It is game day, and the girls’ basketball team is warming up by stretching their limbs, working on their form, and mentally preparing themselves for the competition. One of the girls, sophomore Chika Okwonna, is hoping that she will see a bigger crowd cheering her on at the stands, similar to the crowds seen at the boys’ basketball games. When the girls get to the gymnasium, they come to see that while the bleachers are not empty, there is a generous amount of space that Okwonna notices would be filled if this was the boys’ basketball team. Disappointment fills the girls’ eyes, but they try to keep their heads up and focus on winning the game.
“One of the worst things is when the visiting team has more people on their side during home games as compared to our side,” said Okwonna. “It is pretty hard to see as a dedicated player, and it shows how the school feels about girls’ basketball.”
Many girls have had to experience prejudice because of their gender, and this is certainly true for girls in male-dominated sports, such as soccer and basketball. Phrases such as “you play like a girl” often flood the ears of young boys who perform inadequately in their specific sport, and this is something that may deter many people from taking girls games as seriously as boys games. It can be argued that the lack of attention for the basketball team is because of said sexism, an argument that Okwonna certainly agrees with due to her own observations.
“Girls basketball does not get the hype that volleyball or boys basketball does, and this is because many see basketball as a boys sport, something that people perceive as more fun and exciting,” said Okwonna. “The boys could be on a losing streak, and people would still show up to their game, but for us girls, we could be doing very well in the season, but the stands would be empty.”
Since basketball is considered to be what some call a “boys sport,” girls in other sports may not face the same kind of prejudice for their gender as Okwonna did. Tennis is a sport that is more gender neutral, as one of the most famous female athletes is a tennis player, as is swimming and lacrosse. Still, many women in tennis have had to deal with minor forms of misogyny that affect the way people view women’s sports. Junior Sukanya Harapanahalli, a tennis player, feels as if there are stereotypes present for girls in her sport.
“A lot of the boys in tennis will automatically assume that a girl will end up playing worse than them simply because they are a girl,” said Harapanahalli. “I think that because of this, they usually end up preferring to play with other guys.”
Despite the hardships that many women face in sports, most are so dedicated to their hobby that they are willing to push back against any obstacles that come at them. Many famous female athletes, such as Serena Williams and Lindsey Vonn, have reported cases of misogyny that they have experienced in their career, but both women, along with many others, continued to stand strong in the face of adversity.
“Talking to the coaches, building a larger community, and inviting friends to come and support are ways that I would combat the lack of acknowledgement for girls basketball,” said Okwonna. “At the end of the day, it is not even about the fact that it is a girls game, it is a fact that we are all Falcons, so by encouraging more people to have more school spirit and to recognize this basketball as a Tompkins team, I think more people will start to acknowledge us.”
