KINE 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 23: Heterosexism, Machismo, Esera Tuaolo
4 Jul 2018
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Sport and Sexual Regulation (Sexuality and Hetero-normativity)
There is a heterosexual norm in athletics
It is known that gay men and lesbians do play high-performance sport, yet because of
the hetero-normativity, many of them do not “come out” or reveal their sexual
orientation until after they have retired
oEx: Esera Tuaolo, NFL player who reveal his homosexuality after his football
career
Many gay athletes face the same confusing problem as Tuaolo, which is that if they
“come out” they risk losing their careers and suffering physical punishment
Tuaolo’s story shows us that:
oIt is difficult to be out and gay in high-performance sport
oHigh-performance sport is the arena or place where people go to define
normative masculinity, and by extension, hetero-normativity
High-performance sport is more than winning and losing, it also has the effect of helping
to reproduce the hetero0normative ideals that exist in all the other spheres of society
oNormative masculinity in high-performance sport mirrors attitudes and vales
found in much of patriarchal capitalist society. It favors aggression, competition,
and accumulation of wealth as sign of success
Sexual regulation means that sex and sexuality, like all things in society, are neither
natural nor free of restriction. They are highly regulated by a series of social codes and
mores (characteristics of our communities), which constitute our morality
Our society fears difference and privileges sameness
In our society, many of us are constantly expecting and even asking each other to be the
same; this behavior creates a norm, which is a way of being in the world that is seen t be
normal
Policing the line of the normal and trying to make others conform is one of the most
important means by which power is maintained
oThe way of policing or judging what we image to be different is seen as
normalization
Foucault noted that normalization is seen as constant pressure or conform to the same
model, so that people might be all lie one another
oHe also noted that there is a strong tendency in modern societies t classify and
label everything; this action is not innocent but rather, it is designed to set up
the idea of the “normal” as different from and better than the “deviant”
oThe label “deviant” has been continuously used over some to gain power over
them
The idea of normal is something that holds a great degree of power, and to label
someone a deviant can have very damaging consequences for some
One of the key areas where normativity is played out is sexual orientation
Hetero-sexists thinking means that we normalize heterosexuality and assume that
everyone sees sexuality in the same way
oFor ex: the saying “my cute boy attracts all the cute girls at school”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Many gay athletes face the same confusing problem as tuaolo, which is that if they. Come out they risk losing their careers and suffering physical punishment. Tuaolo"s story shows us that: it is difficult to be out and gay in high-performance sport, high-performance sport is the arena or place where people go to define normative masculinity, and by extension, hetero-normativity. It favors aggression, competition, and accumulation of wealth as sign of success. Sexual regulation means that sex and sexuality, like all things in society, are neither natural nor free of restriction. They are highly regulated by a series of social codes and mores (characteristics of our communities), which constitute our morality. Our society fears difference and privileges sameness. In our society, many of us are constantly expecting and even asking each other to be the same; this behavior creates a norm, which is a way of being in the world that is seen t be normal.
