Bikini Gridiron,
are we recognised yet?
McVeigh, S.,Lauder, J.,Tilley, T. (11/09/2013). Playing
footy in your bikini, Triple J ‘Hack’.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/s3846710.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/s3846710.htm
When I think of sport I think fitness, athletes, equipment,
mud and sweat and as a woman it’s exciting to hear the rare occasion female
sports stars make the news. When I first heard of the American ‘Lingerie
League’, women playing Gridiron in underwear I was disgusted; so when I heard
it was coming to Australia thanks to this media story I decided to write this
blog.
This radio segment was questioning whether women playing
football in underwear and bikinis is degrading or will the hype around this
‘sport’ attract sponsorships and bring women athletes into the spotlight. Women
athletes from other sports such as soccer and cricket are joining the League to
advance their brand and hopefully become more successful, just like their male
counterparts. As an ex female soccer player, I can kick a ball as far as a man,
I did get hurt and got back up again, I went in for tackles and got muddy. I
know sports women are as competitive, skilled and as tough as men. Hack is a
call in show and it was very interesting to listen to the opinions between men
and women callers. Most women thought of the idea to be degrading and a
backward step while most men saw the positive of women getting paid well and
advancing the sport however totally overlooked the fact women played in bikinis
but men have never played football in Speedos (Arnot & Dillabough, 1999).
So here’s some statistics:
Only 2/50 of Australia’s highest paid sports people are women.
Michael Clarke makes roughly 5 million more than Lauren Jackson
Only 9% of media sports coverage is covering women’s sport.
Only 2/50 of Australia’s highest paid sports people are women.
Michael Clarke makes roughly 5 million more than Lauren Jackson
Only 9% of media sports coverage is covering women’s sport.
There are concerns that fantastic sports women who want to
play this sport may be rejected if they don’t have a ‘good’ body so will these
women’s sporting skills be taken seriously if the League excludes highly
skilled women if they don’t look good in a bikini? There is also concerns as to
what sort of sponsorship deals these women would be offered. Women are having
to use the sexual aspect of their bodies to gain interest in women in sport. This
sport may become very popular, its players may finally receive equal
sponsorship to male athletes but is this really gaining equality? What sort of
example does this set for young girls?
Arnot, M. & Dillabough, J. (1999). Feminist politics and
democratic values in education. Curriculum
Inquiry, 29(2), 159-189. Doi:10.2307/3185890
I find the idea of Lingerie League disgusting. But is it really surprising to see such a concept? It’s scary to see what seems to be a digression of females in our society today. I thought we were getting so far. We got the vote, we got education and we’ve achieved some impressive corporate ladder feats, but recent years seem to have seen an explosion in the sexualisation of women, driven at least in part by social media and narcissism. Is our sexuality really the only way for us to be taken notice of? Certainly the likes of Miley Cyrus would have us believe so.
ReplyDeleteIn Sharon Gewirtz’ essay on social justice in education (2011), she highlights that we can only create justice if we can identify and understand the systems and structures of society that are responsible for existing power relations. Females remain the ‘underdog’ gender, compared to males, and the fact that only 9% of media sports coverage is of female sport, is just one tiny example of the unbalanced power relations between males and females in our society.
Education and school form one of the most significant cultural influences of our lives and I believe education needs to do more to influence change and deconstruct existing gender power relations.
I cannot possibly disagree with you in saying that the Lingerie League is demeaning, but I cannot see how it is anything worse or dissimilar to pornography or 'mens magazines' that are in ever increasingly wider circulation. The Lingerie League exists because of the age old mantra 'Sex sells'. Although this does not explain why there isnt a 'Speedo League' or the Men's equivalent. Perhaps we must consider economics and marketing here, and that the LL exists because there is a demand for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to hear though, is the views of the players in the Lingerie League and how the view it. Whether it be demeaning or any other stance they take.