Despite greater success than the U.S. men’s national team, including four World Cup victories and four Olympic gold medals—the men have never won either—the women’s team is paid less than the men’s team. A cursory overview of the development of organized sports in the U.S. explains its inherent sexism and misogyny.
Category: Sports
Why Your Super Bowl Slut-Shaming is Sexist
The problem is not women’s bodies, or the mere sight of them. The problem is a culture that judges women primarily by how they look, or what they wear or don’t wear, and constantly cuts them down to size through a cruel and fatal combination of diet culture and unrealistic, unattainable standards of female beauty.
Strong Like Her
And so I set out to write about the women I knew had been kicking butt since the beginning of time, grappling with the issues surrounding strength long before I ever learned to front squat. What I didn’t know was just how profound their contributions had been in ways that go beyond sports record books.
Nearly 50 Years After Title IX, Girls and Women in Sports are Still Chasing Equity
Today is National Girls & Women in Sports Day—and new research shows that we still have far to go to achieving equality on the field.
The Super Bowl Begs the Question: When Will Girls Get Fair Play?
With rare exceptions, girls who want to play the same football games as their male peers will need parents and schools who are willing to fight for their right to equal play.
Our Five Favorite Memories from the Year the USWNT Changed the Game
It felt like everyone was watching the World Cup final this July. And when the U.S. Women’s National Team won—claiming their second world championship title in a row and their fourth overall—it felt bigger than just a victory for their team.
The Untold Stories of Larry Nassar’s Abuse
The experiences of Larry Nassar’s victims are at the center of award-winning author Abigail Pesta’s latest book, “The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down.”
Saluting Inspiring Women and Girl Athletes Across Generations
“Don’t let anyone define your dream,” Megan Rapinoe—two-time Women’s World Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist and equal pay activist—declared from the stage at the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 40th Annual Salute to Women in Sports. “Dream way bigger than anything you’re seeing right now. Hopefully, we’re setting the groundwork for the next generation to be massive […]
Why Serena?
I was surprised by how emotional I got watching Serena Williams in the recent U.S. Open tennis finals. I don’t think of myself as a “sports person,” and though I’ve followed tennis since I was a kid, I never thought of paying to see it live—until Serena Williams became a lead player.
Outrun, Outlast
Not a month out from running my first ultra-marathon, I find myself wondering at the equity emanating from the sport.