Does Gender Matter in Sports? Identity, Inequality & Injury

Introduction

There may well be reasons that gender should not matter in sports. However, setting aside questions of morality or justice, gender does currently matter in sports for several reasons. Gender definitions have traditionally created and perpetuated differences that make gender relevant in sports, though these definitions are being challenged. In addition, studies have found gender differences in injury — specifically regarding concussions among high school athletes. Due to current circumstances in sports, gender matters.

Gender Definitions and Masculine Identity

Development of a masculine identity is psychologically fundamental for males (Messner, 1989). Furthermore, a public masculine identity is fundamental for males within society (Messner, 1989). The actual content of any individual's identity comes from that person's choices in areas such as gender, culture, vocation, and religion (Daniels et al., 2005, p. 319). The predominant concept of masculinity in the Western world encompasses such characteristics as competitiveness, strength, toughness, aggression, courage, control, and the ability to endure pain (Allan et al., 2006, p. 53). Chesebro and Fuse further divide these characteristics into prototypical and sports-related categories: prototypical male characteristics include ambition, independence, courage, leadership, activity, and achievement; sports-related characteristics include identification with one's favorite team, following the team's progress, attitudes toward rival teams, and the use of team insignias (Chesebro & Fuse, 2001, p. 238). In fact, masculinity is comprised of a number of useful yet sometimes contradictory images (Chesebro & Fuse, 2001, p. 264). Allan and his co-authors go even further, stating that the characteristics of a so-called "ideal" male lend themselves to two phenomena: violence and sports (Allan et al., 2006, p. 59). Sports are logically connected with self-identity because they connect a person with forms of self-identity that society approves (Guilianotti, 2005, p. 117). Furthermore, individuals who strongly identify with athletics build their identities around that role by developing sports-focused skills, confidence, and social relationships (Daniels et al., 2005, p. 319).

The vulnerability of young men to this construct was explored by Kivel and Johnson in "Consuming Media, Making Men: Using Collective Memory Work to Understand Leisure and the Construction of Masculinity" (Kivel & Johnson, 2009). Kivel and Johnson wished to understand how young males create and sustain their masculinity; consequently, they explored the "media consumption" of young males (Kivel & Johnson, 2009, p. 112). They found that American society maintains very narrow roles and expectations for "man" and "manhood" (Kivel & Johnson, 2009, p. 118), including early exposure of young males to violent examples of maleness in the media (Kivel & Johnson, 2009, p. 124). In this way, media both fed and was fed by proactive symbols of masculinity rooted in violence, heroics, and persistent macho representations (Kivel & Johnson, 2009, p. 127). While these images have developed and been "assigned" to masculinity over time (Chesebro & Fuse, 2001, p. 263), American media is vital to the creation and maintenance of American masculine identity (Kivel & Johnson, 2009, p. 131).

Since the organization of youth sports in the late nineteenth century to build and test the "manliness" of young males, sports have been consistently important for young males in American society, allowing boys to attain acceptance and support from other males (Daniels et al., 2005). This stands in sharp contrast to female participation in sports, which began gaining acceptance only as recently as the 1960s. Traditionally, females who participated in sports were considered deviant unless the sport was a "refined" one such as tennis, which focused on aspects such as "beauty and form" (Daniels et al., 2005, p. 325). Prior to the 1960s, women's sports rejected the "male" notions of winning and individual achievement associated with amateur and professional sports (Daniels et al., 2005, pp. 324–325). With the enactment of Title IX in 1972, competitive sports became far more acceptable for females; however, traditional gender stereotypes still dominate sports participation (Elling & Knoppers, 2005, p. 260).

Knowing that these traits comprise the traditional Western ideals of masculinity and femininity, an individual's decision to pursue or abandon a professional career in sports hinges on his or her self-assessment of the possession and ability to develop those traits (Messner, 1989). Of course, sports are also connected with other aspects of self-identity, such as racial identity and class identity (Bourdieu, 1978, p. 824); however, this paper focuses specifically on gender-related issues in sport. According to authorities such as Messner, sports' reinforcement of these traits establishes and perpetuates gender inequality (Messner, 1989). One example of this reinforcement of gender inequality and violence is professional football, in which a player is pushed to see his own body as "a tool, a machine, or even a weapon" used to defeat the opponent (Messner, 1989). As a result, even serious injuries are frequent in football and are deemed acceptable due to the cultural acceptance of violence (Guilianotti, 2005, p. 110).

Gender Differences in Concussions

In addition to traditional notions of gender, there are documented differences in injury rates — particularly concussions — according to gender. As girls participate in sports at rates similar to boys, studies have found that girls have significantly higher rates of concussion in soccer and basketball. In high school soccer, a 2011 study revealed that girls were twice as likely to suffer concussions as boys (Frommer et al., 2011); in high school basketball, the same study found that the rate of concussions for girls was 1.7 times higher than for boys (Frommer et al., 2011). Researchers have struggled to determine why concussion rates are so much higher among female high school athletes. The reasons offered involve anatomy, culture, and hormones.

Anatomically, girls may be more likely to sustain concussions because the relatively small size of their heads and the comparatively weaker development of their neck muscles makes them less able to absorb impact without injury (Tierney et al., 2005, p. 278). In addition, girls may also be more likely to exhibit signs of concussion because females have a higher rate of cerebral blood flow than males, and blows to the head may reduce that blood flow to a degree that makes concussion symptoms apparent (Giza & Hovda, 2001, p. 234). Culturally, trainers may simply be paying more attention to girls' injuries due to our culture's tendency to protect females more than males (Tierney et al., 2005, p. 278), and boys may under-report concussions due to "macho" tendencies to play through pain in order to remain in the game (Covassin et al., 2012, p. 926). Hormones may also contribute to the greater incidence of concussions among female high school athletes: researchers have found that estrogen protects male rats from brain trauma but actually makes female rats more vulnerable to brain trauma (Makdissi et al., 2013, p. 319). Whether caused anatomically, culturally, hormonally, or for some other reason, girls are reportedly far more likely to sustain concussions in sports such as soccer and basketball. Consequently, gender matters in the context of sports-related concussion injury.

Conclusion

Development of a masculine identity is psychologically fundamental for males and particularly for males within society. The actual content of this identity comes from choices the individual makes across a number of areas, including but not limited to gender, culture, vocation, and religion. In the Western world, male identity — or "masculinity" — includes such characteristics as strength, toughness, competitiveness, aggression, and the ability to endure pain. Developed over time, these characteristics are useful, enduring, and sometimes inconsistent. Traditionally, they are also associated with violence and sports. Young males are immersed in violent images closely tied to idealized male characteristics such as courage and heroism from a very early age, particularly through the media. These violent images condition young males toward violent male stereotypes early in their development. Sports are logically connected with Western "masculine" characteristics because they link the individual with socially approved forms of self-identity.

The Western concepts of "masculinity," bolstered by youth sports since the late nineteenth century, directly conflict with traditional "feminine" characteristics. Prior to the 1960s, female participation in sports was chiefly limited to "refined" sports such as tennis, which focused on beauty and form, and male-centered notions of winning and individual achievement were openly rejected for female athletics. The passage of Title IX in 1972 opened the door for female participation in more competitive sports. Nevertheless, "masculine" versus "feminine" characteristics have persisted in Western culture. Consequently, an individual's decision to participate in amateur or professional sports often hinges on that individual's self-assessment according to traditionally "masculine" traits. As a result, gender inequality in sports is reinforced and even encouraged.

Some individuals have consciously countered the traditional Western "masculine" and "feminine" stereotypes in sports and elsewhere. These individuals draw heavily from the work of Michel Foucault, who challenged traditional assumptions about the body and revolutionized the sociology of the body. Foucault argued that power is everywhere and that power and knowledge depend on each other. He also developed theories about discipline to control and benefit the body; governmentality to conduct conduct; carceral archipelago to compel self-regulation; and confessional selves to constantly produce truth. Building on Foucault's concepts, modern thinkers have applied his theories to "the sporting body" and are determined to overthrow traditionally male-centered notions of the body, power, and knowledge.

Another way in which gender matters in sports is the phenomenon of sports injury, specifically concussions. Researchers have found that among high school athletes, girls are twice as likely to suffer concussions while playing soccer and 1.7 times as likely to sustain concussions while playing basketball. Researchers have offered several possible explanations for these differences. Anatomically, the relatively small size of girls' heads and the relative weakness of their neck muscles may make them less able to absorb sports-related impacts without sustaining concussions; additionally, greater cerebral blood flow among females may result in more obvious signs of concussion when that blood flow is reduced by impact. Culturally, boys may be less likely to report concussions due to "macho" tendencies and a desire to continue playing. Finally, females may be hormonally predisposed to brain trauma from sports-related impacts. In any event, girls reportedly sustain more concussions in high school soccer and basketball — which is another way in which gender matters in sports.