Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Kinesiology

Inequities and power struggles are part of any society. Soccer has been nationally recognized as one of the leading sports in modern culture. Regardless of its popularity, inequity between the genders still persists. The provided picture demonstrates a gender inequity in the sport of soccer caused by gender bias, female stereotypes and institutional oppression. Soccer has the potential to be a forefather in the front of revolutionizing co-ed sports as whole. What needs to be done is to create awareness of the positive social impact of co-ed soccer for young people by creating more co-ed soccer programs and educating young people about importance of equality between both genders.

Bias exists largely, although not exclusively, in organized sports all around the world. This photo exhibits the negative attitudes of males towards females affiliated within recreational sports in modern society. The picture incorporated within this essay demonstrates the inequity associated with male dominance in the world of soccer. Portrayed in the photo are five youths playing co-ed soccer at Mosswood Park on a Thursday afternoon. It shows two young males giving preference to the younger boy over their female counter parts. Soccer is a male dominated sport; till now female soccer has not reached as large of a “fan base” as their male counterpart. This lack of recognition trickles down and negatively effects the mental development of young females. It would not be a stretch of the imagination to say that the girls are not taken nearly as seriously in sports as there opposing gender. The boys in this picture are choosing the smaller boy for their team opposed to the older girl. Regardless of skill set or age difference the choice is being made on gender.

When boys and girls are young, their physical muscle mass are mainly the same. Girls at a young age also have a tendency to be more mature than the boys in the same age group; this gives the girls the physiological edge thus...