Developing a deeper understanding of not just coaching practices but theoretical ideologies that surrounds sport currently. Volunteering in a secondary and primary school environment there are already displays and bodily uses that encourage the division in genders and act out those forms of masculinity and femininity. This gender-segregation in sport can be better explained through Connells gender of theory, which presents hegemonic masculinity as the current configuration of practice that legitimizes men's dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of women, and other gender identities, which are perceived as "feminine" in society. This hyper-masculine environment that surrounds physical education and sport Is putting young people under immense pressure to have a gender identity and specific place in sport and society (Hunter,2004). Wether that is males fitting into the masculine ‘box’ of being the best in football, rugby or boxing but being given verbal applications for participating in ballet or gymnastics. To females being discriminated for taking part in football or weightlifting due to these narrow social concepts which perceive sport as male dominant and masculine. These social constraints are very much present in today’s society for both male and females (Donaldson,1993).
As a sociologic concept It is clear that body, appearance, manner, sexuality and gender are all concepts of a hegemonic nature of "hegemonic masculinity" which is obtained from the theory of cultural hegemony, by Marxist which was created by Connell followed by an Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci creating his own take on cultural hegemony(Connell,2005). Woods (2007) analyses the power relations among the social classes of a society between men and women. Hence, in the term "hegemonic masculinity", refers to the cultural dynamics by means of which a social group claims, and sustains, a leading and dominant position in a social hierarchy; nonetheless, hegemonic masculinity embodies a form of social organization that has been sociologically challenged and changed. Marxist theory asserts that inequality is not necessary, but an outcome of the practice of dominant classes wanting to maintain their position of prominence in society. In the Marxist perspective, economic status, specifically the possession of wealth and poverty, determines who has power and who does not (Nixon and Frey, 1995). As a coach working in a primary and high school environment, I have personally experienced incidents that reflect Marxist theory and hegemonic masculinity. As many people are still currently not accepted in today’s modern society, it is a continuous attempt to break the glass ceiling for women in sport and other working fields. An example of a critical incident that occurred during my placement with a primary school involved myself and two other male coaches, Reece and Craig. We were taking a football festival which consists of mini-tournaments and a swapped rotation between the teams, myself and the other coaches were refereeing these games. Not long into the game I had to deal with an angry parent as he expressed a ‘qualified’ referee should be taking these games, after calmly explaining to an angry dad that the organization doesn’t have the budget for referees and it’s a fun and friendly tournament which myself and other coaches are qualified to control. He wanted to speak to the other coach, aka the male coach Reece, who was no more qualified than myself. Reece gave the same information but the angry parent took a more understanding approach to Reece. This simple example shows how this parent shows a great deal of hegemonic masculinity, as in his eyes, Reece was the better coach to have the conversation with as he is a male which holds more power and knowledge about football over me.
According to Oakley (1981) girls are very docile from a young age, forcing these gender ideologies through toys, clothing, blue and pink tooth brushes. An example of Coakleys (2007) figure 8.3, represented these barriers between masculinity and femininity, creating this middle ‘out of bounds’ area that other gender identities fall into. These are placed not just within sport but everyday life, an example of this which occurred recently, when I was getting shampoo and I came across Radox, a bath and shower item. These items are unisex for bath items and not gender specific although only one bottle I came across said ‘men’ on it, called ‘muscle therapy for men’. Creating the idea that this ‘muscle therapy’ bath item is only meant to be used by muscular men and not women? This simple example shows a deeper meaning into male dominance and masculinity in sport, looking at the men’s range for shower gels the logos on the front of the bottle is formulating stereotypes for males to be ‘heroic’, ‘strong’, ‘sporty’. These simple imagine used in everyday life have an impact on young people creating these gender identities and forcing young people to be and look a certain way within sport (Krane,2001). This can be supported by a critical incident that happened when I was on placement with active schools. Working in a primary school I wanted to test this theory with primary one to three, which is a mix gender class, if from a young age they associate certain colours and objects as male and female creating that segregation from genders. For example, I created a relay race in which you complete a series of jumps, balance and speed until you get to the finial section of the race. In each team they had a hoop at the end and in front of them was a big hoop filled with blue and pink objects, the task was to grab one object from the big hoop and place it into their team hoop, following on with the rely race a continuous cycle until all the objects were in the team hoops. I was shocked and amazed to see that without explaining to the children what my initial task was and what the blue and pink objects represented, most, if not all of them picked up their gender colour. These results provide that genderised identities are implemented from a very young age. For some theorist developing these ideologies of sport from primary school onto high schools with gender specific classes. Created that gender-segregated space will only encourage the labeling and social issues of gender will continue (Belsky, 1991).
Tackling inequality in sport is still a particular problem with females, as they continue to be excluded from sport which is still seen as male dominated (Bailey, 2007). This exclusion is shown in media, professionalism and appearance. However, this complicated inequality and encouragement of hegemonic masculinity cannot be tackled solely through increasing opportunities and facilities for women in sport. Breaking down gender barriers has to be a combination of many things, starting from an early age these issues must be addressed within primary school by not using simply things like verbal applications. Creating these gender gaps from a young age has a major impact later on in life, developing and shaping identities and understanding society’s idea of what male and female should be and look like. As society moves forward, breaking the glass ceiling should also apply for women participating in sport. Furthermore, media is now one of the biggest things in modern society having a major impact into the feminine and masculine appearances that is associated with sport now. Controlling media stereotypes, gender segregation from a young age, categorising daily items and separating sports for boys and girls. Combating a few of these issues can make a significant impact on genderised social issues in modern society.
While gender in sport is an important problem in sports right now, so too is race. The term racism refers to the belief that race determines human traits and characteristics and these racial differences can result in the superiority of a particular race. Volunteering in a high school and primary school, speaking from experience I have personally not come across any black physical education teachers or coaches. Linking this back to Marxism could be an understanding of this, as cultural hegemony is the domination of white people over blacks within society which is imposed by the ruling class. As this then becomes a cultural norm creating a dominant ideology within sport and coaching roles (Turner, 2013). Roediger argues that racial division is not only part of the history of capitalism but is fundamental to the nature of work and capitalism itself. Class, Race, and Marxism is an essential guide to current discussions about race and class that provides useful histories for forging solidarity (Bannerji, 2005). This lack of ethnic role models is a crucial part of cultural hegemony, looking further into the nations favourite sport football, according to the LMA (League Managers Association) the proportion of BAME football managers is 4% in relation to the proportion of BAME professional football players approximately 25%. These statistics show that within professional football there is a growing concerning with ethnic coaches (Leaguemanagers.com, 2015). Relating this theory to my personal experiences with watching sport racism is surrounded by football, coming from social media, fans, players and even referees, this is still an occurring problem within sports today. For example, a critical incident that happened when I was at a local football match and the fans were shouting abusive language at one of the ethnic football players. This horrific language used forced the player to walk off the pitch before half time, resulting in this player feeling discriminated for the colour of their skin rather than fan looking at the talent of the sport.
To stop racism in sport, understanding cultural hegemony and the effects it has on players and spectators in sport. The ‘Rooney Rule’ which was adopted across the NFL in 2003 was a condition that should have been brought in a long time ago in sport. It requires at least one ethnic applicant to apply for a position as head coach or management positions, although this Is a great start to combating the problem of race and sport, this is not enough to resolve the issues. Professional football players are also campaigning again racism by holding up banners before the game and wearing ‘no racism’ sweatbands so that is visible to fans. Allowing and encouraging opportunities for ethnic coaches to achieve positions in professional sport can also produce role models for the younger generation. In terms of my position working with active schools, being able to quickly identify if there are ever any racist comments or actions within a game to then tackle it there and then. From a young age understand these morals and values are essential life skills that will contribute to society and tackling cultural hegemony.
To conclude social issues within sport is still a growing problem, as policies and procedures need to be put in place in order to shape a more inclusive and equal society. Gender was one of the issues discussed in this essay, focusing on Connell and Gramsci examples of hegemonic masculinity to further understand these social issues. Showing that there’s still gender barriers for both male and females within sport and everyday life, these stereotypes can only be tackled by breaking down these barriers. Another issue that was mentioned was race, understanding cultural hegemony to start to combat the arising issues of racist comments and lack of black coaches. Both of these issues were explained through Marxism as he highlighted the connection between sport and society, critical incidents were used through this essay to explore how these theories and issues are demonstrated through coaching and everyday life