Gender differentiation is rather a historical process, now penetrating almost every aspect of life. Seemingly, the process has become inevitable since the moment of stating and supporting the rights of equality between men and women. The sports field also tends to admit and develop a certain level of gender differentiation, which can be viewed from various perspectives, such as a medical basis, social trends, and the existence or lack of discrimination in the sportsmen world. Being also a social institution, sports becomes a good grounding for analyzing gender specifications and differentiations from the psychological point of view.
First of all, as sport means physical exercise and body development, the medical aspect plays a very important role in the notion. Gender differentiations do not exclude this aspect, because it correlates with physical capacity and evolution of men and women. From the historical point of view, gender peculiarities in the medical field are connected with the stereotypical worldview: the image of a healthy man is something masculine, strong, having a developed body, and capable of competition. A healthy woman is the one, who is tender, homelike, and capable of giving birth to a child and preserving the hearth.
Nowadays, health advantages and disadvantages of professional sports are also connected with the stereotypical view of a healthy personality (Bandy, 2014). The advantages of physical exercise in sports include regular training, healthy dieting with the usage of certified appropriate Nutritionals, and a psychologically motivated for success personality. Thus, both genders win and gain, making sports an integral part of life. Nevertheless, there are always disadvantageous sides of any field. Here, they are mostly connected with the sports of strong gains. Currently, there is a great deal of using various uncertified drugs and steroids for a sportsman to succeed. Numerous scandals surround the athletes. The main disadvantage for a person’s health in such a situation is the restructuring of the hormone system, when women become more masculine in every part, including their physical appearance.
The supplements under discussion also affect the reproductive function in the worst way. It is impossible to differentiate between the levels of acerb influence on men and women, but it is noteworthy, that traditionally, women have a more subtle body organization, and that is why, they are subjected to faster malignant changes, based on the drug usage (Faniko, Lorenzi-Cioldi, Sarrasin, & Mayor, 2016).
Moreover, the social advantages and disadvantages of professional sports in terms of gender differentiation are no less important. Here, again, a clear-cut stereotypical view can be observed. Being a sportsman brings obvious advantages, for both genders. People see both the female and the male athletes as a strong example of motivation, hard work, and success. Everybody knows the way Olympic athletes are greeted, praised, and loved.
Together with that, the stereotype of a sportsman includes the idea of the so-called “healthy living”. They are perceived as psychologically strong and healthy people, who know, how to live in the right way and promulgate this way of living to others. Sports also influence the level of self-esteem of a person, bringing the joy and pride of winning. On the other hand, another social stereotype on sports includes the differentiation of women’s and men’s capabilities and progress. According to this view, men are stronger, less emotional, and, thus, more productive. Training standards for women are practically always lower, than those for men. Women are perceived as weaker sportsmen, which is psychologically disadvantageous for the emotional health of a woman (“Gender equality in sport”, 2014).
The differentiation in social norms for different genders cannot avoid the notion of discrimination in sports. In its turn, gender discrimination is tightly connected with the general notion of masculinity in sports. In addition to medically and socially based reasons for masculinity as a turning point in the sports of strong gains, it is also observed as the only working characteristic from a professional perspective. Here, one can come across a certain historical and social discrimination, as masculinity is something genetically inherited by a man, but not so easily accepted by a woman. That is why, the world of sports presupposes a kind of domination of one gender on the other (Messner, 2012).
Besides the domination, there is certain discrimination and differentiation in social statuses between the genders. Being a masculine power, sport is from the very beginning created for men and their psychological stability in correlation with the passive position of a woman. For instance, professional male sportsmen tend to stay in the field even after they finish their careers. There are many more opportunities for them in their civil life in becoming critics, trainers, specialists in their field of sports. Having got used to a sporting way of life, they rarely leave it to never remember it. Nevertheless, in this point discrimination leaves the frames of only the professional sports field, but shows the global woman discrimination in gaining higher positions in life. A trainer is more likely to be of the male sex, than the opposite. So, sports also bring leading masculine positions for men, rather than for women (Veliz & Shakib, 2014).
The notion of gender differentiation can also have some natural biological reasons. There are various theories on the level of equality between the genders. The biological one supposes that all people are born equal, with similar rights and level of morality. The development of inequality between genders, beliefs, nationalities comes along with the social and psychological worldview under the surrounding circumstances. In this aspect, sport is presented as social power, which is capable of suppressing the gender equality due to the leading role of masculinity in the field. Thus, the natural biological flow of equality between the genders is changed in sports to a clear kind of domination and creating the illusion that sports are created, evolved, and provided for men. This also leads to a conclusion, that the level of male self-esteem, brought by sports is much more valuable than the female one, which shows the inequality and discrimination in all its social variety (Senne, 2016).
Generally speaking, the picture presented in the analysis of gender differentiation is rather clear. These differentiated peculiarities are subjected to stereotypical views almost in all aspects. In medicine, the very notion of using food and health drug suppliers creates an image of a masculine man, which is historically right, and a masculine woman, which is inevitably different from the general female stereotypes. In social and biological spheres, one can see a red line of discrimination, notwithstanding the natural laws of equality are broken this way. To sum up, the field of professional sports can become a profound ground for analyzing the levels and results of gender specifications, which influence the whole perception of the sports world nowadays and in further perspective.
References
Bandy, S. (2014). Gender and sports studies: A historical perspective.Movement & Sport Sciences – Science & Motricité, (86), 15-27. Web.
Faniko, K., Lorenzi-Cioldi, F., Sarrasin, O., & Mayor, E. (2016). Gender and social hierarchy. East Sussex, UK: Routledge.
Gender equality in sport. (2014). Web.
Messner, M. (2012). Reflections on communication and sport: On men and masculinities. Communication and Sport, 1(1), 113-124. Web.
Senne, J. A. (2016). Examination of gender equity and female participation in sport.The Sport Journal. Web.
Veliz, P., & Shakib, S. (2014). Gender, academics, and interscholastic sports participation at the school level: A gender-specific analysis of the relationship between interscholastic sports participation and AP enrollment. Web.