Chapter 52 Summary February 2nd 2015

Chapter 52: “You Play Like a Girl!” Cross-Gender Competition and Uneven Playing Field

            The idea of females competing at the same level as males is a controversial topic according to the text. This chapter discusses two situations in which males compete against females. One situation is and online game play situation. In certain games, the sex of the avatar has nothing to do with the skills and abilities, but it may illicit different responses from other gamers. A female avatar that is acting coy or confused may receive more help than a male avatar. This reflects the way a female may be treated when physically competing with a male. One question that comes to mind is ‘should female be treated the same as men?’ In many cultures, aggression towards females in socially unacceptable therefore there is a moral dilemma of women competing with men. Some people believe the females shouldn’t be subject to male contact sports. This thought is confusing because when girls are competing with boys, it is often a choice they are making, and they are not forced into it. Others believe that female presence in male sports begins to question masculinity. Male characteristics are often regarded as higher than females, and when they can be considered at the same level are often insulted with words such as “gay”. When men compete against women, when they win, it doesn’t feel as good because women are perceived as weak, but if they are defeated, it is humiliating for the male. This is considered emasculating males, and bringing them social harm.  This also can put males off, if a female can beat them. It is my personal belief that women and men should be measured on their ability to perform, so it is fair. The other issue with women physically competing is the idea of body image. There are two opposite thoughts, one being women being physically fit to maintain a powerful self image, and the other showing pressure to women to over obsess about their bodies. This is considered achievement for females, along with beauty and thinness. When females compete with other females with these things, the consequences could be social shunning and harassment. When these ideas are related back to online game play, you can see physical attributes disappear and females should be progressing the same way males do, because the only difference is visual. There are a number of things that can be done to assure fair treatment of females in online game play as well, such as not attributing stereotypical ideas to female avatars, and increasing the number of female players. Overall it is evident that there is not fair treatment of males and females when it comes to competition involving both genders. There are often stereotypes and moral ideas that influence the way people are treated. It is hard to say what is considered fair and unfair based on some arguments, but I think it comes down to personal belief and preference.