Sports definitely have a space in society. They allow for kids to grow and challenge themselves both mentally and physically. For example, a child struggling on his free throw shooting form works through the mechanics of physically shooting the basketball and also the mental aspect of calming ones self down before shooting. Kids are able to learn about teamwork and sportsmanship through sports. Sports also helps kids to be able to learn how to socialize. Social skills can be developed just by being around teammates who are all going through similar things in their life. It also allows for kids to gain more self esteem as they make improvements on their respective sports.  While I do think sports are important and all kids should be allowed to try to play some sports in their life I think sports can play a role in increasing hyper masculinity. Physical sports such as wrestling and football (both male-dominated sports) can increase violence among young men. I do not believe however that sports are the sole reason for this. In my experience of playing sports, sports teams allow for males especially to become more aggressive whether it be on the court or on the field. Being aggressive trying to get the ball back or being aggressive on offense is often applauded. I believe sports have many benefits but it can also present some problems.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I like what Aakash said about sports challenging students to achieve a higher standard. In my experience, I have learned how to work extremely hard to achieve a certain standard. Especially in the sport of running, what you put in determines your result. If you log 100 miles a week, you will very likely improve and become more competitive, but if you don't put in effort, your performance will suffer. This dedication spills into other aspects of life and teaches me to be dedicated in what I do. This applies to other sports like football where adding the extra reps and extra weight and film all improves the athletes game. Sports also provide an exciting realm to promote this kind of learning, so it is beneficial to continue using sports for this reason.
Read more
Like Cameron said, sports do teach a lot of valuable life skills that are extremely important in life. This makes sports an important aspect in our schools. It provides yet another outlet to learn life skills in a way that many people can relate to. It is important to understand the tough love, but there is a difference between conflicts on the field and off the field. A player needs to understand the difference between these two spheres or it will lead to off the field violence. It is important to know which aspects of the hidden sports curriculum applies to all aspects of life and which are limited to the playing field. For example, being aggressive in a football game is extremely valuable, but in the outside world, it is important to understand when being aggressive is acceptable. In the article, it seems that there seems to be a disconnect between the players understanding this difference. There is also the team aspect that drives aggression and violence. Those players that had fri...
Read more
The article talked a lot about the hyper masculinity of contact sports, and they argue that this contributes heavily to increased violence and identity. When an athletes' identity is entirely based in their sport, they begin to be shaped by the traits and imposed qualities that their sports hold to be true. For example, football players are seen as incredibly manly, strong, and dominating. These qualities are transferred from the field to the real world, and they can lead to behavior issues. If an athlete feels the need to display his masculinity at all times and get aggressive with anyone that appears to be diminishing or questioning their masculinity, it can lead to an increase in violence. These traits are taught on the field, but they need to be differentiated depending on the circumstance and location.
Read more