Playing Like a Girl A revolution in women’s sports
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s the crowd cheers below the blistering October sun, Klara Hellqvist approaches the football, equipment heavy on her back, and concentrates on making the game-deciding kick. With all her might, she launches her foot at the ball, keepin the rest of her body steady. The bleachers are utterly silent, eyes glued to the soaring football, then, the ball passes through the field goal, and the crowd erupts. As Klara runs off to celebrate with her teammates, she hears a player from the opposing side scream, “you’re not supposed to be here! You’re just a girl, get out.” The ratification of Title IX in 1972 prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded activity, such as athletics. However, since its approval, the participation of women in sports has become increasingly popular under a false pretense of them receiving equal opportunity as their male counterparts. In spite of heroic achievements made by female athletes of our era, many women in the sports field find themselves being held back by the prejudices derived from sexism. Society has turned a blind eye to the matters plaguing women’s sports, which include issues such as sexual abuse, body-shaming, restrictive sportswear, a much smaller budget, and a general attitude that they are inconsequential in comparison to male sports. Despite these deplorable practices, countless women continue to demonstrate perseverance as they fight through these obstacles and rise to an extraordinary level in their respective fields.
When Title IX passed in 1972, many many believed the fight for gender equality in sports had concluded. Federal funding was now equal for men and women in athletic activities, indicating that its institutions, media management, and public attitude would be commensurate as well. However, this was not the case. As of 2019, it has been investigated that although the number of men and women recruited for college sports was about the same, 70% of scholarship money, 77% of operating budgets, and 83% of recruiting money was spent on men (“Empowering Women in Sports”). Drastic differences in the annual pay of professional male athletes versus female athletes was discovered, leading some of the best female soccer players to boycott the World Cup in protest. Aside from economic setbacks, modern female sports have found themselves riddled with societal restrictions such as sexual abuse, body-shaming, and scare or degrading media coverage. In 2016, USA Gymnastics Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar was arrested with multiple charges of sexual abuse and possession of child pornography from the athletes he treated. In several incidents, USAG dismissed complaints from athletes about sexual abuse by Nassar and other coaches in the industry. In recent years, many decorated female athletes such as Mary Cain and Alysia Montaño began speaking out against corporations like Nike for sexist treatment and body-shaming, particularly regarding weight and the behavior towards pregnant athletes. A current 25 year study demonstrated that as of today, less than 3% of sports media coverage ran female sports, and over 90% of anchors, commentators and editors in major sports channels were men (Serazio). So why is it, that despite overwhelming evidence, people remain oblivious to the struggles that thousands of female athletes face?
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Although each female athlete’s story is distinctive in its own way, many face quite similar predicaments, and the recurrence of persistence and motivation shines through in every one. Ibtihaj Muhammad, an olympic medal-winning fencer, discuess her challenges in the sports community as a black Muslim woman in her novel Proud. When questioned about her motivations for pursuing fencing, Muhammad stated: “I’ve always wanted to break free from this idea that there are certain things that I can and can’t do, depending on things like gender or religion or ethnicity. Once we were all suited up, I looked like everyone else, covered from head to toe.” Muhammad’s story is just one of many that demonstrates the perseverance of female athletes despite the obstacles they face. While many may chose to look at Muhammad’s story as one of solely success and inspiration (which it definitely is in certain aspects), we must also face the reality of its setting: we’re creating a world in which women and minorities are taught that masking their identity will get them further than being themselves, and this kind of structure is being perpetraded from an early age.
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I’ve always wanted to break free from this idea that there are certain things that I can and can’t do, depending on things like gender or religion or ethnicity.
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Nevertheless, within our local community as well as on a worldwide scale, many girls continue breaking barriers that society inflicts upon them. Hellqvist made her own mark by joining her high school football team. Others have decided to speak up about misogynistic attitudes in their own sport, even when it is a women’s team. Ashley Kim, a gymnast for over ten years, found herself extremely upset by the way her gymnastics establishment handled the sexual abuse crisis back in 2016, and decided to take a stance. Other young women keep fighting for equality in their educational institutions, such as Kira Narog, who is constantly dealing with systematic sexism in her school’s lacrosse team. But these women, along with many others, don’t see these as challenges, but as opportunities to succeed and make an impact while doing so.
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Hellqvist decided to try out for her school’s football team her freshman year, after attending a game at a nearby school and seeing that the opposition’s kicker was a girl. “I was a bit scared at first about what people would say, but my family and friends turned out to be totally supportive,” Hellqvist recalled. “They all wanted what was best for me, and even though my teammates were slightly intimidating at first, they all made me feel welcome and a part of the team.” However, not everyone was as thrilled for Hellqvist to be out on the field. Despite making many game-shifting kicks, the opposite team often yells degrading comments at her. “They tell me that ‘I’m just a girl’ and that ‘I shouldn’t be here’. I even feel that the coaches treat me differently sometimes; they are much easier on me. I don’t think it’s intentional, but it’s definitely noticeable”. Hellqvist expressed some frustration about this matter: to her, it didn’t seem right that because she was a girl, she was presumed to be less capable. As the school kicker, she hopes to inspire other young girls who might be interested in football or other sports that society has decided aren’t “dictated” for women. “When they say you can’t do it, it’s just an excuse to prove them wrong,” which is the advice Hellqvist gives to any girl questioning whether she should join a male-dominated sport. “Countless women have broken boundaries within their own sports and in sports traditionally considered to be only for men. There’s nothing that can stop you if you have the willpower, trust yourself, and you’ll get where you want to be. ” Even though American football continues to uphold an attitude of male chauvinism, much progress has been made in sport. Toni Harris became the first woman to receive a football scholarship in 2019, Katie Sowers was the first female NFL coach at the 2020 Super Bowl, and afterschool programs to get girls involved in football from a young age have rapidly gained popularity. 4
“You’re not supposed to be here! You’re just a girl, get out.”
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However, this prejudicial attitude towards women isn’t reserved for male-dominated sports, as it occurs just as frequently in co-ed athletics. Narog broadcasts the injustices she faces as a part of the girl’s lacrosse team at her school: “The boy’s team always gets to train in the turf (which is where we play) while the girl’s team is forced to practice in the patchy grass. Even their JV team gets preference over the girl’s Varsity team.” The girl’s lacrosse team, which holds a much better record than the boy’s, is also forced to deal with budget cuts; while the boy’s team has four lacrosse coaches, the girls are trained by the assistant basketball coach, reportedly because the school’s sports program doesn’t have enough funding to hire a full-time girl’s lacrosse coach. How the school can afford to pay for four boy’s lacrosse coaches but not for a single girl’s lacrosse instructor remains a mystery, and certainly raises questions about whether Title IX is actually being implemented into public education. In addition, Narog expresses frustration in the traditional lacrosse outfit, which is a skirt all female players wear during games, which she believes has no purpose other than “looking feminine”. “We all hate the skirts,” Narog exclaimed, “they ride up while you run, and there is no practical purpose in wearing them…. Women’s lacrosse has changed a great deal, it is much more active, and this sort of uniform is heavily outdated.” This is one of the many examples of restrictive dress code dictated for women in sports, which sends an incorrect message to the public that female athletics are for attractive viewing pleasure rather than for the true match they represent. There are certain incidents that mark milestones of progress for an industry. Two of many notable examples include Muhammad becoming the first American Muslim to medal at the Olympics and Gabby Douglas becoming the first African American to win the gymnastics all-around medal. Unfortunately, there are also incidents that open our eyes to the lack of moral accountability from athletic corporations, and the horrifying lengths institutions will go to to avoid negative press at the expense of their athletes. The most notorious sexual abuse scandal in sports, the Larry Nassar case, became a symbolic warning to sexual abuse occurring not only in gymnastics, but throughout many athletic settings. Despite allegations of al misconduct and pedophilic behavior dating back to the sexu1990s about the USA Gymnastics Olympic doctor, these deplorable practices went on until his arrest in 2016, when USAG could no longer keep these allegations buried under the rug as they had done for so long. Having abused over 250 individual ic case revealed that this was not an isolated incident, athletes, the horrifbut a recurring event plaguing many youth athletics. To make matters worse, USAG took restrictive measures following the incident that placed blame on the victims of the scandal, rather than taking accountability for their own actions. Kim, a competitive gymnast at the time who held the record for highest individual score for her level in the country, describes the time period as diminishing, contradictory, and one of the main reasons she left the sport. She recounts that the gymnastics club she was training at implemented a stricter dress code, in response to USAG suggestions, to avoid further incidents of sexual assault from occurring. Gymnastics could no longer train in sports bras, as they had done before, and were now required to wear shorts or leggings over their leotard so that their buttox was completely covered. 6
“I was furious! It was so completely ironic, and I felt so powerless,” said Kim. “The fact that they thought changing girl’s, or in their eyes, potential victim’s, clothing was the solution to sexual assault baffled me. In a sport that teaches pure female power and strength and confidence? I never did and will never understand that thought process. It makes me upset to this day”. After voicing her opinion that enforcing a dress code only encouraged victim blaming to the owners of her training center, some restrictions were eased from the dress code. However, the rule prohibiting girls from wearing only sports bras remains to this day.
“I felt so powerless. they thought changing girl’s clothing was the solution to sexual assault Baffled me. In a sport that teaches pure female power, strength, and confidence?” -Kim The practice of body-shaming within the sport of gymnastics, as well as many others, has also brought forth countless issues, leading many athletes to develop eating disorders or unhealthy relationships with the media. Traditionally a sport that showcased only thin lightweight girls, the demographic of competition is changing as skills get more difficult and gymnasts become stronger and more powerful. “We aren’t used to seeing bulky muscles on girls,” Kim said, “it’s extremely toxic because media coverage is where trends and ideas spread like wildfire. Hence, if body shaming starts with media coverage, it results in the public believing it as well.” Like many others, she believes that to tackle this issue, we must begin by encouraging acceptance and self-love through media outlets, which as of now, continue to publicly shame many young athletes for the ways their bodies look. 7
Although there is much progress to be made, it is important to honor and recognize how far we have come. According to the NCAA, in the 2015-16 academic year, 211,886 women participated in college sports in the U.S., representing a 25% increase over the previous decade (Rothman). If we, as a society, hope to make a change for the better, the first step is recognizing the existence of the problem, because the longer we continue to deny it, the deeper the roots of misogyny grow. It is our duty to make this world a better place for those who will come after us: to fix a broken system and to empower young girls into believing that they can. Because if there is one thing that has endured the trials of time, present from the fight to gain female suffrage, to the day the first woman completed a marathon, to electing the first female members of Congress, to today, it is perseverance. As Muhammad asserts, “It is important...that youth everywhere, no matter their race, religion, or gender, know that anything is possible with perseverance.” So next time you notice sexism within your community, don’t be silent: speak out. Not only for yourself, but for every little girl who was told they couldn’t do it. Because this new wave of resilience and determination for positive change will be a key part to the pursuit for equality, not only in sports, but in society as well. 8
Works Cited Borish, Linda J. The Journal of American History, vol. 91, no. 3, 2004, pp. 978–980. JSTOR,www.jstor.org/stable/3662868. Accessed 18 Apr. 2020. Clark, Suzi. “Level Playing Fields: the Place of Women in Football.” RSA Journal, vol. 148, no.5497, 2001, pp. 2–2. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41380237. Accessed 18 Apr. 2020. “Empowering Women in Sports.” Empowering Women in Sports - Women Still on the Sidelines - Feminist Majority Foundation www.feminist.org/research/ sports/sports3.html. Hellqvist, Klara. Personal Interview. March 2020. Kim, Ashley. Personal Interview. April 2020. Mervosh, Sarah, and Christina Caron. “8 Times Women in Sports Fought for Equal ity.” The NewYork Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/sports/women-sports-equality.html. Muhammad, Ibtihaj, and Lori L. Tharps. Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream. Hachette Books, 2018. Narog, Kira. Personal Interview. March 2020. Rothman, Lily. “Title IX at 45: Amendment’s Early Impact on Women’s Sports.” Time, Time, 23 June 2017, time.com/4822600/title-ix-womens-sports/. Serazio, Michael. “‘I Still Get Tweets to Go Back in the Kitchen’ – the Enduring Pow er of Sexism in Sports Media.” The World from PRX, 13 June 2019, www.pri.org/stories/2019-06-13/i-still-get-tweets-go-back-kitchen-enduring power-sexism-sports-media. 9
Daniela Shapiro is a junior at Freestyle Academy studying Design. She up in Mexico City and moved to the Bay Area when she was nine, which has given her a really unique perspective and personal cultural blend. Throughout her life, she’s been extremely passionate about communicating her ideas, and Freestyle has given her a unique opportunity to do so through art. Outside of Freestyle, she’s an attorney in the MVHS Mock Trial team, president of the Women’s Empowerment Club, a computer science teacher, and has been heavily involved in sports her whole life, participating in and coaching gymnastics, diving, and track. Daniela is an avid reader of feminist literature and adores exploring new cultures through travel and gastronomy. In the future, she plans to pursue law and gender studies in order to one day be able to help underrepresented minorities and women achieve social and economic equality.
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