Wrestling and Football Women in Term Paper

Apart from physical aptitude, societal roles also play a large role. Says Susan Birrell in Women, Sport, and Culture, "it is also clear that sport is strongly associated with the male identity, with being popular and having friends. Rugby and football are archetypical here" (Birrell 35). The bonding stereotypes of the female gender are generally non-physical, and thus sports do not have as positive an association for women. As a result, of that percentage of women that are able to compete at the same level as men in contact sports never enter the arena in the first place.

Regardless of the reason, very few women get involved with contact sports, and practicality makes it difficult for those who are interested to be accommodated. Separate locker room facilities are necessary, and the team dynamics are altered fundamentally as the issue of sexual tension enters the scene. There are some who would say that it is insensitive to deny a women the chance to excel in a sport simply because men are incapable of being civil; I would argue that it is a shame that such behavior is a factor, but that ultimately schools and leagues must act in their own interest by not inviting the host of sexual harassment lawsuits that would inevitably join the inclusion of women on contact sport teams.Thankfully, women are becoming increasingly liberated from their old roles within society, and when sufficient interest has grown, female leagues will inevitably burst from the fertile ground of American ambition. Until then, female athletes will need to find another area in which to excel.

Works Cited

Birrell, Susan, and Cheryl L. Cole. Women, Sport, and Culture. Champagne, Illinois: University of Illinois, 1994. 35-40.

Lindle, RS., EJ. Metter, NA. Lynch, JL. Fleg, JL. Fozard, J Tobin, TA. Roy, and BF. Hurley. "Age and Gender Comparisons of Muscle Strength in 654 Women and Men Aged 20-93 Yr." Journal of Applied Physiology (1997). 9 Nov. 2006 http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/83/5/1581.

Miller, AE., JD. Macdougall, MA. Tarnopolsky, and DG. Sale. "Gender Differences in Strength and Muscle Fiber Characteristics." Springerlink (1992). 9 Nov. 2006 http://www.springerlink.com/content/l47235487q162675/.

Women in Wrestling." Independant Lens. Independant Television Services. 7 Nov. 2006 http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/girlwrestler/women.html......