Women as Athletic Minorities
Ian Smith
Dr. Watkins
College Comp and Research
22 February 2016
The number of women in sports today has grown higher than ever. Not only are they participating in more competitive sports, but they are also becoming more avid fans. This being said, women and men athletics are still far from equal. The sports world is still dominated by men. Even though some may think it will put a negative effect on male sports, women should no longer be considered minorities because they are being paid the same amount as the men, becoming real sports fans, and getting more sports opportunities everyday.
You would think that women athletes would have always been paid the same amount as male athletes. That has not always been the case. Women are just recently being paid on par with men in athletics. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the equality between men and women. In Michael Kimmelman’s article “Women Who Hit Very Hard”, he writes, “When the women’s tour started in the early 1970s, the total annual prize money was $300,000. Today it’s $86 million, counting the Grand Slams, which pay men and women equally” (Kimmelman 517). This shows that women playing tennis today are just as serious as men are. This is why they are being paid the same amount. Women put in the same amount of work to train for their sports as the men do. Women should be treated as equal to men, which means that they should have the same average salaries. Considering women are playing the same sports as men and being payed the same amount, they should no longer be considered minorities.
It has become common today to dismiss women as being real sports fans. Felisa Rogers discusses when she first started to watch and enjoy football in her article “How I Learned to Love Football.” She first realized that she cared about it when she says, “ The suspicion that I cared about a football team was confirmed when I learned that the Packers had beaten the Falcons and thus advanced to the NFC Championship Game” (Rogers 534). In sum, then, women are becoming serious sports fans just as men are and have been. Since women are starting to watch sports more, they should not be considered a minority when it comes to participating or being a fan of sports.
Women have been gaining more opportunities with sports everyday. Even though they have been getting more opportunities, they still do not have as many as men do. This topic is discussed in the article “Move Over Boys, Make Room in the Crease” by Sara Maratta. She believes that women are gaining more opportunities in sports by saying, “In the year 2010, women are becoming more accepted into the sports world-not just as fans and players, but also as voices in sports journalism” (Maratta 539). What Maratta really means by this is that women have began receiving more opportunities in sports in the more recent years. Women’s sports are continuing to grow and more opportunities for women are becoming readily available everyday. With this recent growth in women sports, they should no longer be considered a minority.
Yet some readers may challenge the view that women receiving more athletic opportunities and no longer being a minority will hurt men’s sports. In Sara Foley’s article “Title IX Hurts Men's Sports” she writes, “Men athletics are starting to feel the effects of equality in sports” (Foley 6). One example she uses to prove her point is “The National Wrestling Coaches Association filed a lawsuit last year, protesting the significant amount of wrestling programs cut to comply with equality figures stated in Title IX” (Foley 6). She is trying to say that having men and women’s athletics be equal has taken too much money away from men’s athletics. This is not true because it will overall make the school more money. If the school is able to equally finance both men and women sporting events, then more revenue may be taken in. If the school then takes in more revenue, they can then increase the budget for both men and women’s sports.
In a world where athletics are still dominated by men, several people would like to see a change. Women have been putting in the same work in on the same sports as men are. Why should the still be considered a minority? Some may think that allowing women to no longer be a minority would negatively affect male sports, when in fact they should no longer be considered a minority because they are making the same amount of money as men, becoming more avid sport fans, and receiving new athletic opportunities everyday.
Dr. Watkins
College Comp and Research
22 February 2016
The number of women in sports today has grown higher than ever. Not only are they participating in more competitive sports, but they are also becoming more avid fans. This being said, women and men athletics are still far from equal. The sports world is still dominated by men. Even though some may think it will put a negative effect on male sports, women should no longer be considered minorities because they are being paid the same amount as the men, becoming real sports fans, and getting more sports opportunities everyday.
You would think that women athletes would have always been paid the same amount as male athletes. That has not always been the case. Women are just recently being paid on par with men in athletics. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the equality between men and women. In Michael Kimmelman’s article “Women Who Hit Very Hard”, he writes, “When the women’s tour started in the early 1970s, the total annual prize money was $300,000. Today it’s $86 million, counting the Grand Slams, which pay men and women equally” (Kimmelman 517). This shows that women playing tennis today are just as serious as men are. This is why they are being paid the same amount. Women put in the same amount of work to train for their sports as the men do. Women should be treated as equal to men, which means that they should have the same average salaries. Considering women are playing the same sports as men and being payed the same amount, they should no longer be considered minorities.
It has become common today to dismiss women as being real sports fans. Felisa Rogers discusses when she first started to watch and enjoy football in her article “How I Learned to Love Football.” She first realized that she cared about it when she says, “ The suspicion that I cared about a football team was confirmed when I learned that the Packers had beaten the Falcons and thus advanced to the NFC Championship Game” (Rogers 534). In sum, then, women are becoming serious sports fans just as men are and have been. Since women are starting to watch sports more, they should not be considered a minority when it comes to participating or being a fan of sports.
Women have been gaining more opportunities with sports everyday. Even though they have been getting more opportunities, they still do not have as many as men do. This topic is discussed in the article “Move Over Boys, Make Room in the Crease” by Sara Maratta. She believes that women are gaining more opportunities in sports by saying, “In the year 2010, women are becoming more accepted into the sports world-not just as fans and players, but also as voices in sports journalism” (Maratta 539). What Maratta really means by this is that women have began receiving more opportunities in sports in the more recent years. Women’s sports are continuing to grow and more opportunities for women are becoming readily available everyday. With this recent growth in women sports, they should no longer be considered a minority.
Yet some readers may challenge the view that women receiving more athletic opportunities and no longer being a minority will hurt men’s sports. In Sara Foley’s article “Title IX Hurts Men's Sports” she writes, “Men athletics are starting to feel the effects of equality in sports” (Foley 6). One example she uses to prove her point is “The National Wrestling Coaches Association filed a lawsuit last year, protesting the significant amount of wrestling programs cut to comply with equality figures stated in Title IX” (Foley 6). She is trying to say that having men and women’s athletics be equal has taken too much money away from men’s athletics. This is not true because it will overall make the school more money. If the school is able to equally finance both men and women sporting events, then more revenue may be taken in. If the school then takes in more revenue, they can then increase the budget for both men and women’s sports.
In a world where athletics are still dominated by men, several people would like to see a change. Women have been putting in the same work in on the same sports as men are. Why should the still be considered a minority? Some may think that allowing women to no longer be a minority would negatively affect male sports, when in fact they should no longer be considered a minority because they are making the same amount of money as men, becoming more avid sport fans, and receiving new athletic opportunities everyday.