Paper Example on Women in Olympics: From 2.2% to a Growing Presence

Introduction

The rate at which women are participating in Olympics is on the rise since the first time that they engaged in the tournament was in 1900 that happened in Paris. Charlotte Cooper became the first woman to win an individual medal in Olympics playing in a tennis competition, and it is essential to note that women were only allowed to play in golf and tennis for the individual games. A total of 22 women played a part in the 1900 games, and they represented a small percentage of 2.2% of all the participants (Nunes, 2018).

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Apart from the tennis, golf, and sailing, they were also allowed to take part in the croquet, and in 1904, the archery was added. In the 1908 event that happened in London, the number of women participating in the Olympics rose to 37 while swimming and diving events were added in 1912 with the women increasing to 47 (McLachlan, 2016). Over the years, the number of women participating in the Olympics has been on the rise. They have also managed to play in different sporting events, and this has provided them with a platform to express themselves like their male counterparts.

It can be argued that the history of women in Olympic has been of resilience, global organization, endurance, and resistance. The idea to ensure that there is equality has led to women manages to take part in all sports with the gymnastics the latest event to be added in 2012 (Coche & Tuggle, 2016). It is critical to note that despite the advances made in the women’s sports, before the games held in London in 2012, three states had failed to send athletes to all the previous events. Saudi Arabia, Brunei, and Qatar were not willing to take part in women’s Olympics, but they bowed to the pressure placed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and they are now playing a part in Olympic Games.

History of Integration of Major League Baseball

In the 1940s, there was massive segregation in the organized baseball games, and there were significant campaigns made by some of the white and black press with the need to sensitize the various stakeholders in this sector on the need to end the problem. The segregation practices were further question by the occurrence and the experiences of World War II. Many people had tried to end segregation in baseball, but they filed, and it took the intervention of the general manager of Brooklyn Dodgers named Rickey. In 1945, Rickey’s experiments led to changes being made to the Jim Crow policies of baseball; Jackie Robinson signed a contract to join the major leagues in 1947 (Freedman, 2019). Segregation in baseball was contributed by various factors that include complex elements and economic hurdles.

The team owners were the major hurdles to the integration process for they feared that if this happened, they would lose their players, spectators, and revenue. They thought that white audiences would not be willing to attend games with black players while other owners were of the view that incorporating the black player would lead to massive audiences, and this will translate to more ticket sales. Therefore, Robinson joining the league played a key role in the movement of other black players to join the tournament and mobilized other team owners to play a part in the segregation process.

Discuss Integration of College Football

The integration of college football covers the moment that the black players were allowed to participants in the game with their white players. Despite the massive campaigns done in the past with the desire to ensure that segregation was eliminated, it was until 1970 that the integration process started to take shape. The game that triggered the college football desegregating was played in 1969, and it featured the Florida A & M which was an all-black team and University of Tampa team made of all-white players. The game attracted a massive crowd of more than 45,000 spectators, and it was claimed that it was one of the largest mass integration to have happened in the country since the time of emancipation (Drier, 2013).

The former Confederacy universities were enrolling the African American students, and this was due to the pressure from the federal law in the 1960s. However, it took almost a decade before they accepted to include a black player in their teams. The level of sportsmanship shown when the game was played sent a clear message that black and white athletes could play together with no major issue. The barriers to ending the segregation issue was cultural and not judicial. Therefore, various events had happened that were geared towards facilitating in the integration process of college football.

Discuss Transgender and Gender Identity in Sports

Gender identity in sports is an issue that raised debates around the world with some scholars claiming that trans genders should not be allowed to participate in games. Other people state that there is no problem trans genders competing and these debates continue running to the present day. Based on “Trans Athletes Are Posting Victories and Shaking Up Sports,” competing against cisgender women is viewed as wrong in all measures. Trans athletes are not allowed to compete against different gender identities since it is claimed that they are gaining an unfair advantage in the field of play (Aschwanden, 2018). Some of the legislations that are introduced in games have called for the transgender people to take testosterone suppression treatment.

It is claimed that for transgender people winning in women’s games is unethical, and there is a need to lower their energy levels. However, suppressing their natural abilities just to level the playing ground is equally unethical, for it is being done as a way of denying the transgender people a chance to compete based on the strengths. Therefore, the issue is quite debatable, and a lasting solution has not been realized (Aschwanden, 2018). There is no particular person that has a choice of the way they would like to be born, and this means that the transgender people should be allowed to play.

Some entities have noted that the transgender people are encountering difficulties in their measure to realize their dreams and they are working on measures that they can use to provide them with a sporting chance. These entities are resulting in the surgical reassignment surgery and instituting programs and policies that are aimed at ending the bad image that is directed towards the painting the cisgenders as people who are on the wrong. Some of the transgender players that have been faced by this predicament include Caster Semenya.

Conclusion

The world Athletics Governing Body has called for this athlete to undertake testosterone suppressing treatment measures before she can be allowed to compete. There is a need to find a lasting solutions on matters regarding gender identity to ensure that everyone is given their chance to play in games of their choice. It is not good to deny a person the chance to play due to their body anatomy and it is something that they did not have control of at the time of birth.

The issue of gender identity in sports has been prevenient since time in memorial and it has transitioned with time. It is clear that the governing body is unable to find an amicable solution for the same issues being directed to the transgender players in the 1970s are still happening to date. It is essential to ensure that laws are clear on the measures to undertake and they should not prevent any one from engaging in a sport of their choice. However, they should be directed towards finding a solution to the prevailing problem.

References

Aschwanden, C. (2018). Trans Athletes Are Posting Victories and Shaking Up Sports. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/the-glorious-victories-of-trans-athletes-are-shaking-up-sports/

Coche, R., & Tuggle, C. A. (2016). The women’s Olympics? A gender analysis of NBC’s coverage of the 2012 London Summer Games. Electronic News, 10(2), 121-138. https://doi.org/10.1177/1931243116647770

Drier, P. (2013). The Real Story of Baseball's Integration That You Won't See in 42. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/04/the-real-story-of-baseballs-integration-that-you-wont-see-in-i-42-i/274886/

Freedman, S. (2019). The game desegregating college football in the South happened 50 years ago. The Undefeated. https://theundefeated.com/features/the-game-desegregating-college-football-in-the-south-happened-50-years-ago/

McLachlan, F. (2016). Gender politics, the Olympic Games, and road cycling: A case for critical history. The international journal of the history of sport, 33(4), 469-483. DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2015.1134500

Nunes, R.A. (2018). Women athletes in the Olympic Games. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, in press. https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2019.143.17