As I read the Ms Article about baseball it made me think back to my years of being part of a team. When I started to play it was on a coed team, and it was not competitive at all. Most people on the sidelines laughed more than they cheered, as children ran to the wrong base or the missed the ball as they child sat in the grass. However as I started to advance through my softball career, things started to become much more competitive. I had joined an All Star team that traveled all over and competed. It was no longer about having fun, it was about WINNING. No one cared about looking cute, it was about getting down in the dirt. I feel that because of my experience with competitive sports, I have characteristics that fall aide more on the masculine side. That particular experience along with many other similar ones has shaped my style of communication. As I have studied the different gender roles and how we become this way, I have found how much our youth influences are future. It is interesting to see how different modes of play and activities shape our gender, which decides many factors in our lives to come.
Oh this is adorable! I like the point that you didn't have to look pretty to play in the dirt. In high school all the girls teams played as hard as the boys, but they had to do their hair a certain way. I miss the good ole' days when we were little and played right along side the boys.
ReplyDeleteYes I miss them to! Your comment made me think of a league of their own, the movie. How the recruiter did not want to take Marla Hooch with him because she was ugly... Even though she could out hit any boy!
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