Protective/ Being Protected: Manifestations in Girls Movement and Resulting Non-Employment in Physical Labour and Sports

Brownmiller theorizes that there are two primary political functions for the act of rape. First is that “it ensures the continued and necessary protection of women by men” and, that women have a role in times of conflict as property of the militia to be protected, or to be raped and killed by the men of the competing force (Brownmiller qtd in Cahill 17). During war we train our soldiers to think in an “us vs. them” binary. In this binary the damaging of “property” belonging to the opposing force is seen as necessary. Before women took the right to vote, they served under their husband’s names and were essentially their “property” which manifested in women being raped or killed in conflict in order for one side to claim superiority or dominance over the other side. Because women weren’t fighting in wars or seen or socially constructed as being able to be protective and instead always in need of protecting, women weren’t allowed in combat in the United States military until the 1990’s.

            The social construction of women needing protecting and men being protective has molded the way we categorize jobs, physical capacity and, capabilities. The clandestine manner in which gender roles are reproduced effect the way we teach children to move their bodies. Boys are taught to use their bodies to their full capacity and, to get up when they’re knocked over or roughed up. Girls are taught to sit nicely, and take up less space so that they get in the way of a boy. This then reflects in girl’s movements being smaller, and for it to be more challenging to use their bodies as vessels of strength and power better utilized in every day life and sports.

            Rougher sports including rugby, football and hockey are then ultra-masculinized and pegged as being too rough or hard for a women’s “less substantive” and less muscular body. In turn we have created rules to make the sport “safer” for more feminine physiques. Women are seen as too fragile to take a shoulder check, or fend off a fight. These rules make hockey less fun and desirable to watch and, keeps interest on women’s sports at a low and, is seen as being inferior to men’s. As a result, women’s leagues are few and far between because of lack of public interest, and lack of confidence in girl’s physical movements. This continues to reestablish gender norms that keep fragile bodies fragile and, muscular male bodies as protective and resilient.  The lack of women’s hockey leagues embeds the message that women are less adept at playing sports and physical trades because they aren’t “physically capable” and, make less money because of it.

            Because of women being less capable and making less money, the ideology that women are for protecting and, can’t protect themselves or provide physical labor satisfactorily it again instills the view that women shouldn’t be able to be physically strong.

Work Cited

Cahill, Ann J. Rethinking Rape. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2001. Print.