A League of Their Own Feminism

Barbara J. Risman defines gender as a "social structure comprised of three analytically distinct levels: self, interactions, and institutions" (Chafetz 1). In the Penny Marshall directed A League of Their Own, we are provided with the story of nine women athletes who played for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The AAGPBL was sponsored by wealthy businessmen in order to fill the void in professional baseball left by all the player who marched off to war. In this film we are provided with an array of gender images that are fairly true to society's valuation and construction of gender. We see gender is constructed in the film from self-perception (Kit), social interaction (Dottie and Jimmy), and institutions (Major league baseball, corporate America).

During WWII, American women were encouraged to liberate themselves from the domestic sphere and take employment in factories as Rosie the Riveter became an American icon. Strong, independent females were suddenly in vogue, and the women in this film are delighted to discover they are a highly professional group of athletes � an image that was not condoned or thought of as being something of which the female gender was capable. In the film we see many ideologies surrounding gender that modern society and its institutions continue to perpetuate. One of these is the fact that sex sells, and a pretty woman is much more desirable than a plain looking one. We see this ex

dino notes, "Yeah, I'm just going home, grab a shower and shave, give the wife a little pickle-tickle, and I'm on my way." In another instance when Mae slides safely into home, an announcer exclaims, "No wonder they call her �All the Way' Mae." We also see men try to encourage female athletes to act more like male athletes. When one player starts to cry after a harsh upbraiding by Dugan, he says, "Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball." In another instance, we see a possible relationship develop between Dugan and Dottie, but she has a beautiful husband she loves at home and the relationship is never explored. Perhaps it is the institutions like the baseball industry and the corporate industry that have the most impact on ideologies of gender. During WWII, women became competent, hard-working skilled professionals who contributed to the economy and success of America at home and abroad. During this time strong, independent, resilient women was an image fostered by corporate America, the media, and the government. Nevertheless, many women experienced some cognitive dissonance over the transition from homemaker and the domestic sphere to professional and the social sphere. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert co

Category: History - A