Sexism is still prevalent in sports as it was not until 2007 that organizers of tennis tournament Wimbledon paid male and female champions the same prize money. Women were also banned from the pavilion of Lord’s cricket ground until 1999 and golf’s Open Championships is played at courses where there are no women members. Also, women’s soccer is considered inferior to men’s football. The idea of women boxing was not entertained until 1997, and female athletes are not exempted from female stereotyping, mostly appearing with husbands, children or boyfriends, which follows the ‘stay-home mother’ stereotype. Furthermore, female athletes earn fifteen percent less than men for the same hour’s work. Finally, Marylebone Cricket Club only recently relaxed a 212-year ban on allowing women to enter the pavilion, and that was only because it would not be allowed to apply for National Lottery funding if it did not do so.(148W)
Reader's response
Yes, I do. Many female athletes struggle to gain equality with male athletes as sexism is very much prevalent in many sports, though there has been slight improvements made with efforts by the government. However, many women are still victimized and continue to fight for equal rights as male athletes. In the article, it was mentioned that boxing’s “ring girls" have been around for decades, but the idea that women could actually box themselves was not entertained until 1997, when the British Boxing Board of Control sanctioned its first female bout. It sends a message loud and clear to people- that sexiness rather than athleticism is ultimately valued in women. Also, female boxers face other issues such as their pay, media coverage and the number of rounds they have as compared to men. ‘Your average male boxer earns between $6,000 and $15,000 per fight. A woman is lucky to get $3,000. Women are also seen as the warm-up act. They fight 10 two-minute rounds, whereas men are considered better value because they go 12 three-minute rounds. Female boxers also rarely receive any media coverage " says chairman of the Women’s International Boxing Council. I think that the government should have stricter laws and regulations to ensure fairness to female athletes. They should receive the same pay, have equal opportunities in competitions and equal media coverage as males. Female athletes put in the same amount of hard work and they deserve to be equally respected and treated as male athletes. (244w)
The summary was very informative and clearly shows examples of female athletes being treated unequally as compared to male athletes, and only in recent years has there been changes made, although many issues still remain that prove that female athletes are not treated the same as male athletes.
ReplyDeleteThe readers response clearly shows a stand and logical explanations to go with apt examples. However there could have been more elaboration.
- lee si yun and chng jiu hui 4C