This morning, while Jen was watching the Today show's rehashing of the whole Imus incident, I remarked that I was pissed because no one was really talking about how terribly misogynist those comments were. Racist? Hell, yes, and unforgivably so, but also reflective of the type of crap that gets thrown out there whenever the subject is women's sports. Strong women are regarded as distinctly unfeminine, and I'm calling bullshit. Bill Simmons (why, Bill?) is a perfect example -- hardly a column goes by without him slamming the WNBA like it killed his dog. He talks about women in terms of their attractiveness, not in terms of their athletic ability. And he's just one of many. Now, clearly, I'm a feminazi who doesn't get the joke, but perhaps it's time to consider that it's just not fucking funny.
Also, it turns out that some people are talking about sexism and women's sports, and it's about damn time. Gwen Knapp writes, "The best thing women can do now is emphasize that they don't want to be divided. If they're competing, it's not for acceptance, and when they play basketball, they're not conducting a simultaneous beauty pageant." Damn skippy. (And, yes, I found that link because I read the wonderful Women's Hoops Blog. You should, too.)
No comments:
Post a Comment