St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
We're trying out blogs to offer shorter, easy-to-find news. Let us know what you think.
Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
Book Looks at Increase in Men Coaching Women's Sports
01:17PM / Friday, May 29, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As women's sports have grown in the last 30 years, the percentage of women coaching women has declined from above 90 percent to under 45 percent. A Williams College researcher has asked, why?
"Past studies demonstrated that women coaches encounter gender issues that persist due to the inherently male-centered nature of sport," said Christina Cruz, author of "Gender Games: Why Women Coaches are Losing the Field" (March 2009, VDM Verlag).
Cruz, a research analyst in the strategic planning and institutional diversity department at Williams College, examines the "intertwining aspects of gender, relationships, coaches' struggles, and the resultant sense of self as coach in her book.
"Women coaches do not feel the effects of the gender inequities on the fields and courts, but in the hallways and staff meetings, in their roles as 'colleagues,'" she writes. "These issues force women into 'micro-competitions' (seemingly inconsequential, private struggles that female coaches have within the context of their relationships) in an effort to gain respect, to stand their ground, to find voice, to survive inappropriate behavior, and to be accepted as part of the athletic department."
Today, women's collegiate sports have been absorbed by men's athletic departments and are coached by more men than women. In 2008, women directed only 21.3 percent of the programs and coached only 42.8 percent of women's teams as head coaches.
In her book, Cruz points out that female coaches endure a value system that puts men on top, the perception that men work harder than women, and the problems of juggling family and work. They constantly face comparisons to their male counterparts, and men's athletics often garner more attention than do women's athletics.
The book includes compelling stories from five female coaches, which shed light on the "strong sense of self as coaches and diminished sense of self as colleagues."
Cruz said, "When I began this study, I questioned what happens to a coach's sense of self. I hypothesized a linear movement from gender issues within the culture of sport to micro-competitions in female coaches that influence their relationships, which in turn influence their sense of self as coaches."
What she found is the importance of reaching beyond issues of gender to consider the culture of sport and its effects on relationships, micro-competitions, and sense of self in coaches and athletes.
She argues that instead of encouraging cutthroat competition, sport culture should encourage team spirit, sportsmanship, and camaraderie.
"Coaches need to move the culture of sport beyond its male-centered origins, to leave behind a masculinity that has long outgrown its usefulness in a culture that touts team spirit, sportsmanship and camaraderie," she writes. "Careful attention to leveling the playing field and enlivening the honorable elements of athletics will do much to enrich lives on college campuses and beyond."
Cruz was a member of 1980 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team. She served as head coach of women's crew at Williams College for 12 years before pursuing her doctorate in education at the State University of New York at Albany. She received her bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her awards include the Civilian Congressional Medal of Honor.
Thank you all for your comments. I would like to respond in kind. DRA is correct in her assessment that this blurb just scratches the surface of what I found in talking with five highly successful, competitive women coaches of intercollegiate athletics. The masculinity that I refer to within the excerpt is hegemonic masculinity, a form of masculinity where men dominate women, a kind of hyper masculinity that is aggressive toward women and has an one-upmanship at all costs. At its core is the subjugation of women by men. The non-hegemonic stereotypic masculine traits that include strength, competitiveness, power, pride, and drive to succeed (to name a few) are all very important in all aspects of life, especially sports (as they were for me as an athlete, coach, and now as a professional). I argue in my book that a balance of these important masculine characteristics and many stereotypic feminine traits would help create an environment in athletics that helps women coaches feel welcome and ultimately good about themselves as athletic department members.
For example and by chance, of the five women I talked with, three were bullied by colleagues in the hallways, in staff meetings, on the job, and in one-on-ones. The stories are horrific. Many of the problems women coaches face are not on their fields where they are in control, have a voice, and exude confidence, pride, and competitive spirit. It is off the field with their colleagues and in a culture that still ranks men’s sports as most important, as evidenced on many sports pages and in many arenas around the country.
It’s a good book. If you are interested in women in coaching, I hope you get a chance to read it.
from: Christina Cruz, author
on: 06-17-2009
Try reading the book! The interview doesn't even scratch the surface of the issue at hand. Cruz's research in combination with her analysis of qualitative research is eye opening.
from: DRA
on: 06-12-2009
I find Cruz' conclusions offensive to female coaches and athletes as the logical extension to her argument is that women should play "intramurals" while men 'compete' in varsity competition.
Shame on you, Cruz.
from: Sally Peterson
on: 05-30-2009
I have been a serious participant in amatuer athletics and college sports for 25 years. First as an athlete - then coach and then mentor. Historically the word coach came from rowing not other sports ! What I have found recently is that growth in any sport be it for men and for women leads to good volunteers with passion being put into positions of leadership that were based on popularity or individual desire. Translating those aspects to a group of athletes and making them perform - focus and make the scarifice to excel is however a very different skill set. I have found that with regards to coaching women being truthful needs tact and it is very easy to walk around the issues which are present / barriers to success - This is what I believe leads to women feeling politically isolated in coaching roles - Not addressing the small details that lead to success vs an actual gender issue. There is too much emphasis on the logistics and need for better equipment vs developing the person. Men taking leading roles on sports teams or men and women on the team is a good balance if both coaches have the ability to develop the skills mentioned above and can monitor how to impart them onto the athlete in this case the female athlete. Womens Rowing makes an interesting case study- There are other sports also.
from: AGH
on: 05-30-2009
I believe that the tiny snippet from Ms. Cruz’s statement and the comments from the last responder both reflect gender biases. I am a male who competed and coached in college and experienced the very values of “team spirit, sportsmanship and camaraderie” every day. My sons have experienced it also. On the flip side, without competitiveness, there is no achievement in sport, business and elsewhere.
It should be noted that I was a women’s coach before lack of opportunities for men in that field limited my career choices. I found that, in a very general way, women appreciate the non-competitive benefits of sport a bit more than men, especially in the moment. But I also saw first hand that women can be intense competitors as well – that’s why my teams won, and, I am sure, why Ms. Cruz was successful as an athlete, coach and author. She competes.
I am also the proud husband of a college coach. She is highly competitive and she wins, and nothing solves problems for a women’s coach like winning does. Yes, she experiences male dominance in the halls of the athletic department, but she doesn’t let it get to her. She isn’t weakened by the territoriality of the male coaches - she stands her ground. Perhaps more women coaches need to do this; it is part of the competency of being a women’s coach, or businesswoman – or man for that matter. Certainly, Ms. Cruz exhibited those very traits as an international athlete. Perhaps she has forgotten.
But to tout the downfall of western civilization on feminism or a decrease in a dominant attitude by men in greater society, as the previous responder did, is a bit far-fetched - and this is stated by me, a white, male, Christian, Republican. Men have done their fair share of ruining the world for the sake of getting one up on the next guy. The internal threats to Western culture are caused far more by the ancient ills of muddled thinking, self-centeredness, power grabbing, self-importance and narrow-mindedness that span the shallow sea of the human condition no matter the gender. -N
from: NRM
on: 05-30-2009
1980 Olympic Rowing team? I though the U.S. didn't go because it was held in Russia
from: jj
on: 05-30-2009
I'm a male college rowing coach, currently coaching men, though I have also been the head coach of a Div. 1 women's team. The growth of women's coaching opportunities in our sport, with the development of rowing as an NCAA sport, has been enormous, particularly for the first generation of women rowers who are now in the assistant coaching ranks, but I think that part of what's happening is that coaches are finding that having both male and female coaches on their staffs is a good thing, offering a wide-range of skills and accessibilities for the women they coach. Men are attracted to coaching women's teams for a variety of reasons, but in our sport at least, the institutional support, money and availability of jobs (there are significantly fewer jobs coaching men) shouldn't be underestimated.
The place where women coaches are getting the short shrift, clearly, is in coaching men's teams. I would estimate that less than 0.5% of coaches of men's college teams are women. I have had women assistant coaches working with my men's team, and they do a great job, the men accept their coaching, and the bring great skills to the job. Clearly there would be women who could coach men's swimming, track, golf, even, whoa now, basketball (dare I suggest football or hockey??), but they are never even considered for positions.
And, unfortunate, but I think true, women will not be seen as true colleagues by many of the older generation of male colleagues, until they've coached, and shown then can with with, the "big boys," which for many people are the men's teams.
As much as I do not share or agree with km's thoughts above, sport remains what Brian Pronger calls an "arena of masculinity."
from: Charley
on: 05-30-2009
"Coaches need to move the culture of sport beyond its male-centered origins, to leave behind a masculinity that has long outgrown its usefulness in a culture that touts team spirit, sportsmanship and camaraderie,"
What a stupid, sexist, and bigoted statement. One of the main purposes of sport is to teach young men how to compete to survive in this world. The overly feminine view that prevails in western society ignores the reality that the fight for survival never ends. That "masculinity that has long outgrown its usefulness" is what has provided the safety and relative luxury we enjoy in the west. Extinguish that masculinity and the west will cease to exist.
from: km
on: 05-29-2009
Top Stories...
Recount Countdown in North Adams NORTH ADAMS - Poll workers were steadily making their way through more than 5,000 ballots today to...
