Throughout history, sport and athletic activity has always been a masculine discipline. Even in ancient times, stories and myths were all centered around the men, with their construction of dominance in sport and athletic activities. Due to that, women have been absent from inclusion in sport, unless they were outstanding participants or champions. References to girls and women in sport started in the late 1800’s, but were barely publicized. An example of this is how “certain groups of immigrants, non-white, Aboriginal, and lesbian women are invisible in the mainstream historical records, newspapers, news-reels, and collective memories” (Daniels 29). In North America, the rate of girls and women participating in sport in the 20th century was very high, as they engaged in sports like rugby, boxing, tennis, swimming, and gymnastics. In other regions of the world like Asia, male populations took over modern sport in Korea while Confucian traditions were still around. This specific tradition “divided the domestic and social roles of male and female…also cut off women from opportunities for education” (Koh 69). Gender discrimination is present in every society, but in Korea when compared to Western countries, female bodies needed to be hidden from public view until the early 20th century. As move into the 21st century, there are more women involved in athletics than ever before. There are now more outreach programs and camps available for both genders now. While that may be an improvement, when compared to previous history and ideology, sports aren’t fair for women compared to the opportunities men have. Looking at this small sample of issues, women truly must overcome great measures to play their sports, or even receive recognition and succeed. To alleviate this issue of inequality and unfair treatment against women in sport, gender discrimination, judgement of athletic performance, gender inequalities, and the case of low rates of media reports and social media need to be solved. Women are repeatedly troubled and disrespected for their appearance, especially in sport. The female gender in general is discriminated against daily, at a rate where it can’t be controlled. An example of gender discrimination can be seen when people expect women to be soft, not so muscular, and “look like a woman.” Female tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska believes she could be better, but her figure matters to her. That isn’t the only example. When Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Sam Stosur in 2012, she said “she plays like a man.” Serena Williams, who is very muscular, has been called an ape, gorilla, and a man because of her physique over social media. The current world that these athletes live in, force them to “choose between sacrificing their strength – and their livelihoods – in order to be considered women” (Kendall, “Female athletes often face the femininity police – especially Serena Williams”). Society has a predetermined view as to what women should be and how they should look. Even when females want to improve at their respective sports, people’s comments end up bringing them down. Playing a sport is hard enough, but having to deal with pointless criticism is unnecessary. Women in sport are constantly sexualized. Athletic based chat rooms and forums on the internet are filled with people talking about how women look “hot” or “sexy,” acknowledging them for their bodies or outfits rather than athletic talent. In 2015, a commentator requested Eugenie Bouchard, a Canadian female tennis player, to “give us a twirl,” after her match win. Interviewing Bouchard about her outfit and asking her to show it off is unacceptable. People can take it lightly and look it as a joke or something comical, but it is things like these that allow the more serious matters to be taken lightly. In March of 2016, Indian Wells tennis tournament chief executive Ray Moore said, “women should get down on their knees and thank Roger Federer for making tennis so popular” (Wigmore, “Sport’s gender pay gap: why are women still paid less than men?). Tennis would still be popular if it weren’t for Roger Federer because it did exist before he began playing in 1998. Sport is dominated by men, but women do contribute to popularity and viewership. Constantly discriminating against women because of their “lack of popularity” in sport is wrong and unjust. They are playing the same sport with similar if not, equivalent rules. In 2004, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said, “Let’s get women to play in different and more feminine garb than the men” (Wigmore, “Sport’s gender pay gap: why are women still paid less than men?”). The only reason he said that was because he wanted women to play in tighter shorts with more beautiful women playing soccer. Here, Wigmore pointed out the gender discrimination that Blatter committed. The issue with this statement is the way he expressed his feelings. He didn’t need to single out women and advocate for women to wear tighter shorts, just because more beautiful women were playing the sport. It is universally understood that men and women have different fits and styles in clothing, and it should be kept to that. Solving the issue of gender discrimination or at least working towards finding a solution will assist the overall goal of trying to alleviate the unfair treatment toward women in sport. Women in sport are judged for their athletic performance. When compared to men, women are scientifically proven to be weaker than men. When it comes to sport, men and women are compared in terms of strength or skill-level regarding style of play, performance, or results from athletic activity. When boys or men are running, and they don’t run in necessarily the “right” way, they said to “run like a girl.” Another phrase, throwing like a girl, is a “simple phrase…which continues to be widely interpreted as not having the ability to throw proficiently” (Springer 40). Looking at this statement, the female sporting ability is very low compared to the male ability. If girls or women do have proficient athletic ability, they are suddenly observed as unusual or weird. The judgement of women being weaker at sport through statements like the ones stated are demeaning, and put women down. Women play all types of sports, and some end up reaching high levels of competition. While levels or intensity may be different from male or female competition, that doesn’t open the right to slander the skill of women in sport. Judgements are lethal, because they can possibly lead to people conforming to what is actually being said. In a study conducted by McClung and Blinde, sensitivity to gender issues and judgements were observed for women participating in intercollegiate athletics. Their results showed that 64% of the women surveyed and interviewed changed their styles of play, they appearance, or even quit playing their respective sport because of the comments they received from students, coaches, and public (118-123). Judgmental comments lead to the women changing themselves to conform to what was said. This is a major issue because women need to be encouraged to play their sport, wear whatever they want, and live freely. They need to be able to enjoy the sport or have a goal to play it. They shouldn’t be obligated to change themselves for comments said by others. To solve the issue of judgement, people need to look at male and female at similar levels or even at equivalent levels. While intensity may be different, the same motion or skills will be used to play the sport. Women are prime subjects of gender inequality when it comes to sport. Men could be targets of gender inequalities, but women are faced with more disadvantages in this situation. Women tend to face inequalities with pay and major roles in sport governing bodies. While men receive huge paychecks for their lackluster performances, women are giving it their all to win for their country/sport. In English club soccer, Steph Houghton, the best-paid female player, earns around 65,000 euros while Wayne Rooney receives 300,000 euros a week. Another example of unequal prize money between men and women would be the 2016 FIFA World Cup, where the men had 22 million euros in available prize money versus women’s 630,000 euros. This is directly related to the fact that men hold most of the top positions in sport councils, country federations, and other bodies (Kelly, “Are Men and Woman Treated Equally in Sport?”). Not only are women underpaid, but are undervalued. This can be seen in March of 2016, when the ICC funded men and women’s teams from many countries to come play in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. They only gave the men business class seats while providing the women economy seats on the airplanes. While money is still being allocated unfairly, the lack of representation for women hinders their ability to assist the female athletes, and help them succeed. There is “considerable evidence that women are not only under-represented in sport organizations, but that they are also marginalized” (Cunningham 138). People also argue that because women do not biologically have a similar interest in sport or physical activity, it is fit to keep more men in organizational positions to further “grow” sport. Taking this for granted and “failing to provide participation opportunities and resources for girls and women in sport has habituated over time…it is perceived as a justified way things are done” causes women to be less involved (Cunningham, 138). With less representation in the governing bodies, girls and women in sport are provided with less opportunities, as funds and resources are favored to go to the men more than the women. Involving a mandatory number of women on a governing body would increase potential funding and normal opportunities for women. Compared to the other three issues plaguing girls and women in sport, the biggest reason there’s so many problems are due to the lack of social media attention and awareness that the matter attracts. Today in the 21st century, social media drives public opinion.  Any big event that takes place is tweeted about before an actual news report is executed. In the late 1990s, Nike released a commercial that featured young girls pleading “If you let me play sports” (Shaffer et al. 226). The commercial cited various health and psychosocial benefits that would come from playing sports and an increased self-esteem. Facts or research like this used in social media or advertisements would encourage people to promote girls or women playing sports. Scientifically, women are known to be more inclined to stay inside or do something else. Being encouraged to play a sport by social media or large trends can positively influence a large group of women, which lead to something big. Social media isn’t the only thing keeping the attention at a low for women in sports; media attention is also very low. In the past 20 years, “females are 40% of the participants in sport but only have 4% of the coverage in the media” (Hall et al. 272). The media in the United States continues to focus on the sexual appeal for women, rather than their athleticism. The lack of recognition for those women needs to change to create major changes in public. If media attention or social media creates just one view towards these women, there will never be change. Women will always be sexual objects than actual “women.” People need to make the effort to post more about women’s athletic achievements and stay updated. They need to follow pages that will keep them in the loop, and persuade others to do the same. A spark or simple idea is enough, and social media or media attention will blow up around women in sports. When looking at the unfair treatment and inequalities that women in sport encounter, there are a lot of parts that are factored in to the understanding of the situation. Since there are so many parts to it, the problem can either easily be solved or near impossible to solve. Since the beginning of history, girls or women have always been second to men, with society or traditional customs stopping them to be educated, go out in public, or engage in athletic activities. In this era, where sport is such an important component of the general lifestyle, the significance of the inequalities for women in sports needs to be looked at and solved. The society that is present in Western countries and even some Eastern countries, are very open, where women can pursue sports. Fighting for them and the future girls who choose to pick up a tennis racquet or kick a soccer ball is vital to create diverse and engaging environments. Creating awareness to solve issues like gender discrimination, judgement of athletic abilities, and gender inequalities is important to begin to alleviate the effects of the inequalities and unjust treatment toward women in sports. Disregarding it and slandering it won’t help the situation, but positively talking about it and promoting it will create a lasting impact. Change can be made to this situation, but it won’t be overnight or in the next year. People need to be aware of women in sports, show respect towards them for their abilities instead of their sex appeals, and just be more accepting. At the end of the day, creating an equal or fair environment where both women and men can enjoy and excel at sports is the common and lasting goal for this generation. 
