Suzy Stone Class of 2002 Concentration: History Minor: Art History

While most people assume that, on the aggregate level, men are more aggressive and competitive than women, I would argue that this is merely a difference of visibility -- a difference between overt and covert competitiveness. In reality, I would argue that women are more competitive and controlling of one another. In order to measure the levels of competitiveness among men and women, I am going to study young athletes at the high school level. I will interview students before and after their events to ask them how they feel about things such as: the starting in a lineup, group cohesiveness, sportsmanship, winning, and losing. From this study I hope to learn why it appears as if men can more easily separate their athletic lives from their social, familial, and academic lives, and why women's relationships are infinitely more complex than those of men. Is it possible that women express more competitiveness and control among their female peers because it is one of the only secure outlets for control and status in their lives? I see this study of competitiveness as a tool in which to learn about the power dynamics that tend to accompany a society in which gendered expectations are the norm. One of the main goals of this project is to assess the extent to which the Women's Rights movement has really affected the way in which contemporary men and women perceive themselves within society.