Every time I hear the term “ladies’ sport” it makes me
cringe. I have always insisted on female
athletes being referred to as women, or girls if the athletes in question are
aged under 18. My stance has baffled
some people, including the athletes themselves, who think “ladies” is simply a
nice and polite way to refer to women. I
feel I need to explain myself, so listen up because this is important.
There are a number of options you can choose when
differentiating between genders. Male and
female are neutral terms, and can be applied widely, across age groups, even
across species. Humans, animals, and
even plants can be referred to as male and female. Boys and girls, and men and women, are human
terms that are age specific. The age at
which a person can be referred to in the adult form is open to interpretation,
but so long as it is consistent across both genders, it doesn’t really
matter. There is no emotion attached to
these terms, they are simply a reference to gender and age.
The words ladies and gentlemen are different. They imply not just gender, but social
context, and an expectation of conduct.
When we address people as ladies and gentlemen, we are asking them to
adhere to certain social stereotypes of appearance, conduct and demeanour. We are asking them to be gentle,
well-presented, courteous and polite. So
what’s wrong with that? Nothing at all,
of course. Except that we expect men to
behave this this way only sometimes, depending on the situation, whereas we
expect women to behave this way all the time.
Which brings me to sport.
Some sports are more gentile than others, but there are very few in
which gentlemanly or ladylike conduct would provide a significant competitive
advantage. “Now get out there and behave
like a gentleman” said no coach, ever.
That’s why we never refer to “gentleman athletes”. We expect male athletes to compete in an
honourable way and adhere to the rules of the sport, but that is not the same
as being a gentleman. We neither want
nor expect men to be gentlemanly on the sportsfield. Hell no, we want to see passion and guts and
glory. We want to see them strain and grunt
and sweat. We want them to “leave it all
out there”. Anything less would be boring
to watch, and frankly disappointing.
Male athletes are men. They may
be gentlemen at home, or at the after-match function, but on the sportsfield,
or on the racetrack, they are men.
Why then, do we insist on referring to female athletes as
ladies? The traditional expectations of
how a lady should look, behave, and be treated, are of no use at all to an
athlete. Is it too much to ask that
women be allowed to cast off those ladylike expectations, and just be
athletes? To strain and grunt and sweat? To leave it all out there?
Time and again I hear people (men and women) try to justify
the huge disparity in pay rates and career opportunities between male and
female athletes by arguing that “ladies” sport is boring. It is not as aggressive, as exciting, or as
competitive as men’s sport. Yet at the
same time we continue to hold women up to ideals that are not conducive to
competitive sport. We want them to be
ladylike, then we complain that they are boring to watch.
I am not trying to argue that women should abandon all
effort to behave in a ladylike manner, or that being a lady is a bad
thing. All I’m asking is that while female
athletes may be expected to be ladies at home, or at the after-match function,
they may be women on the sportsfield, or on the racetrack. All I’m asking is equality.
Female athletes may still be a long way from achieving
equality in pay rates and career opportunities, but if that gap is ever to be
bridged, then achieving equality in our expectations of conduct in sport is an
honourable goal. Sportsmanlike and
honourable behaviour in competition?
Yes, definitely. Ladylike
demeanour? Not so much. It’s boring, after all.
That’s why, whenever I hear people refer to “lady athletes”
or “ladies’ sport” I feel compelled to correct them. It’s not because I enjoy being a ball-busting
bitch. It’s not because I think that all
the people who use these terms are misogynist wankers; on the contrary, they
are, for the most part, perfectly lovely people who are just trying to be
nice. I challenge them because I believe
that the only way we can improve the prospects for women in sport, and in all
walks of life, is to question the way we think and speak about women.
One word at a time.
