Women and Sports

Living in a Male Dominated Sports World.

        When it comes to sports, everyone has their favorite whether it's football, soccer, basketball etc. but see the problem is, it doesn't matter which sport is your favorite, there are hardly any women who get paid big bucks to do what all those big money making male commentators do: say whatever they want about the game but being appropriate, and my question is how come?
        As I googled search to find any articles about women and sports I found an article stating the 50 hottest female broadcasters in the world. Is that really what women mean in the sports industry? We are just a pretty face with no intention in the game, just reporting what's going on and making an okay amount of money. But see the thing is I can only name one female broadcaster: Erin Andrews and that's because she was on Dancing with the Stars. That's the sad thing about this. Women aren't really given an opportunity in this business unless you are working with Women's Basketball or Women's soccer. I know most of the sports announcers are former NFL, NHL etc. players due to the fact that they have earned to talk about sports because they know the game but women can do that too, so why are men given the opportunity but not women.
        As a young teenager I have grown to love the game of the NFL. I would even love to become a coach or a sports announcer, but the problem is a lot of men are sexist and believe that I don't know anything about the game. I'm just a pretty face to them who will pretend to know about the game and cheer. Unfortunately, that  is how it is, you're either are a pretty face with no intention in the game or you're considered "manly" due to your love for the game, but why not both. We women can be both.
        One of the women to prove that is  Danica Patrick. A new NASCAR driver who has proven to the men that she is not your ordinary woman. Patrick is slowly gaining her way to be one of the best in NASCAR. She has become a role model to many girls who feel like they won't make it big time. She is proving that just because sports are male dominated, they aren't tough enough to keep the women out of the game.
        When you look at the most toughest sports in the world, a lot of men would think women don't want to be involved in this or they might get hurt. Men need to stop being concerned with the fact that just because we are women, we aren't as "delicate" as they think we are. Gina Carano, a former MMA fighter, has become the face of women's MMA due to her beauty and her incredible tough skills. She has earned her right to compete and her ability to have an impressive 7-1 record, has shown the world that women are tougher than men think we are. She is leading many more women to compete in MMA and to show that whatever men can do, we can do better!
        There are many women in the world today who are dying to show that they aren't just a pretty face, they are so much more. We have been push aside for so long and been prevented from playing the game just because men feel the game is to tough for us. If you don't believe me, let us date back to 1931 when the 2nd woman in history was signed by a professional baseball team Ms. Jackie Mitchell. She became the pitcher for the AA Chattanooga Lookouts and was able to play against the famous New York Yankees. After striking out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Mitchell was pulled out. A few days later her contract was voided because Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the baseball commissioner at the time, felt the game was "too strenuous for a woman." It is unbelievable that men are scared that we are better than them. Once we prove to them, with their own eyes, they immediately use sexist reasons to "protect" us.
        I'm tired of men trying to push us to the curb and telling us we can't do what they do. Many women in this world have proved that what they think is in fact wrong. The reason I believe we are better at what they do is men have too much pride and can get out of control. Sure some women can get like that but instead of getting angry and trying to use our strength to win the game, we use our knowledge. We analyze and see what's happening and we know how to throw off our enemies. Men get cocky and think that by their strength they are powerful and great players. If that's what they think, well they have a lot to learn. As I look at the NFL sports announcers, a lot of them are biased and get paid a lot of money to say something a 12 year old could say. I at one time used to be biased, but when you got knowledge on your side, I have learned to analyze the game and actually talk about a team's mistakes and what they did right, what they need help on, and so on. It's unfair that men get the upper hand when it comes to sports, but I believe it's time that the face of sports changed from scruffy, cocky men to poise, strong, and smart women!




Sources: From www.eHow.com - "The Average Salaries of Professional Sports Announcers" by Morgan Boiling

http://masculinityandgenderrolesinsports.blogspot.com - "Gender Roles in Women's Sports: The Evolution of Female Athletes" by Brandon Starr

Words: Honor Killings

What Honor is there in Killing?

            The growing rise in “honor killings” is unreal & heartbreaking. Honor killings not only occur in parts of the Middle East but also in Europe & the U.S. From frontpagemag.com a Palestinian 27 year old woman who was a mother of three was viciously murdered by her husband. Nancy Zaboun, the victim, allegedly was looking for an early exit of her marriage due to the 10 years of the repeating beatings she was suffering. Unfortunately for Zaboun her attempt was fatal and unsuccessful. Also since Zaboun’s attempt to flee caused such a stain to her husband’s family honor he repeatedly stabbed her several times. Zaboun is not the only woman to fall under the category of

honor killings.  A report from the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights stated that 25 women have been subjected to honor killings, with 13 women murdered in 2011 and 12 women slain in 2012. These statistics are not only tragic but deeply distressing. More victims includes 17 year old Rofayda Qaoud whose mother placed a plastic bag over her head and slashed her wrists after she was raped and impregnated by her brothers; 27-year-old Fadia Najjar, a divorced mother of five, beaten to death by her father because she owned a cell phone that he thought she was using to call a man outside of the family; and 20-year-old Aya Baradiya, tied up and thrown down a well to die by her uncle because he disapproved of her engagement. To believe that the Islamic culture believes this is right, is plain wrong. The Qur’ran does not state anything that proves that honor killings is a religious right, it is simply cultural. A study done by the Gaza-based Palestinian Women’s Information and Media Center found that “67 percent of Palestinian women reported being subjected to verbal violence on a regular basis, 71 percent to psychological violence, 52 percent to physical violence and 14 percent to sexual violence.” The sad part of this is that although there are laws that state honor killings are not supported, the government does not have enough power to show their authority over the people. In a quote by Israeli- Arab lecturer Yusuf Jabareen stated that, “Part of our [Palestinian] identity is to attack women… to beat women… – we must acknowledge it…Palestinian identity has its charms, but there are things that we have adopted from Arab culture for centuries that harm the individual and the woman…That’s part of our identity.” Unfortunately, the Palestinian misogyny may have that Arabic taste, Islam gives her, her full flavor where men often don’t treat women better than livestock. In order to solve this problem it’s going to take a lot more than just a cultural revolution to change what many countries believe is right.