INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

In the present dispensation she is being valued for her soft, tender
and delicate body and good looks.
All these characteristics have been assumed to be incompatible
with the physical vigour, strength and force supposedly required for
sports competition. It is taken that any woman with the sports
characteristics tends to be masculine and may no longer be submissive
to the husband at home; instead these characteristics may be
intoxicating and make her challenge the authorities of men around her.
In other words, sports and masculinity are assumed to go together,
while sports and feminity are diametrically opposite. Thus women are
not to be athletic. Though some women do strenuous physical
activities such as farming; it is widely believed that women’s physical
activity starts and ends in the kitchen.
DRESSING
A modest Nigerian woman is supposed to cover a substantial part
of her body/trunk very well, i.e. the shoulder to the knee must be well
clothed. The exposure of any of the aforementioned by a woman tags
her immodest and promiscuous. Any woman with this derogatory
label is not acceptable in the society and may find it difficult to get
married since marriage is the ultimate desire of a woman.
Contrary to the ethics of dressing of a Nigerian woman, a female
athlete is supposed to be in vest and pants, which leaves the thigh bare
amidst other competitors and the audience. Revealing the contours of
the body in the public makes the woman shy and may result in shame.
It is also taken to be immoral since such a thing attracts men to
women for sex.
ENVIRONMENT
A man’s environment at a stage of life is not only the geographical
location of his dwelling but also the socializing agents of that stage
like the Home, and the Peers.
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