Part A: Final Exam Questions

            Among all the different topics or issues we covered this semester, which did you find

to be the most compelling, interesting, or meaningful? Explain.

The most meaningful topic that I consider to be the most meaningful is Intellectually Inferior and Physically Superior that was covered in chapter three. Through this topic, I got to learn that the social order can be affected by gender, race, sexual orientation, and class. These aspects also helped me to learn that they can affect how an individual behaves or treats other people. The topic is also meaningful because it helped me understand that white athletes were considered to be superior as compared to those of color. They were accorded better opportunities and chances as compared to their counterparts. The examples that are given of the reasons for black’s inferiority also made the topic meaningful because it helped me to understand the extent that discrimination and exploitation. One of the events that showed the extent that people of color were discriminated against is in October 2007. During this time, James Watson who was a chancellor and biologist at the Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory stated that black people have less intelligence as compared to the white people. The view presented by Watson among other people included in the topic depicts the level that people of color were discriminated and how widespread it was. The topic also helped me to understand one of the factors that led to the colonization of African countries and led to slavery that exploited the people of color physically and tortured them mentally. The dumb jock belief among athletes enhanced the discrimination against black athletes. To foster the ideology about blacks, various institutions in the USA such as the institution of religion worked to ensure that people understood the concept. The adoption of this ideology led the blacks to believe that they were inferior, and it also resulted in the colonization of African nations.

2.         Which did you find to be the most surprising or unexpected? Explain.

The most surprising topic for me was Testing Sex, Attributing Gender that discussed what Castor Semenya meant to the women’s sports.  In the topic, the author, Susan Cahn, indicates women athletes face the challenge of maintaining their identity despite the new opportunities accorded to them in sports such as running, jumping, and competing. The topic is interesting because it helps me understand the case of Castor Semenya who at 18 years of age wowed her opponents at a race in Berlin. She attracted worldwide attention because people were not sure of her gender. Tests were performed to determine if she was a lady or a man because she is said to be intersex. Many people argued that she was supposed to be a man because of her physical features while those close to her argued that she was a lady and had been identified as a female when she was born. She had also been brought up as a lady, and she identified herself as a lady in her social circles. Semenya went through emotional torture because she was subjected to many tests that aimed at knowing her gender and she was also ridiculed by people across the world who did not understand her situation. Semenya’s condition brought to the forefront some of the challenges that female athletes go through. The author also helped me to understand that despite the increase in the number of women athletes, they face the challenge of their sexuality as some of them are considered to be gay, even when they are not. This topic is interesting because it highlights an incident that has never been witnessed in athletics and also enabled me to understand some of the challenges that the female athletes experience.

3.         Which did you find to be the most disturbing or uncomfortable? Explain.

The reading that I found to be the most disturbing for me was the Sports Taboo by Malcolm Gladwell that talked about how black athletes were discriminated against. Racialism is a topic that most people shy away from and it is embarrassing to understand the extent that it took place in sports. The author lets readers understand that each race understood the activity that they were supposed to be good at and at no time were the black athletes allowed to take the place of a white athlete, even when they were qualified and were better players. For instance, the black people were expected to play as the running back while their counterparts played as the quarterbacks. The area used to play also indicated discrimination as whites played on the pitch while the black people played in the outfield. The author further indicates that racial equality is important in sports to ensure that everyone is treated equally and offered the same opportunities. The topic further becomes disturbing because the legal systems that should protect the athletes are not concerned with their welfare. Despite the race of an individual, it is important to ensure that the right ideologies are upheld, and people are treated as they deserve. No one should be perceived to be less than another person simply because of their skin color. Racialism as indicated by the author also led white people to believe that the people of color were stupid because that is how the society perceived them. The idea had been ingrained in their minds, and most of them could not look past the skin color. From this topic, I learned that it is important to raise children in a manner that they respect people regardless of their race or gender as this will help to reduce the negative attributes of racial discrimination.

4.         Which did you find to be the most fun or enjoyable? Explain.

 The most fun topic for me was Cage Fighting like a Girl that explored the gender constructions witnessed in the ultimate fighting championship. The topic is interesting because it talks about an area of sports that women were not expected to venture into, but they did and ultimately managed to be accepted to practice the sport. UFC was expected to be for men only and women were supposed to be submissive and feminine as their bodies were not meant for the game. The perception, however, changed when Ronda Rousey was signed by the UFC. The study also focused on how women’s participation in the UFC affected the traditional stereotypes of women. One of the effects was trash talking among the female fighters. Trash talking was usually associated with men, but women fighters such as Ronda adopted it and became was considered as one of the fighters that trash talked a lot. Women in the society are expected to be reserved and engage in talks and activities that are associated with them and anyone that goes against this is considered to be like a rebel. The topic was also fun to read because despite the fact that people were against women being involved in the UFC, the idea was eventually embraced and it became more profitable and more women were recruited as fighters. This did not, however, do away with the notion that people had of women being weaker fighters as compared to their counterparts. Some people believed that even though women were allowed to be in the UFC, they could not match the strength that men used while fighting. They believed that their body structure was not for fighting, and their involvement was just for fun.

Part B: Final Paper

The paper aims at understanding the sport controversy based on gender verification in Asia where female athletes are subjected to numerous tests to ascertain their gender. The strongest point in the paper is when I discuss how the association of sportswomen supports the intersex athletes. They dismiss the IAAK’ idea that intersex athletes do not work as much as compared to the normal athletes. The association of female athletes, on the other hand, argues that the intersex athletes work harder than the normal athletes because they have to prove to people that they are capable of performing well despite their condition. People should focus more on a person’s ability and not judge them based on their physical appearance. When the athletes who are considered different are thrown into the limelight because of their condition they tend to experience mental torture because they are exposed to ridicule, and this may affect their performance. The weakest part of the paper is the failure to find the most appropriate method that can be used to understand the gender of intersex athletes. Although there are several methods that are used and also proposed by several institutions to be used for testing, there is no particular method that is considered to be accurate. The identification of testosterone in the blood of a female athlete may be mistaken to mean that she is male while it may have been caused by a medical condition that is beyond the control of the athlete. When female athletes are considered to be males after tests are performed on them, it affects them psychologically, and some of them have even attempted suicide because the judgment led them to fall into a depression. If I could do it over again, I would like to interview the people that perform gender verification and the affected athletes so that I can get first-hand information instead of relying on information that has already been written by different authors. I believe that the paper deserves to be awarded an A because I have extensively researched the topic and presented the findings in a clear manner.