it is considered mescaline, but if her hair or appearances resembles white features then is considered feminine. The same thing can be said in advertisements or even in beauty magazines where the magazine well alter the color of black females skin to make them look closer to white than they are to black. For white people the only way to really for a female to look mescaline was to look more like a male and vice versa for African Americans they have to conform to the norms of another race. In other cultures like Islam the separation of gender is much stricter. For woman in Islamic cultures in order to stay feminine they must not swear, watch sporting events or dress in a certain way or else they will be considered mescaline, just like we saw in the film Offsides. For The American culture a lot of gender has to do with appearances as opposed to attitudes, where in other cultures it may rely more on the attitude. In the American version of masculinity and femininity they are determined by appearance, the exact way the race is determined, which make race nearly an impossible thing to over look considering both are determined by the judgment of others.
ReplyDeleteI don’t buy into the thought that there is any difference in masculinity among whites, blacks, Asians, etc. But that the only pre-requisite to be seen as masculine lies in sexuality, in that one must be heterosexual to be seen as masculine. For example, there is only one male, openly gay professional athlete; Gareth Thomas. Thomas is a Welsh rugby player who looks anything but the homosexual stereotype.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/12/26/mickey-rourke-to-play-a-man-who-plays-rugby-who-is-gay/gareth-thomas/
Many people ignore Thomas’ bravery, and believe he lives in the perfect environment, being surrounded by males on team. The truth of the matter is that rugby is seen as one of the most masculine activities one can partake in, and Thomas’ bravery should be lauded. I think it’s troubling how people may perceive Tom Brady, a man who is well known for sporting $4000 suits, 500 dollar haircuts, and endorsing UGGS is seen as being manlier than Thomas. I don’t think it would matter if Thomas or Brady was a different race, especially in the case of Thomas. People would still see him as a homosexual that has no place in an action packed sport.
In terms of femininity in sport, there is a wide range of perceptions based upon ones nationality. Asian woman are seen as competing mostly in individual sport such as golf and tennis, and it would seem almost taboo to see an Asian woman competing in any other sport. Going off of what Matt Cozzi said, I don’t think Woman’s hockey is something crazy to imagine. There is large amount of popularity for the sport, whether it is for high school or college woman’s hockey. These games draw a large crowd, and with the exception of hitting, the competitions remain largely competitive and comparable to men’s hockey.
The class discussions have sparked quite a few thoughts of mine regarding masculinity and females participating in sport. As an avid fan of Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA), I regularly see what "masculinity," in its most stereotypical form, looks like. Testosterone-loaded men amp themselves up with 8-week training camps for what normally is a 15 minute fight (3 rounds of 5 minutes). The pre-fight trash talk builds their masculinity even more because our society associates men with being confrontational, aggressive, and abundantly competitive. In addition, MMA revolves around physical strength and ability, two things men have always been recognized for. In contrast, there are very few promotions that sponsor female MMA. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the biggest promotion in the world, does not, and will not, according to UFC president, Dana White, endorse female MMA. A lot of women resent the fact that they cannot compete in the same way that men can. I find it fascinating that not too many years ago our society would be disgusted at the thought of females fighting within a cage, but now we have a large population of people saying women should be allowed to do so. The drastic change in attitude is a testament to how rapidly our culture is evolving.
ReplyDeleteGoing off that point, MMA has done a lot of good in terms of racial equality. MMA is truly a sport in which it does not matter what color skin you have or what country you come from. The sport is still pure and solely focused on the athlete's abilities. At the same time, however, because the fighters are not evaluated on their races, the concept of color blindness comes back into effect. Fans are less concerned with a fighter's racial experiences and more concerned with whether or not he/she can fight.
In conclusion, the male-dominated sport of MMA is an excellent way of looking at masculinitiy in the sports realm. Upon closer examination, I learned that there is not one homosexual male competing in the major promotions. That is not to say that homosexuals do not exist in smaller promotions, but it certainly does indicate that the sport's masculinity is directly linked to heterosexual men.
I agree with most of my peers on the thought that society shapes how we view masculinity and femininity based on a particular race. Those who disagree in my mind are being ignorant and trying to remain "color-blind". Sports news portrays athletes in a particular light and stereotype and if an athlete ventures from this stereotype they are perceived as deviant. To be masculine means to be heterosexual in our society, across all races. However, masculine can form different meanings based on skin color. Male black athletes are seen as aggressive, dominant, and superior athletes. They are not to be soft, otherwise they are not seen as hyper-masculine. When approached out of a sporting environment and they are known to be calm, people are shocked. It isn't right for them to only be viewed as aggressive, both on and off the field. White males must have these same qualities but not to the same degree. They aren't portrayed as super aggressive like that of their black teammates. They are viewed as masculine if they excel at what they do. They are portrayed more as calm leaders but yet exuberant. And as society insists, they must be heterosexual. Like mentioned by other students, male athletes in sports such as figure skating are not seen as masculine, even if they do win gold medals in the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteWomen also face certain stereotypes when it comes to the intersection of race and femininity. White women are supposed to have good manners and be well kept. They do not show a lot of emotion, they wear their hair long, and wear nice feminine clothing. Jennifer Harris, a young black female athlete, was asked to conform to this identity even though she was not a white female. She was asked to give up her corn rows and clothing choices, such as wearing slightly baggier clothes. Because of her style choices she was seen as deviant. Islamic women experience this as well. The movie "Offsides" was an eye-opener into their culture. Women there are still restricted in many ways. They cannot attend male sporting events, cannot curse/be around cursing, and they are not treated with respect. The ideal Islamic woman is submissive and fulfills her role in society.
Our society has these ideals as to who people should be or how they should act. Women are soft, feminine, and submissive. Men are leaders, aggressive, and tough. If people do not fall into these categories they are seen as deviants in society and the media lets them know until they conform.
As we have talked about previously in class, notions of gender and race must be analyzed together because of way these power lines interact. Through societal and media influences, we have constructed ideologies of how certain groups should look and act. For example, we have talked many times about the black male being stereotyped as violent and animalistic. I think that it is true that different forms of black masculinity are seen as more acceptable than others. For example, the toughest and most aggressive black NFL player would be seen as a vital asset to a team and is cheered on and appreciated by fans. But take that same man that isn’t a vital NFL player and he is inherently feared by mainstream media and white culture. As a nation, we put minority professional players and celebrities on a pedestal but cannot translate positive notions of these groups to people of the same race outside of the sport. You can also look at the roles that media take in identifying different forms of black masculinity and how they are accepted. For example, Wayne Brady plays multiple roles in a Chappelle’s show skit. In the part where he is talking to the white police officer, he plays the role of the black man that the white media portrays as safe and friendly for assuming white cultural characteristics. When with Dave Chappelle he plays the role of the stereotyped version of the black man in America, which is a less acceptable form of black masculinity in white cultural media. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n54ZIh7hkTA
ReplyDeleteOur ideas about femininity are different depending on the culture as well. For example, there is the idea in America that Islamic women are dominated by the males of the religion when in fact they play a major role in family life and are strong, independent woman. Despite some hindrances they have as part of the religion, Islamic women are becoming more and more able to exercise their rights in public while still maintaining their role as the strong bedrock of the family. Asian women are stereotyped as hard-working and intelligent similarly to Asian males but there is a distinction in that Asian women are also stereotyped as quiet and submissive to their male counterpart. Making these distinctions about how certain groups should behave based on race as well as notions of masculinity and femininity make it more difficult for individuals in these groups to have an identity that is true to who they really are. It also creates disadvantages and advantages in different situations.
Seeing the movie "Offsides" this week was a perfect example of femininity and race is sport. All the woman wanted to do was watch the soccer game, but the only excuse the women got for not being able to go into the stadium was because the men were shouting and swearing. In most instenses, a woman who acts in that sort of way is seen as unfeminine, even in other societies other than Islam. Many times as well, a woman that is involved in sports is seen as unfeminine. On the other hand, a man that's not interested in sports may be seen as unmasculine.
ReplyDeleteOne sport I can think of inparticular that intermingles with masculinity, femininity and sports is dance. Being a dancer, almost all of my dance classes and dance teams were full of white females. That is the demographic one would think of when they think of a dance. A question I would often get from members of my family when I entered a new dance class or started a new dance team was "Are there any other black girls on the team?" My answer rarely was yes. There was a biracial male in some of my dance classes back in elementary, but he was never questioned why he was there mainly because his family owned the dance studio. It was assumed he was there because his family wanted him to be. In high school, my dance team coach decided to start an all boys dance team. It only lasted my last 2 years of high school and each year, the team only had 3 people on it. The girls team did all different kinds of dance, including jazz and pom, but the boys only did hip hop. Dancing is more accepting with the male demographic these days, but only hip hop. If a boy wanted to do ballet, his sexuality would more than likely be questioned.
Males are "supposed" to be into violent contact sports such as football, professional wrestling and UFC. Being a professional wrestler as well, the contrast between masculinity and femininity is outstanding. Anyone can get hurt in this sport, but men are the only ones that do the most career threatening matches. Women such as Beth Phoenix, a wrestler in WWE who has a strong physical physique, has been made fun of on national tv by two other female wrestlers as being manly mainly because she does have muscles and isn't parading around in small scantily clad outfits.
Our society basically says what we are "supposed" to do according to our face and gender. I believe we may still be living in a time where men are the ones that work and women stay at home with the children. Anyone trying to break that lifestyle is an outsider.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Jamie-Lee that notions of black masculinity in a sports setting are different than in a non-sports setting. It’s interesting that in Jennifer Harris’s case, she takes on these black masculine traits and is pre-judged to be a lesbian. She has a disadvantage in two different cases in which she is a female and black and when she tries to change these roles, she is outcast even more. The masculine feminine role she fulfills is seen as less acceptable partially because it doesn’t follow the feminine apologetic. It seems in our culture the more masculine a female is and the more feminine a male is, the less acceptable it is.
ReplyDeleteI Ben makes a good point that masculinity should not be based on sexual orientation. You should also be careful not to make assumptions about the amount of money people spend on luxury items as having influence on masculinity such is the case with Tom Brady. With that said, masculinity cannot be solely based on sexuality but instead must take the multilateral approach of analyzing the multiple power lines that affect our ideas of what masculinity is. Masculinity between different races contains different ideologies that parallel some of the stereotypes of men of that race. For example, we have talked a lot about the different ideologies of the black man vs. the white man as being more animalistic and primal vs. gentlemanly and civil.
ReplyDeleteMasculinity and femininity affect race because they complicate perceptions of people even more than in the first place. As we saw in the clip from "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" we see how black masculinity is seen as kind of a criminal idea. When the man walks in they think he is robbing them but if it was a black woman that had walked in they would have had a different attitude because black women aren't portrayed as criminal in society. The more acceptable idea of black masculinity is in how black masculinity is seen as the perfect sports body. Though this is also a bad perception because then people see black males and think they are all good at sports. Women who practice Islam are seen in America as being very different and having very different ideas for their lives than other women in America. Islam women are usually not seen as being very involved in sports.
ReplyDeleteGender are race intertwine in many ways in society and these ways disrupt giving people the benefit of the doubt of not discriminating against them before even meeting them.
The way that Jennifer Harris dressed and wore her hair like a stereotypical black male is a great example of how combinations of femininity/masculinity and race can work together to complicate issues. The same goes for the Tsang example. Black masculinity is an interesting topic in our culture, examples like Mike Tyson – a excessively masculine black man who presented himself (or was presented) as terrifying to the public and other fighters. Besides his dominance in the ring he had a powerful ‘scary’ aura about him that was undeniable. This along with the black masculinity shown in movies and TV shows which is often violent, uneducated, and/or very low class (working ‘blue-collar’ jobs, unemployed). Just these two popularly shown forms of black masculinity are extremely socially regressive- obviously especially to black males. As far as what is more acceptable? Low-class seems to be the ‘acceptable’ form of black masculinity in films however when sports are involved it is often the opposite. Black male athletes are often presented as superstars. This is idea is kept in place by sayings like “white men can’t jump” and myths like “Black men’s achillis heels stretch farther”.
ReplyDeleteWe all know of the certain norms of masculinity and femininity in race. We don't really expect to see an Asian body builder or a black nerd, but people are who they are. No matter what race someone is it doesn't mean that their personality is of our norms. The reason their likes and dislikes are the way they are is usually based on culture, your just going to relate better to things you grow up understanding.
ReplyDeleteBlack masculinity isn't always seen as a criminal. I think it has a lot to do with how a person is dressed and acts. I'm not going to walk down the street a be worried about a black man in a suit. Now if I see any man regardless of his ethnicity wearing expensive basketball shoes and brand new sports clothes with a sideways ball cap and then asks me for money as I walk by, that something which worries me. I mean really why would someone with more expensive clothes than me be able to afford them and ask me for money! Depending on the person, and this has nothing to do with the color of their skin, but the actual person will do things sometimes when they are in tough situations that they normally wouldn't do.
One topic we haven’t covered much in class is the stereotypical perspective of Asian and Islamic women as being shy, passive, submissive and quiet. This was once a stereotype of women around the world but has been less expressed in American and European cultures recently. Nonetheless it remains a prevalent stereotype for Asian and Islamic woman and television and movies within American and European cultures help keep this stereotype alive. Two movies I’ve watched recently, “Offsides” and the remake of “The Karate Kid” are two perfect examples of how this stereotype is represented in each culture.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie “Offsides” they presented the public expectation of how Islamic women in Iran must display gender. The women were expected to dress subtly, cover their heads, submit to the will of the men of Iran, and were not to stand up or speak their mind in the presence of authority. This sadly may be more of a reality than a stereotype in Islamic cultures. It was noted a few times in the film that by breaking these stereotyped gender roles the women potentially faced criminal charges and punishment.
Similarly in the movie “The Karate Kid” the female Asian students were portrayed as shy, quiet, and passive. One of the main characters, a Chinese female classmate of the main character and “karate kid” Dre Parker did not speak for it seemed the first half of the movie. She was shown as sitting quietly by herself, choosing not to respond to Dre when he would try extremely hard to start conversation, and not speaking up when Dre was being harassed by her friends. This stereotype was something I noticed repeatedly throughout the movie involving all Asian female characters.
The ways in which this stereotype translates to sports are the perceptions we have of Asian and Islamic women in sports. In the article I posted below the author talks about how Asian female boxers despise the stereotype that they are shy, passive and submissive. They discuss how many people are surprised to hear an Asian woman competing in such a violent sport and that the stereotype drives them to prove the masses wrong. This mentality and will to disprove the stereotype is also discussed when the author talks about Brenda Song and her role in a Disney Channel Original movie as an Asian-American Tae Kwon Do competitor. She says the role is an inspiration not only to Asian women but to all women. It’s a reminder to everyone but especially women, that they don’t have to conform to stereotypical racial or gender roles.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/06/23/apop.DTL&a
Many of us have probably talked about the role of African American athletes in football, basketball, and baseball. They generally hold the positions that are more focused on athletic ability such as speed or strength. The more mental positions such as quarterback, point guard and pitcher are more often white athletes. In some cases African American athletes that hold these positions may be seen as inferior to white athletes in the same positions.
ReplyDeleteOther minorities that choose to participate in sport seem to do so in less prominate roles. Asians, Islams, and other small minority groups have a fairly low representation in sport. And when they do it is often not in the spot light and or in less popular in sports. Maybe this is because of lack of interest or more likely this is because they do not feel welcome in the major sports. Like seen in the example above with African Americans vs white, other minorities are also not seen as capable or able to perform in important roles. They may not be trusted or given an opportunity to prove themselves.
I think that something could be done to level the playing field for minorities in sport. Perception needs to be changed in order for them to be seen as just as capable as the white athlete.
Today's world is much more vibrate than it was over a hundred years ago. People today, including women are becoming vastly independent. Amazingly religions such as Islam wouldn't dare think of how independent women in their society are. Watching the movie "Off Sides" give tremendous perspective on the ideas men have of women and the ideas women have on their own lives. They wish to be accepted as equals in their society as well in sport and the men wish to have no part of women moving forward in life.
ReplyDeleteIdeas behind masculinity and feminity are two things that have complicated our world today whether it deals with race, culture, or other aspect of life. These ideas and beliefs of masculinity and feminity can be seen through sports and the media. This also make complicates race and ethinicity in a great way.
ReplyDeleteI feel the Jennifer Harris article was a great example of how race and masculinity and feminity complicate race. When Jennifer Harris did not follow the norms of feminity in sports and going against them by wearing her hair in cornrows along with baggy clothes which are seen as apart of her black heritage contrast the views in which sports and the media sees how women should act. She was also questioned about her sexuality due to these factors. Along with this African American men are seen as rough, strong, sometimes criminal, and agressive when we watched the "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" clip about the black man. When we see these ideas and bliefs go against the norm it really complicate things such as race in these two examples.
In contrast to the views of black males and females of being superior athletes being aggressive, strong, and very masculine, the Asain identity is seen as very passive, subtle, and non athletic in both male and females as we read in a article for class. This also complicates ethnicity when we see an Asain athlete being successful in sports such as Tasha Tsang and things in her life were complicated such as being good, and also not shaving her legs which was another example of feminity in sports and women going against the norms and being more masculine.
As we have talked recently in class about women who practice muslim in sports it is very difficult because of the strong views between the masculinity of men being aggressive, violent, abusive which are complete opposite views of feminity in muslim women which is the reason they can not watch men's sport such as the example in "Offisides." Also, when women want to participate in an all women event the only things allowed to be shown were their face and hands which then again people see this difference in masculinity played out in sports. These differences whether it be about black athletes or asain or islam, this all goes back to the comparison to the whiteness and white being the norm.
When Caster Semenya, the South African track athlete, was questioned after destroying other athletes and also previously set times shows another example of the ideas of masculinity and feminity. Just because a women was doing extremely well and also having the physical attributes of a man doesn't mean she can't be successful. Even though she was found to have both sexes in her body, this still goes back to the ideas of gender roles and masculine and femine roles and how women should act in sports.
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/08/caster-semenya-male-or-female.html
Our misunderstanding of a cultures and the lack of accepting different forms of masculinity and feminity performed by males and females of different races and cultures make things very complicated as we have discussed in class. So understanding these things will help our acceptance and knowledge of these topics.
First off, I want to say I agree with Danny about how we are more exposed to the Islamic heritage now that we are involved with the war over there. I also agree that the movie and the articles we have read are truly an eye opener. I sort of new that women over in the middle east didn’t have as many of the same opportunities as men, but the fact that they could’ve been killed for sneaking into a soccer game is just obscured.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with what Kalli Hansen said about how race is complicated by the media via books, magazines, and even movies. We are shown certain ways to view masculinity and femininity. Like the clip from the beginning of this class “It’s Always Sunny if Philadelphia,” the black man was portrayed as a violent and aggressive thief by the white man. Black masculinity is just that; these characters are expressed to be aggressive and violent even before you talk or get to know the person.
Talking about femininity, the case with Jennifer Harris tells a great example of how femininity can be complicated. Females are suppose to act in a feminine manner and act and dress like a female. Jennifer dressed in baggy clothes with cornrows. This being a typical style of black males, she was stereotyped as a more boyish or tomboy character and even a lesbian because she was playing on an all women’s basketball team without having a boyfriend. This brings up the intersecting lines of power. You can’t talk about one without the others.
It goes for the Islamic heritage as well. After the 9/11 attack, we all portrayed Islamic people to be terrorists. Talking about the black man above, Jennifer Harris, and Islamic people, we can’t keep going on with the stereotypes just because of bad mistakes or the media. We need to overcome this somehow and grow as a nation and respect each other.