Tag Archives: sports

Fight Night

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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0tXP17GgqU[/youtube]

In the world of sports there has been a lot of debate over the fighter Fallon Fox, in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Fallon Fox was born a man but now identifies as a woman. She has gone through all of the horomonal and physical changes that qualify her has a legal woman and therefore is allowed to fight in the women’s division in MMA. Many people claim that she has an unfair advantage because she previously developed as a man. They claim that these physical attributes can never fully be taken back and therefore she should not be able to compete against other women.

In my opinion, I believe that Fallon Fox does have some advantages physically over other women she is fighting. She should therefore be required to explain her physical past against her opponent so that they may know what they are getting into when they decide to fight her. I agree with Ronda Rausey, in that there are some physical changes that can not be undone. Fox will almost always be able to perform in a superior way than other female fighters who were born women, purely because of the difference in the biological make-up of men and women.

This debate has given light to the type of situations and questions that transgender people face as well as how society responds to different types of genders. Our society is so use to dealing with just two genders and it is interesting to see how it must adjust in accepting and acknowledging new identities. I love this debate because it shows just how far society has come. It may be hard to distinguish what is fair and unfair, but I’m happy that society is being put to the test. I’m glad that I’m being made to think outside of what I thought was possible. I’m open to new ideas and regulations for different ways that people identify.

Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling

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Here is a fascinating discussion of women who have submitted Mount Everest over the years and the challenges they faced based upon social expectations for them as women in Eastern and Western cultures.  After one professional climber told National Geographic that she, like many working mothers, felt guilty at leaving her children behind, reader response was ferocious.  Readers responded to the article stating she had “pre-shot her children” and accusing her of having “cheap, self-serving arrogance.”   A Nepalese woman who holds the record for summiting Everest 6 times is working as a maid because in her culture, educating women is not seen as a priority and she can not read or write.

Some of the issues faced by Western women climbers is grounded in our historical view of women and sport.  From the article:

In the 19th century, when mountaineering was developing as a sport, the playing field was highly restricted. Victorian society largely believed that women could not endure robust physical activity. One prevalent theory blamed the uterus and the ovaries. These organs were thought to dictate everything about a woman, from puberty to menopause, including her athletic capabilities….

Naturally, mountaineering was out of the question. As physician Karl Gerson warned in 1898 in the German Journal of Physical Education, “Violent movements of the body can cause a shift in the position and a loosening of the uterus as well as a prolapse and bleeding, with resulting sterility, thus defeating a woman’s true purpose in life, i.e., the bringing forth of strong children.” A woman needed to stay home and go easy on the uterus. Future generations depended on it.

‘Man up’ — the fear that keeps men from acting human

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Great reflections on the Richie Incognito bullying scandal from LZ Granderson on how language and interaction with other men help reinforce narrowly defined versions of masculinity.

From the article:

You know those electronic collars that zap dogs that stray outside their electronic fences?

That seems to be the purpose of everyone’s favorite and seemingly innocuous phrase, “man up.”

Just mumbling those two words in a typical guy’s direction delivers a psychological shock that discourages him from venturing outside the restrictions of our traditional view of what it means to be a man.

Women’s athletics a battle for respect

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Here’s a great example of how girls can see a variety of role models (cognitive development) through greater exposure to female athletes.  This also demonstrates how institutions (US government/laws) influence gendered norms.  With the introduction of Title IX, gendered norms of femininity started to change as more and more girls became athletes.