This week's play on words*: Part II--The Women of Wimbledon

Various bloggers over at Women Talk Sports have already mentioned this issue, so--having been scooped--I'm simply adding to the discourse.

In a one step forward, two steps forward kind of way, Wimbledon has stopped putting Miss (or Mrs.) on the scoreboard. (Though the umpires still use the honorifics during matches.) But in a move that is so very high school, the Wimbledon powers-that-be have decided to schedule women's matches on the show courts based on looks. And everyone has noticed--even ESPN where columnist LZ Granderson writes:
Doing so [selling sex] might hurt some of the players' feelings, but it's not undermining the integrity of the sport. Court assignments don't affect the outcome of the match or tournament.
Well sometimes court assignments do affect outcomes--I mean there is a reason court 2 (the former court 2 anyway) at Wimbledon was called "the graveyard of champions." OK so that's mostly superstition but don't think that tennis does not have certain home-court advantage aspects.
More importantly, though, it does affect the integrity of the sport. One would think that tennis, Wimbledon especially, would be attempting to rectify its sexist, homophobic, and racist ways. But no. That both Williams sisters got sent to court 2 (the new one) along with French Open finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova while younger, blonder, whiter, more heteronormative players got to play Centre and Court 1 is indicative of the multiple and intersecting discriminations that still go largely unchecked.

This article notes, interestingly, that the "babe factor" is not necessarily a recent phenomenon. Citing Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen, the author reports (citing Susan Cahn) that Lenglen effectively combined athleticism and eroticism. Of course she also had 6 French Open and 6 Wimbledon titles.
Of course tomorrow the Williams sisters will be on Centre Court playing one another. Because even though the pretty girls got their moments on the show courts last week--they all got sent home this week.

* Oh yeah. The play on words: "No doubt about it, [the young, pretty White girls'] looks and not their talent have won them prime playing time on Wimbledon's best piece of grass." Yep. Yesterday's was better.

This week's plays on words: Part I

Addressing the issue of cheerleading as sport, Inside Higher Ed this week published an article on the controversy entitled "But I'm an Athlete."
It's a good piece but I giggled a little when I read the title and wondered how many Inside Higher Ed readers picked up on what--I'm assuming--is the play on that cheerleading/gay rehab satirical film But I'm a Cheerleader. If you haven't seen it--do. It's not really about cheerleading but about a camp to reform young homosexuals. The lead character gets sent there after an intervention during which her family and friends accuse her of being a lesbian. Her defense? "But I'm a cheerleader."
The implication being that a cheerleader cannot be gay. And the suggestion/question of the IHE article: an athlete cannot be a cheerleader. There are probably a lot of things going on here. But this is what I take from it. Despite the athleticism involved in cheerleading these days, its status as a sport and its participants as athletes remains controversial. What is interesting is that part of the unconferred status stems from the view that cheerleading is a feminine endeavor. In the beginning only men were cheerleaders but that changed so dramatically that few people even remember those days of yore. And women as cheerleaders jibes with the notion of women in support roles. So that makes it seem more feminine. Plus there are the costumes, the attractiveness factor, the music, etc. In some ways the legitimacy issue is the same one faced by figure skating--which has been deemed a sport but is often seen as a lesser sport.
So the cheerleading as sport issue remains unresolved even as more and more schools are elevating cheerleading to varsity sport status. (More on this controversy at the Title IX Blog.)

The bra is back!

When the Sports Museum of America went bankrupt and failed to find a buyer, the donated memorabilia became contested property. One of the most notable donations was from Brandi Chastain--the sports bra she revealed (that created far too much controversy, I thought) after scoring the winning penalty kick in the 1999 World Cup gold medal match. At one time it appeared Chastain, and other donors, were going to have to pay $250 (plus shipping, of course!)for their items. But Chastain's lawyer did some wrangling and the bra is back with its original owner after spending some time--we think--in a NJ storage facility. Initially Chastain did not appear too concerned about her bra and there was talk about it going to the Soccer hall of Fame. But it is, after all, the 10th anniversary of that victory. And so the bra will be back on display this weekend at FC Gold Pride's (Chastain's current team) match against St Louis Athletica. No word on what it's next stop will be.

Women coaching men: The RI round-up

Here is a very "comprehensive" article about women who coach men/boys in Rhode Island. High school and college coaches and some of their achievements. The writer lists ALL of the women who coach men/boys and where they do so. There are 32 in total. No names or numbers about how many coach women/girls. Also the article kind of fails to critique the whole opposite gender coaching thing instead opting for a progress narrative punctuated, of course, by the above-mentioned list.

Calling Wimbledon on its sexism

I have to admit I don't go to Wimbledon's official site to read the articles. I go for scores and schedules and draws. That's probably a good thing given the reporting the site did on Gisela Dulko's defeat of Maria Sharapova yesterday. The story, which was all about the sex appeal of the players, has been taken down but this columnist does a good job recreating and critiquing it.
Players and promoters and agents have, for the most part, embraced the sex sells mantra in an attempt to legitimize women's tennis (hint: you're actually doing the opposite!). But the columnist is right to note that it should not be on a tournament's own site. The article seems to have turned a sports contest into a beauty contest--which player looked sexier in her all-white attire? It noted that Dulko has been named to lists of the sexiest players.
It is especially unfortunate to see it on the Wimbledon site given that I have heard several stories now about how Wimbledon will not sell out. It does not have an excessive amount of sponsors or ads placed here, there, and everywhere. But it clearly has bought into the selling of the sex appeal of its female players.

The Beat goes on

The Atlanta Beat, formerly of the WUSA, will join the WPS next year as an expansion team. The addition of the Beat was announced last week. It will be the 9th WPS team
As previously reported, Philly will host a team next year: Philadelphia Independence.
The name of the Atlanta franchise is a carryover from the WUSA (naming rights issues were what apparently held up the announcement) but colors have changed. Team colors will be "Ferrari red and gold."
Wonder which color they will go with for the skort??

Guess what I saw?

Pop Star on Ice: The Johnny Weir Story.
Yes the good side to this lousy weather that happened to come while I was on vacation in P-town (but thankfully a day after the bike ride here) is that it's a great opportunity to go to the movies. It was also really good for the Provincetown International Film Festival.
So when the weather took its gusty turn yesterday I headed to the program guide and was psyched to see the Weir documentary--which I had never heard of previously--on the schedule for the last day of the festival. And I also thought, "Pat Griffin would want me to see this movie." So I went. I thought it would be a big draw here in P-town among some of the gay boys but it was not sold out and the crowd was mixed in terms of gender, sexuality, and age.
And after seeing the documentary, I have a better understanding of why.
The filmmakers establish early on--in case you didn't already know--that Johnny Weir is a little bit different; that he knows what people say about him and his skating and what he chooses to pay attention to and what he simply puts aside. They do this using a timeline to frame the stories presented and move forward and backward along the timeline that is marked mostly with competitions. I thought the timeline as a frame was a little hackneyed but it was easy to ignore it because the footage was so compelling from Johnny's training sessions on and off the ice, to interviews with his coach and mother, to more candid moments with Johnny and his best bud Paris. There were the "infamous moments" when Weir makes metaphors comparing programs to drinking vodka and snorting cocaine. I never thought these comments were really that bad and when you see them in context they seem even less egregious. But then we see the fallout and how Weir has to deal with it.
Christine Brennan appears in the film and I believe it was Brennan who asked Weir the question that produced the best response by Weir. When asked about being a role model and if he thinks about how his behavior and comments are seen by kids he said that he was a role model to some kids and that no one could be or should be a role model for everyone.
And that is why I like Johnny Weir. Because he gets it. He is who he is and he speaks his mind--and note that nothing he says is that crazy, really. [I mean why doesn't he have a right to say that he thinks the free program is too regulated these days and contain too many spins?]
And he's right. He is likely a role model to some children. And he needs to be there. And that is why attempts to shame Weir into being more masculine or to kow-tow to the skating establishment are so misguided. Yes, figure skating has certain legitimacy problems but silencing Johnny Weir is only going to make them worse.
So in addition to these things that appeared in the film, I made two observations about what I am calling the Johnny Weir Effect. Butch men don't like him. Straight men like skater Evan Lysacek, who is undoubtedly Weir's biggest American rival and who comes off pretty badly in the film, go to great lengths to separate themselves from Weir. And gay men are not huge fans either. Brian Boitano tries to seem supportive but he is clearly uncomfortable with him. Brian Orser, who is part of Canadian figure skating governance, clearly has a problem with Weir's critique's of skating's rules. And of course there was the infamous discussion by gay commentator Mark Lund about Weir's flamboyance.
So men--even some gay men--find him a little disconcerting. But the women love him. And this was fascinating to me. Johnny's Angels is his fan group and it seems to be comprised of middle-class, middle-aged (or older) white women. So all these apparently normative women are in love with this very queer (regardless of his sexuality which he does not label) young man. What's up with that? Do they too wish they could be as outgoing as Weir--could speak their minds and dress how they want and challenge the establishment? Maybe. There's something here that I find so intriguing. And I think the world--the skating world and beyond--need Johnny Weir.