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Thirty Years Later: Title IX Still Controversial
by Matt Sedensky

The New Female Athlete
by Margarita Bertsos

Equal Opportunity Coaching
by Allison Steele

Overtraining and Undereating
by Falasten Abdeljabbar

Playing Like A Girl
by Sasha Stumacher

Women's Tennis: The Marketing Model
by Daniel Mitha

Who Gets The Ball
by Anne-Marie Harold

Selling Skin
by Suzanne Rozdeba

Slam Jam and The Future
by Mike Gorman

Playing Out Identity
by Maya Jex



Playing Like a Girl
by Sasha Stumacher
Produced for the Web by Alexandra Chughtai-Harvey


   Courtesy of Stacey Kramer
A woman athlete often finds herself in the double bind of maintaining traditional standards of femininity while her sport demands that she overcome them.

Aggressive, powerful, confident, strong; these athletic qualities are sometimes hard to reconcile with softness and submissiveness. Though most female athletes manage to achieve a balance, for some, the toll on their emotional well- being can be devastating.

"From a very early age in our culture, females are taught to think that their acceptability, their self-worth depends on how they look."

"There's No Crying in Baseball"

"From a very early age in our culture, females are taught to think that their acceptability, their self-worth depends on how they look," says Dr. David Schlundt, a psychology professor at Vanderbilt University. "Boys are taught very differently, that your self-worth depends more upon what it is you can do; your accomplishments, your success, your competitiveness."

For women, says Dr. Salvator Cullari, psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College, the message is, "they should be both physically attractive and good in sports. Just look at the female soccer star of last year who was more famous for taking off her shirt than for her goal," he said, referring to Brandi Chastain's World Cup victory strip.

A dancer turned rugby player, who asked not to be identified, said one of the greatest pressures she feels as she trains for her sport is to maintain her femininity. "If a male athlete is built and very obviously muscular, there are no questions asked," she said. "But if you see a very athletic looking girl, a lot oftimes questions and objections are raised."

"Personally," she added, "I always have pink fingernails and toes. Have you seen the Nike commercial that says 'I wear dresses, I wear muscles?' That's how I try to present myself."

Dr. Michael Sachs, a professor of kinesiology at Temple University, argues that feminine stereotypes are so ingrained in the behavior of female athletes that these gender norms -- less aggressive, more emotional, more sensitive, more cooperative and collaborative -- become part of the way women play.

Dr. Kevin Burke, a sports psychologist at Georgia Southern University, adds that some female athletes are adept at separating their femininity from their athleticism; women who think, "I'm female, but when I walk out onto the basketball court, I'm an athlete."

 

 


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PAGE 1: There's No Crying in Baseball

PAGE 2:
Careful Coaching
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PAGE 3: The Invisible Problem >>


PAGE 4: Starving for Control >>


Women's Sports Foundation
Dedicated to educating the public about women in sports and gender equality

ANRED: Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, inc.
Nonprofit organization offering information on the different risk factors for male and female athletes

National Eating Disorders Screening Program
Discusses sports associated with eating disorders

 









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