Gabriel Wigington discusses gender discrimination in sports, specifically the International Olympic Committee's refusal to allow women to participate in Olympic ski jumping competitions. The document notes that over 130 women from 16 countries have proven their talent in ski jumping in FIS competitions. While progress has been made through Title IX and increased women's participation in the Olympics over time, the author argues that no one has the right to limit another's pursuit of excellence in their talents. The ski jumpers' goal of competing in the 2014 Olympics is a valid pursuit of the American Dream that should not be denied based on gender.

1. Gabriel Wigington
KINE 2050
“The Right To Jump”

2. Does any human being have the right to put a limit on or prevent a person from pursuing
excellence with a God-given talent that they possess? Gender has been a major sociological
issue in sports for a long time. Over the years, women have made significant progress in
American society with movements for Women’s rights, the health and fitness movement, and
Title IX (Coakley, p.238). Title IX provided a foundation for progress to give young women the
opportunity to compete in collegiate sport and have the same equipment, facilities, and money
needed to perform just like the guys always had. After all, in our United States of America we
are given life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Constitution. That means that nobody
has the right to stop your pursuit and what should be an equal opportunity to be what you are
capable of becoming! Gender Equity (Coakley, p.235) is what was pursued with a three prong
approach that included a Proportionality test, a History of progress test, and an Accommodation
of interest test. These tests did not eliminate resistance to Title IX, but did allow a legal basis for
filing lawsuits when a school did not meet the requirements of the legislation (Coakley, p.236).
My article that I would like to comment about is titled: Tell the Olympic Committee: Women
Can Jump. This story is about the International Olympic Committee refusing to allow women to
participate in the Olympic ski jump competition. Women ski jumpers have been aggressively
pursuing this for years and have continually been denied for no legitimate reason. In my opinion
this is unacceptable in any society. Over 130 women from sixteen different nations have
registered with the International Ski Federation and thirty-five of them have finished in the top
ten during the FIS Continental Cup which clearly shows they have talent. The goal of these
athletes is to get into the 2014 Olympics in Russia. Just prior to the 2010 Olympic Games in
Vancouver, a judge heard about this gender discrimination, but was unable to rule in their favor
because the IOC is not governed by Canada’s anti-discrimination laws. Participation in sports

3. seems like a no-brainer, but it has been a major issue with conflict a long time. Before the
1970’s nobody even questioned why men dominated sports participation in organizations,
Universities, and at professional levels as well. The ideologies about femininity and masculinity
that have shaped the male-dominant culture of sports to this day began before this time. The idea
that men are naturally superior in sport and that only beauty or “cosmetic sports” (Coakley,
p.243) are the kind that women should be participating in has been ingrained into our American
culture for some time now. These ideologies must be strongly questioned and understood before
change will take place. A lot of these ideas are just myths and were created in people’s minds
before most of us where even born, so it is up to our generation now to take action for society to
get better. Over the last fifty years, female athletes from all over have put to rest the idea that
women are frail and can’t compete in sports. This proves that the basis is founded in ideologies
of men, not in concrete evidence of women lacking talent. The research shows that the IOC did
not have any women members from 1894-1981 and in 1984 women were first allowed to
compete in the marathon race. They were let into the 10,000 meter run in 1988 and wrestling in
2004 (Coakley, p.248). The numbers also show that the majority of viewers would only pay to
watch women perform in gender appropriate individual sport, but not major team power and
performance sport. Table 8.1 in “Sports in Society” shows that from 1896-2008 the percentage
of female athletes in the Olympics has raised from 0 up to 42.4% as recent as the 2008 games in
Beijing. The males only outnumbered the females representing by about 1700 people which is a
far cry from even as recent as 1992 in Barcelona when the men has about 4,000 more athletes in
the games(Coakley, p.249).
To sum it up, the evidence from the “Sports in Society” text does a great job in
supporting the women athletes in stating that even though they have come a long way in regard

4. to decreasing gender discrimination in sport, it still takes place in certain events or organizations.
The ski jumpers desire to show the world what they can do on the biggest stage athletically is a
valid one as should not be denied. I believe that the opportunity to take yourself on, develop
your talent, and pursue your dream is something that no man or woman has the right to steal
from another. That is the American Dream.
References
Jay Coakley (2009). Sports in Society 10th Edition: Issues and Controversies: New York, NY.
McGraw Hill.
Tell the Olympic Committee: Women Can Jump: News.change.org/stories/tell-the-Olympic-
committee-women-can-jump: by Amie Newman. December 17, 2010.