Sociology & History
Krauchek, V. Ranson, G. (1999). Playing by the rules of the game: women’s experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment in sport. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. 36 (4), 585-600.
AB: Part of a special issue on sexual harassment. A study was conducted to evaluate the experiences and perceptions of women regarding sexual harassment in sport. Data were drawn from interviews with 32 female athletes. Findings indicate that approximately two-thirds of the women had experienced sexual harassment that ranged from gender harassment to "sexual imposition." Findings further reveal that in the cases of some male coaches, the women gave only positive reports. It is contended that it is necessary to develop a perceptual reframing on a relatively large scale, one in which women celebrate their sporting achievement and win on their own terms. It is argued that this will lead to a decrease in women's tolerance of behavior that includes sexual harassment that denigrates or interferes with their performance.
Riordan, J. Jinxia, D. (1996). Chinese women and sport: success, sexuality and suspicion. The China Quarterly, 45 (1), 130-152.
AB: Given the unprecedented performance of top Chinese women athletes during the 1990s, the writers attempt to provide a broad understanding of Chinese women and sport and to put the issue of performance-enhancing drugs into perspective. They consider how Chinese women have evidently evaded many of the obstacles confronting Western women in sport; what the Chinese government's motivation is in apparently prioritizing women's sport; and how the women's success has been attained and at what cost. They contend that the major factors that facilitated the progress of Chinese women in sport are to be sought in elements intrinsic to Chinese society and shaped by historically-conditioned attitudes to sport and women that differ markedly from those that have formed the dominant values of sport in Western society.
Sports and Success in Life
Hanson, S.L., Kraus, R.S. (1999). Women in male domains: sport and science. Sociology of Sport Journal, 16 (2), 92-110.
AB: A study was conducted to examine the relationship between involvement in sports and success in science for a cohort of high-school aged women; and to investigate whether the type of sport, the extent of involvement in sport, age, race, and the social class of young women athletes are important for gaining a full understanding of the benefits from sport. A critical feminist perspective was utilized, and data from the nationally representative National Educational Longitudinal Study were used. Findings demonstrated that sport has mainly positive consequences for a young woman's science attainment. The benefits were observed to exist across types of sport, teams, and levels of involvement; but they were found to be at their greatest in the sophomore year of high school. In contrast to findings for previous groups, the results revealed that for subjects in the current study, sport participation positively affected the science attainment of women from various subgroups--Hispanic, white, lower socioeconomic status, and higher socioeconomic status. However, it was noted that young African-American women see little benefit from sport.
Gender Discrimination
Parks, J.B., Roberton, M.A. (1998). Influence of age, gender, and context on attitudes toward sexist/nonsexist language: is sport a special case? Sex Roles, 38 (5-6), 477-494.
AB: This study examined the influence of age and gender on attitudes toward sexist/nonsexist language in sport and nonsport contexts. College students, university personnel, and business people (N = 292) took the 1nventory of Attitudes toward Sexist/Nonsexist Language. Seven percent were African-American, 2% Asian-American, 2% Hispanic-American, 1% Native American, 85% European-American, and 3% "other." They averaged 3.34 on a 5-point scale, indicating ambivalence. Participants 23 years old and above were more favorable toward nonsexist language than were younger participants (p<.01). Women were more supportive than men (p <.01). Age and gender explained 23% of the variance. The significant difference between sport/nonsport contexts was not meaningful, nor was a significant gender by context interaction. Sport was not a special case of resistance to nonsexist language.
Disch, L., Kane, M.J. (1996). When a looker is really a bitch: Lisa Olson, sport, and the heterosexual matrix. Signs, 21 (2), 278-308.
AB: The writers examine the case of Lisa Olson, a sports reporter for the Boston Herald, who was sexually harassed in the locker room of the New England Patriots football team in September 1990. They note that players explained their actions by claiming that Olson was a "looker," a locker-room term that designates a "crime" that is unique to women reporters. Taking the players at their word, the writers provide a feminist deconstruction of looking, which they examine as an excess rather than as a crime. They argue that looking is a technology by which athletic performance organizes vague relations of gender difference into oppositional gender certainties. They contend that the presence in the locker room of a female sports reporter is an intrusion into these certainties because the access and critical voice that she enjoys as a professional are beyond that which she should experience as a woman. They state that the charge of looking is used to contain this excess by making her look of appraisal and her authoritative critical voice into a crime.
Donahue, J.C. (1999). The non representation of gender: school committee members and gender equity. Women & Politics, 20 (3), 65-81.
AB: This article analyzes the behavior and ideas of school committee members in Massachusetts and finds that women in this political context generally fail to substantively represent the interests of their own gender. While the literature on women political elites at the national and state levels suggests that increasing the number of women will increase the representation of women's political interests, the findings of this study indicate that increasing the numbers of women elected officials may not always lead to more representation for women. The study indicates the need for further research in different institutional contexts to determine why women's interests are represented in some governing bodies but not in others. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Warner, R.L., Steel, B.S. (1999). Child rearing as a mechanism for social change: the relationship of child gender to parents' commitment to gender equity. Gender & Society, 13 (4), 503-517.
AB: A study was conducted to examine the effect of child gender on parents' commitment to gender equity. Data were obtained from responses of random samples of men and women in Oregon and Washington to mail and telephone surveys carried out in Oregon and Washington during the winter of 1997-98. Results revealed that both fathers' and mothers' support for public policies designed to address gender equity is greater when parents have daughters only. The findings were stronger for men, which suggests that child rearing might provide a mechanism for social change, whereby the connection between fathers and daughters undermines fathers' commitment to patriarchy. However, this appeared to be limited to support for equity public policies in relation to women's participation in education and employment rather than to support for minimizing costs to women of traditional caregiving roles. When men have sons only, they exhibit the least support for gender equity public policies, suggesting that wanting what is best for their children prevents men from challenging their patriarchal dividend.
Theberge, N. (1993). The construction of gender in sport: women, coaching, and the naturalization of difference. Social Problems, 40 (Aug.) 301-313.
Sexual Harrassment and Sexuality
Krauchek, V. Ranson, G. (1999). Playing by the rules of the game: women’s experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment in sport. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. 36 (4), 585-600.
AB: Part of a special issue on sexual harassment. A study was conducted to evaluate the experiences and perceptions of women regarding sexual harassment in sport. Data were drawn from interviews with 32 female athletes. Findings indicate that approximately two-thirds of the women had experienced sexual harassment that ranged from gender harassment to "sexual imposition." Findings further reveal that in the cases of some male coaches, the women gave only positive reports. It is contended that it is necessary to develop a perceptual reframing on a relatively large scale, one in which women celebrate their sporting achievement and win on their own terms. It is argued that this will lead to a decrease in women's tolerance of behavior that includes sexual harassment that denigrates or interferes with their performance.
Riordan, J. Jinxia, D. (1996). Chinese women and sport: success, sexuality and suspicion. The China Quarterly, 45 (1), 130-152.
AB: Given the unprecedented performance of top Chinese women athletes during the 1990s, the writers attempt to provide a broad understanding of Chinese women and sport and to put the issue of performance-enhancing drugs into perspective. They consider how Chinese women have evidently evaded many of the obstacles confronting Western women in sport; what the Chinese government's motivation is in apparently prioritizing women's sport; and how the women's success has been attained and at what cost. They contend that the major factors that facilitated the progress of Chinese women in sport are to be sought in elements intrinsic to Chinese society and shaped by historically-conditioned attitudes to sport and women that differ markedly from those that have formed the dominant values of sport in Western society.