Growing up playing softball, I was forced to encounter various stigmas due to the fact that I was a female athlete. Comments ranging from “you throw like a girl”, “don’t break a nail”, and “baseball is harder”, were some of the more popular phrases to be preached. However, the remark that managed to stand out the most to me over the years had to have been, “since you play softball you must be a lesbian”.
Wait, what?
Over the 15 years, I was involved in the sport, I was ridiculed and teased by friends, family, and even strangers,who were convinced I was most likely a lesbian because I was a softball player. Although much of this is said out of “good fun,” enough is enough.
The cliché that all lesbians like and play softball has been around for as long as I can remember. It is even joked about through popular film and television shows that any woman who is gay must be a member of the local softball team or at least played a few years in college.
But, where did these accusations come from, and why do people continue to feel compelled to talk about it? Is it spurred out of jealousy that as women we can hit a ball further than you? Perhaps it is our muscular physique that presents itself as intimidating. Or maybe males are just jealous that they cannot, in fact, throw like a girl. No matter the reasoning as to why this idea is spread, it needs to stop today. For where is it stated that a woman’s sexual orientation contains any correlation with her athletic ability?
Over the many years that I was involved in softball I have had gay and straight teammates. Never did their sexual orientation reflect on their ability, integrity, or strength. All of the young women who I had the honor of calling my teammates were standing on that field with me because they worked hard and had a passion for the game. Therefore, the day has arrived that the stigmas and stereotypes end. It is not taboo for a female to be an excellent athlete, and calling us “butch” because we can throw harder than you, it only illustrates ignorance.
On a softball team, there may be straight girls, and there may be lesbians, but what everyone needs to understand is that at the end of the game it doesn’t matter. Labeling women solely based on the fact that they play a specific sport only conveys that your sense of humor is terrible and your self-esteem may be running on low.
To all of the ladies out there with numbers on their backs and a glove in hand know this: stereotypes do not define you. Never be ashamed that you can crank the ball well over the center-field fence. Embrace how making a diving catch is nothing out of the ordinary for you. Brag that you have a nasty drop curve that no batter can resist to miss. Cherish that you have a family of girls that will always have your back. You will always find someone who cannot resist emanating negativity in the lives of others, and the best way to shut them up is to show them just how good you really are.
