Sexism & The Attendance Problem

The Seattle PI and Public Radio International (PRI) have touched a nerve with me recently. They both have reported on the “attendance problem” in women’s athletics. The Seattle PI talked about the Storm and how, in Jim Moore’s opinion, women’s basketball is a joke. According to him, the reason the Storm’s attendance has been improving is because men find Sue Bird attractive and had nothing to do with the fact that they won their last seven of nine regular season games and earned a place in the playoffs. PRI was discussing the “attendance problem” in the LPGA. Apparently the LPGA is hiring a fashion coordinator, some of the recommendations: wear femmey cloths and make-up.

Let me state for the record: these attitudes are incredibly offensive. However, aside from just thoroughly pissing me off, these attitudes demonstrate what the real “attendance problem” in women’s athletics is: sexism. Attendance at any Storm game is 90% female. The PI article and PRI’s commentary illustrate the belief held by many men, conscious or not, that sports are the domain of males and if women want to improve attendance and get men to attend you better dumb it down, or more specifically, beauty it up. They articulate the belief that in order to increase viewers, men have to be drawn to it, and in order to draw men to women’s sports they to expect women’s athletics to be something like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition plays ball.

It’s not just in the overt statements, but in the marginalization and minimalization of women’s sports. If you go to CNN.com and follow the clicks until you land on pro basketball, in the midst of the playoffs, the only item on their web page concerning the WNBA was that Swoopes received MVP. No reporting on the Playoffs. In fact, Sports Illustrated has segregated women’s athletics altogether into Sports Illustrated for Women, whose cover for September has a woman in a skimpy sports bra and workout pants, and the headlines read: “Faster Metabolism, Leaner Body, Stronger Bones;” “Build Your Best Body;” “The Fourteen Most Effective Exercises” “3 Winning Nutrition Plans;” “Live Your Best Life” “11 Perfect Places to Play” “Get in the Zone with Maria Jones;” and “The Right Shoe for Every Sport”. In contrast to Sports Illustrated has info on the baseball strike, the latest greatest Yankee, and a special report on the 1972 hostage situation with the Israeli Olympic team. Nothing, I repeat nothing, on how to improve your body, how to lose weight or anything else relating to improving your own personal physical image.

In the public policy area, The National Wrestling Coaches Association, one of the strongest opponents of Title IX since it was passed, filed a suit with the federal government challenging Title IX in May 2002. The Bush administration moved to dismiss it, but he has also created a commission to evaluate Title IX, a commission most scholars fear will do it’s best to weaken Title IX.

All these examples illustrate the key to the problem with the attendance is sexism. It is about holding a tight grip on an area that men have always been able to claim set them apart from and above women, the physical arena. Women and girls are proving that we want to play sports and be physically active, and most importantly that we’re good at it. We are shrinking the physical differences and that can be very scary. In order to hold onto the feeling of superiority, the powerful backlash has existed from the start and stays strong.

However, it is too little too late. Women who have grown up with Title IX are not about to sit by and watch programs disappear. It won’t stop there either; we’re going to demand a place to see ourselves in the professional sports arena. I just hope that women’s athletics will be patient and not give into these demeaning and sexist demands and sell themselves and the sports to the Swimsuit Edition fantasy. We have to recognize where we fit in a spectrum of time. Anyone a much older than 27 did not grow up with an expectation or a legislative back up that girls should stop being denied athletic opportunities. It is no coincidence that after the first generation has grown up post-Title IX that there has been an emergence of strong women athletes in just about every sport. As more and more generations go through a post Title IX educational system the fan base will increase without having to lure men in by focusing on the beauty over skill. And when we don’t give in and don’t back down, maybe the detractors will finally give up on fighting against women playing sports and the realize hot air they are exhausting isn’t stopping us, they’ll shut up and watch, or better yet, they’ll use that hot air to cheer on their favorite female athletics teams.

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