Gender

Within sport, the issue of gender is always ever present. However it is most apparent in football. Many people believe more money should be pumped into the women's game but I disagree. If you look at the crowds at a women's football match they are much less then that of a men's football game. As well as this there has been a lot more money invested in men's football. I believe if women's football wasn't banned for a long period in the early 90s, women's football would be at a much more advanced level than it is now.

In addition to the issue of money, the issue of sexism comes in to play. ''Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?" This was from the FIFA president at the time Sepp Blatter which makes the comment even more unbelievable. I feel as though since most of the council members or committee members in sport are male the decisions or suggestions they make don't usually benefit the female gender.

Furthermore, Of the 106 national Olympic committees, 5 have female presidents. Out of the 34 international sport federations that participate in the Olympic Games, only two are led by a woman. This further backs up my point about female lack of representation.

I feel as though this ideology is very ingrained into the system now and it would be very hard for the current era to change anything. However their are many inspiration female athletes out there and I believe a change will come in the future.

The body

In todays society no matter where you go, different places will have different ideologies of the perfect body. Sport is no different in that respect. A good example of this in the current era of sport is with Gonzalo Higuaín. On his day Higuaín is one of the most prolific strikers in the world and has been sought after by many big clubs in the past. In recent times he broke the Serie A scoring record with Napoli with his 36th goal of the season on the final day of the season, His hattrick goal sealed the record. However since securing his move to Juventus he has come under much scrutiny about his size and physique. Higuain responded to his critics by saying .'It is better if you keep saying I'm fat, I will continue to score goals,' he told Tuttosport.
'Come on, I'm fine, I have trained for 20 days and I honestly do not understand all this interest on my condition. 'I believe the idea behind the perfect body stems back to the original Olympics where being in the prime condition came hand in hand with sporting ability. I feel as though many people still believe to be the best at a sport you have to have the best body.

However there are cases in sport where not having the best body doesn't limit a sportsperson competing at the highest level. Another example of this is with Tyson Fury who defeated Wladimir Klitschko in a fight which shocked the world. Tyson Fury's body was described as 'unhealthy', 'Dad bod' and more but he defeated an opponent who was in much better physical shape. I believe the main reason why body shaming in sports exists is because of commercial reasons. A good body is what sponsors want to sell products or entice people to come and watch live events. However having a good body does not necessarily make you better at sport, I believe even though many people understand and accept that it isn't widely accepted as the sponsors prefer selling products.

Higuaín at Juventus

Higuaín at Napoli