Printer-friendly version- identify qualities that they associate with male and female athletes;
- identify the attitudes they have about gender, sexual orientation, and athletics;
- understand what stereotypes are and how they harm and limit people;
- find positive images that show men and women that have qualities that they did not see as “positive” for each gender, and
- make a collage using the images and descriptive words.
Objectives
Activities will help students:
- identify qualities that they associate with male and female athletes;
- identify the attitudes they have about gender, sexual orientation, and athletics;
- understand what stereotypes are and how they harm and limit people;
- find positive images that show men and women that have qualities that they did not see as “positive” for each gender, and
- make a collage using the images and descriptive words.
Essential Questions
- What characteristics do you associate with athletes? Which are positive and which are negative for male athletes? Which are positive and which are negative for female athletes?
- How do gender stereotypes and homophobia affect students?
- What can you do at your school to change homophobic attitudes?
Materials
Article: "Can the NFL Tackle Homophobia?"
GLOSSARY
homophobia |ˌhōməˈfōbēə|
(noun) The irrational fear or antipathy toward LGBT people and homosexuality.
stereotypes |ˈsterēəˌtīp; ˈsti(ə)r-|
(noun) A set of preconceived ideas or beliefs, usually negative, over-generalized to all or most members of a group based on their membership in that group. Stereotypes can be based on race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, physical appearance, class or socioeconomic status, occupation, etc.
Additional Resources
“Young gay athletes find a place out on the field”
“Come out of the dark ages”
“Homophobia Rampant in Women’s Sports”
Social Studies/Arts/Reading and Language Arts/ELL
1. Your teacher will show you some pictures of athletes. (Note: As an alternative to digital pictures, consider using old magazines to assemble pictures.)
What words do you think of when you see the pictures? What words would you use to describe the athletes? Raise your hand and share the words with your class. Your teacher will write the words down on a chart that looks like this:
Words to describe athletes | Girls/Women | Boys/Men |
|
2. Look at the first word on the list. Do you think it is a good quality for a boy or man to have? If so, have a volunteer put a check mark in the column that’s called “Boys/Men.” Do you think it is a good quality for a girl or woman to have? If so, have a volunteer put a check mark in the column that’s called “Girls/Women.”
3. Have a volunteer read aloud the words that your class thinks are good qualities for men. Have another volunteer read aloud the words that your class thinks are good qualities for women. Are any of the “positive” words the same for both men and women? Which ones? Which words are different? Why do you think that they are different?
4. A stereotype is an assumption made about an individual based on group membership. Look at the chart again. Which of the words on the chart are stereotypes about men and women, and about athletes? How can you tell that they’re stereotypes? As a class, talk about how stereotypes can devalue and hurt people.
5. Try rethinking the stereotypes you identified on the chart. In old magazines and/or on the Internet, find pictures of male and female athletes who have the all or most of the traits your class identified. Make a collage with the pictures. Write the words from your class’s list on cards or pieces of paper. Include them in the collage.
6. Share your collage. As a class, discuss what you learned about stereotypes of men and women athletes.
APPLYING WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED
Effective learners connect what they learn to their own lives. Think about what you have learned in this lesson. Answer these questions in a journal.
