Black Athlete

The topic of race in sport, particularly African Americans in sport, has long been a controversial yet, widely discussed matter. Human and social issues are never easy subjects to discuss or debate, and racial differences tend to provoke very strong reactions. To begin, we will explore those whom claim that black athletes excel in sports as a result of their biological make up. Of all players in the NBA, more than 75% of them are black; of all players in the WNBA, more than 70% of them are black; of all players in the NFL, more than 65% of them are black (Hoenig, 2014). Evidently, black athletes make up a vast majority of these sports in the United States. Athletes must be of elite caliber to have the ability to play at this level, so this

This essay will be critically analyzing the social policy of same sex marriage using four Australian newspaper articles to demonstrate and examine how inequality through diversity and difference are present and experienced in the public domain. The essay will draw upon What ideological values and assumptions are present in both the newspaper articles and social policy?, What are the social justice concerns in relation to the current same sex policy?, concluding with a reflective component exploring where in relation to the social policy issue I am as a developing social worker.

This decision has affected people’s behavior as individuals and public institutions such as family, young, elderly, disabled, LGTB and those with pre-existing conditions. For example, Kates & Ranji (2014) report that health care access and coverage for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGTB) community in the U.S. face opportunities and challenges when getting access to care. The authors report that LGBT individuals experience some discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, due to ongoing discrimination, access to health care have been limited to these people (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). LGBT individuals not only face discrimination when trying to receive care, but also face difficulties that limit them such as “barriers in obtaining insurance coverage, gaps in coverage, cost-related hurdles, and poor treatment by health care providers” (Kates & Ranji, 2014).

As a child becoming a professional athlete sounds like the best in the world. Present day adolescents, dream big and try to go for the impossible. As a results, a high percentage of the youth don't acquire a more stable and suitable career in the future. High school students go through a vast number of struggles trying to get into the college of their choice. Colleges are highly expensive and there are a growing number of black middle-class citizens that are going through rigorous situations to get their child into an widely exceptional college. A high percentage of black families have conformed their children into athletics. The athletic path is a very risky and unreliable road that will give their children a sense

“Being gay is much more profound than simply a sexual relationship; being gay is part of that person’s core identity, and goes right to the very center of his being. It’s like being black in s society of whites, or a blonde European in a nation of black Asians” (Tamara L. Roleff). Although marriage, cohabitation and parenting styles of homosexual families pose no threats to the heterosexual society; many still believe same-sex marriage goes against its true purpose. “At the national level, American public opinion on the issue remains split (44 percent support legalizing same-sex marriage; 53 percent oppose same-sex marriage in a May 2010 Gallup Poll) even as opposition toward legalizing same-sex marriage is at its lowest point in decades

Moreover, Rhoden describes today’s sports world as one with no black power. Many black athletes have great potential and are recruited from their high schools to attend good colleges with a promising education. In practice and games, they play against each other and if they are good enough to make the cut, they get drafted and play at a professional level. As a result, their owners (white individuals) get richer with their unique style of play and talent. The drive for these athletes is of course the good paying salaries, (to some) their education, and their dream of making it out of the streets they grew up in. Rhoden uses Michael Jordan and LeBron James as good examples of athletes that instead of helping on improving the power for the African

The stereotyped group that is a problem is African American and black athletes being portrayed as beast like, unintelligent, emotional, dominating, violent, and brutal. The specific sport of focus is the NBA. Black athletes are portrayed as beast and animal like in media images like poster, magazine covers, tee shirts, and game freeze frames. Black players have made many strides in the NBA, nearly 75% of NBA players are black, while only 23% of players are white (The 2015 Racial and Gender Report Card). Although there are many black players the media is still owned and operated by predominantly white gatekeepers. This negative stereotype is because it disregards the hours of hard work that black players complete to play professionally. African Americans feel this cover misrepresents them. Blacks could feel exploited, manipulated, or even subconsciously use it as justification for confirming the negative stereotypes the media feeds society. It is a racist notion that black players are unintelligent and rely on genetics “animal instincts” to be great players. If this stereotypes continues young blacks may see believe that they are unintelligent and slack off in school, believing that they can make it through like based on their athletic ability. It perpetuates a “super model minority”. An excellent example of this stereotype is the visual portrayals of NBA superstar LeBron James in the media. James has been prevalent in sports media dating back to his high school years when

There are various perceptions of gay and lesbian couples that they represent a more egalitarian relationship. (Civettini 2015:1) However, when same-sex couples are observed there is still a tendency to believe that the relationship contains a masculine and feminine figure following the heterosexual model. So, it is necessary to address both how these couples deviate from society’s norms as gay individuals but might still be reproducing the same behaviors as heterosexual couples because the ideologies are so deeply rooted in social institutions. The stereotypical connotations of masculinity and femininity influence all aspects of American society and gender display relies heavily on meeting those given expectations. So, in the case of this article, the author Civettini views a connection between sex, gender, and sexual orientation when it comes to displaying

I know both of you are now in high school and want to play basketball,but I thought I'd let you both in on something that comes along with being a black athlete. People are going to try so hard to put you down and do anything that they can to get you out of your game, but do you know why? Just because of the color of your skin. Yes, that's right, your skin. I've experienced racism on multiple occasions. Some sugar coated, but I'm not that dumb to not understand what they really were trying to say. Others were blatantly out there, made sure I got the message. Enough beating around the bush, let me tell you guys racism is real and still goes on today.

We have all seen the classic television scene, where a happy family consisting of one mother, one father, and two children is hovered around a table or a couch. Although still prominent, this scene is becoming less common nowadays as more families become non-traditional. More families than ever are consisting of one mother and children, one father and children, grandparents and children, and even two mothers or two fathers and children. These households, although not what most people consider a normal household, are becoming more common and regular in today’s society. Homosexual parents and families are indeed different from more traditional families, but not for the worse. This trend is not increasing

Our young black males gaze at their televisions with eye’s widened full of admiration and awe at the images of professional black athletes living the dream of prosperity and idolism. In surfing the web, pictures, along with interviews and commentaries can be seen and read by the most impressionable minds. With research, I intend to sift through various resources to uncover the effects of the Medias’ portrayal of professional black athletes on the minds of young black athletes. I intend to sift through information to find out if the marketing approach used by the media and sports to portray the success of black athletes hindered young black males from pursuing other facts of economic success.

Discriminatory action against individuals who identified or were labeled as non-heterosexual began to be brought to light during the twentieth century and is still prevalent today. There are arguments by certain individuals that claim that discrimination of those who identify as non-heterosexual have disappeared. I would argue that such discrimination is still alive and present in our modern society. Very noticeable today with the values of our Vice-President Elect Mike Pence who thinks that homosexuality can be “fixed” through electric shock therapy. Values like this are similar to that held during the twentieth century - which Margot Canaday deeper examines in her book The Straight State: Homosexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth Century America. Canaday’s argument throughout her book is that of homosexuality considered undesirable. Canaday starts off her book by delving into the stripping of citizenship rights from individuals who were labeled as homosexual. A topic Ian Haney Lopez explores in his book White By Law: The Legal Construction of Race: How individuals pertaining to a particular group of racial or ethnic groups were deprived of their citizenship and personhood rights. In this essay, I will explore the concepts introduced by Lopez of law as ideology and law as behavioral control and how those concepts relate to Canaday’s book in the oppression of non-hetersoxual individuals within the realms of immigration, the military, and welfare (Canaday).

In the article “For Gay Marriage” Andrew Sullivan claims that withholding marriage from homosexuals is perhaps the most social attack concerning their social likeness. Sullivan reasons that regardless of one’s sexual preference, one has the entitlement to marry a significant other. Likewise, Sullivan reinforces the idea of marriage by claiming that a contract such as marriage is, “...an emotional, financial, and psychological bond between two people; in this respect heterosexuals and homosexuals are identical” (30). In addition to discussing the definition of marriage in our society today, Sullivan enlightens the conservative idea that domestic partnerships diminish the idea of marriage (31). If a person

The heterosexual imaginary is immensely ingrained in our everyday experience that most people, including feminist sociologists, has become inclined to conceptualize and theorize based around the heteronormative. The heterosexual imaginary acts as an invisible framework at play that structures our thinking processes and in which constructs our social identity. For instance, the inquiry of a survey taker’s marital status in most social science surveys come to show that our recognized and appropriate social identity is formed around heterosexuality. That is, any deviation from this heterosexual norm would be considered abnormal and be marginalized. To a minimal extent, this focus has served the interests of women because of the lack of activism

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, also known as LGBT population have experienced a great deal of oppression worldwide. These particular individuals undergo discrimination from society, whether for reasons of ignorance, fear or intolerance, this population faces challenges in multiple areas of social justice sexual. Although the LGBT culture has made some strides in the areas of state and federal legislation, there is still a wide range of criminalization that takes place within our culture. Understanding the LGBT community and the history of their oppression may be the first step in becoming culturally competent. For many years this culture was denied their basic constitutional rights that were afforded to their equal heterosexual peers. Basic rights such as, adoption and marriage were uncommon to this culture until the 20th century.