Comments on: Lesbians and Sports, Need I Say More?

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:00:52 +0000

I disagree with what kacey said about gay women feeling less pressure or less of an impulse to fit in with society’s standards. I also find fault with the notion that gay women “don’t fit gender construction.” I think that both statements are gross generalizations which fail to take into account the enormous diversity within the so-called lesbian community. I think the idea that “gay” suggests nonconformity underscores the false perception that by virtue of being gay, one is somehow more rebellious, more original. The truth is that some gay people are nonconformist; others are not. Being gay has just as much to do with one’s personality as does being left-handed.

Also, in the twenty-first century in the U.S., I don’t think that many young women find that they face pressure not to continue with athletics because it is not feminine or proper enough. In my high school, which was quite culturally conservative, it was odd for a girl NOT to be involved in sports, and pretty much every “popular” girl was also very athletic (and by “athletic”, I mean they participated in actual sports, not cheerleading). I guess what I’m saying is that women’s athletics are now so mainstream that the decision to take part has absolutely nothing to do with being courageous or nonconformist enough to challenge society’s traditional ideas about what it means to be a woman.

By: Bridgit

Bridgit — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:43:54 +0000

I do agree with some of points Kacey brought up, but I also think she is missing Amelie’s point to a certain degree. I don’t think she was trying to say that lesbians only play sports because it is a safe space and the only the way to meet women. What I took away from this was that for whatever the reasons may be, lesbians do tend to gravitate towards organized sports. And although we should not concede to stereotypes, we should also not shy away from the truth and try to pretend that it is just another stereotypical image conjured up by society that should be broken down. Whether it is a “safe space” or “because we do not have to define ourselves by societal standards,” the point is that there shouldn’t be anything shameful associated with the connection between lesbians and athletics.

By: kacey

kacey — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:06:28 +0000

Amelie – you raise some interesting questions/thoughts here, specifically about stereotypes and how those play out in society. As a rugby player and a gay female (didn’t even have an inkling of my orientation before I started, in fact I started playing because a straight friend and I thought it seemed cool)I don’t think that it is strictly about queer women who like queer women finding a safe place. Once girls leave middle school the pool of peers who are interested in playing sports narrows significantly. Some of this has to do with competition and cuts and pursuing other interests/activities but it’s also that in teen years society starts telling girls that maybe sports aren’t feminine enough, aren’t proper enough, won’t get you anywhere. The norm says: put on a dress, take off your cleats, wear make-up, aggression/self pride/competitiveness are not womanly traits. I think that this has a huge effect on who remains in sports at higher levels.

The way I see it is that I personally operate outside of what society considers ‘normal’ anyways, and so do many queer women. We don’t fit gender construction, we aren’t conformist and simply put – we’re different. And because we’re different we face less pressure to fit in, at least in this aspect of life. We play sports not to find a safe place to meet people, but because we do not have to define ourselves by societal standards. In fact, in this situation, being a queer woman is freeing. I tend to think it’s kinda awesome.

Of course, it doesn’t free us from discrimination or pressure to be someone we are not – we are still questioned and looked down upon for our orientation. But, nobody can tell me that I’m not lady-like enough to get a boyfriend or find a husband because whether they accept it or not, they know that’s not what I’m looking for. Even my mom (who is not especially approving of me in general) knows well enough not to tell me to stop playing competitive sports because it makes me appear butch.

And of final note – there are many wonderful women out there who are not queer and who play all kinds of sports. My favorites are the ones who scoff at societal standards (one particular teammate has been married, has 2 young children and is one of the biggest bad-asses i know!)and do what they want – including playing sports.