Ever since I was 9 years old I have found a love like no other. It has been tough, these 10 years we've been together. There's been blood, stains, and frustration. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I feel alive and feel like I'm truly home when I am on that softball field.
Yet, I find it harder and harder to love my favorite sport everyday. And not because I've lost my passion or it's become harder to play. No, but because there still seems to be some tension between a brother sport- baseball.
I have many friends that play baseball and I can not count how many times I've heard banter about the "lesser sport".
Every time without fail, it's either a joke about the different sizes from base to base or a joke on the players themselves. It seems that just because softball is a female dominated sport it is seen as "less important". And this isn't even the only sport it happens to.
Woman's Basketball, woman's soccer, woman's lacrosse, and so many more are put on the back burner because of so many other male sports. For instance, many people know that the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals yet how many know that The Woman's US soccer team won the most recent World Series?
Even in high school students seem more concerned about male sports than female. A losing male football team gets more funding and more fans than a winning female soccer team. The male football and basketball teams get pep rally's while the girl oriented sports get their names called. Wouldn't make more sense that a winning team gets funding, pep rally's, and fans? But it seems that society has made hard for females to be serious athletes anymore. For certain sports, like gymnastics, girls could be body shamed like Simone Biles, an Olympic gold medalist. And for others they are simply seen as inferior compared to their male counterparts. And why is that?
Well that answer is still a mystery. I'd like to think that it has nothing to do with who's playing the sport. Social media and other news outlets have done so much for gender equality. But what about gender equality in sports?
Yes, I understand that there are significant differences in body type. But it is no secret that male sports are more televised and more talked about than female. Even the NBA is watched more than the WNBA. It's not just about equality in education or jobs. It should also be about equality in the sports field. Woman playing the same sport gets paid less than a man that plays. Women get less show time than a man and it's becoming harder for woman to even stay in their sport field.
America has made great strides in fighting for gender equality. But let's not forget the women in the sport's fields on our way to make America better for everyone. Let's stop the crude jokes and stereotyping women in sports. Because, in my experience, women work either as hard or twice as hard just to prove themselves worthy of their position.
