Gender Equality in Sports

Gender equality is a big issue we have struggled with for a long time in all aspects of society, even in sports.  It wasn’t until the 19th century that women were able to participate in sports, but even then it wasn’t fair. Sports were seen as a “threat” for a female’s fertility. This was thought of still even long after slavery ended. Women weren’t allowed to compete in the Olympics until 1920, with a special “women olympics’ ‘. In more modern times the issue has seemed to have gotten better but there are still issues that stand.

A major issue of gender equality in sports today is uniforms.  While uniforms are designed  for a specific sport to allow the maximum amount of performance ability, there are some differences between male and female uniforms. One example is in track and field, both male and female athletes in track must wear “short shorts”, however the ones that males wear are looser. Female runners must wear tight spandex while racing. These differences are not only in high school  but in professional and Olympic sports as well. The uniforms created for female athletes are more sexualized than those of males. Male tennis players are able to compete in almost knee length uniforms while female tennis players wear skirts. If you look at almost every sport you will find a difference in the way female and male athlete uniforms are designed and set to fit. Uniforms are created to help with overall performance capability but it is very clear that female uniforms are made tighter and smaller compared to males uniforms. This is a problem in our society and how female athletes are being sexualized  in sports.