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The exposure of sexual violence and scandal at Penn State University has pushed many university officials to review their sexual harassment prevention policies.  Historically, it was the Second Wave feminist movements of the 1970s that raised awareness about sexual harassment in the workplace and pushed for legislation and legal recourse.  Feminist theory also helps explain some of the perplexing events at Penn State University.

Across the United States, school districts face dwindling state aid, increased costs, and layoffs.  Voters are deciding on hard-times budgets and school administrators are making do with fewer resources.  As the recession and slow economic recovery play out in American schools and communities, a new wave of gender inequalities has emerged.  One sociological tenet contends that in times of economic hardship social inequalities tend to grow more marked rather than diminish. 

Adages that evoke the pain principle in sport include “No pain, no gain,” “Push yourself to the limit,”“Sacrifice your body,” “Suck it up,” “Perform in spite of pain,” or “Work through the pain.”  Toughness is considered a prerequisite for success in sport and young athletes are often encouraged to “pay the price for victory.”  Major league baseball manager Sparky Anderson reportedly explained to a player, “Pain don’t hurt.”  In western culture sport has long been equated to masculinity (McKay, Messner & Sabo, 2000).  The denial of pain in sport was seen as a masculine attribute, an earmark of toughness and masculine adequacy.