I am not an athlete. I am not even that big of a sports fan. Yet, every four years the Olympics rolls around and I find myself mesmerized by a breath-taking, heart-racing, soul-invigorating three weeks of passion, strength and tenacity. Somehow, I go from carelessly scrolling past jubilant tweets about Game seven to rooting on the Czech Republic during the speed-walking final (Yes, this is seriously an Olympic event and yes, I’m seriously pulling for Anežka Drahotová). I can say that I genuinely find every event exciting and worth watching. However, it goes without saying that some countries, events and athletes are more popular than others.
It delights me to say that the United States holds a lot of its star power in the form of women. And not just any women. But women of color. Queer women. Muslim women. Women with thick thighs and full-bodied calves and natural hair and sweaty brows. Carli Lloyd almost singlehandedly secured the win for the USWNT during the World Cup final, the most viewed soccer match in American history. Gabby Douglas, at the age of 17, became the first African American woman to be crowned individual all-around champion. Serena Williams is regarded as the best female tennis player of all time, and easily as one of the best female athletes in the world. All three of these athletes will be going for gold to add to their already impressive accolades, but it is their very presence on the global stage that is already a win for women everywhere.
It is irrefutable that sports have largely been a male-centered phenomenon. Women are the alternative. World Cup is a default, Women’s World Cup is a subcategory. Although Serena Williams is considered the best female player of all time, Federer is considered the greatest player of all time. This is the sort of careless word choice that ultimately implies that no matter how successful, how talented, how great a female athlete is, she is intrinsically not as great as her male counterpart. For some, this word choice is appropriate. For some, this is not sexist, misogynistic lingo. For some, even if they can appreciate and applaud a talented female athlete, they ultimately consider male athlete to be superior. Why? “Biology,” an ever popular reason among WebMD certified Twitter trolls, is the song of reason among the ignorant. Because if there are any slight differences in intensity and quality between men and women’s sports, it’s obviously because men are stronger, duh? It can’t possibly be due in part to these very preconceived notions discouraging young girls from participating in sports at all. Surely, the lack of scouts, coaches and development camps geared toward girls did not contribute. The men’s greats, like Messi and Ronaldo, have been groomed and primed to be superstars since someone took notice of their potential as teens. Whereas the women’s best, such as Abby Wambach and Marta, sometimes found themselves without leagues to play in. Obviously, no one can argue that the talent and tenacity of Messi and Ronaldo should go without admiration. The point is, however, they were given opportunities that a woman can only dream about.
Additionally, women aren’t even discriminated against equally across their own playing field. The likes of Alex Morgan and Maria Sharpova are unfortunately popularized due to their girl-next-door attractiveness. Which not only undermines their own abilities and triumphs as athletes, but also other female athletes who, despite their accolades, are not “pretty” enough to be stars. Black women in particular take on unfathomable amounts of scrutiny during times of competition for things that are entirely arbitrary. As Gabby Douglas dominated the 2012 gymnastics events, people actually criticized her hair. A young black woman, doing something no black woman had ever done before, a coveted member of the “fierce five,” soaring through the air to reach gold, ridiculed for her hair. Serena Williams, who continuously shatters every notion of what a female athlete should look like while simultaneously working her way to becoming the most decorated tennis player of all time, was once asked by a reporter why she wasn’t smiling. Yeah, a sports reporter had the opportunity to speak to a woman that can only be dubbed a legend, and as opposed to asking her anything sports related, he questioned her facial expression.
When we considered the intense uphill battle women have fought to even land themselves at the 2016 Rio Olympics, their achievements become even more remarkable. The USWNT will surely bring home another gold, following their triumph at the World Cup. Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez will rep the red, white and blue in one of the most popular events as proud minority women. Serena Williams, well, she’s going to kick some ass. Because that’s what she does best. The world will be watching as the stage is set for our girls to make history.
