Gender Identity
Hunter Farley
The University of Memphis
The role of Gender identity in the world today is very diverse. There is a distinct
difference between gender identity and gender roles. Gender identity has been
traditionally identified as what gender you were born as, in other words are you male or
female. Gender roles on the other hand have been defined by what role in society one
would fill. Certain positions in society were for males others were for females. In the
past, these roles have been very well defined. However in todays society these lines have
become very, very blurred. For years we had the well-defined gender roles that society
had laid out for us. Whether it was right or wrong the gender role definition existed,
males were doctors, and females were nurses. See how this can be very wrong.
We must first look at the definition of gender identity and determine how it fits
with todays norms. According to the medical edition of Websters Dictionary the
definition of gender identity is: the totality of physical and behavioral traits that are
designated by a culture as masculine or feminine. So as one can see it is not only the
physical traits but the behavioral traits that determines someones gender identity. In
many cases a persons gender identity is too closely tied to ones gender and not to their
behavioral traits. This can been seen in many sports today. Title IX is a government
mandate (Law) that requires all schools to give equal access to all sports activities
whether one is male or female. This is seen in varying ways by many people. It can be
seen that girls should have the same number of sports as boys, or that girls can play sports
with boys.
There has been a lot research in the area of female athletes in both high school
and college. Specifically the conflict in relation to these gender identity and gender roles.
What was discovered is that many female athletes drop out of sports due to the gender
role conflict associated with them. Many female athletes who feel this conflict do so at an
early age. It may be that some of these athletes perceive a high level of gender role
conflict and have not yet dropped out of sport. Gender role conflict was also measured in
college aged female athletes as a comparison. In addition, we examined other factors
(e.g., instrumental (masculine) and expressive (feminine) attributes, importance of sport,
self-concept) that may differentiate female athletes and non-athletes and that may
moderate role conflict. Relations among gender role conflict and these specific factors
were also examined. (Miller, J. L., & Heinrich, M. (2001). It was also found that this
conflict existed even in middle school aged girls.
Many effects from school are taught from child to child through interactions
among their peers. Many female athletes feel the conflict because they are not perceived
to be as feminine as their female counter parts that are non-athletes or those that may
participate in other extracurricular activities that are more feminine. An example would
be cheerleading. One reason for this conflict in relation to athletics is participation in
sports that require what are considered typically male characteristics, such as speed and
strength can present an image problem for many female athletes (Knight & Giuliano,
2003). While some research suggests enhanced self-perceptions of female athletes
participating in cross-gender sports (Schmalz & Davison, 2006) the perceptions of others
may not be as positive. (Hoiness, Amanda R., Weathington, Bart L., and Cotrell, Abigail
L.)
Other research has shown the positive aspects that athletics and school has
on these female athletes. However, while negative stereotypes of female athletes persist,
research has found little such conflict. In this study, questionnaire and interview data
from male and female college athletes and non-athletes suggest some explanations for
this. The data showed: (a) Female athletes were accorded greater respect than were male
athletes; (b) all groups ' ratings of the femininity of female athletes were above the
neutral point, though the ratings of men and non-athletes were significantly lower than
those of women and athletes; and (c) consistent with the multiplicity perspective, female
athletes reported experiencing their feminine and athletic identities as distinctively
different aspects of self. (Royce, W. Stephen, Gebelt, Janet L. , Duff, Robert W., 2003)
In many respects gender identity and role conflict can be attributed to school
activities and reactions to peers and what is perceived to be acceptable at an early age.
Gender conflict can be driven by many things not just athletics but this research shows
just how much athletics can drive that perceptions. Many times it is driven by ones on
belief system and upbringing. However this gender conflict should never be driven by a
lack of confidence, at least not in the female athlete. Many of these girls or young women
are forced to choose between their desire to play sports and the gender conflict that
occurs. It is difficult for many of these young girls to see or feel any differently because I
is all around them.
