UNIT THREE: Masculinity, Cultural Constructions, and Sport

UNIT THREE:

10 Biggest Ideas and why they are important:

1.     Values- values are important because they are things in which we believe, and how we should live. Values are something people incorporate into their daily lives.

2.     Value system- how we define a value system and who are value system comes from. Values may come from family members, community member, etc.

3.     Cultural transmission- what cultural values are passed down to us as children, and how it changes throughout a lifetime.

4.     Cultural transmission in sports- the value of sports, and the important of sports.

5.     How sports are taught- this can change the way a child views sports, and life at such young ages.

6.     Cultural transmission examples- depending on where you live, you play a certain sport. For example, cold weather year round= hockey.

7.     Belief systems and sports- the way you believe, may affect the way you play a certain sport, in a positive or negative way.

8.     Divide in sports in communities- Communities that are divided into socioeconomic classes. This may be important because some individuals cannot afford to participate, afford equipment, etc., if there was no divide.

9.     Communities and sports- each community may have a different view and/or belief on how to play a sport.

10.   The “Cultural Iceberg”- This is important because it shows how our understanding of our values is partly conscious and largely unconscious. This can be very important when talking about sports.

·      Values are important throughout life, and while playing sports. Individuals hold different values depending on sports, and may differ drastically. For example, golf is much different than ice-skating, and may hold different values. Our value system may change as you age, and our values can be held because of how and by who you were raised. *

Scholarly Research Analysis Protocol

Instructions: While reading the assigned text, answer the questions below in the space provided. 

Please use direct excerpts from the text whenever possible in your responses.

What structural features define this text as falling within the genre of scholarly/ academic writing? (Create a bulleted list.)

·      Textual analysis

·      Sports broadcast

What is the argument statement of this text?  (Write one sentence.)

The argument of the text is, that televised sports, and their accompanying commercials, consistently present boys with a narrow portrait of masculinity, and leave women being seen as not important in the sports world. Men are the ones who are dominant and “newsworthy”, while women athletes are left in the shadows, with barely any news time.

Identify the jargon of this text. [Jargon is specialized terminology characteristic of a particular discipline or area of theory.]  (Use bullets.)

·      Televised Sports Manhood Formula

·      “Pecking order” – 383

·      “Playing with gain” – 387

What are five statements that the author uses to support the argument statement?

1) “With the exception of SportsCenter, women and Blacks never appeared as the main voices of authority in the booth conducting play-by-play or ongoing color commentary,”(382). I found it interesting that when woman to speak, it is usually very brief. Black men or women may be seen as athletes, but are rarely seen as voices of authority in the broadcast booth.

2) “Images or discussion of women athletes is almost entirely absent in the sports programs that boys watch most,”(382). When women are mentioned on SportCenter’s news, there is usually a rare discussion of women’s sports. Men are more “newsworthy”.  Women athletes also almost never appear in commercials, and are subordinate to men athletes.

3) “In the commercials that portray both women and men, women are often (although not exclusively) portrayed in stereotypical, and often very minor, background roles,”(383). This infuriates me, as I am a major feminist, and believe men and women should have equal rights in everything, including sports. Men are being seen as superior and playing sports, while women are being seen as inferior and are on the sidelines. Women are being stereotyped as weak and delicate, while men are strong and tough. The article continued by saying how when women did appear, they would appear with stereotypical roles, and be sexualized, seen as props for the men, and usually just cheering the men on, rather than playing the sport.

4) “Commentator consistently lauded athletes who most successfully employed physical and aggressive play and toughness. For instance, after having his toughness called into question, NBA player Brian Grant was awarded redemption by SportsCenter because he showed that he is “not afraid to take it to Karl Malone,”(385-86).  When did the media and the public start applauding such terrible behavior? Why is it good to be so aggressive? This makes me think of Ray Rice, and how aggressive he was with his fiancé. It’s as if he took what he learned from the field into his personal life as well, which is terrifying.

5) “This injunction for boys and men to be aggressive, not passive, is reinforced in commercials, where a common formula is to play on the insecurities of young males (e.g., that they are not strong enough, tough enough, smart enough, rich enough, attractive enough, decisive enough, etc.) and then attempt to convince them to avoid, overcome, or mask their fears, embarrassments, and apparent shortcomings by buying a particular product,”(186).  The media is reinforcing the idea on how to act if you are a boy or girl, and if you do not act a certain way, you are abnormal. This is such a terrible problem that is happening today. Luckily, I never felt this way until around high school. As an assistant teacher for a pre-school, sadly I already can see insecurities in boys if they cannot do something.

****(THIS was my favorite reading thus far in the course, and I could have put way more quotes and analyzed it more!!!)****

What values or views were represented in the message? (Write no more than three sentences.)

Values or views represented in the article reveal that sports programming presents boys with narrow and stereotypical messages about race, gender, and violence. The media can be a dangerous tool for young children because of what it represents. The media shows you how you are supposed to be, and if you do not look and act a certain way, you are abnormal.

Unit Three:

Step one:

This video, ”NFL Players Say NO MORE,” was great to me. I took a domestic violence course last semester, and many of these phrases were familiar to me. Some of the phrases that the NFL players used that stuck out to me the most included:

NO MORE……

“Boys will be boys” – This is making an excuse for bad behavior as a boy, and discriminating against others.

“He just has a temper”- It’s not normal just to “have a temper”, and you need to get help for that. There is no excuse.

“He’s such a nice guy” – This is a common phrase in domestic violence cases. Many domestic abusers put on a totally different persona to others, besides the one he is abusing. It’s scary to think you can have two complete opposite personalities.

“I will say something next time” – What if next time is too late? You should never wait or make excuses for bad behavior.

 “She was drunk or asking for it”- Rape is not okay is any situation.

(Together we can end domestic violence and sexual assault. )

STEP TWO:

How is the Cultural Construction of Masculinity Portrayed in Film?

Name of film	How do the following films create meanings and messages about sports, males, culture, and society?
The Blind Side	This is one of my favorite movies. It is truly a powerful movie. It shows that men with barely any experience can become star athletes. I have never seen a movie with a female doing this.  You cannot really tell from the trailer, but in the movie the mom gets a lot of backlash for bring the black teen home with her, just based on the fact he is black.
Varsity Blues	In this film, sex and football are what is important to men. Men are seen as sexy to women, and women seem like puppy dogs. It seems that women are trying to be submissive to get attention from the football players.
The Sandlot	In this film, the boy “smalls” is encouraged by his family to get muddy and do “boy things”. When he could not catch a ball at first, he was called a “weeny”. A major “insult” by one of the boys was, “you throw like a girl.” This is a common phrase used today, which I find ridiculous.
Miracle	In this film, hockey is everything. With hockey, the men thought they could get girls.  As a male, you should be able to face the impossible and refuse to ever give up. You are not allowed to show weakness, as weakness is linked to being feminine.
Youngblood	In this film, being a hockey player meant to be tough and strong. You should be able to handle anything and beat any competitor. You do not want to be seen as a “pretty boy”.
The Wrestler	In this film, being a man means to be tough, strong and masculine. Women are seen as sex symbols. Winning means being on top, and if you lose you are on the bottom.
Raging Bull	In this film, it seems that if you are a man and do not win, you are a loser.  If you lose, you are not masculine, and are more feminine. Women are viewed as objects and sex symbols.

STEP THREE:

This article, “Kris Jenkins’ View of Life in the NFL Trenches,” was extremely eye opening and interesting. He states, “Mentally, we’re conditioned to be tough. We’re conditioned to feel no pain. The only injury I ever felt while playing was when one of my knees tore. That’s the only time I felt pain and was like, O.K., that hurt.” It seems that just because you are a male and football player means you are supposed to be tough. Being anything less than tough, means you are being a baby. I found it interesting in the article when he continues to repeat that he knew it was going to hurt. He knew the consequences of playing the game, but still did it.  He said, “We consider football a gladiator sport because we understand you’re going to get hurt.” This is saying if you admit to people you are hurt, you are not a tough gladiator. There is an image that you need to keep and pressures to be a football player.  Jenkins’ goes on to talk about violence and football. He says how the insanity is what the audience loves to watch, and the pressures of that hit him hard.  This article shows the pressures that football players have to encounter on and off the field, and how football players have to act a certain way to always entertain the audience watching.

STEP FOUR:

1.     People are being brought up thinking that a real man is defined by how tough you are.

2.     What culture tells us on how to be real man- Adjectives include being tough, strong, rugged, powerful, hard, athletic, muscular, etc. If you do not measure up you are insulted with names such as, wuss, wimp, fag, and sissy.

3.     How the media provides the world images on what and who manhood is.

4.     Dominance power and control

5.     How your race is portrayed as men and how men may be affected by these portrayals. For example Latinos are always portrayed as boxers, criminals, and bad guys.  

6.     Violent masculinity as a cultural norm. (Being a man and being violent).

7.     Boys and men are inflicting an incredible amount of pain and suffering both on themselves and on others.

8.     Many men and boys put on a “tough” guy front and do not want to show emotions because of the possible backlash they may receive from others. It’s a survival mechanism.

9.     More women must value men that do not have this “tough” guy front. Girls must show they want more than just a bad boy, and not validate the bad boys.

10.  Break the monopoly of the media system where mostly rich white men dictate to the whole society on what manhood is.

STEP FIVE:
 

I chose to watch the College Basketball: North Carolina State Wolfpack vs. Virginia Cavaliers

      

 

My analysis/survey while watching: (2 hour game, including commericals)

Race and sex of announcers:

White men	White women	Black men	Black women
3		1
Total: 3	Total: 0	Total: 1	Total: 0

Sex Composition of commercials:

Men	Women	MEN& WOMEN	NO PEOPLE
6	6	4	3
Total: 6	Total: 6	Total: 4	Total: 3

Instances of Women being depicted as sexy props or prizes for men:

Commercials:	Sports programs:
TOTAL: 0	TOTAL: 0

Racial Composition of commercials:

WHITE ONLY	BLACK ONLY	LATION/A ONLY	ASIAN ONLY	MULTIRACIAL	UNDER- MINED	NO PEOPLE
4				14		3
Total: 4	Total: 0	Total: 0	Total: 0	Total: 14	Total: 0	Total: 3

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-basketball/2015/01/06/north-carolina-state-vs-virginia-game-preview-prediction/

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/152/nc-state-wolfpack

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/258/virginia-cavaliers

* I wonder if a female basketball player would get this kind of “fame”. *

I believe that the world of televised sports have changed in some ways, in the nearly 15 years since Messner’s findings. In his findings, his analysis revealed that sports programming presented boys with stereotypical messages about race, gender, and violence.  During the two-hour basketball game that I chose to watch, I did not see stereotypical messages about race, gender, and violence. One of the announcers did state how big and strong some of the players were, and also how one of the players strength “seems to be at a different level.”  I wonder if announcers do this at female basketball games, and complicate female players as frequently as they do with the male players. 

 In the game I chose to watch, it was not only white males as voices of authority. It was the voices of a black male, and three white males. Unfortunately, no female announcers were present at this game. I feel that there is still an idea that sports are a man’s world. None of the announcers spoke about women athletes, or women’s teams. On the other hand, some of the announcers talked about other male basketball teams. I noticed in commercials that it was pretty divided between men and women, unlike in Messner’s data. Also, there were more multiracial commercials, compared to Messner’s data where there were mostly ‘white only’ commercials.  I believe that sports and the commercials have changed within the last fifteen years, but could still improve. Commercials should start including more diverse groups of people. The commercials that I saw only showed heterosexual couples and families, which was interesting. 




CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2epJZXDyV8

I did not find a video this exciting for the women's team!