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Tara Kliebenstein/ Daphne Pofek

Stephan Topf
English 114B
April 21, 2014
Softball Should Not be Considered Soft
Historically, the Western civilization has faced different inequalities amongst human
beings including sexism. Sexism is the attitudes or behaviors based on traditional stereotypes or
gender roles. The two spaces we observed were a collegiate men's baseball game and a collegiate
women's softball game. The different expectations for men and women competing in higher-
level athletics are a prime example of how sexism is manifested in America. For example, in
baseball, men are allowed to show aggressiveness and anger when they feel frustrated from
having a poor performance. On the other hand, women athletes are instructed to control our
emotions, remain classy, and lead by example when having what is considered to be a bad
game. Sexism is apparent in the competitive level of athletics, and it is a negative influence to
our society because it encourages one to believe the false accusations that are made towards
women.
The historical facts of baseball are accurately exhibited in the article, Who Invented
Baseball? published by the History Channel. According to the article, baseball was invented in
the 18
th
century, but became most popular in the 19
th
century, creating a new American tradition
(Historychannel.com). This is how baseball claimed its nickname Americas Pastime.
Baseball reached its peak in America prior to World War II. Due to the fact that many baseball
players were drafted to fight in the war, many women had to take on the role of becoming the
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new era of baseball players. A League of Their Own, was produced in 1992 portraying the
creation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II in 1943.
This film enlightens the audience about the creation of softball. It also shows the history of one
of the first movements for equal rights for women participating in athletics.
Baseball and softball are physically similar yet have their differences. A baseball field is
incredibly bigger than a softball field. From home plate to the outfield fence ranges from 300-
400 feet. The bases are ninety feet apart, and the pitchers mound is 60 feet away. A baseball
field also has a grass infield. On a softball field, from home to the outfield fence is normally 200-
220 feet. The bases are 60 feet apart, and the mound is 43 feet away. Unlike a baseball field, a
softball field also has an all-dirt infield. The types of people who occupy the space are very
similar, consisting of a male dominant crowd. Females are present in the audience, but not as
much as males. Both of these audiences also include younger children attending to watch.
These two spaces also share similar values. One value that we noticed was leadership. In
both games, the coaches were encouraging the importance of leadership to their players by
telling them that someone needs to take charge. This shows that leadership is an aspect of the
game that both sports value. There were also different values between the two games, such as
the perception of women valuing hustle more than men. The women sprinted after every ball
that they hit, as to where the men would jog as if they assumed they were going to automatically
be called out. Another value that was perceived as different was the energy. During the softball
game, the women were chanting song-like cheers, and displayed more energy than the men did.
At the baseball game it was very quiet and there was little, to no cheering. However, by
observing both the baseball and softball games we did notice how both sports showed a form of
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sexism.
There has always been existence of sexism in women sports. Men competing in athletics
are considered to be the social norm, as to where women in sports are not entirely accepted. In
her article, Women Playing Hardball, Leslie Heaphy states, Femininity tends to
mean weakness, passivity, and grace. In Western culture, women with too much muscle are
often considered less feminine (par 5). In other words, it is not socially acceptable for women
to compete in athletics because they would be contradicting the physical and emotional
appearance that is expected of women. Athletics have always been considered masculine,
aggressive, and combative to the point society has placed an expectation on women to be
feminine, gentle, and calm. This accusation considers women who participate in sports a taboo,
and exemplifies how sexism and stereotypes arises in sports. For example, Brittany Griner, a
female WNBA player, who has excelled in her sport and has the same, if not better, athletic
ability as a male has been continually scrutinized by society. She has been placed by spectators
under the stereotype of a tomboy, and lesbian, and has even been considered as a man.
When women athletes standout in their sport they are considered to be manly and lesbian, as to
where men don't have to worry about these false claims. The severity of sexism of sports has
evolved to the point that some female athletes have considered giving up and quitting because
they do not fit into societys expectations.
Gender roles are another difference between male and female athletics. One gender role
that we instantly noticed in our observations was how the different sexes act during sporting
events. Men are often given more leeway compared to females based on how they demonstrate
their emotions. In baseball, men are allowed to show anger when they feel frustrated from
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having a poor performance because our society expects aggressiveness from the male ego. On
the other hand, as women athletes, we are expected to maintain lady-like manners and
demonstrate little, to no negative emotion based on the traditional gender roles. A few of the
other gender roles that are associated with women are that we are supposed to be loving,
caregivers who nourish their families. Heaphy also states in her article, Women are often
associated with home, love, and sex and not work, class, or politics (Heaphy par 3). Unlike
men, women are expected to stay at home to take care of their families to make sure everyone is
fed, and that the children are taken care of. On the other hand, men are expected to do the
hard work, such as making a steady income in order to support their family. These gender roles
are apparent in sports because professional female athletes are forced to give up their sport in
order to construct a family, while men are able to continue to play their sport in order to support
their families financially. For example, Jenny Finch, an Olympic gold medalist and professional
softball player, was forced to give up her softball career due to her pregnancy in order to start a
family. However her husband, Casey Daigle, a professional baseball player, was still able to play
baseball in order to support their familys income. Even after Finch successfully gave birth to
her newborn, she was never able to play another game of softball because the societal based
gender roles expected her to stay at home to raise her son, while her husband continued to
produce the income. In a video interview Jenny Finch stated, "I just feel like it gets harder and
harder every year with Ace getting older and time away from my husband and even family
events. By Finch stating this, it provides an example of how gender roles are being presented as
she stays at home to care for her family, while her husband is constantly on the road to gain
financial support. Although this scenario is challenging for Finch, it is the expected gender roles
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of the Western culture so she continues to raise her son, while her husband is constantly away
from them in order to make money to support their family.
Although sexism is apparent in sports currently, people are attempting to work with one
another in order to create equal rights for women participating in all levels of athletics. Title
Nine is a law that was created to make sure that no woman in the United States be exempt from
participating in any form of athletics at any level. According to the article, A Title Nine
Primer, published by the Womens Sports Foundation, Title Nine Gives women athletes the
right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal funds, from
elementary schools to colleges and universities (par 1). This federal law was constructed to
eliminate all sex discrimination in athletics, including equal opportunities for men as well.
Despite the advancements that have been made under Title Nine, women have not fully achieved
equality in athletics. According to the article, 10 Key Areas of Title IX, a statistic shows that
Schools are providing 1.3 million fewer chances for girls to play sports in high school as
compared to boys. While more than half of the students at NCAA schools are women, they
receive only 44% of the athletic participation opportunities (titleIXinfo.com). Therefore,
women are still not given an equal chance to compete in higher levels of competition compared
to men. Although improvements have been made to obtain equity amongst genders in sports this
statistic proves that sexism is ongoing in athletics, and can only be abolished if social norms are
no longer considered normal, and gender roles are no longer expected from men and women.
As one can see, sexism being portrayed in athletics is a continuing social issue that is
currently being tackled in America. The expected social norms and gender roles of women have

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a negative influence in the athletic community as well as the rest of the Western civilization.
Women should not be instructed to act differently than men while playing sports based on the
normal expectations of society. In reality, there is no true definition to define normal;
therefore sexual discrimination cannot remain an ongoing matter. In order to constrict the
amount of sexism manifested in athletics, the talent that is apparent in ones athletic abilities
should be acknowledged based on the purity of the talent, rather than the gender of a human
being.















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Works Cited
"A Title Nine Primer." Women's Sports Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Heaphy, Leslie. "Softball: The Good Is the Enemy of the Best." The Baseball Guru. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
"Ten Key Areas of Title IX." TitleIX.info. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
"Who Invented Baseball?" History.com. A&E Television Networks, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Apr.
2014.