My direct supervisor is a female and excitedly announced to us several weeks ago that she had received the prize for being the highest scoring female bowler at the managers' outing.
At the time, I found it humorous and was happy for her, but later thought about and was a little irritated that they had to have a prize for the highest scoring "female" bowler. As if a female couldn't possible bowl the highest number of points or just simply take second place. The prize and ability had to be recognized on a gendered level.
Of course, it could be seen as a good thing that the females are being recognized, but I felt like it was rather demeaning. What do others think? Any other viewpoints to this?
8 comments:
I don't think it's that big of a deal... if it were a professional bowling setting where men and women have fairly equal averages it would make more sense to make it a unified prize instead of a gendered one. However, if it were just for fun, it may just be split up that way in order to award more prizes. Just my opinion.
I agree with "kiki". I didn't want to come off as sexist but it just seems to me that it is obvious that women and men have different athletic abilities and it wouldn't always be fair if it wasn't divided by gender. Biologically, men are just equipted better physically in some sports (i.e. football, baseball) due to their strength and speed, however in other sports (i.e. gymnastics, dance) they lack flexibility and petitiness. By giving two individual gender prizes, it is giving the people more opportunities to win. I know that some people might not agree with me but I guess I feel like it is just human nature.
I disagree. I think this is irritating. I have always loved bowling but was never really very good at it. In high school I used to go bowling on the weekends, and sadly that was a hot weekend date spot. I went bowling with boys all of the time and I never won because I am a terrible bowler. However, I stil remember that I was always given a crutch because I was a girl. One guy even let me use bumpers and didnt' count any points against me, while he bowled normally. Women have been stereotyped as less athletic than men. I understand that women are built differently than men and it takes a certain body type for each sport. However, to me it doesnt seem as though bowling would need a certain body type. I know plenty of women that would kick any guy's butt in a bowling match and yet women are always treated as though they should be given bumpers. I would like proof that women are not built for bowling, and even if this is so I would prefer to be treated as a bowling equal.
Alternate paths model suggests that men have equal emotional commitment in relationships and that men appear less emotionally attached in their relationships because we are using a female "measuring stick" to measure mens' characteristics.
The same basic core of this theory can be applied to sports, ie use the appropriate measuring stick because there are clear biological differences between men and women when it comes to muscle development. Many sports already apply this theory like golf (women use shorter tee boxes), track (womens' hurdles don't get raised from high school), etc....
To further my point, imagine if the armed forces and police and fire departments used mens' physical fitness standards to when testing womens' physical fitness. That would cause an uproar in feminist circles and have women calling for different testing methods. In closing, make sure you are using the appropriate measuring devices for the appropriate gender, for the appropriate circumstances.
I don’t really think there is anything wrong with recognizing both genders on a separate pedestal. I’m sure the manager meeting was to promote unity among the managers in general. I think having separate prizes gave each gender the opportunity to compete at their own level. This also continued to promote the unity desired while still having fun. I guess I feel like it’s okay to have group activities to get people to socialize with each other while still recognizing them for different skill levels. I mean biological men are built different than women. I feel like it would become frustrating if one gender was always at the disadvantage at work outings. Bowling is not their job so I think it's pointless to over-analyze the situation. Since it sounds like the female manager had fun I think the goal of the outing was reached.
I think I am going to go on the side with everyone that says this is not a very big deal. I had to post for a discussion board in my sports marketing class also, and we had many blogs debating if men are better athletes than women. The truth of the matter is, men are stronger athletes in direct comparison to women. So I don't think for them to split the bowling up by gender is that big of a deal. There are more opportunities to win prizes and everyone had a good time it sounded like.
Not a big deal! I feel like this class places more emphasis on gender issues than are actually in people's hearts on the subject.
WOW! Finally someone is talking about bowling. LOL. Oh wait it relates to bowling, but it's more about male and female sports in general. I think this is taken a bit out of context. For starters, this is prime example at no matter what a company does to try and be fair and equal to both genders...it still can't make everyone happy. The poster is a case in point. Seriously, if the prize went to the "highest score" bowler and the winner was a man, then some of the women would be upset and vice versa if it was the other way around. This company was simply trying to be fair. In respec to sports in general. While it is true that women can compete against men in sports, biologically speaking men and women do have different body mass structures which directly relate to athletic performance. Obviously this fact has been recognize throughout history as far back as the Olympics. So it seems entirely appropriate for a company to have prizes for both sexes...it's only fair. As for bowling not being considered all that athletic; granted you don't have to worry about someone tackling you, but throwing a 15lb ball down an oiling wooden lane consistently for an entire game is not as easy as it appears. ;)
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