Gender Observations at Target Field

I chose a Twins Game at Target Field for my event and although I have attended many games in the past, this one was different.  I had never taken the time to observe the differences in the behavior, dress, and structure of men and women.  I had planned to wait on starting my observations to record for my blog until after I was in my seat. However, I realized that outside of the stadium there were gender differences I could not afford to miss.  The dress of the crowd was decidedly masculine or feminine.  Most of the men had on a baggy baseball jersey with their favorite player’s name on the back.  The women were similarly dressed, but the tightness of their attire was quite decidedly different.  It was a warm day so shorts were a common sight.  The men had longer more “cargo” style versus the women sporting a shorter, tighter look.  Hats were visible; men with a more traditional baseball cap, with the team colors and the women seemed to go with jewels added to the traditional twins cap or one in pink.

Once inside the gates, a young man caught my eye.  He was waiting for his significant other outside of the women’s restroom and appeared to be very uncomfortable holding their purse.  In “Shame-O-Phobia”, David Wexler writes of a similar experience with his wife, “Loaded down with shopping bags, she asked me to grab her purse and carry it over to a new spot across the plaza.  That’s all.  Yet even though I knew I was being stupid, I couldn’t do it.  The 15 seconds being seen carrying a purse were beyond my capacities as a car-carrying male.” (Wexler, 2012)

Once settled into my seat, I found was that while most males, even young boys, sprawled in their seats and used both arm rests, the women and young girls were much more tight in their bodies and sat without touching the persons seated next to them unless it was a family member. The other interesting observation I recorded was who brought baseball gloves to the game.  For many fans, catching a foul ball is a dream comes true!  Grown men had gloves along with young boys.  I did not see any adult women with gloves and very few young girls.  Two (2) of the young girls I observed had pink baseball gloves.  That was not even an option when I was younger, but if it had been I would not have chosen to have something so decidedly “girly.” 

According to the text, “We actively learn the skills and practices of gender, accepting, rejecting, and negotiating them until most of us become very accomplished in our various performances.  For example, in terms of gender socialization into traditional binaries of femininity and masculinity, the way girls throw a ball is often the object of derision. Throwing the way boys do, however, is actually an act that is learned, then performed again and again until it becomes a skill valued in organized sports.  Girls can learn to throw like boys if they are taught.  Men are not necessarily better athletes than women; rather, sports as an institution has developed to reflect the particular athlete competencies of men.” (Shaw & Lee, 2012)  There is an ad on television, which is supposed to highlight a particular brand of automobile, but instead seems to have struck a comical note with the audience with a father teaching his son to throw a baseball (Volkswagen, 2013).

 

There were a few visible “rules” are the ones that would apply to either gender such as removing their caps during the “Star Spangled Banner” and“God Bless America.” Women cannot go shirtless, unfortunately sometimes, men are able to take their shirts off if they so desire. This was representative of the mini lecture on “Inscribing Gender on the Body”. On the slide Double-standard of beauty, it is stated, “Physical appearance is more important for women in terms of societal value. Age also affects the double-standard. “Distinguished “ men vs. old unattractive women.” (Brown) Some of the men who decided to go shirtless were physically unfit and instead of being uncomfortable, they flaunted their “beer bellies” around the stadium. I believe that if a physically unfit or an older woman would be dressed as scantily as some younger women would; be criticized as “disgusting” or “not dressing age appropriate.”

I found it funny that when the scoreboard instructed people to get up and dance with TC the Bear, the women had no reservations moving to the music. Men were more reserved and seemed to need alcohol to loosen up their bodies. The little boys that the camera captured danced and showed some “crazy” moves without reservations, but the little girls appeared shy. In my opinion, it highlights how we teach our girls to be “ladylike” and for our boys to be free to act as they want.

It was an entertaining time at Target Field, but quite different from the games I have attended in the past. Taking the time to observe men and women, the differences were more apparent than I had thought they would be. I am hoping that my daughters, who are out of college and on their own, do not fall into the expected behaviors I observed. Instead, I hope they are confident in themselves and are comfortable in their own skin.

 

References

Brown, A. (n.d.). The Body Image - mini lecture. Retrieved from http://moodle.augsburg.edu/moodle2012/mod/forum/view.php?id=76485

Shaw, S. M., & Lee, J. (2012). Learning Gender. In S. M. Shaw, & J. Lee, Women's Voices, Feminist Visions (p. 109). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Volkswagen. (2013, January 3). Volkswagen Passat Commercial 2013 -Throw Baseball. Retrieved from YouTube.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjTQV6CjAPE

Wexler, D. (2012). Shame-O-Phobia. In S. M. Shaw,& J. Lee, Women's Voices/Feminist Visions (p. 141). New York: McGraw-Hill.