Last week in class, we had to break away from our original
groups, and form new ones with people from other groups to discuss the issues
on Title IX. Our group ended up
discussing #4 on the list, which was “How can women of color obtain greater
exposure and/or more opportunities to participate in non-traditional sports?” I
feel like being exposed to other non-traditional sports starts at a young
age. On another hand, the elementary/junior
high/high school they attend and the amount of funds they have plays a huge
part as well. If you have attended an
all girls school, private, or boarding school, more than likely your school had almost every single
sport that could possibly be thought of that wouldn't be in your average public school (ie: Hathaway Brown…all girls school in
Shaker Heights, OH). Hathaway Brown has the following sports: field hockey, golf, tennis, swimming, indoor track, diving, and lacrosse. Another reason why I feel like in the
past and even in present day why women of color do not really participate in
non-traditional sports is because you need to have a lot of money to be able to
do sports that requires a lot more equipment. Personally, I was blessed to be able to attend a private junior high/high school, and we had all the sports that were named above with the exception of diving and indoor track. The only problem with me was that I was pretty much stuck in my ways playing basketball and running track and I did not want to try anything else, I sometimes regret that today.
More than likely you will catch women of color playing basketball,
volleyball, or running track. Those are
the sports that you only need a ball or your feet for. In conclusion, I feel like if younger women
of color are exposed to different sports like gymnastics, skiing,
skateboarding, and etc. at a young age, they will then most likely want to succeed
in the sports the older they get.
Turea Moore's Group
These are some great points. Most schools don't have many non-traditional sports offered. I know at my high school we only had your basics; basketball, cross country, track, and softball. It is unfortunate that if a woman of color wants to play a sport such as lacrosse, hockey, or whatever other sport she may choose, can't play because of financial hardships.
ReplyDelete-Derek Zyski
Turea
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the points your group made. I believe there is a cycle for why women of color do not participate in non-traditional sports. Women of color are not encouraged to play non-traditional sports at a young age. This then leads to schools not offering programs because one they do not have students to participate and two they cannot fund the programs. Then if schools have no programs it will lead to less women of color participating and be a cycle that is hard to stop.
Josiah Blevins
Turea,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog, and I also was in your in-class group while doing this activity. I think you hit a main point when you said that if girls don't start participating in untraditional sports at a young age it will be very rare that they will pick up a different sport when they're older. I also believe that the untraditional sports for woman possibly don't exists at specific High schools. I know my High school only had basketball,soccer,tennis,track,swimming, and volleyball. That is actually a bigger list then most schools that I know of. It seems that there is a lack of opportunity for all females to play sports while growing up.
-Brett Creamer
Turea,
ReplyDeleteI liked what you had to say in your blog and I also agree with you about how girls do not participate in untraditional sports at a early age. Young girls need to start early so they can get use to the sport and improve while they are getting older and come in cold as they become older. I was fortunate enough to go to a high school that had the untraditional sport of field hockey, lacross, and hockey for girls and I know many of them actually went on to play in college. I believe it all depends on the area one is living in and if they know about the sport through watching it, hearing about it, or told by their parents.
Jenny Kelley
Definitely agree with this post. It is so hard for youth to have open opportunity to participate in non-traditional sports, and even sports in general. It seems to only be getting more difficult for lower revenue sports programs with additional social pressures brought into the equation. We discussed in class the hardships particularly teen girls face in social circles at school, for participation in sports. I am truly appreciative that the school district, and neighborhood I grew up promoted playing sports as a girl, being tough and even playing every possible sport and game that was available. I wish that was the positive stigma attached to sport today!
ReplyDeleteStephanie Loomis
Positive stigma is an interesting phrase - it seems like an oxymoron (e.g., "jumbo shrimp":-)
ReplyDeleteDr. Spencer