Disturbing the Cavemen with Great Women of History
With misogyny on the rise, it’s more important than ever to celebrate the inspirational women forced to swim against a tide of bile…
This is the introduction to March’s edition of the Off-Field newsletter, curating monthly tales from the fringes of sport and society. Read it here.
There’s a book that has been a favourite bedtime read in my house since I bought it some years ago. Women in Sport: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played To Win is a beautifully illustrated collection of stories about history’s greatest sportswomen.
My daughters are gripped by the achievements portrayed. Some stories, like those of martial artist Keiko Fukuda, figure skater Madge Syers, and distance swimmer Gertrude Ederle, are new to me and unknown to many. Others feature more recent legends like Katherine Grainger, Simone Biles, and Serena Williams, whose tales I bring further to life with the help of YouTube.
But there’s an uncomfortable dichotomy I wrestle with when reading these stories. The narrative for many of these women depicts success in the face of entrenched adversity that is, at least for now, alien to my audience; aged 9 and 6. It means that instead of prompting inspiration, the tales can serve to introduce unease.
When I tell them that Fukuda was for decades not allowed to achieve sixth-dan black belt like her male equivalents, they look at me perplexed. When I read that Syers couldn’t skate competitively because it was deemed too “stressful” for women’s “weak” bodies, they laugh at what they assume is a joke. When I explain that Ederle overcame the sneers to become the first woman to swim the Channel in 1926, they don’t cheer in awe. To them, there is no doubt that she could, or would.
And so when I close the book, with my girls drifting off to sleep wondering what sort of barmy world we used to live in, I’m almost comforted with the thought that these prejudices and obstacles seem so peculiar to them.
Almost comforted.
Because that’s the preset ignorance of a 39-year-old white man.
“Check your privilege” might be dismissed by some as a woke catchphrase, but as I steel myself for the challenges ahead with my eldest approaching middle school, I find it a useful exercise. If my daughters are yet to recognise a world moulded by the patriarchy, I know that it’s only a matter of time before it bops them on the chin like a Nicola Adams uppercut.
Sport is as good a place to start as any, as a mirror on society that reflects both its merits and its ills. And the history books show that it has not always been a welcoming world for women.
At the first Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, females were not only forbidden from competing; married women would be executed if they dared to attend. Even Pierre De Courbetin’s first modern Games in 1896, while espousing the Olympic values of tolerance and understanding, banned women participants because it would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.”
It’s common knowledge that the FA effectively put a halt to women’s football in 1921 when they prevented them from playing in professional stadiums, because “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.”
But while we can be encouraged by the recent growth of women’s football (which has given birth to a new generation of resilient heroes) or the IOC’s moves to modernise the Olympics (Paris 2024 will see full gender parity for the first time in history), then we should also take heed of areas that remain rooted in a medieval mindset.
In Iran, women are finally permitted to attend some football matches but tickets remain limited and seats restricted to where they will not be seen on TV. The policy change has come at a cost to those petitioning the government. In 2019, faced with six months in prison for trying to gain entry to a match, Sahar Khodayari died after setting herself on fire outside a Tehran court.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s female cricketers remain in exile after the Taliban regained control of the country. The men’s team have no such concern, earning plaudits for their gutsy performances at last year’s World Cup.
But before pointing fingers over the pond, it’s worth addressing the cracks in our own backyard. Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out has reported a rise in sexism in English football, with a posse of angry white blokes filling an EU-shaped hole by blaming the UK’s malaise on female pundits and commentators.
Sport, as ever, is simply reflecting trends elsewhere. But perhaps most troubling is that these incidents can’t only be attributed to old men shouting at clouds.
A recent survey found that one in six men aged 16–29 believe feminism has done more harm than good, and a fifth of the same demographic look favourably on Andrew Tate, the social media influencer and proud misogynist who is being held in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that female teachers have noted a surge in sexist abuse in schools. On our TV screens, GB News breached broadcasting rules following Laurence Fox’s comments about journalist Ava Evans, which Ofcom ruled were “degrading and demeaning both to Ms Evans and women generally and were clearly and unambiguously misogynistic”.
And let’s not forget Donald Trump is the favourite to be elected as US President later this year. His feminist credentials needn’t be repeated.
Privilege duly checked, that naive comfort I felt as my kids dozed off is well and truly obliterated. Instead, I consider the very distinct possibility that in 20 years I could be reading an updated version of Women in Sport to my grandkids, recounting examples of how today’s women were still forced to swim against a tide of bile.
Or maybe, just maybe, our frothing 21st-century cavemen will emerge from their dim pit of ignorance, see the light, and help to create a world where women needn’t defend their role on a football show, or their attendance in a stadium, or their worth on a cricket pitch.
But let’s not hold our breath.
On International Women’s Day, this month’s Off-Field newsletter is dedicated to stories of inspirational women. There are Olympic and Paralympic champions, forgotten sporting pioneers, football referees, an F1 mechanic, a desert runner, and a woman who spent 500 days in a cave. Enjoy the selection.
This is an excerpt from the Off-Field newsletter. Subscribe, for free, here
