Female Athletes and Moving Crotches

You may have noticed my two day hiatus from the blog. And if you didn't, well shame on you I blog every Monday don't forget that. But alas, the reason for my hiatus? Forensics Nationals at Tennessee State University in Nashville, duh.

Ok let's just get it out of the way and answer all your questions. No forensics isn't science, it's a term for competitive speech and debate. No I do not debate nor do I debate dead bodies (I seriously was asked that). It's sort of like competitive acting in a sense.

And I know it is probably a shock because I know how you all look up to me as a sports goddess of the blogosphere. And I also know it is hard to believe that I would look forward to waking up at 5:00am for four straight days just to put on a suit and compete in front of judges for top rankings in public speaking, but trust me, it's super cool.

And want to know what is even cooler!? I won.....sort of. Well I made it to finals in ADS (after dinner speaking which is a persuasive speech with humor) and I was one of the few from the northeast to make it that far and one of the youngest in my final round. And want to know something even cooler than that!? I was known as the magical crotch girl at my tournament! Now, to some of you that is simply disgusting but I'm sure that you are wondering why and the only thing I am going to say is that, it's my coaches fault. He decided that nothing would be funnier than a vagina joke in my ADS...unfortunately he was right.

But why was I talking about lady parts in the first place in my ADS? Well that is because my speech was on how female athletes are hyper sexualized by the media to reinforce gender stereotypes that society has given women! Duh. And now we have reached the point of my blog and it only took 4 paragraphs! Although my speech did well at Nationals, I was surprised by the reaction of most of my judges. Many of them seemed to believe that this wasn't a significant societal issue.

To which I responded, shame on you judges! Well, actually I didn't say that. I just spent the night convincing myself that they were just jealous of my ADS prowess. But then I started to think, why do people think that this isn't an issue? Why was my speech on sexism among female athletes less of an issue than the other girl who did a speech about snowmen and how they are a symbol of racism in America? Snow is white, that cannot be changed, female athletes being portrayed as sex symbols can be changed.

I'll admit, in many ways, female athletes have taken strides to gain respect in their realm of sports. Maria Sharapova is a more talented Anna Kournikova, Danica Patrick is one of the pioneers of women in NASCAR, and Amanda Beard helps teach ditzy blonde's who date men old enough to be their great-great grandfather how to swim! (obviously I'm talking about Holly, Hugh Hefner's main girlfriend.) But for all of the titles Sharapova wins, she also stars in commercials that focuses on her looks and not her athletic ability. And last time I checked, it's pretty hard to fit a camera under your skirt in your spanks, Sharapova. And Danica Patrick, you may have added a feminine touch to NASCAR, but that doesn't mean you have to pose next to your car in lingerie with your buttcrack hanging out. Now I know what you're thinking, half of NASCAR in general walks around with their buttcrack's hanging out but have you ever seen Jeff Gordon in a two piece posing over his car? Nope. And I hope I never have to. And hey, Amanda Beard, you may be a breaststroker but that doesn't mean you have to take racy photos with your top off.

So we have determined that sexism is alive and well in female athletics and although it may not be as big of an issue as the water crisis or gas shortage in America, we still perpetuate the issue when we refuse to acknowledge that it exists. Women's suffrage may have happened decades ago but things are far from equal in sports. Besides sexism, female athletes rarely receive media coverage. How many times have you seen a women's sporting event on ESPN or in Sports Illustrated magazine? And no, the SI Swim Suit edition doesn't count as a women's sporting event. A female athlete is only respected when she is hot and talented, or just hot, but god forbid she is an average looking women or even a lesbian (gasp!) and she suddenly receives less media coverage.

Still don't believe me? Search for pictures of some of your favorite leading ladies in female athletics and see how many pictures pop up of her half naked. And tune into the summer olmypics this summer and watch for how many television profiles they run that concentrate on "prettY" athletes. And then, judges where ever you are, come back and tell me that female athletes aren't hyper-sexualized by the media. Yeah, that is what I thought.