Masculinity and Sports

Introduction

Masculinity refers to the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that are most often associated with being or behaving male in our society. For example, being  “masculine” in many cultures has been associated with encouraging self-reliance, seeking power, achievement in the work role, dominance over others and the environment, homophobia, avoidance of femininity, and discouraging emotional expression, dependence on others, and seeking help. Some have argued that some of these behaviors may have been adaptive to our ancestors for survival (e.g., dominance over animals through hunting) or access to resources for potential mates (e.g., achievement through work for greater share of financial resources). This deterministic view of masculinity has been labeled hegemonic masculinity because some of the behaviors and attitudes can cause harm to self and others.

The process of defining masculinity in sports starts from schools. Sociologists have conceptualized schooling as a process through which children are exposed to two types of knowledge. The first and most obvious is the formal curriculum in which information is “packaged” into different “subjects” and taught as “facts” that then become the focus of tests to establish a hierarchy of achievement among students. Although these packages change over time as new knowledge is developed and specialization increases, most of these subjects are not generally perceived as socially controversial. Health and religious education are notable exceptions because they include elements of the second type of knowledge that children encounter in schools. This is knowledge about morality and values, knowledge that has come to be labeled the “hidden curriculum” because it is not part of formal education but is developed as students interact with each other and adults during extracurricular activities often sponsored by the school when formal classes are over. This paper discusses masculinity defined in sports.

Thesis Statement

The process of masculinity development in sports starts from very early age such as from schools.

Discussion

This paper is about gender identity development, one of the most important and controversial issues of the hidden curriculum, and the role played by school sports (arguably the most important extracurricular activity in our schools) in shaping that identity. As the title implies, the development of a masculine identity is closely tied to school sports and has been seen by many as the reason why school sports have become such a powerful institution. Linkages between masculinity, sports, and “character building” have characterized the entire history of school sports since their origins in the nineteenth century. The contemporary value structure of school sports and the rituals that surround and support it show male (and female) students how boys should “do” masculinity. Given the history of gender stereotyping in which male and female “characteristics” have been defined as opposites, school sports also show females (and males) how not to “do” femininity. The power of school sports to legitimize a limited, hegemonic (or dominant) view of masculinity has received considerable criticism, and suggestions have been offered about how to use school sports to present more variety in gender identity choices.(Coakley, 123)

Origins Of School ...