PLAYING LIKE A GIRL: FIGHTING DOUBLE STANDARDS IN SPORTS

PLAYING LIKE A GIRL

We have all heard the phrase “you play like a girl” at some point in our lives. As a society, we have normalized the idea that female athletes are inferior to males simply because of their gender. These subtle microaggressions continue to build up and result in a toxic environment for many female athletes. Due to the intense scrutiny put on female athletes, many of them face immense mental health issues. Let’s take Simone Biles as an example. Male athletes are considered “the bar,” so when a female starts making headlines, everyone is quick to put her into place by unfairly comparing her to a solid male athlete. For example, after dominating the 2016 Rio Olympics, Simone Biles was compared to other wellknown male Olympians. In an interview, Biles stated, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I’m the first Simone Biles.” Biles shouldn’t have to explain that her accomplishments are unique to her, but this again shows how gender biases contribute to how female athletes are treated on all levels. When male athletes break records, the attention is solely on them, but when a female athlete makes headlines, we feel the need to compare her accomplishments to others.

Simone has been at the forefront of tackling gender biases within the sports world and

Fighting Double Standards in Sports

By Kylee Seaver

has shed light on how it has affected her mental health. She was the main attraction of all 2020 Olympic coverage leading up to the games. So, when Simone pulled out of the team final competition and several other individual events, the world was left stunned. Simone said she did not feel safe competing in these events due to mental health concerns that started to impact her performance and, therefore, put her physical health at risk. In an Instagram post, Biles stated, “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me, but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha!” This exemplifies the immense pressure put on female athletes and the anxiety to constantly perform their best to prove the strength of female competitors. Like Simone, female athletes can develop anxiety and depression due to the pressure to perform while facing the disadvantages set by gender biases.

Simone walked away from the 2020 games with two more Olympic medals but, more importantly, opened the floodgates for discussing the mental well-being of female athletes on a global scale.

As a woman in a leadership position, Simone has experienced firsthand the many barriers that come with gender construct in our society. Rather than letting the system change her, she decided to change the narrative herself. She and many other notable female athletes are standing up for the voiceless, for those who feel trapped in the double standards within their sports and our society. Simone is calling out the double standards and the stigma surrounding mental health for female athletes. This shows that where there are women in sports, there’s a way to showcase the strength of all female athletes. Female athletes are forced to carry the unfair attitudes that narrow in on women in sports. Many female competitors experience mental health concerns, such as body image issues and anxiety, stemming from these double standards. For these double standards and the pressure that comes with them to end, we must break the barriers of gender biases within our society. We must teach our youth that there is strength in playing like a girl.