Examples of Gender Inequality in Sports
Did you know gender inequality exists in sports? Even though this could be shocking news to some people, it is evident that most sporting activities in the world depict well-rooted gender disparity. In essence, there are two genders, female and male. Naturally, men are muscular, strong, daring and aggressive as compared to women who are gentle, sensitive and sympathetic. These gender attributes, some of which are natural while others are sheer stereotyping, largely contribute to gender differences in the world of sports. Nonetheless, sports are largely seen as a pastime, created and meant for men in the world. In this essay, we shall discuss existing examples of gender inequality in sports.
Over the years, people hold the belief that succeeding in sports means being a successful man in life. On the other hand, women endure frustrations whenever their sport of choice does not match femininity. These differences cut across the board, with some sports being a preserve of men. In some cases, the inequalities arise from laws and restrictions imposed, barring women to participate or dictating their participation. A good example is tennis, which is acceptable for both men and women. Whilst this is the case, women are always restricted to playing three sets while men play up to five sets. However, this slowly changing as men sometimes play three sets during tournaments.
Following these gender differences, there have been arguments about the money paid Wimbledon owing to the fact that female players are poorly paid. Billie Jean King, a former tennis player holds a different opinion regarding the 
number of sets for each gender to play. According to Jean, the decision to have ladies play three sets only as compared to their male counterparts who play five stemmed from a case where a female tennis player. This isolated case informed the adoption of the law even though women are capable of playing same sets as men. The decision was also reached in haste because most of the boards that oversee sports are dominated by men as either officials and/or members.
Football, which is the word’s famous sport, has its equal measure of gender inequality. For example, in 1921, the Football Association banned football for women. This decree was to be in existence for about fifty years. This demonstrated inequity, as football officials viewed the game as men’s. Today, there are very few activities involving female football teams in the world. While every country in the world has a national football team, there are few countries, which have national women’s soccer teams. What about Soccer World Cup, which recently ended in Brazil that handed Germany the title after beating Argentina? Women’s soccer never receives such world attention, support and funding.
In 1986, when the world witnessed the first Olympics, there were no women participating in any of the events. However, they were allowed to play golf and tennis during the second tournament. It is important to note that even though women have been allowed to play over the years, they only compete against themselves. In schools and colleges, boys and girls are separated during sports, as the two genders are not allowed to mix. In athletics, this disparity equally exists. For instance, men and women are not allowed to start their marathon races at the same time.
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