Isn’t it all just sport? Why do we have to put ‘women’ in front? We don’t say men’s sport!
I was on talk-back radio recently and someone said, “I’d like us to think about the use of the term ‘women’s sport’. We don’t say ‘men’s sport’. This implies men own sport and now women are being ‘allowed’ to play sport.”
Thanks caller, I totally agree with you. Cricket Australia agrees with you too. The way we talk about sport is very important they now make sure that they refer to their teams as the Australian Men’s Cricket Team and the Australian Women’s Cricket team so that the women are no longer ‘othered’. Getting the media to follow suit is the next challenge but it’s a start.
Gotta say though, I still prefer to call them the Southern Stars!
Unfortunately we’re at the point at the moment where we still need to advocate for the inclusion of women in sport in the conversation so the distinction still does still need to be made.
And you’re right, it’s not women’s sport, it’s just sport but while we’re still trying to campaign for more attention, for more money, better conditions, we need to make that distinction.
Serena Williams said, “We should always be judged by our achievements, not by our gender”and “People call me one of the ‘world’s greatest female athletes.’ Do they say LeBron is one of the world’s best male athletes? Is Tiger? Federer? Why not?”
Totally. And this is why I applaud Cricket Australia’s move. Language is important. They might be just words, just little words but they can make a big difference.
Further listening and reading:
The best woman is not the best man or woman in their sport but the best man generally is. Perhaps this is why Serena is called the best female athlete. Personally I enjoy both men’s and women’s and in some physically demanding sports like rugby sevens I prefer watching the women because I think some of their skills are better than the men’s.