A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these.
The line between sports, games, exercise and play is certainly not clear; games are often redefined as sports when they involve particularly skilled participants, which gives them appeal to non-participants.
The closeness of art and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games which, as we have seen, were celebrations of both sporting and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture.
Sports labeled as feminine seem to be those that allow women participants to act in accordance with the stereotyped expectations of femininity (such as being graceful and nonagressive) and that provide for beauty and aesthetic pleasure (based on largely male standards).
It is acceptable for women to participate in sports such as gymnastics, swimming, and tennis where the female form is revealed and movements are, by definition graceful and non-confrontational, but involvement in sports with more body-to-body contact such as football, wrestling, and baseball is met with disapproval.
Whenever there is a story concerning a female athlete achieving a milestone in a sport that is traditionally played by men, and vice versus, the attitude is commonly one of novelty and amusement, not one of respect and admiration.
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