Have you ever been worried or nervous about starting a new sport or activity that has more dominance of people of the opposite gender involved?
Football, Basketball, Boxing, F1 racing….. are sports that are all more aimed at the male gender, and this has been the case for many years now. There are ladies in these sports but the coverage has long been male over female on telly or in the papers. It really feels like for every few men there is only one lady participant.
Even now some countries have disallowed women to take part in sport, and believe that the home is where a female should be all day to clean and cook for her significant other! This must change. We all know too well what the England ladies are capable of, so why not let them get the exercise they sure well deserve! It’s Our Game Too is a project set up to balance the numbers a bit more in the watching and playing of sport in general (not just football).
This year for the first time the Women’s World Cup is showing its talents on main stream live TV (BBC1 and ITV1). This is the start of a major breakthrough with broadcasting the ladies sporting triumphs and one hoped to be repeated in future football competitions that the female game entertains.
It feels like the media has been quite sexist for decades and not shown how the other half get on in sport. Women are still clearly in the kitchen at home!
Male sports dominance has only men to blame for the lack of support and employment opportunities it gives to women. Not necessarily all the lack of interest on the female’s part (although there has been an increase more recently in the UK of ladies clubs in football) but the roles in sport possibly being more physical and mentally challenging or demanding in sport, than in an office as an admin assistant.
Natural focus of how a man progresses in the sporting world is a considerable percentage of data, and that forces ladies out of ever feeling adequate enough to start in a team or even a single player activity. Sometimes men do not like being beaten by a girl! Needing to be or feel strong to even consider being an athlete makes it very difficult for females to lock into – Especially if they see speed data from a run, or a drive in motorsport.
Appeal of a woman to a man can additionally appear to be like a ‘sex symbol’ and this is rather rude to compare it to the talent that female may have.
Nasty chants towards a woman about their body or their race, or wolf whistles, are things that need to be addressed. Yes, a man can be targeted in a similar way also but ladies are already the minority in the game. Pathetic behaviour either way.
And finally, don’t mention the pay difference in the professional sectors – That’s a topic for another day!