Women, Sport, and Film Course

Sponsored by the Department of Athletics and Physical Education at Bryn Mawr College, with support from the Center for Science In Society at Bryn Mawr College and the Serendip website.

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FORUM ARCHIVE

WEEK 1

 


Name:  Amy Campbell
Username:  acampbel@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Dare To Compete
Date:  2004-01-29 18:17:50
Message Id:  7826
Comments:
1. Please introduce yourself to your 'team'.
2. Respond/react to: Societies view of women and sport has changed significantly in the last 80 years. How do these changes impact women today and is the culture of sport still changing?
Name:  Talia Liben
Username:  cele19@aol.com
Subject:  
Date:  2004-02-01 13:51:17
Message Id:  7863
Comments:
Hi. I'm Talia Liben. I'm a sophomore.

I think that the changes in sports over the last 80 years, in allowing women to participate, do impact women today. For those of us who are athletically inclined, the women of the past 80 years have paved the way for us to be involved in sports, and to excell in sports. For those of us who are not athletic, the changes in sports effect the society at large. All of the changes in the way society treats women have come from different fields - politics, education, the arts, etc. Sports has done its share in educating the world of the benefits of equality.


Name:  Brenda Zera
Username:  bzera@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Introduction
Date:  2004-02-01 14:57:28
Message Id:  7867
Comments:
Hi,
I'm Brenda Zera, a junior geology major living on PemEast 2nd.


Women, in general, have come a long way in the last 80 years. When it comes to sports and physical activities, women are only recently starting to gain a firm footing. Watching that HBO documentary, outdated though it was, really got me thinking about the various sports I play (field hockey and softball) and how my experiences would have been if all those revolutionary women had not stepped forward. I doubt that I would have played softball -- field hockey, maybe, as it is usually played in a skirt. The end of class, and our discussion about Title IX, really made me glad that I attended the schools I did. I, personally, have never had a problem with any Title IX issues. But I see how it affects men and women equally.

My friend in Michigan, Brianna Smith played on the men's varsity football team in high school because there was no womens team. My brother, who played field hockey in middle school couldn't find a single men's team to join in highschool, so he was forced to drop the sport - and has never played another sport since. Kinda makes me sad thinking about the practical equality that men and women share in their inequality.
So while Brianna was told that she would have to play for a men's team, my brother was told that he couldn't play for a women's team because he was a guy.


Name:  Katie Haymaker
Username:  khaymake@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  
Date:  2004-02-01 18:46:46
Message Id:  7872
Comments:
1) Hello, I'm Katie Haymaker - a freshman living in Pemwest 1st. I'm not sure about my major, possibly English. I'm also enjoying (not quite the right word, but...yeah) my french and math classes, so I think it's safe to say I'm undecided. I live in Hellertown, PA - near Bethlehem.

2) The last part of this question is easiest to answer - yes, the culture of sport is changing and will probably continue to change. As someone mentioned in class, even though women have made so much progress in the sports world in the last 80 years we still have to deal with set-backs because of lack of funding or lack of interest. I think that even though we have reached a certain level of equality in the amount of opportunities in sports that children - male and female - now have, there is still and always will be the ultimate division. Men and women do not formally compete against each other in sports once they reach a certain age (about 10 or 11?) - with the exception of golf. This seperation is chalked up to differences in ability or strength; but is this the way it should be? What if sports teams were co-ed? I think that it is possible that women benefit from the seperate teams by allowing them more playing time than if teams were co-ed, but men also enjoy the benefit of not being shown up by a woman. Social and cultural mindsets obviously have the most impact on the sports world, and even though "equality" is near, I don't think we're quite there yet.


Name:  Alice Kaufman
Username:  ajkaufma@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Hello!
Date:  2004-02-01 19:51:01
Message Id:  7876
Comments:
Hi, virtual team. I'm Alice; I'm a freshman living with Katie and Amelia. I've no clue about my major.

I do believe that women in sports has evolved in the past 80 years, but I don't think it's been a steady incline. There seems to be a period of ebb and flow. The pro baseball teams came and went, the pro soccor teams came, while they were based much less on sex than baseball, are now gone. Women's pro basketball is here, and might stay, but the funding is hugely different from the men's side. Women's sports might have a few more backlashes in popularity before there's equal interest. I doubt that the interest can ever become totally desexuallized, though. Male athletes' bodies can be seen sexually. Maybe the goal now is to not be penalized for not being attractive/feminine. That seemed to be the bar the public was heldto in the documentary.


Name:  amelia leonards
Username:  aleonard@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  hi
Date:  2004-02-01 22:34:45
Message Id:  7885
Comments:
hi, i'm amelia, and i'm squashed into a frosh quad with alice and katie in pem west. the lack of space is a problem but the company is excellent.

the question made me think of a comment my father made concerning all of the girls from my high school who got into colleges based on their atheletic qualifications. it was something like, "too bad schools don't really care about women's teams; the only reason they have them is because according to title nine they have to grant women the same opportunities as men." this obviously suggests that universities are supporting women's sport only because they have to, and would imply that we haven't really come as far as we think. it's very similar to the women's rights in the workplace issue- we appear to be equal on some levels, but are not. but this is all from a person who hasn't experienced any sort of athletic activity firsthand recently- i screamed and ducked when someone finally passed me the frisbee, i missed kicking the ball three times in a row in kickball,and can't run a mile without collapsing in a heap. make that half a mile. a quarter.


Name:  Tera Benson
Username:  tbenson@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  
Date:  2004-02-01 23:58:57
Message Id:  7891
Comments:
I'm Tera Benson and I am a senior Spanish Lit major from Portland, Oregon.

Although women have gained access to sports, in the public professional sphere, we have very far to go. Although a number of women appear to have set precedents in this area, such as Billie Jean King, it remains uncommon and significant when a woman competes with a man. Annika Sorrensteim and Michele Wie competing with men in PGA events remain nearly or equally significant as the Battle of The Sexes years earlier. Furthermore, it could be argued that Wie's accomplishment was greater because she, a 14yr old female was competing against men in the prime of their careers. Therefore it seems to me that little progress has been made in this domain.


Name:  Elizabeth Hanson
Username:  eahanson@brynmawr .edu
Subject:  
Date:  2004-02-03 01:59:51
Message Id:  7926
Comments:
Hey, I'm Elizabeth Hanson. I'm a sophomore archaeology major and I live in Erdman.

While the sports world has become increasingly open to women in the past 80 years, the fact that Annika Sorenstam competing with men in the PGA tour just last summer caused such a stir makes it clear that we still have a long road ahead. To be positive though, I think that society is a lot less likely to be suspicious of female athletes and less inclined to permit verbal discrimination/derrogatory comments. It's also clear we've moved from the 1920's notion of "Play Days" to embracing the idea of a competive female athlete. In fact, I think the female athlete is rapidly becoming an ideal for lots of girls as evidenced by such movies as Bend it Like Beckham.


Name:  Amy Campbell
Username:  acampbel@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  next responses---
Date:  2004-02-03 14:16:28
Message Id:  7941
Comments:
Great comments by all-- it the 'conversation' does raise some intersting 'next questions". I'd like to toss out (yes another sports metaphor..) how we define ourselves and who is an athlete? Do you consider yourself an athlete? athletic? and are we all athletes at one time or another? How can /do we think about our physical selves...what is the connection to the movies??
Name:  Katherine Kaufman
Username:  kkaufman@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  hi
Date:  2004-02-03 17:09:25
Message Id:  7946
Comments:
Hi, my name is Kathy. I'm a senior history major poli sci minor living on Rock 1st 1st. Sorry I didn't respond earlier I had to be out of town.

I think women have come a long way in the past 80 years but there is a long way still to go. There is comparatively very little interest in women's sports as compared to mens. During WWII while so many of the men were fighting a Women's baseball league came into existence and continued in to the '50s. Until recently this was the last organized professional women's sport that I know of. Even the WNBA today does not receive close to the amount of support that the NBA does. Yes, there is some interest but it's no where near the same level.


Name:  Katherine Kaufman
Username:  kkaufman@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Athlete?
Date:  2004-02-03 17:15:37
Message Id:  7947
Comments:
Ok, this is an easy question for me. NO! I don't consider myself an athlete. I have never found a sport I could play well nor do I particularly enjoy competing phyiscally, probably because I'm no good at it. Don't get me wrong, I love watching baseball. I just can't play it. Sometimes when I'm watching a movie about female athletes I feel as if I could do more if my body were in better shape, which is something I am working at. But I have never in my life felt like an athlete. And to be honest, I usually don't feel like I'm missing anything. However, sometimes when I see these movies I get a little wishful.
Name:  Talia Liben
Username:  tliben@bmc
Subject:  Athletic?
Date:  2004-02-03 23:34:07
Message Id:  7957
Comments:
Hi, I'm Talia, again. I'm a soc major, and I live in Brecon.

Am I athletic? No. When I was younger, I bicycled, ran, played basketball, and softball....but as I got older, I had less time, and made less time for it, and I hurt my knee and was unable to do some of the things I used to do. I still work out now, but I would never consider myself to be "athletic." No, I don't think that everyone is athletic at some point in their lives. Some people are more athletic than others, but that does not make them "athletic" necessarily. I admire people who are athletic, just as I admire anyone who excells in a certain category of life.


Name:  Katie Haymaker
Username:  khaymake@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Athletic?
Date:  2004-02-04 23:01:52
Message Id:  7974
Comments:
I see myself as being sort of athletic, but I haven't played an organized sport since eighth grade so I don't think of myself as an athlete. I think that body image can be improved by playing sports. When I got to high school and decided not to try out for anything, I always sort of regretted it when I would hear about wins or losses over the morning announcements. I think the involvement and all the hard work can give a sense of accomplishment and improve a person's self-image. I'm playing PE softball in the spring and I can't wait to get involved again. Yea for sports!
Name:  Tera Benson
Username:  tbenson@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Athletic
Date:  2004-02-05 09:31:31
Message Id:  7985
Comments:
I do not consider myself particulary athletic, but this is primarily because I don't associate myself with a particular sport. When I was younger, I played sports all the time, and felt athletic. I think that if people do not begin playing sports at a young age, they do not define themselves as athletic and have a sports phobia... I see this alot more among girls and women.




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