Parents would never say that they have a favorite child, they would say that they love all their children equally; and while this may be true, how most parents raise their boys from their girls are not equal. The way parents and society raise boys verse how they raise girls is dramatically different and shapes both females and males into who they turn out to be. Boys are given guns and knifes to play with as children and girls are given dolls and cooking items. It is not just in the United States that these stereotypes are presented to both males and females but all throughout the world.
Boys are presented with stereotypes that say they must be the breadwinner of the house hold and they must be strong and they are not allowed to cry or show their emotions. With society telling boys how to behave they in-turn become more aggressive than females. This article does a great job of explaining the stereotype boys presented with and how we as a society can improve this and inturn help boys overcome such stereotypes. With boys growing up being more aggressive than females, boys sports also become more violent than girls (i.e. lacrosse).
Mens and women lacrosse rules are very different and are mainly different when it comes to the violent nature of the sport. In the video below you see many hits that are illegal in girls lacrosse but are not only a part of mens lacrosse but are praised when doing so. I apologize for the video being so long, but when a boy makes a big play (hit) you can see his teammates and coaches on the sidelined cheering for him. Boys are praised and rewarded for being aggressive but when a girl makes a play like this in lacrosse she is penalized.
((n.d.). Retrieved from https://woodentoysforkids.wordpress.com/tag/violent-toys/)
Boys are presented with stereotypes that say they must be the breadwinner of the house hold and they must be strong and they are not allowed to cry or show their emotions. With society telling boys how to behave they in-turn become more aggressive than females. This article does a great job of explaining the stereotype boys presented with and how we as a society can improve this and inturn help boys overcome such stereotypes. With boys growing up being more aggressive than females, boys sports also become more violent than girls (i.e. lacrosse).
Mens and women lacrosse rules are very different and are mainly different when it comes to the violent nature of the sport. In the video below you see many hits that are illegal in girls lacrosse but are not only a part of mens lacrosse but are praised when doing so. I apologize for the video being so long, but when a boy makes a big play (hit) you can see his teammates and coaches on the sidelined cheering for him. Boys are praised and rewarded for being aggressive but when a girl makes a play like this in lacrosse she is penalized.
(Analytics, L. (2018, December 15). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJRQZi58Gq4)
Here you can read thoroughly through the rules of both boys and girl lacrosse but girl have very little to no contact at all as compared to boys as you can see in the video. Girls also were no padding or helmets unlike boys which makes it so boys can hit and be rough without fear of getting hurt. If boys did not have the padding they do (like girls) big, aggressive plays as demonstrated as above would not be as common or done at all. If society is allowing boys to be aggressive in sports why are girls not allowed to?
Conclusion
Women have always been fighting for equality to be treated just as boys are. Boys are praised for being aggressive in sports while rules are restricting girls from playing the same way. If girls were raised the same way boys were maybe these rules would not be there and if society was not so against boys being the breadwinner of the family and telling them not to express how they feel maybe the aggression that boys show would go down.
Should boys and girls sports have the same rules? Should society praise girls for being aggressive just like they do with boys? Should girls be given the same toys as boys are at a young age? Should society be more inclined to help boys express how they are feeling in a nonaggressive way? Looking forward to hearing with you think!
(English, T., & English, T. (2015, December 01). Rosie the Riveter's Journey from Propaganda to Feminist Icon. Retrieved from https://humx.org/rosie-the-riveter-985cd6e3a8a4)
(Is gender equality possible? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.debate.org/opinions/is-gender-equality-possible)
Citations
USLacrosse. (2016, July 20). Retrieved from https://www.uslacrosse.org/rules/girls-rules
Spector, N. (2018, February 28). Why boys are more likely to be violent - and what can we do to stop it. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/boys-country-are-hurting-we-can-help-ncna851901
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://woodentoysforkids.wordpress.com/tag/violent-toys/
Analytics, L. (2018, December 15). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJRQZi58Gq4
Is gender equality possible? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.debate.org/opinions/is-gender-equality-possible
English, T., & English, T. (2015, December 01). Rosie the Riveter's Journey from Propaganda to Feminist Icon. Retrieved from https://humx.org/rosie-the-riveter-985cd6e3a8a4
I really liked your post because it brings up a good point. Although I don’t watch lacrosse, all I could think about while reading your post is how hockey is the same way for women’s vs men’s rules. You watch men’s hockey and the hits are big, the crowd loves it, and the guys on the bench will hit their sticks on the boards in approval. I’ll admit that I like the aggression of the game since it makes it more exciting, as it’s fun to watch the players really get into the game defensively. Like Lacrosse, women hockey players are not allowed to body check (however, women do wear the same type of equipment as men). It is pretty odd when you think about it. Why are girls not allowed to be as aggressive as guys when they are playing a sport that they love? I personally think that they should have the same rules, and if a girl wants to do what is normally considered “boy activities”, then let her. When you really think about it, it seems so odd that we place children in these social norms based on their gender at a very young age. You post really highlights the fact that we continue to encourage these boyish vs girly behaviors within the rules of sports.
ReplyDeleteI love watching hockey and have noticed the same things too. You bring up a really good point about how it is socially acceptable for boys to be aggressive but not girls. I think that society has a whole needs to change these norms. Girls should be allowed to be aggressive just as boys are and praised for it just like them. If girls were brought up the same way as boys then maybe it would be socially acceptable for them to be aggressive as well.
DeleteYour post brings up a lot of interesting points to consider. As far as should we be changing rules to make sports exactly equal across genders, no, I don't think we should. There is nothing wrong with having more aggressive sports than others, even within the same sport, like the lacrosse example you mentioned. If there are girls that want to play more aggressively, then it might make sense to have multiple leagues or something like that, which incorporate more or less aggression.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very interesting point, how do you think the leagues should be then? I am in no way say that boys sports should not be aggressive or that they are too aggressive, I am more just pointing out the fact that as a society boys are praised and rewarded for being aggressive as to where girls are not. It is like society is trying to shelter girls from being hurt or aggressive by not allowing them the same chances in sports.
DeleteMy thought with the leagues was just that there could be something like a couple different leagues with the same rules in all aspects except amount of contact. It would be similar to the difference between compete and non-compete broomball here at Tech.
DeleteThat is a great idea and I am totally behind that. I think a major issue that we would face with that is some high schools are majorly underfunded when it comes to sports and may not have the money or resources or people to be able to support that. Do you think there should be different leagues for major sports as well? Most sports have some type of minor league, so would the most contact sport be the major leagues then?
DeleteVery interesting blog post, Emily.
ReplyDeleteI understand that when it comes to equality, women have had the uphill battle to receive privileges that should have been obtainable to begin with (votes for women, academics, list goes on). It is interesting to see the difference in the two genders of how male athletes are praised for a hard hit vs the female athletes. I looked up videos on women lacrosse hits and found women teams who were not wearing helmets, this might be a reason as to why hard hits are penalized.
I definitely agree with you that part of the reason women do not hit as hard is because unlike mens lacrosse girls have no padding or helmets to protect them if they make or take a big hit. I think this is part of the problem. That society is trying to protect girls from being aggressive like men by not giving them the same opportunity to be aggressive by not giving them protection like they do in mens lacrosse. Guys feel safe and protected when they go to make big plays (hits) because they have padding and helmets to make sure they stay safe. I think that girls should be allowed to be aggressive just like boys are and that this should be praised and rewarded just like guys are when they are aggressive and make big hits in any sport.
DeleteOr for the safety of everyone, penalize hard hits that send athletes flying. (unnecessary roughness). Football has too many injuries that effect players in the long term.
DeleteBUT, if we look at men's NFL and women's LFL, both are aggressive.
You are right that in sports there are definitely some hits that are unnecessary and I feel like those hard hits the send players flying do get penalized. But even when athletes make those plays, whether they are penalized for a few minutes or are ejected from the game or are even suspended for a little while, they are still praised for that play. You will see that play on every news and sports center for days and hear them talking about how good of a play that was and much better of an athlete they now think of him. If girls did the same play as that guy people would wonder what is wrong with her and why she is acting like that. That girl would not be rewarded or seen as a better athlete. I agree that both girls and guys can be aggressive but it is how society sees and reacts to both that is very different.
DeleteI see your point with society reacting differently to the sexes. However, I think it is more accepted than you think. Most of the top plays in women's sports that are shown on tv are the result of aggression. There are not many women sports that have physical contact, but the top plays are a form of aggression.
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ReplyDeleteWhile you do have some good points about the issue of stereotypes and their impacts, I don't think that it's quite so clear cut.
ReplyDeleteThere have been some cases/studies of nigh-newborns being given a choice to play with a traditionally masculine or traditionally feminine toy, and choosing the stereotypically fitting one. This is not to say that all boys naturally want to play with guns and all girls naturally want to play with dolls. Rather, I wouldn't expect to see parity given a "truly neutral" environment. This is not only due to the fact that culture, at least some aspects of it, sometimes "lag" behind the present situation the world is in, but also because of hormonal levels and the factor of "instinct".
That's a good point Jon,
DeleteIn general I believe that there needs to equality between both sexes in regards to treatment (we are all humans we are all equal). However, we have biological differences that causes us to think differently and ultimately respond to situations differently. So, how do we respond to natural differences?
You both bring up very interesting points. I agree with you that boys and girls do not naturally want to play with their gender stereotype toy but more that are pushed and pressed to. There are definitely many (most) cultures that are not okay with girls liking or acting like boys and vice versa. I think that it will require a lot of communication and time for cultures to understand that it is okay and should be encouraged to not always act, think, or like your gender stereotype activities, clothes, views, or aggression. Girls should be allowed to be rewarded just like boys are. Responding to people acting, thinking, dressing different from their gender stereotype should be encouraged and respected. It should not be something that is looked down upon or for people to judge or think is not right. If a girl wants to be aggressive she should be allowed to, she should be encouraged, and she should be rewarded just like males are.
DeleteBut we do see women praised for being aggressive in sports when it is acceptable (LFL, Hockey, UFC). women lacrosse players don't wear much padding and therefore shouldn't be as aggressive for their own safety, just as men should in basketball (no padding, no punching).
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ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome to observe the different sports and their attribution to aggression. In a sport like lacrosse, there seems to be a heightened aggression for both genders compared to other sport. This is my opinion, but as a hockey player I've played both sports and see that there are huge differences in aggression. To me it is type of aggression. In lacrosse I get frustrated with stick checks because in hockey that would be a slashing penalty. However, in lacrosse this is a good aggressive play. I would like to maybe see if the differences in aggression between those two sports.
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