The media is used for so much in today’s society. But I want to ask you, when you turn on the television and go to a sports channel, what do you see? When you go to a sports grill, what is playing on the television? 15 different televisions in that restaurant… but no women’s sports are playing. 

As a young girl I always played sports but I just played for fun and because I loved it. When I am asked when I realized I wanted to play college softball, for me it wasn’t until my freshman year of high school. For my sport this was incredibly late, girls were committing to schools at my age already and I was just finding out about this possibility. I don’t wonder why this is, I know exactly why this is. I didn’t even know that this was possible, I had no players to look up to. All I saw was men playing at high levels, I didn’t know it was possible.

Female athletes have to chance to empower young women and girls to follow their dreams but also show them that there is opportunity to play the sport that they love longer and get an education while doing it. But we need them to be able to turn on the T.V. and see it. They need to be able to turn on the T.V. and have role models

As women in society there has been many issues surrounding body shaming, or rather, what defines the “perfect” body. It has been a battle that feminists have fought for a while, but what isn’t talked about as much is the parallele of this issue in sports. Female athletes suffer from body shaming, from men, from the media, and even other women/girls. 

As female athletes we, just like male athletes, workout to gain muscle in order to protect our body during competition and also to perform at our highest level. But society then tells us that we are too masculine and that our muscular bodies are not attractive, yet we are doing this because it’s what our sport needs. 

For me, I have always suffered from body shaming from my peers. I was always “too muscular” or “not feminine enough,” instead of being recognized for my talents in what I do, I was being judged on how I look. As a senior in high school we had a yearbook page for the “Hall of Fame ” where students voted for things like: cutest couple, most likely too… , biggest flirt, worst driver, etc. there are a lot of categories. I remember getting my yearbook and I was excited because I was the only girl in my high school who play multiple sports and was on scholarship to the number 1 ranked softball team in the nation (University of Washington). I was expecting to win most athletic… but instead when I opened it I was voted Most Intimidating… To some it wouldn’t be a big deal, but when you have put your whole life into sport and have given up everything a normal teenager does, you hope to get some recognition. Instead a girl that everyone loved and was “more feminine” than me won most athletic… 

Being strong, or muscular is beauty because confidence is beauty. Female athletes aren’t the only ones who face body image issues, it’s all women. I know it’s cliche but it’s about what is on the inside and how you feel when you look in the mirror.

Women in sports are constantly shamed, underrepresented and unequally treated. This is something that affects all female athletes, but what is often overshadowed is the way that race, class, sexuality, and other identifying factors intersect to make issues in the sports world double.

Much like in society, intersectionality affects many women in this country. This is also true for female athletes. Female athletes face a lack of opportunity. As an athlete myself, I know that finding a girls sports team that has qualified coaches that have experience in the sport. We often get stuck with dads for coaches, that have never coached the sport, or even a girl in their life. While boys often have a much easier time finding local teams with highly qualified and experienced coaches for their sports. Often to find a girls team with those opportunities, you have to pay high team fees or drive out of your town to find the teams.

Growing up I faced this issue. I had to drive 2 hours to practice 3 times a week just to play for a team that could give me the coaching that can help me best succeed. I have teammates who drove 5 hours, and ones that even play for teams that were in a different state. You may be asking, how does intersectionality have anything to do with this… I was fortunate to have parents that were:

1. Willing to drive me to these practices.
2. Could afford for me to play for this team. 

There is a large majority of young girls who aren’t so fortunate. So these young girls face little opportunity due to their gender, but they also face even less opportunity because of their class. 

We need more experienced and qualified coaches for young girls, but we also need to have these opportunities available for lower costs. 

ATTENTION FEMALE ATHLETES: 

YOU CAN HELP!

Give back to the sports that have done so much for you, coach local teams, impact and empower young girls’ lives. We have the opportunity to give these young girls/women role models and an opportunity to create bonds with teammates and keep them out of trouble!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton