Dear Olympics: Fuck You. Signed, Me.

[yogurtrifle]

With all the fuss about the Olympics coming up, I just have to share an irritation I have with how male-dominated sports are. People will say that men are just naturally more physically powerful and 'better at sports' while convenintly ignoring two facts

Comments

[trasnochadora]

ITEM NUMBER ONE: Your icon is fantastic.

ITEM NUMBER TWO: You fucking said it, girl. I recall asking my parents why there were no women participating in the sports we watched on TV, and their feeble replies of, "Men are just naturally stronger than women -- it's biology/Because no one would want to watch it, duh/But there are cheerleaders!"

...

Of course, most hardcore female athletes would utterly annihilate men of their caliber. 8Db

[yogurtrifle]

Ugh, have I mentioned how much I hate cheerleaders? Not the individuals, but the concept that women are supposed to stand on the sidelines in skimpy outfits and cheer on the men. BLARGH on that concept.

And hardcore female athletes rule. XDb

[yogurtrifle]

Also wanted to note that fencers compete regardless of gender and there are many great, world champion female fencers who utterly destroyed their male competitors.

[quincunx]

This post brought to you by feminism! And awesome.

I am proud ♥.

[yogurtrifle]

X3 Thank you, dear.

[emzilla_stomp]

This is late, but who would turn down a comment from me?

This is pretty much dead on entirely! Also, people seem to ignore that muscle is distributed differently on women, so what we excel at may be different than men. But this doesn't mean that we excel at nothing ;_;

Also, swimming does seem to get a bit of attention on TV, at least during the Olympics! But I am pretty sure it is for the same reason that Gymnastics and Ice Skating get any play--ie women in revealing clothing!

I personally also think that the dichotomy between sports and dance is interesting here. Many types of dancing (cheerleading as well) can be physically exerting (here's looking at you, ballet) but we tend to sort of view dancers completely differently than athletes. I really think that gymnastics and ice skating are damn close to just being straight up dancing and I am really not sure why other forms of dance are excluded. Oh right, because dancers are generally women.._. I really think it's not like a toughness thing. After all, curling is an Olympic sport

[yogurtrifle]

No one could turn down a comment from someone who is no stranger to danger, Em. <3

Well, they ignore what women are good at, because everything is still currently based around what men can do and what men are interested in. There's 50% of the population who is being told that their achievements aren't really important and don't count because they carry their reproductive organs on the inside of their torso instead of on the out.

I don't think it's a toughness thing, either. I would be terrified to have a ballerina kick me. Ballerinas have legs that would shatter my ribcage like a jawbreaker under the wheels of a Mac truck.

Basically, I just think that it's still totally centered around men and that pisses me off.

I'm not even touching the whole China thing because woop woop everything's already been said before woop. How ARE people taking it in Japan, anyhoo?

[emzilla_stomp]

People in Japan seem quiet about it at least in person (2ch or what have you is probably different). Relations with China are strained already so people don't seem to want to say anything on TV anyway.