It’s pretty common knowledge around campus that attendance at Kenyon athletic events is slim. What’s even slimmer though, is the number of females attending and the number of those attending women’s sporting events. At a recent game, men outnumbered women 3:2 in attendance at both the men’s and women’s basketball games. The men’s game had 2.2 times more attendance at their game, and the experience of the men’s game itself was unexpectedly more involved and excited due to the number of fans present.
I have never been a basketball fan myself, but with the help of two very well-versed fans, I was able to understand and get quite excited about the game. This excitement, however, primarily took place during the men’s game. The larger crowds created a more competitive atmosphere and gave the experience of the game more leverage. As a spectator, you felt more involved and invested in the game and therefore the team. This means that the precedents and predispositions towards men’s sports are, exactly as we all expected, one of the many factors that allow the sports world to remain dominated by men.
If this is true, then why should women attend sporting events and get involved in the athletic world? One reason is simple: Because men dominate it. Now, not only for the sake of evening the playing field should women get more invested in athletics, but the expertise that could come from experiences in the sporting communities gives women a competitive edge in many aspects of life.
First, the modern woman is often described as career-driven. Many business ventures are planned during the attendance of games. Women who can attend these games and bring expertise of the sport to the table seem more capable, and more intelligent. They take advantage of the male stereotype of women’s lack of sport information and shatter the stereotype that women have no stake in athletics. It calls respect for the women in power who are belittled for their lack of expertise in “men’s work” and for the women who live inside the sports world themselves.
Rebecca Frank ’18, who played basketball and whose mother currently coaches a high school team, states that “male athletes start out younger and are more accustomed to being aggressive with each other. The things that make up a good athlete are classically male traits, and girls are more hesitant to embrace the competitive spirit.” Male athletes are too often considered more impressive than females, receive larger paychecks, and receive greater individual recognition in their field.
Female athletes simply do not achieve the same levels of prestige as their male counterparts. This comes not only because of lack of support and fanatics behind women’s teams, but from assumptions and prejudices made towards the female athletes. The fact that women who play sports for a living have to be identified as “female athletes” in order to not be assumed to be male, authorizes their status and implies that athletes are inherently male. It isolates women’s athletics as valued as unique, but not valued as a show of expert sportsmanship, teamwork, technique, leadership, critical thinking, and observation.
The fact is that the characteristics of a great athlete are also characteristics of a great leader, creator, and human being. At a college with so little sporting spirit, the female student body has a unique chance to take advantage. I myself chose to learn a new skill from Frank and challenged her to instruct me on how to make a proper lay up.
At first I was both embarrassing myself and basketball players everywhere, but after a little coaching, I felt empowered. It was the same sensation I’d felt when I came to understand the game folding out in front of me on court. I was gaining an unexpected skill that I could utilize as a way to better educate and influence the fight in gender equality. Breaking down stereotypes and predispositions, whether they belong to others or ourselves, is the best way to break down prejudice, but first we have to get in the game.
Photo credit: Emily Stegner