I had of course known that there was some degree of sexism which arises when it comes to certain sports: whether it’s double standards used in terms of language (rugby vs women’s rugby), or the much poorer media reception to the wins of the Lionesses vs the Lions, or schools not allowing the girls to play football in PE and encouraging more ‘feminine’ sports instead, there is a certain amount which is pretty obvious. However, it wasn’t until a recent feminist philosophy seminar that I realised just how deeply ingrained many of the double standards, and the attitudes which are currently holding back women’s sports are, and so this article will briefly cover some of the cases I was most appalled by, and some of the reasons we need a massive cultural shift to enable anything near equality.
The case that stands out is of course the pay gap. This is significant in almost every industry, but it is staggering when it comes to football. Male footballers in the premier league have an average annual income in excess of 3,000,000 whereas those in the women’s super league average a much lower £47,000. The often given excuse is that this is justifiable because of the higher level of revenue that men’s football generates. However, when the BBC and ITV reject the opportunity to broadcast women’s rugby games even at no cost, when if there’s a conflict between who gets to use a stadium when there’s a timetable clash the men are always given priority and the women are moved to somewhere smaller, and when the media reaction to the men’s World Cup dominates the front pages whereas for the women’s World Cup it is merely an afterthought, the system is clearly set up so that men will generate more revenue. The unfairness of the system does not justify a pay gap so unequal, it instead requires a change in the way sports are handled.
The language used in sport is another key way respect for women in sport lags behind. When making reference to the Euros, I am usually received with a ‘they’re not on…oh, you mean the women’s Euros.’ However, in making the language more equal by referencing to the ‘men’s Euros’, the vocabulary choice seems superfluous, as of course everyone by default assumes I would be referring to the men’s. Simply using equal vocabulary feels like making a feminist statement, an effect propagated by the media. Seeing the sports sections divided into ‘rugby’ vs ‘rugby women’ sends the message that men’s sports are the default, the natural option whereas women are an add-on – we can have our own category but it is important we know that we’re not the originals or the focus.
The media also increases the division in women’s sports by giving players a variety of roles, with sports persons often seeming pretty low down on the list. The 2015 case of the infamous FIFA tweet stands out here – the account welcomed the women’s football home with, ‘our Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title – heroes.’ This suggests an incompatibility with women’s career choice as sports players and their duties to their families practically never seen with men. Another role women are often given in sports is a highly oversexualised one playing for the male gaze. In the 2015 World Cup, Us striker Alex Morgan was described in an article on the FIFA website as, ‘a talented goalscorer with a style that is very easy on the eye and good looks to match.’ Furthermore, looking through the instagrams of high up figures in sports, one notices a stark contrast between the men and women – the women often have to cater to the male gaze through their clothes and style in their content for interactions with it – it is not enough for them to be respected on their own merits as sports people – they must do so with approval of men.
These cases are symptomatic of much deeper beliefs about women’s roles but is not only what they have been caused by which is worrying, but also what they in themselves will cause. Major players in sports are often figures children look up to, and having strong role models of both sexes is vital for fostering respect for women at an early age. Furthermore, representation can get women involved in sports from a much earlier age – given that the explanation given for why men’s sports get so much more attention is that men are ‘physically superior’, perhaps enabling more women to play sports from early to mitigate this will finally get us the attitudes we deserve. Until now, I haven’t thought of myself as a particularly sportsy person – it just wasn’t for me, but perhaps if I’d been shown how possible it is for women to succeed at, my interests today would be very different.