Summary: Both the readings for this week focused on the negatives of the sports world. The First reading, “What’s ‘manly’, what’s not for athletes,” talks about the negativity towards athletes. Even for little things that would not matter if an average person did. There were big uproars when Landon Donovan was seeking alimony, Mark Sanchez for his modeling, and Sergio Romo for taking paternity leave. The article says that all these athletes should be able to do the things that they were challenged for. The article also goes into the large amounts of sexism in sports.
The second reading, The Televised Sports Manhood Formula, talks about how televised sports have a negative effect on young boys. The author goes into specific problem areas like stereotypical messages about race, gender, and violence. The article goes into the formula for being a “real man.” It says in order to be a real man one must be aggressive on and off the field by fighting when necessary, play while hurt and take abnormally high risks, and surrounded by women.
The video was a countdown of the coolest, most creative goals in hockey history. They showed the athleticism and focus of athletes when under pressure.
Response: I completely agree with the first article. The public shouldn’t punish the athletes because they make decisions they think will help their family or themselves. Of course there are some decisions that shouldn’t be approved by the public, but the examples that were given in this article were not ones that should be looked down upon.
The second article is a little iffy with me. There are parts that I agree with and there are some that I don’t. I agree with the comment about aggression and fighting. I don’t believe that this shows young boys how to properly resolve their conflicts. With this being said I don’t believe that young boys should not be able to watch sports on TV. Sports instill a since of worth to young boys. It teaches them to set goals and work towards them. With a society where obesity is taking over, sports also gives a path of exercise and strive for health.
I liked that you included the benefits of sports to young boys – I feel as if we’ve only been hearing the negative aspects.
Do you think that a “redefinition of manliness,” as LZ Granderson’s article puts it, would change the way sports are presented on TV? Why or why not? Is a redefinition of manliness even possible?
You make a very good point with talking about how since our society has growing numbers in obesity that playing sports is a positive thing which i agree with.