way2go! 7. Coursebook, Schulbuch

14 Unit 01 | Ready to rumble Read this opinion piece by a feminist writer about women and sports. Some parts are missing. Choose the correct part (A–N) for each gap (1–11). There are two extra parts that you should not use. Write your answers in the boxes provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. READING 18 Why women don’t do sports Most women would say that they have precious little time to themselves. The time they don’t spend working for an employer, they do something called ‘housework’, and, for most women between 25 and 50, ‘childcare’ is additional. There is also the task of (0) , tidy, deodorised, made up, not to mention toned and well-dressed, plus the exhausting business of hair and hairiness management. Work, all of it. Women either don’t do leisure or they do activities that aren’t too expensive, and they (1) between work and leisure. Men spend their free time relaxing, but for women it’s just another form of work. There are powerful reasons why women steer clear of leisure activities, including sports. The majority of women worldwide – who are still illiterate and unpaid family workers – know only too well that if they are ever seen (2) , a job will be found for them. In more traditional societies, the holidays on which menfolk are permitted to straighten their backs and get dressed up smartly are the days when women have to work hardest, cleaning up the house and (3) . It is not so long ago that on Sundays, while the rest of the family played cricket on the village green, the woman of the house had to cook and serve a three-course Sunday lunch and subsequently clean up after it. Today, everybody male is occupied with leisure and sports activities. Has the woman of the house grabbed a kitbag and followed their example? No. Women don’t go fishing. Women do play golf, but not much. Women (4) . Women don’t buy sports cars, boats, jetskis, trailbikes, guns, crossbows … Women do not listen to the call of sports and leisure. But it is also true that the sports and leisure industry does not address women that much. Their argument comes full circle: it is that no female market exists. Sport has traditionally been regarded as male territory, and women doing sports have always had to fight against gender stereotypes (5) than men. Among the 258 athletes lining up at the start of the first Winter Olympics held in 1924 in Chamonix, only 11 were female, all of them figure skaters. And it was not their sports achievement, but the length of their skirts, reaching just below the knee, which caused a furore 2 . Things have changed a little, but researchers have discovered that sports that are beautiful, graceful, non-aggressive or pleasing to the eye are typically considered (6) . On the other hand, face-to-face competition, aggression and body contact are seen as masculine. Researchers say people automatically associate male games with competitive spirit, discipline, stamina and loyalty to a team. There are other barriers to women doing sports than that it is traditionally considered (7) . For instance, there are marked differences between men’s and women’s feet as women generally have a narrower heel. Typically, women also have wider hips. Wearing shoes that aren’t designed to take these differences into account may actually cause injuries, yet manufacturers claim that there is no demand for women’s football boots, for example. Another example of discrimination of female sports would be that TV stations claim there is no demand for (8) , leaving the female professional teams without the financial backing that male teams regularly receive by selling advertising spots. Other restrictions women interested in sports face (9) . In India, for example, a country where a light skin colour is still something prestigious, the myth that chlorine darkens one’s skin keeps status-conscious women out of – admittedly rare – public swimming pools. Religious issues also come into play: (10) in swimsuits might be difficult not only for body-conscious western females, but also for women of different religions. Create a garment like the burkini 2 to cause a furore: für Aufregung/Furore sorgen Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv