Ethics Approach

Today's topic about different approaches when dealing with an ethical dilemma is very helpful. Especially, we need to have different perspectives and approaches when we discuss ethical issues in modern sports.

I think they are all great approaches, but my favorite (or must used approach) is The Fairness or Justice Approach which states that all equals should be treated equally. I like this approach because it basically implies that all humans should be treated equally. In history, many of the ethical problems and consequences have occurred because some people treat other unequally such as in slavery.

In this approach, benefits and burdens may be distributed based on what a person needs, deserves, contributes, etc., or may be distributed equally to all.
The principle states: "In distributing benefits and burdens, treat people the same unless there are morally relevant differences between them." http://www.ee.scu.edu/eefac/healy/approach.html

I agree that making a good ethical decision takes time because we got to figure out the ethical problem, the values at stake, the people involved, and reflect on the issue in order to act (decision).

Salute

Today in class, we watched a great great documentary, Salute, about the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. After the 200 meter final, Tommie Smith and John Carlos (two African-Americans) were on the victory dias. They took this opportunity to show their support and commitment the human right's movement by doing the black salute. It represented the union and strength of the black community.

This documentary also tried to show how important was the role of Australian athlete, Peter Norman, in this social/political statement. He also stood in the victory dias backing up the black athletes, and he was wearing a human right's movement pin/button on his track suit.


I find sad and unbelievable how Australia and its Olympic authorities prevented Peter Norman from participating in the next Olympics because of his participation in the "salute" in 1968.
 I admire how he was so honest and humble to support the black movement in America, even though he wasn't from the United States. But he saw the all men were created equal and gave up his glory that day at the victory dias to support the cause of racial equality. He was a great man!

Olympics '68

The Ideal Feminine Body

Today’s article by Molly George, “Making Sense of Muscle: The Body Experiences of Collegiate Women Athletes” was very well-written, and provided a lot of information about how some athletes are self-conscious about their bodies because of how society portrays the ideal body for women.
Some of the athletes did not like that weight lifting increased their muscles, they did not embrace this "bulk-up" image. Others saw the benefits of strength from lifting and how this improved their performance in the field.  The author concluded, that even though soccer has become more competitive thus requiring lifting, "most of the women remained somewhat ambivalent about their self-performance, but predominantly chose to participate fully and enthusiastically in training and competition, regardless of the effect on their bodies."


Today we discussed about our opinions on the ideal feminine body:
I agree that a too muscular figure, made a woman look "manly" physically. The problem is that the ideal woman's body by today's standard, and a very muscular body are two extremes. Most average women lie in the middle. This is a problem that we should give a lot of attention, because many women suffer internally about their physical image causing many self-esteem problems. I think that the "ideal feminine body" is an abstract concept that is constantly changing, and women just change their bodies constantly to please society or the media who are constantly showing pictures of how women are supposed to look.


I've looked at some pictures in the web about different body types of women. There's not such thing as a "perfect body". People also differ in how they perceive other bodies and what attracts them physically. 

Anna Kournikova - Tennis Player

Lenda Murray - Ms. Olympia (Bodybuilder)

Different Athletes

Average Women from Dove Commercial

How To Combat The Obesity Epidemic?

People have prejudice towards fat people and think of them as lazy and impotent. It might be true that some fat people have enough health literacy to make good decisions about their life, but they still choose to eat junk food and lead a sedentary life. But I don't think that health education has been widespread across the entire population of the U.S. There are still people who don't know much about calories, recommended food portions, different food alternatives, etc. They lack health literacy in order to make better decisions about their health. Most of them know that vegetables are healthier than a McDonald burger, but if they have limited resources (money), they are going to buy the burger instead, since it's cheaper.
Most people in the middle class and upper class have read magazines about health, have seen a T.V show about health, or have found more information available about it. They can afford a nutritionist, and a gym membership. It seems that most health programs are advertised towards those with higher socioeconomic status; they are the ones that can afford all those health services. The poor population in this country, especially minorities, lack the knowledge and skills necessaries to make good health choices with their limited resources. It's harder for them to be healthy since they do not have the health literacy, nor the resources available that wealthier people do. I think that when health promoters teach health to the public, they should focus on individual groups or races, because it's hard to tell someone to eat better and exercise if you do not know what that person goes through everyday.
I don't have a solution to eradicate obesity in this country, but I do think that it should start by targeting the kids and get them away from the vicious cycle of overeating and inactivity. Parents should be targeted too, so they can teach and support their kids in their new path to health and well-being.

I also found this good article about minorities' health: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/21252.php
I was shocked when I watched this video: A 7-yeard old girl who weighted 400 hundred pounds!

http://socialpsychologyeye.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muscular Christianity & The YMCA

I found very interesting the role that Christianity played in the development of athletics. Christians affirmed that humans consist of three elements—mind, body & spirit. Therefore, these elements have to be maintained in balance. Consequently, exercise and fitness were ways to recruit young people. Muscular Christianity was a Christian Outreach in the 19th century. 

I think that the role of Muscular Christianity is still very important in modern times. People still try to find that balance between body and soul. They put their kids in sports so they can learn how to be a good team player. I do believe that sports can teach some values, but there are other values that sports can taint such as honesty. Therefore, it's important to know that not all good values come from sports. I think that even though athletes are more dishonest than the average people, sports can also teach people many important life lessons -- to learn that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you got to persevere to obtain your goals. 

"The ideals of muscular Christianity entered America, and especially American schools, during the Civil War era. At that time recreation and athletics were becoming a fixture in a public education system driven by the ideals of such evangelical reformers as Lyman Beecher and his family. At the nexus of muscular Christianity and college education stood the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)". 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2003/aug15.html?start=1

Drawings of the first international between England and Scotland in 1872 show some of the virtues of the burgeoning British style (photo: Wikipedia)