The Devaluation of the Feminine
Why is it, I wonder, that female-exclusive physical activities are treated with such disdain in comparison to their male counterparts or companion activities? That is, why are men's sports, men's fitness, and men's health all taken more seriously than their female counterparts? If a man plays baseball, it doesn't matter how fat or ill-tempered he is, how crass or rude, he's considered an athlete and is treated as such. In comparison, softball players are hardly mentioned, and when they are, it's usually only to say that softball is just an easier version of baseball. And hey, that may be true, I'm no expert on the origins of softball, but who do you think decided that women should only play softball and leave men as the only contenders in "the great American pastime"?
When I still attended my old school, softball was the main spring sport. Just like soccer was the default option for fall and volleyball was the default option for winter, the softball team was a massive force that engulfed a large portion of my all-girl's school's sport-playing population. People who were good at softball were just a little more popular in the hallways after they proved it, the star soccer player never wanted for company, people talked over lunch about how so-and-so performed a serve during a game the other day that was practically legendary. I never knew any different.
When I switched to a co-ed school, all of that changed in a second. The field hockey team was even less popular than it was at my old school -- especially considering the fact that the boy's soccer team was the school's major and most-beloved sport and their practices (and games!) were on the field right across from ours. We watched as dozens of people poured in to support "the home team" at soccer games while a paltry sum of our disinterested parents and siblings dotted vacant bleachers as we went at each other with blunt objects and malice. A boy once told me that field hockey wasn't a real sport. Another boy told me that softball was a waste of time because it was only for girls before going on to talk about how fast he could throw a pitch. How fast could I pitch a softball, he asked? Probably not as fast as someone using a ball that is one third of the size and weight, I responded, bitterly. But girls could not try out for the baseball team, so what was the point of comparing them?
Another example: at my high school, both the girl's and boy's basketball team are popular sports choices for their respective genders. The girl's team has won several championships in the last few years and frequently -- if not always -- crushes the competition. On the other hand, the boy's team is split into three different teams (including a "thirds" team comprised of boys who simply didn't feel like playing a sport, and so deliberately threw their tryouts to end up on the no-effort basketball team). Despite the best efforts of the coaches, the players never seem to be able to work cohesively, they argue, develop superiority complexes, hog the ball, and skip practices -- and then when the time comes to play, they fail again and again and again. And yet, the bleachers at the boys' basketball games are packed, and only a small handful of family members attend the girls' games -- droves of people show up to the former, forming a cheering section that is so loud that they have to be silenced by referees at almost every game, while the latter gets no recognition despite being state champions for several years running.
But why?
There's a social system called sexism that I'm sure everyone is familiar with. Sexism is the driving force behind profiting from gendered marketing: an archaic structure that places straight, white cisgender men at the top of the pyramid of privilege while the rest of the world heeds to his beck and call. It's the reason why Dove can sell twice as much soap by putting some of it in square, masculine bars and some of it in soft, feminine ovals; it's the reason why literature, psychology, and the arts (reading, talking, and creating) are all seen as inferior, useless trades in comparison to mathematics, science, and athletics (numbers, explosions, and muscles). Stemming from sexism is an even more specific term known as misogyny -- a socially enforced oppression that only effects women. Taking roots from Latin, misogyny refers to a rigid social structure that is enforced to dominate, control, and bully women into acting a certain way for the benefit of men. Although not all men directly contribute to misogyny, all men benefit from misogyny.
Misogyny is why fashion is considered an art form for women and by women, misogyny is why it is considered vapid and useless, and misogyny is why even though the field is cast off as unappealing or flighty women's vanity, the most trusted experts in the field are gay men. Misogyny is why "get in the kitchen" is still used to rudely dismiss a woman if she has spoken up too loudly, but all of the chefs who are taken seriously are men. Misogyny is why the only sport that seems to have visible female celebrities is tennis, but my grandmother thinks that the Williams sisters are overrated and never ceases talking about Rafael Nadal.
When I still attended my old school, softball was the main spring sport. Just like soccer was the default option for fall and volleyball was the default option for winter, the softball team was a massive force that engulfed a large portion of my all-girl's school's sport-playing population. People who were good at softball were just a little more popular in the hallways after they proved it, the star soccer player never wanted for company, people talked over lunch about how so-and-so performed a serve during a game the other day that was practically legendary. I never knew any different.
When I switched to a co-ed school, all of that changed in a second. The field hockey team was even less popular than it was at my old school -- especially considering the fact that the boy's soccer team was the school's major and most-beloved sport and their practices (and games!) were on the field right across from ours. We watched as dozens of people poured in to support "the home team" at soccer games while a paltry sum of our disinterested parents and siblings dotted vacant bleachers as we went at each other with blunt objects and malice. A boy once told me that field hockey wasn't a real sport. Another boy told me that softball was a waste of time because it was only for girls before going on to talk about how fast he could throw a pitch. How fast could I pitch a softball, he asked? Probably not as fast as someone using a ball that is one third of the size and weight, I responded, bitterly. But girls could not try out for the baseball team, so what was the point of comparing them?
Another example: at my high school, both the girl's and boy's basketball team are popular sports choices for their respective genders. The girl's team has won several championships in the last few years and frequently -- if not always -- crushes the competition. On the other hand, the boy's team is split into three different teams (including a "thirds" team comprised of boys who simply didn't feel like playing a sport, and so deliberately threw their tryouts to end up on the no-effort basketball team). Despite the best efforts of the coaches, the players never seem to be able to work cohesively, they argue, develop superiority complexes, hog the ball, and skip practices -- and then when the time comes to play, they fail again and again and again. And yet, the bleachers at the boys' basketball games are packed, and only a small handful of family members attend the girls' games -- droves of people show up to the former, forming a cheering section that is so loud that they have to be silenced by referees at almost every game, while the latter gets no recognition despite being state champions for several years running.
But why?
There's a social system called sexism that I'm sure everyone is familiar with. Sexism is the driving force behind profiting from gendered marketing: an archaic structure that places straight, white cisgender men at the top of the pyramid of privilege while the rest of the world heeds to his beck and call. It's the reason why Dove can sell twice as much soap by putting some of it in square, masculine bars and some of it in soft, feminine ovals; it's the reason why literature, psychology, and the arts (reading, talking, and creating) are all seen as inferior, useless trades in comparison to mathematics, science, and athletics (numbers, explosions, and muscles). Stemming from sexism is an even more specific term known as misogyny -- a socially enforced oppression that only effects women. Taking roots from Latin, misogyny refers to a rigid social structure that is enforced to dominate, control, and bully women into acting a certain way for the benefit of men. Although not all men directly contribute to misogyny, all men benefit from misogyny.
Misogyny is why fashion is considered an art form for women and by women, misogyny is why it is considered vapid and useless, and misogyny is why even though the field is cast off as unappealing or flighty women's vanity, the most trusted experts in the field are gay men. Misogyny is why "get in the kitchen" is still used to rudely dismiss a woman if she has spoken up too loudly, but all of the chefs who are taken seriously are men. Misogyny is why the only sport that seems to have visible female celebrities is tennis, but my grandmother thinks that the Williams sisters are overrated and never ceases talking about Rafael Nadal.
Misogyny is why when one woman played circles around him at an exhibition game, Babe Ruth saw fit to dismiss all women as incapable of playing baseball due to their delicacy. That's right, that question I asked up there? Who decided that the great American pastime should be an all-boy's club? Babe Ruth and Keensaw Mountain Landis.
One of the first professional female pitchers in baseball history, Jackie Mitchell subbed in for the Chattanooga Lookouts' first pitcher at age 17 during an exhibition game between the Lookouts and the Yankees. She immediately struck out Babe Ruth, and then went on to strike out Lou Gehrig immediately afterward, earning her the fleeting adoration of the crowd.
One of the first professional female pitchers in baseball history, Jackie Mitchell subbed in for the Chattanooga Lookouts' first pitcher at age 17 during an exhibition game between the Lookouts and the Yankees. She immediately struck out Babe Ruth, and then went on to strike out Lou Gehrig immediately afterward, earning her the fleeting adoration of the crowd.
Babe Ruth was quoted a few days later in a Chattanooga newspaper as saying "I don't know what's going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball. Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball every day."
Only a few days after the 17-year-old girl struck out two professional, adult male baseball legends, Kenesaw Mountain Landis voided her contract, claiming that women were unfit to play baseball, as the exercise was "too strenuous".
From then on, wherever she went, Mitchell's pitches were treated as a fluke, and she often found herself enraged when people expected her to pitch as if it were a parlor trick. Once, she was even requested to pitch on the back of a donkey. She retired at the age of 23, furious, disheartened, and mocked by society at large. When an all-women's team emerged six years after that, she didn't leave retirement to join them. Signing women to contracts became illegal in 1952. The ban wouldn't be lifted until 1992: four full decades later, and five years after Mitchell's death.
Only a few days after the 17-year-old girl struck out two professional, adult male baseball legends, Kenesaw Mountain Landis voided her contract, claiming that women were unfit to play baseball, as the exercise was "too strenuous".
From then on, wherever she went, Mitchell's pitches were treated as a fluke, and she often found herself enraged when people expected her to pitch as if it were a parlor trick. Once, she was even requested to pitch on the back of a donkey. She retired at the age of 23, furious, disheartened, and mocked by society at large. When an all-women's team emerged six years after that, she didn't leave retirement to join them. Signing women to contracts became illegal in 1952. The ban wouldn't be lifted until 1992: four full decades later, and five years after Mitchell's death.
We look at things like this, events like these that occurred in the past, and often we scoff. "That doesn't happen anymore," we tell ourselves. "Surely we've moved past this."
Misogyny is Mitt Romney having 22 grandchildren and running for office without a single mention of them in reference to his campaign, but now that Chelsea Clinton is pregnant, Hilary Clinton's status as a grandmother is a hot topic. Will she be able to concentrate with a grandchild on the loose? I thought she was pro-baby murder, what a hypocrite! Is it sexist to talk about her grandchild and how it will factor into the election?
Yes, no, yes. What does that have to do with anything? What about every other candidate for president, past and current? Did their status as a grandparent matter?
The worst thing about misogyny is that it isn't even enforced solely by men. Over hundreds of years, women have been conditioned to enforce it, as well. This is called internalized misogyny. This is a mother telling her daughter that she'll never get a boyfriend "looking like that", it's a girl looking in the mirror and thinking "I could be much, much prettier." Misogyny is knowing that no matter how hard you practice, no matter how many times you dive into the dirt, no matter how many bruises the size of ogre fists you collect along your inner thighs, your effort won't attract any more spectators at the game. Misogyny is being put in a short, stretch skirt and being told that your legs are showing. Internalized misogyny is knowing, deep, deep in your heart that no matter how much you love the sport, no matter how much you want to succeed, it's just not possible for you because you are a woman, and success is not in the cards for you.
Internalized misogyny is exaggerating a knee injury for the entirety of senior year so you have an excuse not to try out for college sports. Internalized misogyny is jeopardizing any chance you may have had at doing something different with your life.
Knowing you're a bad example is when your siblings begin to copy you.
Misogyny is Mitt Romney having 22 grandchildren and running for office without a single mention of them in reference to his campaign, but now that Chelsea Clinton is pregnant, Hilary Clinton's status as a grandmother is a hot topic. Will she be able to concentrate with a grandchild on the loose? I thought she was pro-baby murder, what a hypocrite! Is it sexist to talk about her grandchild and how it will factor into the election?
Yes, no, yes. What does that have to do with anything? What about every other candidate for president, past and current? Did their status as a grandparent matter?
The worst thing about misogyny is that it isn't even enforced solely by men. Over hundreds of years, women have been conditioned to enforce it, as well. This is called internalized misogyny. This is a mother telling her daughter that she'll never get a boyfriend "looking like that", it's a girl looking in the mirror and thinking "I could be much, much prettier." Misogyny is knowing that no matter how hard you practice, no matter how many times you dive into the dirt, no matter how many bruises the size of ogre fists you collect along your inner thighs, your effort won't attract any more spectators at the game. Misogyny is being put in a short, stretch skirt and being told that your legs are showing. Internalized misogyny is knowing, deep, deep in your heart that no matter how much you love the sport, no matter how much you want to succeed, it's just not possible for you because you are a woman, and success is not in the cards for you.
Internalized misogyny is exaggerating a knee injury for the entirety of senior year so you have an excuse not to try out for college sports. Internalized misogyny is jeopardizing any chance you may have had at doing something different with your life.
Knowing you're a bad example is when your siblings begin to copy you.