Rethinking the View on Women in Contact Sports

Mark, a rugby player, has shared his perception about women's participation in sports. He believes that women have increased their focus and determination to pursue their careers and participate in various sports, including contact sports like rugby. According to Mark, the government and media are supportive of women's involvement in sports, which he thinks will lead to new heights for women's participation in England.

Running Head: Sociology
Essay

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Main Body:.................................................................................................................................3
Socialisation of the athlete into sports:..................................................................................3
Experiences of the athlete regarding the two issues:.............................................................6
Perception of the athlete about their sporting subculture:......................................................9
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................10
References:...............................................................................................................................11

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Introduction:
Mark Blair 26 years old is a rugby player. He is one of the current rugby players in the
national rugby team of England. He is playing for the last 5 years and has attended various
international and national events. His interview has been taken as he seemed to be most
viable to be the respondent for the interview. The interview has been constructed with the aim
of collecting information regarding the two issues that the athlete has experienced. He has
been selected for the interview as he has undergone injury in the last month and has been
under medical supervision for his shoulder injury. He has helped to accomplish the interview
with resources needed for the understanding of the impacts of the issues. For the case study
the two issues that have been chosen are gender and injury. In rugby sports these two issues
are very significant as in the United Kingdom there exists gender discrimination in various
sports formats including contact sports like rugby. The possibilities of injuries are common in
contact sports like rugby (Beer & Bhatia, 2009). The case study is based on the implications
of symbolic interactionism theory. This theory is one of the major frameworks in the field of
sociology where the society is analyzed on the basis of the meaning that the individuals
inflict on the objects, conducts or events. The interview responses of the athlete are based on
this theory (Crossman, 2017).
Main Body:
Socialisation of the athlete into sports:
Socialization exists in the sports to great extent. The influence of the background or the
surrounding is an important aspect in socialization of athlete. Many individuals are born with
characteristics where they are inclined towards the sports but there are some individuals who
are motivated by the members of the family members and friends and others in the society.

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The socialization has also impacted the discrimination of gender in case of sports. The males
find it easier to get a place in sports while the females are supposed to follow some of the
social norms and are not that much encouraged being in sports. There have been many
progressive actions taken and that has resulted in the inclusion of females in sports across the
world. The athletes of the modern time have started to overlook the negative impacts of
socialization and have accepted the positive impacts. The socialization makes individuals to
interact with many other people in the society and that helps them to come in contact with
different views (Brown, 2017). They are motivated through interactions with the others who
are engaged in sports. The outlooks of the individuals change. They come to know about the
different issues that are faced by the persons already in the sports. The injury and gender
discrimination are two major and common issues that are found to exist in world of sports.
The interview has been focused on the socialisation of the athlete into the sports. He has
shared his story during the interview. He has said that he has been born and brought up in a
family where the sports are considered to be very important. He has seen his father to be
engaged with soccer. His father has played in many soccer leagues at national level but at his
later ages he could not continue because of his profession. Mark’s mother has also keenness
towards tennis and she used to be champion in her high school days. But she has also left due
her household responsibilities. Mark has one brother and sister. Their parents have always
encouraged them to be in sports. His elder brother 30 years old is a soccer player and has
been doing well for the last 10 years. His sister has been found to be interested in rugby
sports but she has not been allowed as their parents did not allow her on the ground she is a
girl and rugby is a contact sport and there are much vulnerabilities in it. Mark has been
influenced by his family and especially his elder brother who has always been one of the
biggest supports in his life. He has been playing rugby since his high school days and then he
has represented his college in many of the inter-collegiate sports competitions. He has been

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motivated by his elder brother. Then he got the opportunity from national rugby team in
Europe and since then he has been playing in that team. He has been motivated by his friends
and relatives through interaction. He has discussed with the persons engaged in sports at the
initial stage when he was planning to pursue his dream to be a rugby player. The socialization
has helped to great extent in his case. Mark has started to think for a healthy life in his
childhood being motivated by his family. This has made him to follow a healthy regime and
lifestyle. He has said that he has full respect for the women who are into the field of sports
and appreciate the changes in the traditional mind set of the people. He added that he repents
for his sister who has been discouraged to have a career in rugby sports because of the social
stigma and belief. He has tried to convince his parents but he could not become successful.
He has said that more females should come forward and make others to understand the
importance and benefits of engaging in sports.
The socialization is the process through which an individual accumulates needful beliefs,
knowledge and education regarding any particular habit or conduct by the help of interactions
and training. This process generally starts at an early age when the infants grow and develop
their mentality or beliefs for something. In socialization the role played by sports can be
positive or negative. The socialization includes the interactions among people and sports help
in developing social and virtual groups or teams through interactions and sharing of
knowledge. The participation of the females in the field of sports has motivated the non-
traditional roles of the females (Masucci, 2008). The males get exposure to participate in the
field of conventional gender roles. Sports have made the socialization process to be beyond
the traditional beliefs and stigma. The sports have also helped the process of socialization by
enhancing the interactions between the youths and the adults. The young children can
increase their social interactions through the sports. The sports have also helped to reduce the
negativity among the youths (Baciua & Baciu, 2015). They have started to honour and

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respect women in the field. The athletes also get less addicted to substance consumption and
develop and spread the message of being healthy. The social safety also gets enhanced
(TENORIO, 2017).
Experiences of the athlete regarding the two issues:
Gender Issue:
It was learnt during the interview with Mark Blair who is one of the current rugby players in
the national rugby team of England that gender discrimination is not so much prevalent in the
sports community of UK. Like in all the other sections of sports, women are being
empowered and treated equal to their male counterparts in case of contact sports such as
rugby, team handball, soccer, etc. where there are lots of body contacts among players. He
said that during his career in the rugby team of England, he has observed that there are many
women who are keen to take part in sports. This desire of the women to be active parts of the
contact sports such as rugby, team handball, soccer, boxing, etc. have increased over the
years. Previously, the women felt shy and unconfident in participating in these kinds of sports
due to various social stigma such as the social stereotypes that women are weak and they do
not possess the high level of energy and stamina to take part in sports which involve lots of
sprinting, jumping, pushing, shoving and body contacts. But, in the view of Mark, the current
social setup in England is extremely supportive of women participating in any form of sports
and there are no possibilities of gender shaming or gender discrimination in women
participation in contact sports in England and in entire UK as well.
However, contrary to Mark’s opinion, it has been found that gender discrimination is present
in contact sports such as rugby is quite evident from the article written by Danielle (2017),
where the author says that women are still prone to discrimination in rugby. They are thought

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by many of their male counterparts to be incompetent and weak to take part in sports those
require heavy body contacts and high level of energy throughout the entire session of the
sports activity. The social stereotypes are still present in the sporting communities where
women are found incompatible with sports requiring high level of energy and body contact
(Danielle, 2017).
According to a study conducted by Women on Boards in UK in 2014, women participation in
sports has fallen in many disciplines and the progress has been variable. A sports study
conducted by BBC in 2014 has revealed that men were prone to receive more prize money as
compared to women in at least 30% of the sports activities (BBC, 2017). Women
sportspersons are perceived to be weak, gentle and dainty and are thought fit for mainly
games and sports those do not require high level of energy or risks of high body contact. But,
one of the positive outcomes that have been identified from this article is that the women are
fighting it out against these social stereotypes and are courageously participating in these
kinds of physical sports such as rugby, team handball and soccer. This outlook might be
changed in the near future if the women can showcase this determination and desire to break
the social stigma that women are weak and not at par with men when it comes to contact
sports. Therefore, it can be said that the view that Mark holds about women sportspersons is
not totally correct.
Injury Issue:
Rugby is a sport that is associated with various forms of injuries to the players some of which
could be lethal and even life-threatening. As per the observations of Edwards (2017), more
than 40% of the rugby injuries consist of muscular trains or bruising and contusions. 30% of
the injuries consist of sprains, dislocations, lacerations, fractures and injuries occurring due to
overuse. The other forms of injury may include sprained ankles which constitutes almost 1

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out of 7 injuries in rugby. Around 5-25% of the injuries are the head injuries such as
concussions. It has also been observed that in case of the youths in the age range of 10-18
years, 35% of the injuries consist of fractures out of which 24% consist of the clavicle. The
other types of injuries prevalent in rugby are the superficial injuries those consist of around
20% of the injuries in rugby. Then there are sprains and head injuries comprising of 16% of
the injuries. It has also been observed out of the head injuries, 44% constitute of concussions
(Edwards, 2017).
The information collected from the website of BMI Healthcare (2017), has revealed the 5
most common injuries those the rugby players are exposed to on the rugby ground. Rugby is
a sport that involves sprinting, tackling and use of brute force to shove opponents out of the
way and therefore serious and traumatic injuries are possible along with minor injuries. In
case of the rugby players the most vulnerable part of the body that is exposed to injuries is the
upper part like the torso that has to bear the brunt of the impacts from the opponents.
Therefore, the injuries to the upper parts of the body like head, shoulders, chest and abdomen
are most common. In this light the top five injuries to rugby players are concussions, sprains
& strains, dislocated shoulders, overuse injuries and slipped discs (BMI Healthcare, 2017).
In case of Mark it was learnt from him that he has suffered several injuries so far in his span
of 5 years in rugby career. The major injuries consisted of ankle sprains, head injuries and
concussions. But, he did not encounter any major injury until the last month when he met
with an accident during one of the matches where he collided head on with an opponent and
dislocated his right shoulder. It was an extremely painful condition for him to bear on the
field. He immediately succumbed to the injury on the field and the impact was so distressing
that he went unconscious on the ground. He was then lifted by the paramedical staffs on the
ground and rushed to the local hospital where it was reported that he has dislocated his right

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shoulder. He will have to undergo a surgery in the next month in order to fix the dislocation
completely.
Perception of the athlete about their sporting subculture:
Mark feels that the women participation in sports has increased over the years. He believes
that the women of the modern era are more focused and determined to pursue their own
careers and they are shedding their inhibitions to participate in all kinds of sports such
including heavy impact contact sports such as rugby. He is of the opinion that the sports
authorities of the modern era are dedicated to help the women participate in sports and offer
them the required moral and financial support such that they can enjoy equal status and rights
in the sports community like their male counterparts. He believes that the future of women
participation in contact sports in England is promising and it will reach new heights owing to
the support of the government and role played by the media in promotion (BBC, 2016).

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Conclusion:
On a concluding note to this narrative the major emerging issues have been re-iterated. It can
be observed from the review of several literature sources that gender and injury are two of
primary issues those affect the life of an athlete. The gender issues refer to the discrimination
of men and women in sports that is still prevalent in UK although that has been belittled by
the interviewee Mark Blair who is a rugby player in the England national rugby team. He
believes that women in England receive adequate support from sports authorities and
government and the social stereotypes have been abolished. Regarding injuries, it was learnt
from him that during his career he has suffered lots of injuries but the most devastating one
was the dislocation of the right shoulder that happened in the last month.
Based on the findings some recommendations can be put forward regarding the selected
issues. Though there has been improvement in women participation in sports in England, yet
there are instances of gender discrimination that the government and sports authorities should
try to eradicate. Regarding the injuries sustained during contact sports like rugby, the sports
authorities might come up with more technologically advanced and robust jackets and
helmets those will provide enhanced protection from sustaining major injuries to the players.

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References:
Baciua, C., & Baciu, A. (2015). Quality of Life and Students’ Socialization through Sport.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences Volume 209 , 78-83.
BBC. (2016). Sport England: Women playing sport reaches all-time high, figures show.
Retrieved from BBC: http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/38248042
BBC. (2017). Women in sport: 'No real progress over sport gender gap'. Retrieved from
BBC: http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/37371301
Beer, J. d., & Bhatia, D. N. (2009). Shoulder injuries in rugby players. Int J Shoulder Surg
3(1) , 1-3.
BMI Healthcare. (2017). Top 5 common rugby injuries on the rugby field. Retrieved from
bmihealthcare: https://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/health-matters/mens-health/rugby-injuries
Brown, H. (2017). How the Socialization Norms of Athletics Affects High School Student-
Athletes. A Capstone Project , 1-20.
Crossman, A. (2017, August 7). Learn About Symbolic Interactionism. Retrieved from
thoughtco: https://www.thoughtco.com/symbolic-interaction-theory-3026633
Danielle, A. (2017). FEMALE RUGBY PLAYERS: RESISTING GENDER STEREOTYPES.
Retrieved from genderleisureandsport.wordpress:
https://genderleisureandsport.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/female-rugby-players-resisting-
gender-stereotypes/
Edwards, J. (2017). Rugby Injuries. Retrieved from physioworks:
http://physioworks.com.au/Injuries-Conditions/Activities/rugby-union-injuries

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Masucci, D. (2008, March 16). Sport and Socialization. Retrieved from sjsu:
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/masucci/Sport_Socialization.pdf
TENORIO, R. (2017, September 11). What Is the Role of Sports in Socialization? Retrieved
from livestrong: https://www.livestrong.com/article/532903-what-is-the-role-of-sports-in-
socialization/