Masculinity in PE

      We have experienced masculinity in sport our entire lives. In my last posted research post I talked about how masculinity is seen in the media and the spotlights, but that is not where the preference for the masculine in sports is created. It is not hard to believe that masculinity in sports actually starts in the physical educational setting. Whether in the PE classroom or on an organized sports teams there is a strong want for the athletically privileged. There are multiple views on masculinity in sports at this age. The ability to perform athletic skills properly is seen as being masculine and inability to perform these task is seen in a negative light in the gym class.

       Those who are athletically skilled are seen as having more masculinity than those who struggle with performing those tasks are looked on as unskilled and awkward. This threatens their masculinity and reduces them to be victims of ridicule and humiliation. A boy being nonathletic may be a result of developing later than his peers so he refrained from performing some physical activity which would leave him farther behind in terms athleticism. Size and development in sports is key to success. Most sports involve physical contact which would make being stronger and muscular important (Drummond). There is a battle for male dominance in the world of sports. This relates to the skill of each of the athletes. Skill is first developed in the gym class and then leads into organized sports. Those that do not succeed in the gym class tend to avoid participation in the organized sports, which saves them from further ridicule and embarrassment of failing in front of others (Anderson). This brings in the negative body images in which boys acquire from the fear of being perceived as non-masculine.

      The media focuses on the body image issues in females, but fail to bring up the fact that almost just as many males suffer from similar types of inner troubles. The males who suffer from these negative issues are typically those who do not have as much athletic talent as some of their peers. These males may not have as much success in the PE class so they feel that in order to avoid being teased they avoid the sporting world. This leads them to not wanting to participate in athletic activities. The negative images come from the fact that they are less active than their peers who participate in organized sports. In the PE setting these boys are forced to participate in athletic activities and this leads them to refrain from participation in organized sports (Drummond). Failing to be able to perform an athletic skill increases the negative self-esteem and body issues because of the fact that it is a public unlike failing at a test which would be private matter between the teacher and the student. PE classes are typically taught by males who they themselves were successful in athletics.

These teachers tend to praise the boys that are successful in the sports because they want to encouragement the enjoyment of physical activities (Anderson). There are many views on masculinity in the sporting world and many of these views start fairly early on in life and can be seen in multiple settings.

       One view that has been common in the past is that those who are unsuccessful in athletics are not only non-masculine but can be perceived as homosexual. Though in the past there has been a negative view on homosexuality in the sports world there is a recurring trend of acceptance amongst the younger generations. Though there is a trend of acceptance that does not mean that homosexuals are seen as masculine. There are quite a few professional athletes who have come out in the past, but they refrained from coming out while they are in the spotlight. This is because of the fact that there is a view of lack of masculinity and talent of athletics in homosexuals. As homosexuality has become a more excepted way of life in society there is also less of a negative view towards it in the PE and high school sports worlds (Anderson). This has allow the link between masculinity and talents to become faded and not as strict.

         These views allow boys to go on with their lives connected with the fact they were either successful or not in the athletic world. There will always be the successful and unsuccessful, but there should not be a connection to whether or not they are seen as masculine. It has been proven that everyone learns in a different way, so those that are unsuccessful in the sporting world may have talents in other areas. The link between sports and masculinity may continue to be there, but there is a growing trend in which the line has not become as distinct. 


-Lyndsey Tollas

Works Cited

Anderson, Eric. "Inclusive Masculinity in a Physical Education Setting." Thymos 6.1 (2012): 151-65.                 ProQuest. 7 Apr. 2013.

Drummond, Murray J. N. "The Meaning of Boys' Bodies in Physical Education." Journal of Men's Studies 11.2 (2003): 131-.ProQuest. 7 Apr. 2013.