The Ball's Girls on the Side Report

8/2/2019 The Ball's Girls on the Side Report

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APRIL 2012

Womens sportalways seems tocome off secondbest. If womenarent havingtheir bodies visuallyexploited, regard-

less of their ability,then theyre beingignored by thesporting world, orelse labelled astoo-manly.

Where is the mediacoverage to boost

womens sportand, as importantly,where is womensinterest in sport?

By Simon Lewis(originally publishedin July 2005)

TheBallSPECIAL EDITION

GIRLS ON

THE SIDEREFLECTIONS ON WOMEN IN SPORT

The difficulties, the challenges

and the opportunities

D R E A M S D O N T D I E

N O B U L L , J U S T B A L L

www . t h e b a l l . c o . z a


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Girls on the side: women in sportWomens sport always seems to come off second best. If women

arent having their bodies visually exploited, regardless of their

ability, then theyre being ignored by the sporting world, or la-

belled lesbian. Where is the media coverage to boost womens

sport and, as importantly, where is womens interest in sport.

BY SIMON LEWIS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 2005)

As with all change, there often needs to be a rebel who forces that

change. In the world of womens sport, Michelle Wie seems to be

that rebel, in addition to being a 15-year-old occasional mall-rat

who stands over six foot tall on size 10 (and growing) feet. When

shes not changing the world or tripping through malls with her

mates, she manages to keep ahead of her studies and maintain a

level head on her shoulders. The youngest person EVER to play in a(mens!) PGA tour event, Wie already hits the ball the same distance

as many men on the tour. Shes not going to sit back and let men

rule the roost without a challenge: when she grows up she wants to

take on the men in the PGA in a big way. She has a need to push

herself to the limit , and she has the benefit that her generation no

longer stands back while the pale male dominates everything. Shes

cheeky, but not cocky. Another woman golfer who had a crack at

teeing off with the men recently was Swedens Annika Sorenstam,

but she was all a bit too apologetic afterwards, no doubt upset over

not playing as well as shed hoped. Soren stam seemed to shy away,

overtly proclaiming her desire to return to the womens tour, to

her place. Perhaps the weight of expectation on her had been too

great. Certainly, there were many waiting for her to fail : she didnt .

In fact, she did rather well , better than many people had expected,

but she did fail to make the impac t she had hoped for. Ultimatel y, it

knocked the wind out of her sails.

Wie has no such apologetic streak, and she seems to be less both-

ered by any expectation to match the men. She is, rather, inspiredby the pure challenge to her own ability. Sorenstam is currently

twice as old as Wie, so perhaps it shows that the new generation

isnt going to be blown by the wind so much as do the shaking up

themselves. This new generation can do it easier: they travel lighter

through life and carry less baggage.

A similar wind blew through golf in the late-90s when Tiger Woods

tore the opposition apart and ran around scything through therecord books like a smoking chainsaw through cardboard. Woods

opened up the world of CAN DO to people of all races and ages, one

of whom was Wie herself, then a mere seven years old. So inspired

was Wie by Woods Masters walkover in 1997 that she started play-

ing golf with greater enthusiasm; she was clearly a seven-year-old

with purpose and a lot of drive.

Wies approach is refreshing for one bearing the standard for wom-

en worldwide, smiling when she says that it would be neat if she

could be a Tiger Woods that breaks down barriers and, in her case,

makes it easier for women to compete against men. She is, howeve r,

diplomatic ally quick to stress that she is not suggesting that women

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SHOULD play against men. Nonetheless, the fact remains that over

the past decade she has embarrassed battalions of boys and men

on the golf course, and her development hasnt been hindered by

a love for sport that extends to her kicking a soccer ball around at

break with the boys while her girlfriends sit chatting in the shade.

... OR NOT TO BEOne of the main voices being raised against women taking part

on the mens tour is one subtle threat that packs a mean punch.

They warn that if the best women join the mens tour their earn-

ings will only be a fraction of what they would have earned on the

ladies tour (where they would more likely be winning and finishing

high up the leaderboa rd). With the loss of the top women the LPGA

weakened and unable to maintain the interest of their sponsors

will wither, they claim. It s a great argument: get the other girlsopposed to Annika, Michel le and any others who are keen to take on

the men. Inspire division in the ranks. It s a stupid argument, though,

if you examine it. Until men and women are able to compete equally

together, women obviousl y wouldnt always play on the mens tour -

they need success on the ladies tour to boost their career portfolios

and earning potentials. However, they ALSO need mens competition

in order to lift their own competitive leve ls. Women would, therefore,

only appear sporadically at mens events. But clearly many men are

concerned that the differ ence between men and women is not quite

as unbreachable as some would have us think.

Ellis Cashmore, Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Staf-

fordshire University in the UK, an eminent proponent for equal op-

portunities for women, is quick to point out that men and womens

bodies respond in similar ways to training.

Take a male and a female, same height, weight, build and similar

physical condition, and subject them to 6 weeks of identical training

and conditioning and youl l find both bodies have responded in verysimilar ways, says Cashmore. Test the people involved and you will

find the females muscular strength is within five per cent of the

males. Five percent is a lot when it comes to sports where brawn

is a crucial factor, but most sports are further along the continuum

and involve a greater skil l factor. The further along the skil l con-

tinuum you get, the more women are able to compete with men as

the difference in physical strength becomes less significant.

Clearly women have great potential for change, but such change

happens when there is power and intent behind it . Change happens

when the marketing machine gets fired up.

A RAINBOW AT THE END OF THE GOLD

Unless youre a really hot sportswoman with legs to die for and

have learned how to pose with that delicious come-on smile as

your thumbs tease your bikini down, you will struggle to get media

exposure or big-time endorsements. Ironically, it s the opposite for

men. The good-looking ones with the great bodies dont automati-

cally get the support they need to fulfi l their own potential. Weve

had more grim-looking sportsmen over the years than good-look-


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ing ones, but the only men who get the attention are the ones who

win (damn them!). Not the beefcakes with no headline-grabbing

honours. Thats because men are the consumers of those images,

stories, and live coverage.

Ryk Neethling and his fellow swimmers have battled for so long for

decent media coverage and support. Ryk is a good looking bloke,hell of a body, modest yet not a pushover. Oh, and a damn good

swimmer. The perfect guy for any gal.

But endorsements, major sponsorships, decent funding? Well, pre-

cious little really, compared to mainstream sports. That is, until he,

Roland and two other guys (not quite as good looking or hunky as

R&R, ironically!) picked up some Olympic gold. Now its embarrass-

ing you see more of those two than Graeme and Minki. Ryk hasntchanged nor become bette r as a commodity, he just became a big-

time winner. He has the same smile, same bod. Yet winning matter s

not in terms of who gets exposure and huge endorsement deals in

womens sport. Mrs Iglesias: case in point!

Obviously, though, swimming doesnt pack them in like soccer, rugby,

cricket, tennis or golf, so theres less adspend and gate-money to

make the swimmers rich, and the equipment sponsors arent going

to be making gajil l ions from selling extra costumes at R60 a pop.

So its about identity as a winner that matters in terms of earning

male athletes and sportsmen big money, while for women its their

identity as someone physically desirable for men.

I guess it s understandable as both scenarios are exactly what ap-

peals to the supply and demand needs of the male sports-buying

market . . .

WERE WOMEN BORN EQUAL TO MEN?

A big bone of contention is that men and women are generally

not allowed to compete side by side, and Cashmore claims thatmyths and male-dominated society over the past 120 years of or-

ganised sport have ensured the status quo. Women and men could

be competing at comparable levels, he said, adding that women

are advancing at a more rapid rate than men. Partly this is because

women are pushing themselves harder, as they have a huge gap to

close. They are chasing, and you often chase harder, as you know

what your goal is.

Womens progress in sport has been retarded not by their own

physiological frailty or bodily differences, but by myths about their

physical capabilit ies. If we could turn back the clock and start or-

ganised sports again, except allowing men and women to compete

in the same events, we would have a very different history of sports

.. . and women would be holding their own in mixed team sports by

now, claims Cashmore.

You dont have to like sport and you dont even have to try your

hand at playing or watching sport: but you do HAVE TO have the

opportunities and the choice either way.


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THE SPIN CYCLE

Womens disadvantage in the sporting arena is also largely an eco-

nomic thing, and economic issues have two sides . Your market wants

X, so you supply X. You give them a bit of Y and Z, but your focus

is X. That is how you stay in business. If your readers arent inter-

ested in reading about black showjumpers, then youre not going

to feature them. If people arent interested in white swimmers wholook like Greek gods but who lack any gold around their neck, then

the public dont want to read about them. Youre wasting space if

you try to supply hockey or netball information while disregarding

other mass-market sports. Of course, if your market starts to want

more of Y & Z, why then the media starts to supply that. And thats

the second issue. It s a vicious cycle, fuelled by media spin doctors

and marketing moguls, but it is ultimately driven by what the mar-

ket wants. Charitable benefactors are few and far between, so youneed a sponsor who wants a bit of bang for their buck. A glimmer

of hope remains in the fact that the supply and the demand for

womens sport will always balance out perfectly, as most supply and

demand generally does in the long run. Supply (and advertising and

marketing bucks) will follow when demand increases, and being led

by demand ensures a more sustainable, long-term product.

WHAT A MAN WANTS

Any argument also has two sides: they dont always balance, but

there are always two sides. Why dont men support or encourage

womens sport? Well , mens interest in sport is extremely personal:

it s based on personal experience and personal aspiration. We gen-

erally like relating to the reading and photographic matter that we

are provided with, or the sport we watch. This fact surely indicates

that if women only played more sport, then they too would create a

greater market for womens sport as an industry and a career. Ab-

solutely true, alt hough if you cast your eye back a century youll see

where things started to go pear-shaped, as Cashmore points out.

The idea of sport, as we understand it , is a peculiarly western male

creation, built in fact to validate masculinity. The main organisa-

tions that gave us what we now regard as sports were instituted

in the late nineteenth century around the time when the factory

system was introducing machines to replace physical labour. This

meant that mens physical work was less and less useful. According

to some views, men created organised sport as a kind of substitute,

as if they wanted a forum to demonstrate their physical superiorityover women. Which is why women were excluded for the best part

of the last century.

AND THE ANSWER IS ...

The only reason men have more power and money in sport is be-

cause MEN SUPPORT MALE SPORT. They turn up to watch, young-

sters buy the memorabilia, they join fan clubs and own season tick-

ets. Sure, girls and women also get involved, but it s men en masse.

And THAT is the key!

Theres nothing really stopping women from starting a whole new

culture of sport. If tha ts what women want then they now have the


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freedom to pursue it. Itll still take time, but theres room to build .. .

so long as women start by supporting womens sport. Many might

bemoan the lack of support from male spectators and male corpo-

rate companies .. . but if women dont start by buildin g up a following

and an infrastructure themselves then they cant expect an insecure

male population to encourage further self-emasculati on. Women will

have to keep the ball rolling. . . and take charge of speeding it up.

Think about the power of money and the greater power of supply

and demand. Ill bet my house, my job and everything I own on one

fact - if women started to turn out in their thousands to watch the

ladies provinc ial matches or national tournaments, there would pret-

ty soon be big sponsors involved. There would be stadiums. There

would even be a womans sports magazine. I l l bet my life on it , cos

its a pure economic fact. If you support it, they will support you.

Most men play or have played a number of sports, and this helps

to build mens sport as a whole, because in playing a sport you are

more likely to be interested in watching the sport. You can relate

to it, maybe even aspire to it. But weve never encouraged women

to do the same, aside from encouraging them to take an interest

in watching our mens sport with us (think dutiful wife or girl-

friend!) .

Men have excluded women; but not always by force, revea ls Cash-

more. Many of the eminent physicians in the first half of the 20th

century warned against women participating in sport. They feared

exercise and competition would lead to viri l ism (women taking on

the physical characteristics of men) or infertil ity. The prohibitions on

womens participation in sport were quite subtle in their own ways:

women simply didnt want to get into something they thought was

either going to hurt them physically or stigmatize them socially.

Men also build themselves physically by playing sport. That gives

them an increased physical edge over women, as well as an emo-

tional one. A couple of boys are throwing a ball to each other. Little

girl skips into the garden and asks them to throw her the ball . She

drops it , or it klaps her on the head. The boys laugh, the girl feels

stupid, and runs back into the house to help her mother out in the

kitchen.

Of course she looks stupid, and she has litt le co-ordination. But thenshe hasnt had the benefit of a lifetime of ball throwing, kicking,

hitting and holding. Co-ordination is built up over a lifetime, as is

physical conditioning. You dont get as toned by dancing around the

kitchen as you do out on the golf course, or playing touch rugby,

tennis, or any of the other sports that men and boys have held the

monopoly on. The more you do it the better you get. Why does Tiger

Woods hit a ball so much better and with greater consistency than

everyone else in the world? Probably largely because of all the ef-

fort and time he has devoted to it . Yes, hes a genius, but his advan-

tage is built on hitting hundreds of golf balls every day for the last

20 years. You get good like that. So the fact that some girls cant

catch a ball shouldnt be embarrassing, as it just shows that they


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havent spent time catching balls.

STEP TWO

Having built your co-ord the same as little boys are allowed to,

where do girls go from there? You have to watch womens sport!

Your mothers and aunts need to pitch up for netball or hockey in

the same numbers as uncles and dads go to boys rugby and cricket

matches. You dont need to go mental like many sideline fathers,

trying to relive their youth through their sons, but showing support

en mass validates the girls and their sport. It shows an interest in

them playing sport. With no spectators watching and maybe even

cheering a bit, what are girls to think about sport? Oh, were just

doing this to keep fit and in reasonable enough shape to draw some

male attention? And your school peers need to also pitch up to

watch. But arent most of the girls watching the guys play? Prob-ably, and maybe thats the way the girls want it, and if so, thats

great. No-one should be forced in any way regarding sport ; it should

be a pleasure and a privilege, not a duty.

Getting onto a more competitive level, with your fledgling sports

youre going to have to use a lot of ingenuity - and thats somethin g

women have in buckets. You cant expect, at this stage, to have 20

matches going on at 20 different venues and hope to have decent

crowds at each game. Not at this stage of womens sport ing revolu-

tion. You need to play at central venues, where crowds can congre-

gate at one stadium or ground and wander from match to match.

People who come to your match will perhaps stay on to watch

another match. That way youre sharing spectator s, and the players

are being exposed to greater swells of spectators. Reputations start

being built . One step at a time.

BOYS WILL BE THERE, GIRLS

With 600 girls at a stadium for a day of hockey or cricket or soc-

cer or rugby, well , I l l guarantee that youre going to start pulling

the guys to your matches Ill bet my next prosthesis on that fact.

If you build it, the boys will come .. . in droves. Theyll go to check

out the babes, of course, but before they know it theyll start to no-

tice how you play. Theyll get to know about the better players, and

word will spread. Legends will be built . Stars will be born. Aquarius

will rub the sleep out of her eyes and leap out of bed ready to kick

some boy butt. But, better still, why not adopt the methods used

by tennis and athletics: piggyback with mens sport. Hijack theiraudiences and share their admin and marketing costs. Starting on

a small scale, girls should ambush the high profile schools weeks,

like Craven Week rugby and Nuffield cricket. Select a couple of the

best girls sides from around the country and let them play their own

matches during Craven Week on surrounding fields. The audience

that is there to watch the boys will start getting to know, appreci-

ate and respect girls cricket and rugby. . . and so the girls will benefit

from the exposure.

SO MRS MOHAMMED WENT TO THE MOUNTAIN ...

The adult women could play curtain-raisers for professional soccer

and rugby matches, while the lady cricketers could play 7-over slogs


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to fit in with the breaks of play durin g mens matches. It would be a

great way to expose the male audience to womens cricket and its

players, as well as giving the girls a chance to play in front of large

crowds, building their reputations, experience and confidence.

Of course, this brave new womens sporting world wouldnt be built

in a day, but then neither was the current mens professional sport-

ing world. It s taken decades of male support and privilege to attain

our pro sporting world, but as women have a goal in mind to chase

as well as a blueprint to follow, so potentially they can fast-track

their own professional world.

Looking forward, the most exciting possibility is not equal money

for the big professionals, or more development courses and clinics

for girls: no, the most exciting thought is the possibility that shar-ing equal opportunities to enjoy the world of sports will encourage

a breakdown in stereotypes and prejudice.

In short, it will bring men and women, girls and boys, husbands and

wives closer together in a more natural way. Itll put us all on the

same playing field. Thats fantastic because, although our differ-

ences do need to be appreciated and allowed to flourish. . . we all

sure do love playing together!

Girls on the side: food for thoughtIf the above article has you nodding in agreement then perhaps

youll need some help creating a Women in Sport Blueprint... or at

least some more conversation pieces for the dinner table.

BY SIMON LEWIS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 2005)

HOW TO BEAT THE BOYS

Compete fairly and equally for places along with boys, rather than

only playing in your own team. This will help to raise your levels

of play and competitiveness. How good would Jacques Kallis be

if, for some reason, he had only ever been allowed to play in the

womens cricket league?

Play tennis to five sets lik e the men and youll build up your stam-

ina and strength. It will discard one more argument against men

and women receiving equal prize money at events. Fi nd your level to compete at and play against males of equal abil-

ity. Improve your play (and that of your male opposition) through

genuine and tough competition.

Play with a mens side even if it means an SA womans Test player

playing fourth league with men, or in a boys side. Thats how men

improve their levels of competitiveness!

WHAT CAN WOMEN DO?

Play sport, which will give you a frame of reference to . . .

Support women and girls playing sport, emotionally or financially .


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WHAT CAN WORLD SPORT DO?

Schedule women to play short exhibition matches during or be-

fore high-profile mens matches and tournaments.

Inc lude womens teams at, for instance, boys schools tournaments.

Women need the exposure of a shared audience.

During the mens major golf tournamen ts there should be 2-4

womens two-ball groupings shuffled around the mens field. The

women could play for an informal womens title if the men feel

their participation is in any way unfair. It would be something dif-

ferent for the fans to enjoy and would give women a vital chance

to compete on the same stage, even if not for the same prize,

as the men. This would further raise their levels of play as well

as the publics awareness of the top women players. Perhaps

in exchange the womens tour could include some men who

arent able to make the senior tour on merit, or perhaps youngermen or boys who need to raise their own level or gain a form of

exposure. In turn that would give these women players an added

incentive and spur to keep progressing themselves with the dif-

ferent challenge presented by having different players compet-

ing against them.

WHAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN, BUT COULD WORK?

Destroy all sexual segregation in sport. Let sportspeople find their

own level in a newly graded system. Slightly weaker mens golfers

would play on what was the LPGA, along with women. The mens

tour can include any women who can hold their own on the tour

and can sacrifice their womens earnings compared to what they

will earn on the PGA. What about the LPGA? The divisions could be

almost like boxing. Weight and strength is a big factor in sport, so

why separate men and women just by sex. Ok, so you cant define

it by weight, as most mens sport is not divided around weight clas-

sifications, but there could be a ranking system of ability divisions.

This could work well for many men who are unable to compete

against the bigger male opposition, but who want a high level of

competition, and perhaps a greater degree of exposure than they

would otherwise get. There are many men who cant make the

mens tour .. . why not open the ladies tour up to some of them? As

soon as any man or woman dominates in a division, they earn the

right to move up to the next division, or at least have a chance to

play some events at the higher level, to see how they perform. The

mixed sex competition should help both sexes, and it will certainlyget the sexes playing together and getting an appreciation for one

another. Sound crazy? Didnt the thought of whites having to share

their buses and trains with blacks sound crazy not so long ago. . .

or sharing their sportsfields with blacks. . .

HOW DOES A SHARED AUDIENCE WORK

Most of the successful and best-known women sport stars are ten-

nis, golf, swimming or athletic stars. All but golf enjoy the benefit

of frequent shared stadiums and tournaments. Golf has, however,

grown as women have started PLAYING the sport in such large num-

bers, and there is now greater media coverage of the womens tour,

but the crowds are pretty small compared to the mens events, and


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the TV coverage is nowhere near as large as for the mens tour. The

average guy will struggle to name more than two current women

golfers on the tour. One of the main reasons f or the existing growth

in exposure of womens golf is that women now have a reference

point and an aspiration towards golf , and they are the consumers of

golfing equipment and paraphernalia.

In tennis, the mens and womens tours are separa te, but there are a

number of tournaments where they play at the same venue. This has

helped to get the women stars known to men and women as well

as helping them to become high-profile heroes. It s perfect. Theres

less division of who are you paying or spending time to watch, and

marketers promote one event that draws a shared crowd. You pay,

go in and watch. And the whole infrastructure is there to split the

costs of admin, marketing, event organization and TV logistics.

IF GOD WAS A GAL

1) Male players would always appear topless in post-match inter-

views, even if they are sweaty and slightly out of breath.. .

2) Richard Snell would stil l be in the Proteas side and Bob Skinstad

would stil l be playing for the Bokke. . . even into their 40s!

3) Womens endorsements would be based on their ability; mens

endorsements would mostly take into account their listing in the

Hot and Handsome 100 ratings.

4) Rugby players would wear cycling pants shorts can be left in

the locker-room.

5) Mark Boucher would be on bil lboards countrywide. . . advertising

ju st the jock st rap!

6) The womens final at Wimbledon would be played last.

7) And theyd be paid equally!

8) The SA Sports I l lustrated Swimwear Issuewould feature Keith ofStorm Models, Gareth of Outlaws and Rob of Max Models in an

exotic location wearing teeny Speedos and tighty-whities.

9) And thats the only time men would be on the cover of SASI: gals

would be on all 11 other covers!

10) Ryk Neethling would be Yahoos most-hit sports star.

11) AND.. . the gals would be channel-hopping through channels 21

to 27 on DStv while the guys would be dancing around in the

kitchen wearing just an apron (and I mean, JUST an apron!).

SI MON LEWI S The Ball magazine

[email protected] www.theball.co.za


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The Ball's Girls on the Side Report