{"id":223,"date":"2022-02-02T22:56:19","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T22:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/?p=223"},"modified":"2022-02-02T22:56:20","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T22:56:20","slug":"blog-post-3-play-it-good-play-it-wild-sports-and-gender-womens-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/2022\/02\/02\/blog-post-3-play-it-good-play-it-wild-sports-and-gender-womens-rugby\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Post 3: Play It Good, Play It Wild: Sports and Gender- Women’s Rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rugby is a team, contact sport that started in England and is played by both men and women. Many people in America see it akin to American football given the tackling and more contact oriented nature of the sport, however, it is a completely separate entity. Oftentimes, heavy contact sports are mostly played by men. For example, American football and the NFL is a huge organization whose players are composed of men. This is why, as someone who has grown up watching American football, it is quite impressive to see women playing rugby with the same intensity and even more strength than an American football player. In the matches, you can see the agility, speed, and power in the movements and tackles and the true brutal nature of the sport. There is a lot less protective gear than one would expect given the style. The audience is most likely of both genders as with any major sport, but has more male spectators. Women\u2019s rugby like many women’s sports is often underappreciated and underlooked. There is less funding and less turnout despite a team\u2019s success. The violence and power in the sport display unconventional gender dynamics as women are traditionally expected to be calmer and more graceful. I believe that one\u2019s gender should not limit or affect the sports or the behavior they choose to engage in. Conventional behaviors that fit gender norms can be quite restrictive and can possibly hinder the potential of an individual. It was very cool to watch various clips of women\u2019s rugby and see these traditional expectations be demolished. The concept of wild is depicted in this sport simply due to the sheer violence with the tackles and the amazing athleticism of each woman on the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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