Sexism in Football and Society
Sexism in football has hit the headlines today! But it’s not just a problem in football, and it needs to be challenged whenever and wherever it appears, just like racism and prejudice. Everyone is important and everyone is equal! Sian Massey is a top-class football official on merit, who has worked hard to achieve this.
So along come Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray suggesting that Massey needed to learn the offside rule! Give me a break! Then they went on to mock West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady‘s claims in a newspaper column that sexism is still prevalent. “See charming Karren Brady this morning complaining about sexism?” Keys said to his colleague. “Yeah. Do me a favour, love.” OK, it was caught off-air, but that simply highlights the problem of an underlying sexism within society, their comments underlining the attitudes Sian Massey has probably had to overcome! As Karren Brady told BBC Radio 5 Live this morning, “What really upsets me is the fact that only females in our industry are judged by their gender and that is categorically wrong.”
I always do my best to challenge sexism, racism or prejudice wherever and whenever I come across them, for these attitudes have no place in our society. What we all need to do is celebrate diversity, and respect what other people, groups and cultures have to offer to make this world a better place. I speak out against racism even if I’m not a victim of it! I speak out against homophobia even though I’m not gay! I speak out against sexism directed at women even though I’m not a woman!
Obviously I don’t speak for women, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be seen as patronising. But I can begin to imagine how women must feel when the media condemns sexism against them and then goes on the explain the off-side rule with handbags and the like (as I was told happened today). In my mind, understanding the off-side rule is simply a basic test of whether someone is really interested in football or not, male or female!
See also: Why Feminism?
Seems as though we hold the same opinion on the matter. At least Sky moved swiftly today by removing them from tonight’s broadcast and apparently Keys has telephoned Massey and apologised. I still think a public apology should be forthcoming from them both though!
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Joanne Lewis
January 24, 2011 at 10:21 pm
Thanks for your comment Joanne, let’s hope some good comes out of this incident. A public apology from them would be good, especially if they realised why what they said was so unacceptable. John.
John Ager
January 24, 2011 at 10:47 pm
Well done JOHN us few good men out there have to defend women from Guys like those who belittle the said women who have sleepless nights to bring us into this world.
cbcburke9
January 24, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Thanks for your comment. We have to be careful how we do it, but men can help to change attitudes. John.
John Ager
January 24, 2011 at 10:48 pm
Thanks for the link to this, John. I too heard of offside rule analogies floating about today using handbags and shoes to explain the offside rule.
I later saw a pre-match video in which Gray once again commented on the female referee and again said women don’t know the offside rule. He and the other commentator continued on to discuss her physical appearance and whether it “did it for them”.
I don’t think anything will come of these two broadcasters for this incident. It’s not a new prejudice either. It just happened to get caught on camera and hot mics for once, putting faces to these archaic, sexist ways of thinking.
Thanks again for your input, it was good to read.
M. Thomas
January 25, 2011 at 1:48 am
“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good!”. Or in this case to be thought of as no good.
It’s heartening to see that not all men think like these two dinosaurs.
Ariane
January 25, 2011 at 10:45 am
Seems like you and I have a similar response. Perhaps I go a bit further and think that they and others should lose their jobs.
The BBC gave air time to Steve Claridge who suggetsed their error was to not make sure their mics were off. Surely by saying this he supported their view.
Thanks for the comment on my blog too. http://equalityedge.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/no-suprise-sexism-in-sport/
equalityedge
January 25, 2011 at 12:27 pm
@equalityedge – and I go further still and insist that they lose their heads. lol…..
In my opinion, the least they should lose is their jobs.
Ariane
January 25, 2011 at 7:46 pm
[...] friend, John, has been covering the UK football sexism controversy on his blog. Check out what he says and leave him a comment. It’s quite sad that this kind of thing still happens in the 21st [...]
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