The summer Olympics are upon us again, quite possibly the one thing that can bring everyone in a country together. There's nothing quite like hearing "USA USA USA," especially when we're in the lead for medals (duh).
The United States has more female athletes than male athletes competing this year, which if you live in today's society is amazing. And with people like Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Kerri Walsh Jennings absolutely DOMINATING the games, for some reason the media, and people on social media still fail to properly compliment and congratulate them. I mean, the modern Olympics have been around since 1896, you'd think we would have it figured out by now.
The most recent discussion, as seen on a Fox News segment, features two middle aged men discussing whether female Olympians should wear make up. One of the men, Bo Dietl, stated "I think when you see an athlete, why should I have to look at some chick's zits?...Why not a little blush on her lips? And cover those zits! I like to see a person who wins that gold medal go up there and look beautiful."
And if that's not bad enough, The Chicago Tribune printed the headline "Wife of a Bears' lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio," never once mentioning her name, which is Corey Cogdell-Unrein. After Katinka Hosszu broke the world record in the 400m IM, an NBC announcer immediately focused on her husband saying, "There's the man responsible." After Simone Biles gave a near perfect performance on uneven bars, the NBC commentator immediately compared her to the men, saying “I think she might even go higher than some of the men.”
It is very apparent that we as a society do not know how to compliment these incredibly talented women without somehow focusing on their looks or comparing them to their male counterpart. Here are some tips and tricks to follow:
Bad: referring to a female athlete only as "the husband of..." or "the daughter of...". She is amazing in her own right. Lets take a moment and picture a headline about Michael Phelps saying "Son of Debbie Phelps Makes Olympic History." It's ridiculous.
Bad: never, ever comment on physical appearance. Do not comment on the physical features of the beach volleyball players, do not comment on the cut of the gymnast's leotards, just don't. Imagine hearing "Carmelo Anthony's muscles are looking extra perky today, that uniform does wonders for him" coming out of a commentators mouth.
Bad: do not immediately compare an athlete's performance to their male counter part or give credit to another male for their performance. These women all worked extremely hard to get to where they are, do not take the credit from them.
Good: talk about the women like the men! Things like "Simone Biles just killed the uneven bars, putting her in the lead for the all around, what an amazing athletic performance" or "Katie Ledecky is racing against time now as she blows out everyone else competing against her, she is one of the finest swimmers of our generation!"
Good: mention gender only when talking about the horrendous pay gap between men and women's soccer/basketball. Did anyone see the US Men's Soccer team play in the Olympics the other da......oh wait.
It's time these women, and everyone competing, get the credit they deserve. The Olympics are about sports, the Olympics are about pride for your country, the Olympics are about amazing feats of athleticism; let's keep it that way.
