Changes in Gender Inequality in Canada in Sports Essay Example for Free

Changes in Gender Inequality in Canada in Sports Essay Society expects males and females to fulfill specific gender roles – â€Å"attitudes and activities that society links to each sex†. Males are expected to be ambitious, strong, independent and competitive, which â€Å"encourages males to seek out positions of leadership and play team sports†. And females are expected to be deferential, emotional, attractive, quiet and obedient, â€Å"supportive helpers and quick to show their feelings† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011:300). These traditional stereotypes have been challenged and confronted by many women and feminists, and in this paper we are going to look specifically in sports and physical activities. My thesis statement will be that gender inequality has been decreasing over the last 100 years. Women were slowly starting to participate in all sports which were considered to be masculine, and were only available for men to enjoy. One of the first factors which could be linked to the emancipation of women in sport in late 1800 – early 1900s is the safety bicycle. It not only caused a revolution in women’s fashions: women’s sportswear was finally being designed to accommodate more vigorous activity, but â€Å"was also a â€Å"vehicle† through which women broke with traditions and asserted their independence† (Hall and Richardson, 1982: 32-33). Slowly more organizations, sports clubs and tournaments were opening up for women. In the early 1900s, women started to participate in most forms of sport, but were still prohibited from activities there body contact was possible. Period after the World War I and throughout the 1920s was really exciting for sportswomen in Canada and their fans. â€Å"This often called the â€Å"golden age† of women’s sports, it was time when popular team sports like basketball, ice hockey, and softball became sufficiently organized to hold provincial and Dominion championships; when the best athletes, especially in track in field, began to complete internationally and eventually at the Olympic Games; and when women leaders and administrators took control of women’s sports, claiming they knew what was the best for girls and women, although the advice of the man was still needed† (Hall, 2002: 42). In the 1928 Canadian women have joined Olympics in Amsterdam for the first time for the track and field competition. In the mid 1930s â€Å"depression tightened its grip on Canada and the were signs that the Golden Age was over. Reactionary attitudes towards athletic competition for females was taking hold; commercialized professional sport for men was on the rise, meaning that men’s sports were given priority of access to public facilities. Spectators were drawn away from the women’s games to the exclusively male professional sports like ice hockey, football, baseball; it became increasingly difficult to find sponsors for women’s amateur sport† (Hall and Richardson, 1982: 36). World War II took its toll on both men’s and women’s sports. Although many of leagues continued to exist, nobody took athletics seriously. Olympic Games did not start again till 1948. † Post war conservatism has been described by Betty Friedan: women should desire â€Å"no great destiny than to glory in their own femininity†. Careers or commitments outside of their home were unnecessary for their personal fulfillment and undesirable for the satisfactory performance of the housewife role† (Lenskyj, 1986: 83) For the duration of war women were occupying men’s jobs and were laid off as soon as men returned home to resume the rightful place. It was still alright for women to participate in â€Å"beauty producing† sports like figure skating, synchronized swimming, or gymnastics and as long as they looked pretty and feminine on the tennis, badminton courts, golf courses, and ski hills, they were not criticized. But women athletes which were â€Å"sweating on the basketball courts, softball pitches, ice hockey rinks, and the cinder tracks were suspect, their femininity continually questioned† (Hall, 2002: 109). Participation in school, university and community sporting programs however, was hardly likely to pose a threat to femininity. Basketball continued for the most part to be played by girl’s rules. Softball, an already simplified version of baseball, was in some cases was modified further for girls and women. In the 1960s not only women’s femininity was being questions but also their sexuality. In the 1966 the first official â€Å"sex tests† were introduced, with three gynecologists visual examination to confirm that athletes genital sex was, in fact female. â€Å"The introduction of sex tests coincided with significant advances for women in terms of their participation at the Olympic Games, with number of them increasing dramatically throughout the 1960s and 1970s.† For example at the summer Olympics, the 800 meter running was reintroduced in the 1960s. Women’s volleyball, the first team event for women was introduced in1964, along with pentathlon and 400 meter individual medley, swimming event. The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City six more swimming events were introduced and in the 1972 at Munich, the 1500 – meter run, 4400 meter track relay, and kayak slalom were introduced. So the number of women on Canada’s Olympic team has increased from 11.30 to 22.6 per cent for the Summer Olympic between 1960 and 1972, and from 21.4 to 38.3 per cent for the Winter Olympic Games during the same period. Sex testing at the Olympics originally was called â€Å"femininity control† and was trying to determine who was genetically female, because prior to that where has been a lot of men who were trying to pose as women, which was only found out after the fact and also women athletes were becoming more â€Å"masculine†, therefore it had to be proved that they were actually females (Hall, 2002: 153 -159).The sex testing did not stop until the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano. By the mid-1970 all across Canada parents started noticing that their daughters were not being treated the same way as their sons when it came to recreational and sporting opportunities by the late 1970s there has been a lot of sports related complaints of sex discrimination. The majority of these cases were involving young girls who wished to play on all male sports teams. The main value of these human rights cases was to bring public interest, concern and â€Å"pressure to bear on eliminating unequal, sex discriminatory sport and recreation programs† (Hall, 2002: 163) In March 1981 Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport(CAAWS) was established. It started providing women athletes with funding and support. And finally â€Å"in 1982 women were granted equal protection and equal benefit of the law in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011: 305). Beginning of the 1990s in the most areas of organizational life including sports, has been a subtle shift from â€Å"equality† to â€Å"equity†. â€Å"Gender equity is the principle and practice of fair and equitable allocation of resources and opportunities for both females and males. This eliminates discriminatory practices that prevent the full participation of either gender† (Larkin and Baxter, 1993: 4) In the past decade Canadian women are participating almost in all sports on competitive levels. â€Å" In 1998, in Nagano, Japan, women’s hockey was an official Olympic sport for the first time, and world of Canadian women’s hockey changed forever. The game that originated in Canada had become part of our collective identity, continues to be our most popular sport and it is now played by women – legitimately!† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011:320) Canadian women Hockey team has won Olympic gold medal 3 times in a row: 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, 2006 Olympics in Turin, and 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Their achievements have been absolutely amazing. They have showed that they force to be reckoned with. They actually have done better than Canadian male Olympic team. In this 2012 Olympics Games in London, England for the first time women’s boxing is going to be introduced. And there has been controversy of women should wear shorts or skirts. The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) requested that female boxers wear skirts so that would make them more elegant – on the trial basis – at the European Championships and for permanent use in the Olympics. One of Canadian boxers Elizabeth Plank, told Teddy Katz of CBC radio sports news this January: â€Å"Forcing women to wear skirts, I think, it’s sexism†. Eventually AIBA have decided to have optional for female athletes to decide if they want to wear skirts or shorts. (CBC Sports) As we are able to see gender stereotypes and discrimination in sports still exists. Women still do not get as much Media coverage as men do. They are still making smaller salaries than their male counterparts. Women athletes still have to look beautiful and attractive or they might be stereotyped as being lesbian, butch or masculine, if there are not. What about the future? It seems that future for Canadian women athletes seems bright. There are much more opportunities that are coming up for women in sports, for example in the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, Russia the addition of women’s ski jumping has been approved. Women are going to keep fighting for the equal rights to participate in sports events without being criticized to be unfeminine. Daniels (2009) argues that femininity –masculinity divide still prevents women athletes to be taken seriously in their sports. And the best would be to embrace the polygendered way of being, which emphasizes the similarities between women and men, and that way female athletes will be given the chance to achieve their full sporting potential and be judged for performance, rather than their appearance. References 1. Baxter, Betty and Larkin, Jackie.1993. Towards Gender Equity for Women in Sport. ON: CAAWS. 2. CBC Sports, Feb 19, 2002 (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2012/02/19/sp-aiba-boxing-skirts.html) 3. Daniels, Dayna B. 2009. Polygendered and Ponytailed. Toronto: Women’s Press. 4. Hall, Ann M. 2002. The Girl and the Game†. ON: Broadview Press Ltd. 5. Hall, Ann M and Richardson, Dorothy A. 1982. Fair Ball. Ottawa: The Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. 6. Lenskyj, Helen.1986. Women, Sport and Sexuality. Toronto: Women’s Press. 7. Macionis, John J and Gerber, Linda, M. 2011. Sociology.7th ed. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc.

The Future Of Nasa :: Free Essays

The Future of NASA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One hundred years from now, NASA's space program will not be so far advanced that people will be able to beam around the Universe or travel through time. However, unless something goes terribly wrong with the world, it is expected to advance tremendously. New, high-tech designs for rockets will make them more environmentally safe. Rockets will also be recycled and reused. Systems retrieving parts of rockets that are today, left behind in space, will be created. Astronauts will be well on their way to exploring Mars from a hands-on perspective. Because of the overpopulated Earth, scientists may even be considering ways to alter life on Mars, so that people would be able to live there some day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some products developed in NASA's space program that we now incorporate in our daily lives include the vacuum cleaner, pacemaker, pens that can write upside-down, and the zero-gravity training system. The vacuum cleaner was originally a great tool for astronauts in outer space. It is now a very helpful tool for cleaning our homes. The pacemaker is a form of life-support on spacecrafts, helping astronomers' hearts pump while they are outside of the Earth's atmosphere. It is used, on Earth, for those who's hearts have problems with pumping blood. Pens that write upside-down are used in space, where there is no gravity and writing with pens would otherwise be impossible. They are convenient tools on Earth when we are trying to write on vertical surfaces. A zero-gravity training system is used to help astronauts become more comfortable with the conditions in space. It is used in places such as Sportsland, for kids to twirl around in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the future, telephones with picture screens, much like those used to see astronauts in space with, will become common on Earth. Rooms with no

A Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

This is the story in continuation. The Restaurant at the end of the Universe begins from where The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ended. Ford Perfect, Trillian, Arthur Dent and Zaphod Beeblebrox are suddenly attacked by a Vogon ship, as they left the planet Magrathea.A cup of Tea had caused the problem, the computer remained jammed to put through that difficult demand, and the Improbability Drive failed to function. Destiny played its part, Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Fourth ancestor of Zaphod’s saves them.Zaphod and Marvin disappear and reappear at the Offices of the Guide on Ursa Minor Beta. When they reach the fifteenth floor, half of the building is suddenly lifted off of the ground by Frogstar Fighters. Zaphod passes through and experiences many a strange places and events and finally finds a space liner abandoned 9 centuries ago. The passengers in it are still alive through an intense life support system. They are yet to receive the supply of ordered lemon-soaked pap er napkins.The situation is further confounded with the confusing situation about numbers, arithmetical calculations and the English syllables. The shrunk Heart of Gold in the jacket pocket of Zaphod, makes this mystery character more mysterious. His friends emerge out of it and are assimilated into it, under strange procedures. The story ends with Zaphod and Trillian return to the Heart of Gold, and it is commandeered by Zarniwoop.The writer creates one impossible situation after the other and in stories of this genre, suspense is the natural outcome. Adam’s wit and humor add more punch to the storyline. The fight between the computers is comparable between the fight amongst the human beings.   My reaction to the climax of the story is, let more such stories come out from the pen of Douglas Adams.b) Setting: Discuss how the setting (time and place) enhanced the storyThe objective of the characters in the book is to reach the restaurant at the end of universe. A time wrap t echnology is put into operation; they dine and go back to resume their normal activities, at the same time the end of universe continues to happen.The trips can be made daily. But they are difficult, the robots and computers are not co-operative. Odd situations arise, as the computers are created with emotions and intelligence. An interesting part of the story is that an order for lemon-soaked napkins remained unexecuted for over 900 years in a spaceship. Some of our slow-moving government departments need to take lessons from this episode.c) Characterization: Discuss the characters, their motives, your reactions to them:The characters are enjoyable. One can experience lots of fun and satire in the writings of Adams. The characters provide first grade entertainment. When there is no logic in the plot, it is futile to expect that the characters will be logical.Reading this novel means to travel on a â€Å"Travel as you like† ticket; or sailing in a rudderless boat. The sum and substance of the story is like the mind of a directionless and destination less youth! The ‘mental’ condition of most of the characters is like that of an ejected pilot from a crashed plane-you don’t know when you will land or whether you will land safely! But they are no ordinary comical situations.There is an element of genius right through the entire story. Just turn the next page-the contents of the previous page will make that happen with you! The characters have a lasting quality about them and they faithfully discharge the duties and responsibilities for which they are created. As compared to human beings, they do better in this respect.d) Themes: What were some of the issues or lessons that emerged from the novel?Man’s obsession with making machines and dependence upon advanced technological equipments, will not do well to him in the long run. They will complicate and confuse his life and take away the charm from his activities. Adams brings life into the machines. Like human beings they to have emotions.Adams has given the example of Elevators (Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Happy Vertical People Transporters) which are tired of their monotonous job of going up and down.Adams describes the distress of the Elevators, thus: â€Å"Not unnaturally, many elevators imbued with intelligence and precognition become terribly frustrated with the mindless business of going up and down, up and down, experimented briefly with the notion of going sideways, as sort of an existential protest, demanded participation in the decision making process and finally took to squatting in basements sulking.† (Adams, 1980, p.47)   –an apt comparison to the demands of the labor force engaged in doing monotonous and repetitive jobs. No satisfaction, no joy in such types of work!e) Style: Discuss what was unique or interesting about the writer’s language or style. Sometimes dream sequences or flashbacks, symbols, or vivid imagery e nhance a writer’sThe plight of Marvin, the robot evokes sympathy. He is capable of any function; he is smart and strong but remains depressed. He possesses amazing language processing skills and he utilizes it to narrate his mental torture. He is neglected by everyone; he has no solutions to his own woes.The situation where an unarmed Marvin succeeds in defeating the ruthlessly powerful battle robot looks as if it is a real-life situation. It speaks about the vivid imagination of the writer. In spite of the frightening situations created that make one’s heart throb and palpitate, the novel is a comedy. That makes it highly readable.

Narrative Discourse On The Language Abilities Of Elderly...

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In order to understand the impacts of brain injuries of the narrative discourse, it is vital to compare the narratives produced by normally aging individuals and those produced by individuals with brain injuries, such as strokes and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Subtle changes in the language abilities are expected as individuals age; however, most aspects of narrative discourse are preserved into normal aging. For example, the research team of Ulatowska, Chapman, Highley, and Prince (1998) evaluatedShow MoreRelatedMy Goals As A Social Worker Practitioner1737 Words   |  7 Pagespopulation it is important to understand how the culture play a big role in people’s life. The systems approaches, like feminist therapy and family therapy share postmodern notions. The systems orientation stresses the importance of understanding individuals in the context of the surroundings that influence their development (Corey, 2013). 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