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The Social Construct Within Sports

I could feel the sweat forming on my forehead before even hearing the whistle that

signaled the first serve of the game. My nerves rattled inside of me, endless thoughts running

through my brain: “What if I mess up the first time I touch the ball?”, “How much are my

teammates going to judge me if I look weird or ruin a play?”, “Am I even good at this sport?”. I

finally heard the tell-tale whistle of the beginning of the game, hurriedly trying to calm myself

down as the ball soared over the net to my team’s side of the court, letting my body move

through the memorized movements. Despite these muscle memory motions, I could not help the

tanking confidence levels inside of me, scared to make a mistake and have to face what I thought

would be inevitable judgment.

I have always been a hesitant person throughout my life, however, when it came to

sports, my anxiety seemed to heighten, especially since all of the sports that I have played over

time have been team sports. This led me to worry about disappointing the other individuals I was

playing with, along with disappointing myself. I have seen how different individuals contain

various levels of confidence through hearing about and observing other athletes. This has come

from covering countless high school games due to being a part of Northgate’s sports medicine

program. It got me interested in how athletes think within a sport while playing on a team, how

their self-assurance is impacted by the various aspects of the environment of high intensity, as

well as how all of this can influence a team’s performance as a whole.

Not only did I become interested in the courage and behavior of team sport athletes, but

specifically how gender also plays a role in these levels of confidence. While gender is a social

construct, teams are still split by “boys” and “girls”, which limits how one views sports

performance and structure. Therefore, it is hard to determine differences and similarities between

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athletes without separating boys and girls sports. As I identify as female, I have only played on

girls teams for sports, only participating in some co-ed camps, clinics, etc. Although, being in

sports medicine and observing a boys team of numerous sports, including football, basketball,

soccer, and others allows me to view how these teams play and how they differ from how girls

play. I have seen differences in the roughness in which they play, how they celebrate good plays,

how they react to messing up, and how teammates treat each other. Seeing these differences and

similarities between behavior and attitude, increased my curiosity of just what aspects of gender

impacts one’s mind and actions within team sports, leading me to come up with questions,

specifically: How does gender impact playing team sports?

External factors play an immense role in team sports, specifically social perspectives

having a significant impact on the effects of gender. According to “Sexuality and Gender

Perspectives on Sports Ethics”, “In contrast to the ideals of sport, there is significant evidence

that Australian girls and women are generally under-represented in sport participation when

compared to their male cohort group. These differences are also evident in many other countries”

(Australian Sports Commission). Society often puts stereotypes and pressure on both male and

female sports, the levels of their judgment and opinions differing for each sport and its

coinciding gender. Due to these factors, different sports get varying amounts of advertisement,

representation, viewing, etc based on gender. The more prevailing and mainstream professional

sports, such as basketball, football, and baseball are seen by the public as mainly male dominated

sports. Therefore there is less attention put onto female teams of those very same sports.

Stereotypes are heavily placed on athletes both male and female based on what team sport they

play: “Although many sports have integrated their practices to include separate participation

opportunities for males and females, and/or provide mixed gender competition, particularly at the

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junior level, gender stereotypes often remain associated with sports participation” (“Sexuality

and Gender Perspectives on Sports Ethics”). Despite there being changes made recently to make

sports more gender equal and inclusive, there still remains the underlying bias in both

professional and recreational sports, in all age levels, influencing the athlete’s mentality as the

pressure of masculinity and femininity in society continues to hold sway.

Going deeper into the social perception of sports, an immensely prevalent influence on

athletes playing team sports is the need to be “masculine” or “feminine. This is demonstrated in

the quote, “Evidence suggests that gender stereotypes contribute to young women dropping out

of sport participation because women in sport are often seen as being non-feminine…Similarly,

men who do not fulfill the stereotype of the ‘manly man’ have reported feeling intimidated and

excluded from sports participation” (“Sexuality and Gender Perspectives on Sports Ethics”).

Both men and women are still constantly impacted by the pressurizing social view of what

masculinity and femininity should be, despite progress made in getting rid of these viewpoints.

This leads to participation in a sport that may, in actuality, not be the sport that one wants to be

involved in at all, due to the feeling of need to fit in and choose a sport that “fits” society’s

construct of gender. In “Gender, Self-Confidence, Sports, and Preferences for Competition”, it is

stated, “Charness and Rustichini (2011) conclude that men prefer signaling to other men that

they are tough, whereas women prefer to show other women that they are cooperative. This

result appears to indicate that salient group membership such as gender influences behavior”

(Comeig). Not only does the social construct affect athletes individually, but as a team as a whole

as well. Mentally, the need to be “masculine” or “feminine” brings influence on players’ attitudes

toward themselves and their teammates. The idea of masculinity in society calls for being tough

and confident, which leads to possible conflict within teams, arrogance, and even issues with

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emotions. As for girls, femininity causes women to feel the desire to be nice, passive, and not as

rough, leading to problems of not enough self-assurance, fakeness, etc. When asked in an

interview, Conan True, a volleyball coach, discusses the difference in competitiveness that he has

observed throughout his time coaching and playing sports. “Guys will naturally have kind of a

competitive edge in them, versus girls, I do not think, not that they can not never have the

competitive edge, but a guy will always want to be better than another teammate. A girl might

just believe that her teammate is just better than her and she will not think that she can be better”,

says True. Having coached both boys and girls volleyball in the past, while playing the sport

himself as well, True has significant experience which has allowed him to gain knowledge in

how gender can affect attitude and behavior. Again, boys seem to have more of an edge and

toughness to them in sports, feeling as though they need to portray this image due to societal

views. Same goes for girls, except it is almost the opposite of how they are expected to act.

Therefore, teams and how they work together is affected by gender and each individual’s

mentality.

Looking closer at confidence levels, it is often believed that women have lower

self-assurance levels in sports. Women have been shown to have higher levels of anxiety and

hesitance in sports: “First we can say that males are more anxious than females…In general, we

found that females expressed more cognitive anxiety than males. However, males show more

somatic anxiety than females” (Ichraf). Studies have conveyed that women tend to be more

nervous and have less confidence in sports, specifically team sports, with the added pressure of

teammates and their skill sets. In the interview, when asked why he thought girls had lower

confidence levels, True stated, “I think it has to do with emotions and also, I feel like,

personality-wise, they just feel like they want to be nice to one another more naturally than

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guys… and congratulate someone who is better than them, and just accept that they might be that

way”. Going back to how girls may have felt as though they need to meet the standard of

“femininity”, this may cause the lower confidence standing in female athletes. There is more fear

and the want to fit in with the other teammates, rather than only wanting to be competitive with

one another, which results in less reliance on oneself:

Although studies have found that self-confidence is important in many different

sports and across various age groups, considerable literature also suggests that

women report lower levels of self-confidence in sports, as well as other

achievement situations, than men. However, some authors suggest that women do

not possess less self confidence in all achievement situations than men, but that

gender differences vary with certain situational variables (Clifton).

Due to stereotypes and prejudice towards women in sports, women often feel lesser than, as male

teams and athletes are more focused on and are seen as more popular to the public. With male

sports being increasingly centered on, females know there is an unequal balance between the two

types of sports, decreasing levels of confidence within themselves and as a team.

Despite many perceiving women to have lower levels of assertiveness and confidence,

anxiety and hesitance is still very present in males in team sports. Anxiety and nervousness

happens to everyone and this is shown in the quote, “The importance of the issues put under

pressure. Whatever level of performance, anxiety is omnipresent. It is part of the competition,

training and everyday life. In addition, the concerns of coaches are attached to results” (Ichraf).

Even though males are expected to contain more arrogance and assertiveness in sports, that does

not mean there is no stress uneasiness at all. Having to be “masculine” boys may even be at

higher levels of anxiety than girls, as they have the pressure of needing to be rough and

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unfeeling. This can hinder them from being able to discuss their feelings of fear and worriment:

“Krane and Williams suggest that female athletes are more honest and open in their

self-reporting of anxiety and confidence. Research with university athletes has shown a reduction

in self-confidence as competition neared in both sexes, but a greater decrease in females than in

males“ (Hays). With women being more willing to discuss their mental issues with confidence

and fear, they are able to possibly get that fear out of their system and further raise their

confidence levels. Whereas many men do not feel able to do so, with society’s incorrect look on

how boys should not show too much emotion, causing their internal stress to continue on and

increase to be higher than many girls’ levels. Andrew Nguygen is a current girls volleyball

coach, having coached boys volleyball in the past as well. He played volleyball himself

throughout his middle school and high school years. When asked, in an interview, how how a

possible teammate with overly high confidence levels can affect a team, Nguyen stated,

Um, I think the girls because there's that saying, like, boys battled to bond so like,

sometimes we butt heads and then girls are born to battle. I have definitely found

that to be true. So, I found it to be easier for the girls to like, pass confidence on to

each other, to be honest, Whereas like in a boys team in the past, it could be like

one very overly confident boy or athlete and then that doesn't necessarily, like,

kind of pass around as easily.

Teams, as a whole, are also affected by these rising confidence levels of individual athletes. With

society’s view of boys needing to be more rough and competitive with each other, even their own

teammates, it can be more difficult for them to benefit from others’ self assurance. If one

particular teammate has higher levels of courage, they may be less willing to try and pass on this

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feeling, as they are pressured to surpass others, even those on the same team as them.

Confidence, however, is also influenced by injury, which gender impacts as well.

Injury often can cause issues with confidence and hesitance, as many have a hard time

coming back from an injury, due to the distress of possibly getting hurt again or their skills being

diminished from the injury. Males and females both experience significant injuries in sports as

they are unavoidable, however gender still influences injury level: “...male athletes tend to

recover more quickly from physical injuries than females. When a female athlete suffers an

injury that requires refraining from strenuous activity, such as a strain or sprain, she should

concentrate on safely maintaining muscle tone throughout recovery” (Gombera). As anatomy for

males and females are different, there will inevitably be differences in injury severity. If males

recover more quickly from injury, they may feel more confident going back into their sport, as

they are not out of practice and play for as long of a time period. As for women, the opposite, as

their injury could affect their mental health for longer, as their injury takes longer to recover

from. Not only does anatomy affect recovery time, it also impacts susceptibility to injury: “The

basic anatomical differences between male and female hip structures make women more

predisposed to lower-body injuries, especially around the knee. Female athletes also experience

shoulder injuries more frequently than men because females naturally have less upper-body

strength” (Gombera). Especially regarding the lower body, females tend to be more prone to

injury from sports. This also applies to upper body structures too. This susceptibility to injury

can greatly impact confidence levels, as girls may be more tentative while playing out of fear of

getting injured. This aspect may also play a role in how teams and athletes warm up, technique,

and recovery after long periods of activity: “Because women suffer sports injuries more often

than men, it is important they take extra care prior to playing sports or exercising. Below we

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offer certain exercises: Leg lifts, back bridges and standing hip flexors help to improve motion

and flexibility in the hip and glutes area” (Thorell). Therefore, gender does not only affect

athletes mentally but physically too. Physical differences directly lead to differences in the

structure of sports and how athletes may take care of themselves. Therefore, physical differences

can lead to differing and unequal treatment based on gender. If women are more prone to injury,

society may be influenced to criticize this fact, determining that they are lesser than. This is

unfair as individuals can not control their anatomical makeup and can only control their

susceptibility to injury to a certain extent.

Despite gender being a social construct, gender affects team sports extensively, both

mentally and physically, as athletes experience the many differences that are present. For the

mental aspect, gender has an immense effect on confidence levels of individuals, as societal

perceptions place various pressures on athletes that are often based on gender. Confidence levels

lead to differences in teamwork for each gender too, as even just one teammate’s attitude can

change a whole team’s dynamic. Physically, anatomy and differing ways of structuring games,

warm ups, etc cause variation between male and female team sports, as injuries, recovery, and

injury prevention contain many contrasts. This topic matters to me, as I wanted to dive deeper

into how society’s views on gender can influence team sports, as I have been a part of the world

of sports for a significant amount of my life. I have observed differences in attitude and behavior,

wanting to know about why this is occurring. I think it is important for both myself and society

to see how society’s perceptions of gender need to progress in order to allow for more equity in

sports. Progress in regards to treating athletes the same regardless of gender, less criticism and

judgment placed on individuals that are biased towards society’s construct of “masculinity” and

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“femininity”, as well as less separation of gender specific teams. With more progress, athletes’

confidence and skill can improve, as pressures may lessen and allow athletes to grow.

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Works Cited

Clifton, Robert. Gender Differences in Self-Confidence on a Feminine-Typed Task - UNCG.

https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/D_Gill_Gender_1994.pdf.

Comeig, Irene. Gender, Self-Confidence, Sports, and Preferences for Competition,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283501069_Gender_self-confidence_sports_an

d_preferences_for_competition.

Gombera, Mufaddal. “Gender and Sports Injuries: Dr. Mufaddal Gombera, MD.” Mufaddal

Gomber, MD, Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine,

https://www.gomberamd.com/blog/how-does-gender-effect-sports-injuries-22576.html#:

~:text=While%20female%20athletes%20are%20more,to%20their%20sport%20post%2D

surgery.

Hays, Kate. The Role of Confidence in World Class Sport Performance. ProQuest Dissertations

and Theses, 2007.

Ichraf , Arous. Effect of Gender and Type of Sport on Anxiety and Self-Esteem - IJHSSI,

http://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v2(3)/version-2/J235561.pdf.

Nguyen, Andrew Personal Interview 11 April 2023

“Sexuality and Gender Perspectives on Sports Ethics.” Australian Sports Commission,

https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/kb/sexuality-and-gender-perspectives-on-sport

s-ethics#competition_structures.

Thorell, Erik. “Are Women Athletes More Susceptible to Injury?” Pennmedicine.org,

https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2015/may/are-women-

athletes-more-susceptible-to-injury.

True, Conan Personal Interview 15 March 2023

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