Have you heard of Kobe Bryant? Tiger Woods? What about Roger Clemens? You probably said yes to all those names, but what about Lisa Leslie or Mia Hamm or harder yet, Babe Didrikson. Most people can name many more male athletes than female ones, but why is that?
In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments was passed that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity at any educational institution that is a recipient of federal funds. This includes sports.
Women were never seen to be athletes. It was always said that males were the ones who should participate in sports.
The media plays on this myth since 90% of sports on TV are male sports. And what about a typical NBA player making a salary of $15,355,000 but WNBA players needing to get a job in their off season because they only make $89,000.
Why should only men be recognized for teamwork, camaraderie and competition? Why are women said to be on the sidelines cheering for the manly men getting sweaty and dirty. Why can’t we like to get sweaty and dirty? Why can’t we like a little competition? Now is a lot better than then, but myths about women and sports are definitely still around today.
After reading an article by Ruth L. Hall, a professor of Psychology at TCNJ about women and sports, I realized that the myths that surround women and sports just utterly ridiculous. Some of the myths that Hall points out are, “girls will get hurt if they participate in sports”, “sports are for boys”, “girls aren’t good at sports” and “only lesbians play sports”.
Sports is not a part of my daily lifestyle but I did play softball for 9 years and still do intramural softball as a college student. I might not follow stats or have a favorite team but I have always enjoyed a good football, baseball or basketball game. So when a few male friends of mine were talking about sports, I had something to say… so I said it. They all looked at me with blank stares and I could tell the leader of the pact was looking at me in complete disgust. “Don’t try to think you know anything about sports” he said to me.
Why do guys think that all females should be interested in make-up, shopping and Fashion magazines? Maybe I am not a sports guru, but a lot of my girlfriends are highly into sports and some even play at the college level, Division 1. Will women who enjoy playing sports ever be taken seriously? Or will they always be seen as tomboyish or a lesbian?
(By the way, spell check highlighted WNBA as not a word, but NBA was at the top of the list to chose from)
