{"id":1384,"date":"2019-12-11T18:42:15","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T18:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/sweatmag\/?p=1384"},"modified":"2022-11-17T21:34:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T21:34:59","slug":"overcoming-female-stereotypes-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/overcoming-female-stereotypes-in-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming Female Stereotypes in Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Farah Khan <\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s become second nature for many\u2014to put the emphasis on the word \u201cwomen\u201d before any sport. It\u2019s not a \u201cwomen\u2019s\u201d sport, it\u2019s just a group of women playing that sport. Striving for gender equality has brought about a fierce debate since athletics have traditionally been linked to masculinity. Women weren\u2019t even allowed to play sports before. OCAA athletes however are embracing the label of the female athlete and choosing how it defines them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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laying sports and being an athlete is how Rita Sibo has always identified herself and it\u2019s an important part of who she is today. Photo by Farah Khan.<\/em><\/strong>

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It\u2019s more than just playing a sport, it\u2019s about perseverance, breaking barriers, a sense of self, and a sisterhood. Sports don\u2019t only teach you physical literacy, they teach you life skills. sweat spoke to OCAA athletes who play for the women\u2019s varsity teams at Algonquin College about what it\u2019s like being a female athlete and their experiences throughout the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although women have come along way in sports, the stereotypes still exist and it\u2019s the stereotypes that often stop people from continuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA stereotype is that girls aren\u2019t supposed to be aggressive, competitive, or strong which is completely incorrect,\u201d said Leah Pedis, centre on Thunder\u2019s rugby team. \u201cI love being strong. I think it\u2019s very cool, it\u2019s very cool enpowering. Muscle is freaking sexy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s another feeling to be good at a sport, but loving what you do. Like if I could do this everyday I would. I used to sleep with my rugby ball in my room. I don\u2019t know who I would be if I didn\u2019t play sports like I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even kids know the differences when it came to boys versus girls in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember being in elementary school and all the guys would play soccer at recess and I was the only girl that would play,\u201d said Melissa Scissons, striker for the Thunder\u2019s soccer team. \u201cI was always hustling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study on children\u2019s perception of sports from Clemson University and Pennsylvania State University found that children as young as eight are conscious of and affected by gender stereotypes in sports. Due to the stereotypes, we find more and more young girls stop playing sports at an early age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are we aware of the stereotypes from a young age, we often find people using a females inferiority as an insult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOne thing that\u2019s always annoyed me, even as a little girl growing up, the saying you throw like a girl,\u201d said Michaela Branker, point guard on Thunder\u2019s basketball team. \u201cThat\u2019s been something that has frustrated me for so long, especially because I know there\u2019s lots of guys out there that I know if I were to play them, I could beat them without a doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking barriers and persevering to get where you want to be is an on-going struggle for athletes, especially if you are a female. But the motivation to keep going is prevalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a female and also being a part of the visible minority group, you kind of have to push yourself harder to get to where, let\u2019s say a white man might be,\u201d said Rita Sibo, point guard on the basketball team.\u201dYou kind of have to work twice as hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would tell people that I would want to be a player on the national team, or I wanted to play professionally,\u201d said Mariah Harper, goalie on Thunder\u2019s soccer team. \u201cI was always told, \u2018oh, well you can\u2019t make that a career\u2019. For me, it [being a female athlete] means being a type A person\u2014just in the idea of being goal driven.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turns out women too can enjoy the camaraderie and they share a sisterhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up, I\u2019ve been able to give back a lot to the community and be able to have relationships with younger female athletes. I think it\u2019s much needed especially for younger generations,\u201d said Branker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Being an athlete has created Leah Pedis\u2019s determination in school and in life. Photo by Farah Khan.<\/em><\/strong>

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\u201cI like having a team. I like having some people that depend on me but also people that I can turn to whenever I\u2019m going through a rough patch,\u201d said Marie-Chantal Ozorak left side hitter on Thunder\u2019s vollyeball team. \u201cRegardless, they\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What being an athlete means to you is unique and it means something different to each woman. For some, it\u2019s how they define themselves and they couldn\u2019t imagine who they would be today if they weren\u2019t athletes. It\u2019s developed their character and personality. After overcoming the stereotypes and barriers, the OCAA athletes have found a place and they continue to pave a way for themselves in their sport. If being a girl and playing a sport doesn\u2019t make you an athlete, rather a female athlete- challenge accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Farah Khan It\u2019s become second nature for many\u2014to put the emphasis on the word \u201cwomen\u201d before any sport. It\u2019s not a \u201cwomen\u2019s\u201d sport, it\u2019s just a group of women playing that sport. Striving for gender equality has brought about a fierce debate since athletics have traditionally been linked to masculinity. Women weren\u2019t even allowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1.jpg",1244,829,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-640x426.jpg",640,426,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-768x512.jpg",696,464,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1.jpg",696,464,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1.jpg",1244,829,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1.jpg",1244,829,false],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-150x100.jpg",150,100,true],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-324x400.jpg",324,400,true],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-485x360.jpg",485,360,true],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-696x464.jpg",696,464,true],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1-1068x712.jpg",1068,712,true],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/FK-1-1.jpg",1244,829,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"sweatmag","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/author\/sweatmag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Farah Khan It\u2019s become second nature for many\u2014to put the emphasis on the word \u201cwomen\u201d before any sport. It\u2019s not a \u201cwomen\u2019s\u201d sport, it\u2019s just a group of women playing that sport. Striving for gender equality has brought about a fierce debate since athletics have traditionally been linked to masculinity. Women weren\u2019t even allowed…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1384"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1557,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384\/revisions\/1557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}