Narrative/Research Paper
Amanda Nudo
Sexism in Athletics: Old-fashioned Views for a New Fashion Time
For the students in my group, 8:30 a.m. brought the misery that was high school gym class. Gym class had been my favorite subject throughout elementary and middle school until the high school teachers turned what I had once considered to be an enjoyable activity into the forty-minute-long torture session. As I left the locker room, I knew that things weren’t likely to be any better that day.
The moment I entered the gym, I noticed a ball rolling around ominously across the floor, collecting dirt and dust as it went. I scowled miserably. That ball could only mean one thing. My suspicions were confirmed as I asked my friend, Krysta, what the activity of the day was. With a glower and a roll of her eyes she answered, “Sexist ball again.”
“Sexist ball” was actually a name the girls in my gym class had given to the game speed ball, a cross between soccer and basketball that was our gym teachers‟ creation. Speedball involved either kicking or throwing the ball across the court and past the row of goalies to score points. The problem was that the boys and girls were not allowed to play at the same time because the boys would “injure us.” Instead, whichever gender was not on the field was forced to serve as goalies. To further separate the boys and girls, the girls were allowed to kick, roll, or throw the ball past the boys playing goalie in order to score points while the boys had to bounce the ball first for it to count.
This wasn’t the only instance in which the gym teachers at my school were blatantly sexist. The boys always got to play football while the girls were condemned to the field next
door for field hockey lessons and, while the boys were pumping iron down at the weight room, we found ourselves on mats in the gym working through a palates video. However, there was something about speedball that pushed the females of the class over the edge; we were told that we weren’t “good enough” to play with the boys.
According to the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), only 2% of all newspaper sports coverage is dedicated to female athletics (John 11). Women who play sports like football and hockey that are not considered to be ladylike are often labeled with such unpleasant words as “dyke” or “butch” or, in some cases, are even denied participation in the sport at a professional level. The worst part of it all is that society thinks nothing of treating female athletes as inferior to their male counterparts. Regardless of whether it’s in a high school gym class, a colligate team, or the professional sports arenas, women athletes face sexism at all levels of competition. Society has progressed to the point where men and women have nearly equal rights in most nations. In the United States, women are now allowed to vote, own property, and hold almost any job; rights that they were originally denied. With all of the other pro-equality progress occurring in modern times, it is time for us all the cast aside the old-fashioned ideas of female athletes and make all people in sports equal, regardless of their gender.
One instance of this inequality is female boxers like European Boxing Champion, Cathy Brown, who was forced to box in the “unlicensed” league which lacked rules for medical supervision. Brown faced an increased risk of injuries until women were allowed to get boxing licenses in 1988 and she was able to join the professional league. Even with this relatively recent improvement, professional female boxers are faced with the lack of support (financial or
otherwise) in comparison to their male counterparts (Brown). According to Cathy, “I have been trying to encourage more women to turn professional, but there is such a lack of support that they are forced into „White Collar‟ or „unlicensed boxing‟…And this lack of support doesn’t just apply to boxing; it is a problem for all female sportswomen” (Brown).
In a different arena, Duke University senior, Heather Mercer proved Brown’s words as she sued her college for telling her she was on the football team but forbidding her from practicing, sitting on the sidelines during games, or even wearing a uniform, much less actually getting an opportunity to play. Duke University’s head football coach Fred Goldsmith claimed that Mercer, a placekicker on her state championship winning high school football team, was too much of a distraction to the boys on the team to participate; was that the real reason? A study conducted by the National Colligate Athletic Association in 1997 found that male athletes received $184 million more in college athletic scholarships than female athletes (Lewis 14). That’s not all. The comparative budgets for male and female athletics ranged from $263,000 to $663,000 for women and a staggering $1.5 million to $2.4 for men. So the real reason why Mercer wasn’t allowed to play, along with the reason women in colligate sports receive less support and funding, is simple. According to Vanessa Lewis, a sports writer for Workers World News Service,
Universities prosper from men’s athletics. Not only is there prestige in men’s sports, but big money, too. Universities rely heavily on intercollegiate sports to bring money to their institutions through private funders, alumni associations, and of course corporate sponsors. The fact that these sports are dominated by men is nothing but a sexist norm (14). The issue of sexism is also apparent in Canada where female ice hockey players face ridicule, often being called disgusting terms like, “Dykes on ice.” The National Hockey League (NHL) only began to let female players join its ranks in the mid 1990‟s and it is still hesitant to let those lucky enough to make the team out on the rink to this day (Cockburn 12). As Lyn Cockburn, an editorial columnist from The Toronto Star, sums up our society’s accepted view on women in athletics, “It says there are certain sports which women are permitted to play and only those sports. It says you may excel up to a certain point, Baby cakes, but go beyond that and you are suspect” (12). This view does not deter girls like Tasha Borat and Katelynn Todd who decided to join their junior varsity wrestling team despite some sexist opposition. Borat and Todd were only allowed to join the team because of an Indiana state law that requires schools to allow members of an opposite gender onto a sports team if there is no equivalent team for their gender. While the female grapplers have been forced to face doubt of their abilities by their male teammates, forfeits by male opponents simply because they were too worried about hurting a girl, and even skepticism from their parents about choosing a predominantly male sport, they prove that girls can benefit from being allowed to play with the boys (Patel 16). “After joining the wrestling team, the girls said they became stronger, better athletes and more goal-oriented. They also made friends from all over the state” (Patel 16). Despite this, Meera Patel, a sports writer for Y-Press, said, “…girls today need more than great athletic ability. They need tough skins” (Patel 16). This “tough skin” attitude not only applies to opposing society’s view that girls are physically weaker and can be easily injured while playing sports, but also to deterring the culturally accepted idea that female athletes must only play sports that make them look attractive and feminine. Cockburn explains that women in sports are allowed to be cute and graceful and only participate in sports that uphold these characteristics. For example, it is acceptable for women to be ice skaters or curling skips but not to be professional ice hockey players (12). This is because ice skating involves beautiful, slightly revealing outfits and elegant movements as where hockey entails bulky, unattractive uniforms and violence. As Brown puts it, Women are pressured into doing sexy media shots and dressing in a way that will encourage media attention and make them more appealing to the male eye (men are the majority of sporting audiences). We [women] cannot get media coverage simply because we are brilliant at our sport. The advice given to female footballers was to wear tighter shorts! Female tennis players are expected to wear short skirts for those spectators lucky enough to catch a glimpse of underwear. We now live in a world where it is socially acceptable for women to hold positions as engineers, mechanics, and plethora of other activities that involve working in unflattering outfits doing grimy work. If it’s suitable for females to hold “unladylike” professions in the modern work-force, why are women in athletics required to look like sexy starlets in order to get any attention? If a talented male athlete were to be plain looking, he would still receive adequate media attention to make him successful. Since all professional female athletes‟ main goal is to become great at their particular sport, they shouldn’t have to deal with the added pressure of also tailoring to society’s idea of being “sexy” in order to receive the same recognition in athletics as their male equivalent. Todd sums it up when she states, “„…you shouldn’t stereotype a sport. Guys and girls can do any sport they want‟” (Patel 16). In spite of all of the sexist issues still prevalent in the modern athletics, organizations are working to establish equality between men and women in the sports arena. In the early 2000‟s, Britain established the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport in order to assure that female and male athletes are receiving equal funding, media coverage, and opportunity to turn professional (John 43). The popular sports brand, Nike, is also campaigning for more support for women through exhibitions, advertisements, and community projects. One way Nike is doing this is by providing schools with more flattering gym equipment in order to update the old gym kits that contribute to deterring young girls from participating in athletics. Other female sport’s activists are working to convince popular sports equipment and clothing companies to manufacture sporting goods that are more suited to female athletes (John 43). Since women make the majority of purchases. This shows a lack of intelligent marketing on the part of the sporting companies that do not already have expanded female lines, an ignorance that mainly comes from society. While these improvements are beginning to progress the circumstances of female athletes, there is still a long way to go before a tied score will be reached in the great game of athletics. Another enormous improvement for women in sports is the creation of Title IX, a federal law that has been in effect since 1972 mandating equal funding, facilities, and opportunities for women in educational programs that receive government funds (Lewis 14). In other words, any school that receives funding from the government must not only provide the opportunity for both genders to have either their own teams for a sport or to play on a co-ed team; they must also provide equal funding and facilities for men and women regardless of their sport or team standing. While this law is the most powerful weapon the anti-sexist crusaders have in their arsenal and was successful in cases like that of Tasha Borat and Katelynn Todd, situations such as Heather Mercer‟s prove that many colleges do not take this rule seriously and thus render it ineffectual. According to Lewis, Heather Mercer‟s law suit is just one of many that have come about because schools refuse to comply with this law. She goes on to say, “…legislation will never mandate an end to sexism in this arena or any other. Continued fight back will” (Lewis 14). Whether this “fight back” occurs in the professional sporting arenas or in my high school gym class; it’s time to for a change.
Speaking of which, what happened in my high school gym class? After what felt like years but was really three quarters of the class period, the whistle blew for the girls to take the field. By then, the boys on our team had managed to gain a ten-point-lead on the others. The score made the short time we had to play a complete waste because, face it, no team gets pumped up when there’s a ten-point-discrepancy to begin with. It takes all of the fun out of the game. The screech of the end-of-class whistle couldn’t have come soon enough. I hurried over to join the group of girls forcing their way through the small door frame of the locker room.
As Christine, my classmate, strode over to the female gym teacher’s office, the talk ceased uncharacteristically. The room stopped mid-changing. Pant buttons were abandoned, mascara brushes paused mid-stroke, and being late for the next class was a forgotten issue. We
all knew what Christine was going to ask; we all had been itching to ask the same thing for weeks. We all wanted the answer to the long awaited question.
“Mrs. M,” Christine fidgeted with her necklace chain, “the girls were kind of wondering if we could mix things up and play at the same time as the boys next time.”
Our teacher’s expression grew puzzled, “But you already do play at the same time.”
“I mean could we mix the guys and girls…”
Christine was cut off by our teacher’s stern and automatic retort, “No! You girls are too delicate to be playing with those boys! They could hurt you!”
“Sexist ball again tomorrow,” Krysta mocked as we left the gym. “Aren’t you guys just so excited?”
This incident is just one of many that occurs all over the recreational and professional sporting world. What we all need to open our eyes and realize is that it is not alright to keep women out of professional sports simply because of their gender and it is not alright to use demeaning terms for women who want to play “less girly” sports. Why is it that in a world that has progressed so much in the fight for equality over the past century or so, we still all except segregation in athletics. It is time to take change to the sports arenas and defeat the outdated notions of sexism that are still considered the social norm. It’s time for little girls to be able to be able to decide for themselves whether they want to be ice skaters or hockey players; football players or cheerleaders without the pressure of society weighing heavily into their choices.
Works Cited
Brown, Cathy. “Sexism in sport.” Editorial. Fitness Venues 3 Dec. 2009
<http://www.fitnessvenues.com/uk/sexism-in-sport>.
Cockburn, Lyn. “Two Minutes for Sexism.” Editorial. Toronto Sun 9 Mar. 1996: 12. Lexis
Nexis Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Andruss Lib. 9 Nov. 2009
<http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/content>.
John, Emma. “A Stake in the Games.” Editorial. New Statesman 11 Aug. 2008: 43. Academic
Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Andruss Lib. 14 Oct. 2009 <http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/content>.
Lewis, Vanessa. “Duke U Hit With Sports Sex-Discrimination Suit.” Workers World Newspaper Online 2, Oct. 1997. 3 Dec. 2009 <http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/97fem/Sexism_in_Sports:_Duke_Univ_Sued>.
Patel, Meera. “Girls Grapple With Sexism in Sports.” YPress Online Newspaper 20 Apr. 2008. 3 Dec. 2009 <http://www.ypress.org/news/girls_grapple_with_sexism_in _sports_>.
Sexism in Athletics: Old-fashioned Views for a New Fashion Time
For the students in my group, 8:30 a.m. brought the misery that was high school gym class. Gym class had been my favorite subject throughout elementary and middle school until the high school teachers turned what I had once considered to be an enjoyable activity into the forty-minute-long torture session. As I left the locker room, I knew that things weren’t likely to be any better that day.
The moment I entered the gym, I noticed a ball rolling around ominously across the floor, collecting dirt and dust as it went. I scowled miserably. That ball could only mean one thing. My suspicions were confirmed as I asked my friend, Krysta, what the activity of the day was. With a glower and a roll of her eyes she answered, “Sexist ball again.”
“Sexist ball” was actually a name the girls in my gym class had given to the game speed ball, a cross between soccer and basketball that was our gym teachers‟ creation. Speedball involved either kicking or throwing the ball across the court and past the row of goalies to score points. The problem was that the boys and girls were not allowed to play at the same time because the boys would “injure us.” Instead, whichever gender was not on the field was forced to serve as goalies. To further separate the boys and girls, the girls were allowed to kick, roll, or throw the ball past the boys playing goalie in order to score points while the boys had to bounce the ball first for it to count.
This wasn’t the only instance in which the gym teachers at my school were blatantly sexist. The boys always got to play football while the girls were condemned to the field next
door for field hockey lessons and, while the boys were pumping iron down at the weight room, we found ourselves on mats in the gym working through a palates video. However, there was something about speedball that pushed the females of the class over the edge; we were told that we weren’t “good enough” to play with the boys.
According to the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), only 2% of all newspaper sports coverage is dedicated to female athletics (John 11). Women who play sports like football and hockey that are not considered to be ladylike are often labeled with such unpleasant words as “dyke” or “butch” or, in some cases, are even denied participation in the sport at a professional level. The worst part of it all is that society thinks nothing of treating female athletes as inferior to their male counterparts. Regardless of whether it’s in a high school gym class, a colligate team, or the professional sports arenas, women athletes face sexism at all levels of competition. Society has progressed to the point where men and women have nearly equal rights in most nations. In the United States, women are now allowed to vote, own property, and hold almost any job; rights that they were originally denied. With all of the other pro-equality progress occurring in modern times, it is time for us all the cast aside the old-fashioned ideas of female athletes and make all people in sports equal, regardless of their gender.
One instance of this inequality is female boxers like European Boxing Champion, Cathy Brown, who was forced to box in the “unlicensed” league which lacked rules for medical supervision. Brown faced an increased risk of injuries until women were allowed to get boxing licenses in 1988 and she was able to join the professional league. Even with this relatively recent improvement, professional female boxers are faced with the lack of support (financial or
otherwise) in comparison to their male counterparts (Brown). According to Cathy, “I have been trying to encourage more women to turn professional, but there is such a lack of support that they are forced into „White Collar‟ or „unlicensed boxing‟…And this lack of support doesn’t just apply to boxing; it is a problem for all female sportswomen” (Brown).
In a different arena, Duke University senior, Heather Mercer proved Brown’s words as she sued her college for telling her she was on the football team but forbidding her from practicing, sitting on the sidelines during games, or even wearing a uniform, much less actually getting an opportunity to play. Duke University’s head football coach Fred Goldsmith claimed that Mercer, a placekicker on her state championship winning high school football team, was too much of a distraction to the boys on the team to participate; was that the real reason? A study conducted by the National Colligate Athletic Association in 1997 found that male athletes received $184 million more in college athletic scholarships than female athletes (Lewis 14). That’s not all. The comparative budgets for male and female athletics ranged from $263,000 to $663,000 for women and a staggering $1.5 million to $2.4 for men. So the real reason why Mercer wasn’t allowed to play, along with the reason women in colligate sports receive less support and funding, is simple. According to Vanessa Lewis, a sports writer for Workers World News Service,
Universities prosper from men’s athletics. Not only is there prestige in men’s sports, but big money, too. Universities rely heavily on intercollegiate sports to bring money to their institutions through private funders, alumni associations, and of course corporate sponsors. The fact that these sports are dominated by men is nothing but a sexist norm (14). The issue of sexism is also apparent in Canada where female ice hockey players face ridicule, often being called disgusting terms like, “Dykes on ice.” The National Hockey League (NHL) only began to let female players join its ranks in the mid 1990‟s and it is still hesitant to let those lucky enough to make the team out on the rink to this day (Cockburn 12). As Lyn Cockburn, an editorial columnist from The Toronto Star, sums up our society’s accepted view on women in athletics, “It says there are certain sports which women are permitted to play and only those sports. It says you may excel up to a certain point, Baby cakes, but go beyond that and you are suspect” (12). This view does not deter girls like Tasha Borat and Katelynn Todd who decided to join their junior varsity wrestling team despite some sexist opposition. Borat and Todd were only allowed to join the team because of an Indiana state law that requires schools to allow members of an opposite gender onto a sports team if there is no equivalent team for their gender. While the female grapplers have been forced to face doubt of their abilities by their male teammates, forfeits by male opponents simply because they were too worried about hurting a girl, and even skepticism from their parents about choosing a predominantly male sport, they prove that girls can benefit from being allowed to play with the boys (Patel 16). “After joining the wrestling team, the girls said they became stronger, better athletes and more goal-oriented. They also made friends from all over the state” (Patel 16). Despite this, Meera Patel, a sports writer for Y-Press, said, “…girls today need more than great athletic ability. They need tough skins” (Patel 16). This “tough skin” attitude not only applies to opposing society’s view that girls are physically weaker and can be easily injured while playing sports, but also to deterring the culturally accepted idea that female athletes must only play sports that make them look attractive and feminine. Cockburn explains that women in sports are allowed to be cute and graceful and only participate in sports that uphold these characteristics. For example, it is acceptable for women to be ice skaters or curling skips but not to be professional ice hockey players (12). This is because ice skating involves beautiful, slightly revealing outfits and elegant movements as where hockey entails bulky, unattractive uniforms and violence. As Brown puts it, Women are pressured into doing sexy media shots and dressing in a way that will encourage media attention and make them more appealing to the male eye (men are the majority of sporting audiences). We [women] cannot get media coverage simply because we are brilliant at our sport. The advice given to female footballers was to wear tighter shorts! Female tennis players are expected to wear short skirts for those spectators lucky enough to catch a glimpse of underwear. We now live in a world where it is socially acceptable for women to hold positions as engineers, mechanics, and plethora of other activities that involve working in unflattering outfits doing grimy work. If it’s suitable for females to hold “unladylike” professions in the modern work-force, why are women in athletics required to look like sexy starlets in order to get any attention? If a talented male athlete were to be plain looking, he would still receive adequate media attention to make him successful. Since all professional female athletes‟ main goal is to become great at their particular sport, they shouldn’t have to deal with the added pressure of also tailoring to society’s idea of being “sexy” in order to receive the same recognition in athletics as their male equivalent. Todd sums it up when she states, “„…you shouldn’t stereotype a sport. Guys and girls can do any sport they want‟” (Patel 16). In spite of all of the sexist issues still prevalent in the modern athletics, organizations are working to establish equality between men and women in the sports arena. In the early 2000‟s, Britain established the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport in order to assure that female and male athletes are receiving equal funding, media coverage, and opportunity to turn professional (John 43). The popular sports brand, Nike, is also campaigning for more support for women through exhibitions, advertisements, and community projects. One way Nike is doing this is by providing schools with more flattering gym equipment in order to update the old gym kits that contribute to deterring young girls from participating in athletics. Other female sport’s activists are working to convince popular sports equipment and clothing companies to manufacture sporting goods that are more suited to female athletes (John 43). Since women make the majority of purchases. This shows a lack of intelligent marketing on the part of the sporting companies that do not already have expanded female lines, an ignorance that mainly comes from society. While these improvements are beginning to progress the circumstances of female athletes, there is still a long way to go before a tied score will be reached in the great game of athletics. Another enormous improvement for women in sports is the creation of Title IX, a federal law that has been in effect since 1972 mandating equal funding, facilities, and opportunities for women in educational programs that receive government funds (Lewis 14). In other words, any school that receives funding from the government must not only provide the opportunity for both genders to have either their own teams for a sport or to play on a co-ed team; they must also provide equal funding and facilities for men and women regardless of their sport or team standing. While this law is the most powerful weapon the anti-sexist crusaders have in their arsenal and was successful in cases like that of Tasha Borat and Katelynn Todd, situations such as Heather Mercer‟s prove that many colleges do not take this rule seriously and thus render it ineffectual. According to Lewis, Heather Mercer‟s law suit is just one of many that have come about because schools refuse to comply with this law. She goes on to say, “…legislation will never mandate an end to sexism in this arena or any other. Continued fight back will” (Lewis 14). Whether this “fight back” occurs in the professional sporting arenas or in my high school gym class; it’s time to for a change.
Speaking of which, what happened in my high school gym class? After what felt like years but was really three quarters of the class period, the whistle blew for the girls to take the field. By then, the boys on our team had managed to gain a ten-point-lead on the others. The score made the short time we had to play a complete waste because, face it, no team gets pumped up when there’s a ten-point-discrepancy to begin with. It takes all of the fun out of the game. The screech of the end-of-class whistle couldn’t have come soon enough. I hurried over to join the group of girls forcing their way through the small door frame of the locker room.
As Christine, my classmate, strode over to the female gym teacher’s office, the talk ceased uncharacteristically. The room stopped mid-changing. Pant buttons were abandoned, mascara brushes paused mid-stroke, and being late for the next class was a forgotten issue. We
all knew what Christine was going to ask; we all had been itching to ask the same thing for weeks. We all wanted the answer to the long awaited question.
“Mrs. M,” Christine fidgeted with her necklace chain, “the girls were kind of wondering if we could mix things up and play at the same time as the boys next time.”
Our teacher’s expression grew puzzled, “But you already do play at the same time.”
“I mean could we mix the guys and girls…”
Christine was cut off by our teacher’s stern and automatic retort, “No! You girls are too delicate to be playing with those boys! They could hurt you!”
“Sexist ball again tomorrow,” Krysta mocked as we left the gym. “Aren’t you guys just so excited?”
This incident is just one of many that occurs all over the recreational and professional sporting world. What we all need to open our eyes and realize is that it is not alright to keep women out of professional sports simply because of their gender and it is not alright to use demeaning terms for women who want to play “less girly” sports. Why is it that in a world that has progressed so much in the fight for equality over the past century or so, we still all except segregation in athletics. It is time to take change to the sports arenas and defeat the outdated notions of sexism that are still considered the social norm. It’s time for little girls to be able to be able to decide for themselves whether they want to be ice skaters or hockey players; football players or cheerleaders without the pressure of society weighing heavily into their choices.
Works Cited
Brown, Cathy. “Sexism in sport.” Editorial. Fitness Venues 3 Dec. 2009
<http://www.fitnessvenues.com/uk/sexism-in-sport>.
Cockburn, Lyn. “Two Minutes for Sexism.” Editorial. Toronto Sun 9 Mar. 1996: 12. Lexis
Nexis Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Andruss Lib. 9 Nov. 2009
<http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/content>.
John, Emma. “A Stake in the Games.” Editorial. New Statesman 11 Aug. 2008: 43. Academic
Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Andruss Lib. 14 Oct. 2009 <http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/content>.
Lewis, Vanessa. “Duke U Hit With Sports Sex-Discrimination Suit.” Workers World Newspaper Online 2, Oct. 1997. 3 Dec. 2009 <http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/97fem/Sexism_in_Sports:_Duke_Univ_Sued>.
Patel, Meera. “Girls Grapple With Sexism in Sports.” YPress Online Newspaper 20 Apr. 2008. 3 Dec. 2009 <http://www.ypress.org/news/girls_grapple_with_sexism_in _sports_>.