Female athlete inequities

By Erin Hussey

When the first Olympics took place in 776 B.C., women were not allowed to compete. Several years later in 2004, 41 percent of the 11,000 athletes were women. As the numbers illustrate, women have come a long way. However, many still regard female athletes as a weaker, less skilled competitor. And, despite such efforts as Title IX and superstar role models like Brandi Chastain and the Williams sisters, discrimination against the woman athlete still exits.

While watching a Super Bowl commercial about a new Nike clothing line, one of my housemates questioned why the ad didn't have any women.

"Because there are no professional women athletes," my other male house mate followed, in a tone that made it clear that she had asked him a dumb question.

I couldn't believe it.

Is the mere fact that women have two X chromosomes reason enough to categorize them as always one step below their heterogenously chromosomed counterparts? I thought not, but apparently I was mistaken.

To add fun to our practices, the varsity women's crew team races the men's novice team. When the men begin to lose, the familiar phrase "come on guys, they're just girls," penetrates through the morning fog and reaches our ears. We usually win shortly thereafter.

Even in the newspaper office, where the concept of non-bias writing is strongly valued, I could still sense the male sports dominance.

When discussing possible story ideas, it was noted that basketball head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson's is pregnant. "Now that could be a story." But is it really?

Though I agree that pregnancy is a joyous occasion and should be celebrated, it shouldn't necessarily be the lead sports story. When a professor or a Bon Appetit worker gets pregnant, is it breaking news? In most cases, no. But when a woman in the sports world becomes pregnant it draws questions.

"Is her job too stressful for the baby?" "Can she coach at the same caliber?" "What about all that yelling and moving around?"

Many women exercise while they are pregnant; in fact, it is often encouraged. And while I congratulate Coach Bento-Jackson, I also have every faith that she, as well as every other female athlete, are capable and deserving of more respect in sports. Women may paint their toenails and have babies, but they also can break world records and win gold medals.

* Contact Erin Hussey at (408) 551-1918 or ehussey@scu.edu.