tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319764576348149903.post3140916676147645976..comments2024-02-14T00:18:05.541+13:00Comments on ruggerblogger: Sexism in sportFerdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407394442560602289noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319764576348149903.post-4150515691976572702007-03-27T03:35:00.000+12:002007-03-27T03:35:00.000+12:00Totally agree with that.It was the 100th anniversa...Totally agree with that.<BR/><BR/>It was the 100th anniversary of the first International Women's Day the other week with lotsof discussion about the advances of women in politics and the workplace and so on. My wife went to one of the conferences and I asked her about whether sport was covered. Answer - not at all.<BR/><BR/>Sport is the last great bastion of discrimination. It is the only area of modern life where not only neanderthals but even "educated" people feel that they can say that a girl of woman cannot do something just because they are female. <BR/><BR/>Most people today would never dream of saying that a given career is "not suitable for women", so why does it happen in sport? And what can be done about it?<BR/><BR/>There are any number of difficulties - women's sport is predomiently amatuer, and amatuer sport gets damn all air time because (by definition) there is no money in it. But sport is about participation - spectator sport is the tip of the icebreg, so the standard response that women's port is (allegedly) not as good to watch is irrelvent.<BR/><BR/>I will stop before I go on too long, because it pisses me off no end and is probably the main reason that - having been intriduced to women's sport by my wife - 20 years later I am still involved.<BR/><BR/>What can we do? Lots of things really - including minor things like entering into discussions about the world cup by saying "I thought that was last year when New Zealand won it? Oh the MEN'S world cup, why didn't you say?"<BR/><BR/>And actually in England at least it should be easy because the men are currently so crap while the women muller everyone.... other than New Zealand, obviously!<BR/><BR/>On the bright side women's cricket 15 years ago was like women's rugby today, and (in the UK at least) it is greadually getting the respect it deserves. Long way to go yet, but there is hope.<BR/><BR/>As for women commentators - former players of either sex often make dreadful commentators. Even with men for every Richie Benaud there are dozen of embarrassments. Let's make sure that the first women commentators are good at that, and not just given the job because they are women. Too often that does happen in the UK. Rachel Heyhoe-Flint's cricket commentries in the 80s and 90s must have set back the cause by a decade!John Birchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15062999762082583258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319764576348149903.post-53205143198708950862007-03-24T07:23:00.000+12:002007-03-24T07:23:00.000+12:00Can I marry Anna Richards? She was EVERYWHERE in t...Can I marry Anna Richards? She was EVERYWHERE in that world cup final. If only I had had the funds to travel up to Canada ...*sigh*KLKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05937399272420793586noreply@blogger.com