Produced in 2017 through the film direction of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the “Battle of the Sexes” demonstrates how women counter gender discrimination in society. The movie focuses on King’s continued campaign for female athletes’ pay equality and her attempts to keep her sexual identity private. “Battle of the Sexes” shows how crucial King supports the feminist movement, showing that her accomplishments in the courtyard are akin to all modern-day women’s fight for equality. In this sense, the “Battle of the Sexes” demonstrates how women support feminism, gender inequality and discrimination, the danger of patriarchy and masculinism on gender equality, lack of affirmative action for gender equality, gender role manipulation, gender insensitivity, unequal pay between men and women, and the discrimination of the Gay, Bisexuals, Transgender, and Queers (LGBTQs) to depict gender parity from the sociological viewpoints of gender.
The drama “Battle of the Sexes” demonstrates how women enhance the culture and movement of feminism. This is because a woman who embodies independence from the restrictions, conventions, and customs of civilization is the product of feminism. This is a philosophy that attempts to improve women’s lives by questioning social standards based on male supremacy1. Although the movie tells a sports story, the screenplay is more important than the actual events. The sports tale tells the story of a lady who overcame obstacles and fought for civil rights and women’s equality. King as a woman exhibits masculine traits, creating controversies about her female roles in society. In the end, this made the society in the movie identify King as a morally reprehensible person, compared to other females around her.
The “Battle of the Sexes” also demonstrates gender inequality and discrimination from the sociological viewpoints of gender. For example, the low status of women in the film illustrates the connection between pariah and hegemonic feminism, and its influence on gender quality. The devalued female status in the film also demonstrates the connection between maleness and femaleness as well as how it hinders gender equity and justice2. The movie shows that women still lack equality despite the overwhelming socio-economic and political progress globally. For instance, the film shows persistent gender disparities in the participation and compensation of women in sports. In addition, gender equality in the film is evident when it shows that women’s sports are still subject to widespread sexism, prejudice, and criticism from stakeholders, the public, the media, et cetera. This causes considerable challenges for contemporary female athletes to thrive in sports and related activities.
Concerning the sociological gender perspectives, the events in “Battle of the Sexes” demonstrates patriarchy and masculinism as a threat to gender equality in society. For example, because of patriarchal thinking, women have minimal influence over critical societal decisions and leadership. Masculinism also defines or identifies women with domestic family roles, prioritizing their devotion to male family members. In the movie, Billy Jean and her teammates struggled to prove that women can play tennis equally or better than men. On the contrary, the male tennis players constantly told Bill Jean that she had to improve her skills to compete with men. These events show that society views women as a weaker gender than men. This is more prevalent where men are superior and women are inferior3. Billie Jean King, the protagonist of the movie, wants to change Kramer’s and society’s perceptions of women tennis players who believe that men’s matches are more exciting to watch compared to those of females. This would reduce the patriarchal influence that makes society view men as superior, stronger, more competent, and deserving of more rewards for their roles.
The “Battle of the Sexes” from the sociological gender standpoint also demonstrates the lack of affirmative action to control gender parity in society. The movie shows that society has limited or few resources to support females that are victims of gender discrimination. This affects the abilities of females to socialize and gain popularity for their skills, roles, and abilities in different fields. For example, in social and mainstream media, the discussions of female athletes are limited and insignificant. Similarly, females have limited or few platforms to demonstrate or market their athletic prowess compared to men. In the end, this affects the awareness and knowledge about the skills, roles, and contributions of females in society. This also leads to varying opinions of men and women toward major social concerns 4. As a result, women are becoming more vulnerable to social issues such as sexual violence and assault, underpayment, lack of recognition, and their identification as domestic workers.
The “Battle of the Sexes” from sociological gender position also depicts gender role manipulation. The manipulation of gender roles occurs in contemporary society because of the need to support or improve equity among males and females. For example, in the film, King’s need to prove that women can play tennis as men show how women wanted to manipulate their roles to appear equal to men, be independent of customs, and be leaders of men. Thus, this shows that society should ignore the masculinism or feminist view of people to control the manipulation of gender roles and equality. This is evident in the ports industry where stakeholders implement affirmative actions to reduce gender inequality and changes of roles5. The Week 5 Class Discussion illustrates this using the old stereotypes rooted in cultural, historical, and external social ideas that require athletes to have gender-specific behaviors, roles, and personalities6.
Gender insensitivity is also a prevalent theme in the “Battle of the Sexes” from a sociological gender stance. This is because existing social norms on male superiority still present a drawback of inequality in sports. According to Pyke and Johnson, patriarchal structures make men more powerful than women in domestic, non-corporate, and corporate settings. This increases the vulnerability of women to lower employment status and compensation, more household chores, and elevated numbers of male aggression7. To control this, the movie’s storyline summarizes women’s liberation, mainly liberal feminism, a feminist movement that prioritizes a person’s independence as well as equality for men and women. This creates the same opportunities for men, women, and other gender communities in politics and the classroom8.
In the film, unequal pay between men and women in sports also demonstrates gender parity. Equal pay for equivalent work has enormous implications for how society views women’s roles and male supremacy. In the movie, King discusses the salary disparity with former tennis player and current chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Jack Kramer. Also, King and Heldman confront Kramer about the disparity in the Championship prize money for men and women. Even while pay equity improves, there is still a glaring disparity between men and women in all professions. King’s victory gave women more power by proving that female athletes can equally compete with male athletes. She paved the way for other women in sports, enhancing female participation and fair compensation.
Finally, the “Battle of the Sexes” also depicts the discrimination of LGBTQs as a form of gender parity. Homosexuality continues to be a contentious topic in today’s culture. In contrast to her life in the courtyard, the movie shows King’s private life, including her struggles with her sexuality. She feels unwelcome because of her same-sex relationship with Marilyn Barnett, which caused wrangles in her marriage and other aspects of her personal life when the publicly recognized LGBTQs experienced prejudice, delisting, and assault9. In sports, conventional masculinity ideals and constraints prevent LGBT athletes from participating. Since the 1990s, the establishment sports sector fails to condone homosexuality because of homophobia10. Sexual orientation in this regard receives a highlight on its stereotypic consequences and perspective in society, establishing movements and activists to find equality in society.
Conclusively, the “Battle of the Sexes” addresses gender parity, wage disparity, and homosexuality as contentious issues, illustrating the conflict between feminism and masculinity, and the ideas of gender roles in contemporary culture. The film’s protagonist, Billie Jean King, is a historical icon for contemporary culture and the sports world. The movie reflects the fight for justice over the recent decades in tennis sport, which significantly influenced gender sociological views globally. Therefore, in the future, the “Battle of the Sexes” will be historical because it is a change agent for the civil, LGBTQ rights, and women’s rights movements.
References
Sari, Ratna Kurnia. “An Analysis of Liberal Feminism Value through Main Character in Battle of the Sexes Movie.” PhD diss., Indonesian Library of Teknokrat Universities, 2018.
Finley, J. Nancy. Skating Femininity: Gender Maneuvering in Women’s Roller Derby. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 39(4) 359–387. 2010.
Best, Victoria, and Martin Crowley. “The battle of the sexes.” In The new pornographies, pp. 23-54. Manchester University Press, 2019.
Week 5. Doing Masculinity. Class Article. Slides. 2022.
Pyke, Karen and Johnson Denise. Asian American Women and Racialized Femininities “Doing” Gender across Cultural Worlds. Gender & Society, Vol. 17 No. 1. 2003.
UTT, Jamie. “We’re all just different!” How Intersectionality is Being Colonized by White People. Blog. Class Material. 2017.
Pascoe. Dude, You’re a Fag. Chapter three. Class Article. 2007.
Footnotes
- Sari, Ratna Kurnia. “An Analysis of Liberal Feminism Value through Main Character in Battle of the Sexes Movie.” PhD diss., Indonesian Library of Teknokrat Universities, 2018.
- Finley, J. Nancy. Skating Femininity: Gender Maneuvering in Women’s Roller Derby. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 39(4) 359–387. 2010. Web.
- Sari, Ratna Kurnia. “An Analysis of Liberal Feminism Value through Main Character in Battle of the Sexes Movie.” PhD diss., Indonesian Library of Teknokrat Universities, 2018.
- Best, Victoria, and Martin Crowley. “The battle of the sexes.” In The new pornographies, pp. 23-54. Manchester University Press, 2019.
- Finley, J. Nancy. Skating Femininity: Gender Maneuvering in Women’s Roller Derby. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 39(4) 359–387. 2010. Web.
- Week 5. Doing Masculinity. Class Article. Slides. 2022.
- Pyke, Karen and Johnson Denise. Asian American Women and Racialized Femininities “Doing” Gender across Cultural Worlds. Gender & Society, Vol. 17 No. 1. 2003. Web.
- UTT, Jamie. “We’re all just different!” How Intersectionality is Being Colonized by White People. Blog. Class Material. 2017
- Sari, Ratna Kurnia. “An Analysis of Liberal Feminism Value through Main Character in Battle of the Sexes Movie.” PhD diss., Indonesian Library of Teknokrat Universities, 2018. Web.
- Pascoe. Dude, You’re a Fag. Chapter three. Class Article. 2007.