Abstract:

We began with discussions on what is gender, including a presentation of international dialogue on gender and the role of sport in addressing gender issues. Topics/lectures include: Doping and Gender, agency, the under-representation of women in competitive sports and in sport governing bodies (SGBs), the social gender and sport identity, the sport-gender imbalance, Women athletes in the mass media, genderless athletes, Olympism or peace education, underdevelopment of sport in developing countries, racism and xenophobia in sport, child exploitation and child protection in sport, gender and leadership skills, and so on. Gender refers to the socially-constructed roles of and relationships between men and women. Gender concerns men and women, including conceptions of both femininity and masculinity. The difference between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ is that the latter refers only to biological differences as an analytical category. Gender does not mean focusing solely on women or females, but rather on the inequalities regarding both genders, and should not be confused with feminism or women’s studies. However, analyses of gender differences often show a socially disadvantaged and weaker position of women and girls in social, political, economic, legal, educational and sport issues. This is why there is a tendency for gender discussions and interventions to focus on correcting these imbalances by specifically targeting women and girls. More analytically with regard to the course content see links]...............................................