Femininity, Sports, and Feminism

Developing a Theory of Physical Liberation

-by Amanda Roth and Susan A. Basow

Introduction:
 If women are treated as intellectually inferior to men, simply because they are
women, people are outraged. But when it comes to physical inferiority, this
outrage is absent. It is commonly accepted in our society that women are
physically weaker than men. Human nature to value mind over body.
 This myth of women’s weakness often goes unchallenged even by feminists. The
roots of this relative inattention by feminists can be found in many of the
dominant feminist theories. Liberal feminists argued that right to freedom and
equality are owed to all rational beings regardless of sex. This emphasis on
rationality lead to disregard for body.
 Radical feminism seems ambivalent about female participation in athletics. They
encouraged participation only in female-only competition. Likely to point out and
criticize the fact that sports often value male strengths like upper body strength
than female strengths like agility. Functioned as a building block in the
development of physical feminism.
 Postmodern feminists have out forth more building blocks. According to Judith
Butler we perform gender by doing femininity and masculinity through
“reiterative and citational practice”. Since gender is constructed, strength
differences are also constructed.
 Shirley Castelnuovo and Guthrie claimed that women’s physical liberation is
necessary for their total liberation. They incorporated the arguments of the
above theories to form a unique theory that advocates a liberatory strategy
which involves women’s physical empowerment along with mental
empowerment.
 What is the aim of this article?
-discuss the doing and undoing of femininity by looking through the lens of
sports.
-examine the interaction between athletics and the ideology of femininity to
show that sports have not resulted in a feminist liberation.
-to show up the need and possibility for a physically based feminist liberation
strategy.
  Why sports? –offer a unique venue for feminist theorizing as gender issues are
both replicated and magnified within it.
-large number of women participate.
-cultural institution of sports affect the status of women, often in a negative
manner.
-continues to conform to and bolster male domination.
MYTHS AND REALITIES OF WOMEN’S BODIES
 To understand the role of athletics in oppressing and potentially liberating
women one must have some knowledge of women’s bodies as they are.
Why women are not naturally weak?
 Average man is only 10% to 15% larger than the average woman, which seems
minor. In a study of females who fell within the height/weight standards of the
army but not involved in military, 24% women could lift 100 pounds before
training.
 Muscle mass is related to testosterone levels, which is high in males, but the
strength differences between the sexes are likely to be mitigated by exercise.
 Men generally have an advantage in upper body strength but studies show that
women’s leg muscles are stronger than that of men.
 At schools, physical fitness criteria are different to boys and girls. Boys are hold
on to a higher standard. Therefore, even though girls usually outperform boys,
the lower standards for them give the impression that girls are less able by the
virtue of their sex.
 The ideal of feminine body (beautiful, small, thin and weak) is transmitted to men
and women in virtually all aspects of life and through all societal institutions. The
seemingly unconscious routines of females become internalized. From childhood,
girls are taught that femaleness and weakness are connected.
 Social circumstances determine the abilities of women’s bodies- example of
throwing.
 There is a racial disparity regarding the ideal feminine body. Black women often
have a higher body self-esteem and lower incidence of eating disorders. They
hadn’t the opportunity to conform to the White feminine ideal because of hard
physical and sexual slavery.
  The White feminine ideal did not apply to Latina women as well. Having a solid
body was important for them to be a good wife, child-bearer and follower of
God. Latina men gave importance to behavior rather than appearance.
 Being physically strong as a Black/Latina woman may be more acceptable in
society than being physically strong as a White woman. This has implications for
women’s participation in self-defense and sports.
SPORTS AND FEMININTY
 One way of adopted by patriarchy to deemphasize women’s physical power and
capabilities is to associate female athleticism with female sex appeal. Femininity
is written into the very rules of a sport, such as the sexy skirting outfit and the
dance aspects of her routines. This tendency of ensuring the acceptability of
female athletics by making them appealing to men is called “the feminine
apologetic”. This forces women to demonstrate their femininity rather than
strength. Men would forget the incredible strength that is exhibited by a women
and instead, see her as a sexual object.
 The pictures and captions that come along with them present anything that
women do as sexual, even playing hockey.
 Femininity is also reinforced through team names and descriptions of female
athletes. Eg. Women’s team – Blue Chicks and male’s team- Blue Hawks. Also,
female teams were called belles, gals, etc while the suffix ettes was added to
male team which indicates that female team is a deviant derivative.
 Another way to deemphasize women’s power was through accusations of
lesbianism and maleness. She is not real woman if she is lesbian. In the early
1980s, tennis player Martina Navratilova was ridiculed as a “bionic sci-fi
creation”, who was a bisexual. The fear of being labelled as lesbian affected
female participation to a great extent. Similarly, sex tests became
institutionalized for the preventing women with genetic abnormalities from
performing.
 Reaction from various part of the society shows how threatening to male
dominance female athleticism can be- male physiologists and media trying to
undermine the importance of a study that reported that women’s elite running
time had been increasingly and quickly approaching men and race directors’
attempt to prevent female athlete from participating by physically accosting her.
WHAT WOMEN (AND MEN) GET OUT OF FEMALE STRENGTH
 Money and fame- increase in higher salaries and endorsements for women
  Increase in opportunities for higher education through athletic scholarships

 Women are likely to gain confidence and enjoyment from physical activities.
Response from women shows that part of the benefit of contact sports is the
physical contact itself. They also gain confidence as a result of sports and self-
defense training.

 Possibility of women gaining security against rape. Perhaps even more important
this is the ability of women to escape the rape mystique(rape's power to control
women by keeping them fearful and forcing them to constrict their lives)

 Another benefit for women is the potential change in sexual scripts that often
dictate female passivity and vulnerability and male dominance and
aggressiveness. If women stop being weak, the basis for the traditional definition
of sexuality collapses. The privilege of men to do violence, thus, is lost.

 Benefits for men- they will not be unfairly expected or forced to perform physical
labor simply because they are men. There will be a transformation of the
definition of masculinity. Men who does not demonstrate strength and
aggressiveness will not be ridiculed for not being a real man.

 Despite these benefits, why has physical development of women not become a
major social movement? - Feminism's lack of proper attention paid to body.
Some feminists are even against physical liberation.

FEMINIST WORRIES ABOUT ADVOCATING PHYSICALITY AS FEMINIST LIBERATION

 It is cultural feminists who are reluctant to encourage women's violent sports and
self-defense because they believe that men are violent due to their biology (lack
ability to give birth and nurture). Thus for them women are naturally less violent
than men and for women to engage in violence would be to take on male values.
 McCaughy said "women are not as violent as men only because women have not
been entitled to violence, politically".

 Since physical force is a major force in oppressing women. They cannot hope to
use violence to liberate themselves because they would be contributing to
oppression.
 McCaughy insisted that only white upper/middle class women had the option to
be nonviolent. Poor, non-White women and women of developing nation have
 traditionally been forced to engage in physically demanding and aggressive
activities for survival. Since Black women were never associated with nonviolence
or physical purity they could gain access to sports world before white women.

 Racially specific nature of female nonviolent purity is noticeable in entertainment

industry as well- Black female characters in films, who does not conform to
feminine ideal were accepted whereas White female characters were accepted
only if they could be powerful without being masculine.

 Other feminist viewpoints- Women should be given the knowledge and practice
to be violent before arguing that violence is bad. D.A. Clarke pointed out that
nonviolence is most effective when practiced by those who have the ability to be
violent. A feminist encouragement of female participation in contact sports and
self-defense should emphasize teaching women not only how to be violent but
also how to choose not to be violent.

 It is to be noted that violence here doesn't mean insufficiently justified,

intentionally harmful force. True self-defense intends to be harmful but is
justified in being so; it will not be used to oppress a group of people. A more
appropriate term than violence would be 'physical power'.

 Another criticism of physical feminism is the potential for co-optation. Athletics

may be used by capitalists as a new way of selling products. It is also noticeable in
the beauty ideal; the creation of a new body ideal.

 Last potential feminist worry is that it seems to exclude women who suffer from
chronic illness or who are physically not able to participate in sports. Therefore
we should also work to break down the myth that physical strength makes one
more worthy. The point of female physical strength is to end the existence of
privilege altogether.

A FEMINIST THEORY OF PHYSICAL LIBERATION

What should the feminist choices be?

 Recognize that body is a continually constructed entity and that change in body is
change in mind. Thus a theory/practice of liberatory physical feminism must
equally able to work with mind and body.

 How women's bodies are constructed can be completed only after such a
feminist way of being is achieved. Achieving this will, of course, in itself construct
 women's bodies in a certain way; it will make them stronger and more physically
able. And it is after this transformation on a mass level that certain other choices
can adequately be made.

 Our ways of thinking will certainly change with our bodies; so might our theories
and our values