Unpopular
opinion time: Conservatives go on way too much about women's sport. But women's
sport is a strange side issue, and even if
you win that battle it will not change the trajectory of society. It is a
really strange distraction issue of little value.
For one, so
few women play sport, that even most women are not interested in it. Two, are
you aware how much of women's sport, especially at the higher levels, is a pickup scene for lesbians? Why was
the most iconic picture out of the first Televised women's state of origin two
women kissing? Because the gender transgressive nature of women's sport,
especially at the professional level, is well known by many involved. Three,
because of the hip structure of women things like football, soccer and many
other sports that involve sideways movement have serious negative effects on a
women's body in ways that they do not have on men's bodies. So, many sports
hurt women in ways that they do not hurt men. Four, women's professional sport
is an inherently feminist issue, it was something that transgressive radical
feminists pushed. Why would the church advocate for their position? It is
ridiculous. It's white-knighting on a seriously irrelevant issue.
Yes, of
course men dressing as women to play against women is ridiculous. Yes, of
course it should be illegal. But to take the side of radical feminists, to argue for the importance of the categort, feminists that have done far more harm to our society than any other gender radicalists is
just silly.
One of the
reasons I do not call myself a conservative, is because most conservatives just
defend the liberal/feminist/leftist positions of a generation ago. Which means
in a generation the conservatives will be defending the
liberal/feminist/leftist positions of today. Once you see that you can't unsee
it, and it is a particularly sure way to make sure that our society is
completely undermined in every way.
On it being
a gender transgressive issue, you can hear how this is considered an important
aspect of women's sport in many contexts. Here's one:
“It’s just another way that women’s sports spaces are
reflective of queerness: They center certain aspects of queer culture, making
them safer places to be out, and making them unique among an often
homophobic and heteronormative men’s sports culture — even as the media
and culture at large wants to heterosexualize women’s sports. For many years,
women’s sports has struggled against the stereotype that all women athletes are
lesbians, while also facing the reality that many of them are.
The intra-league romantic relationships are not a new
phenomenon, even if they are more visible now than they have been in the past.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the World War II-era
league that inspired the 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” did everything they
could to ensure that their players were perceived as straight, including
implementing a “no fraternization” policy designed to discourage player
relationships. Even still, they existed, and women were sent home from the
league or traded away if those relationships were discovered.
In the 1970s and ’80s, the National Women’s Football League
boasted a variety of teammate romances, locker room hookups and flings among
rivals. As I discovered while reporting “Hail Mary,” my book on the
league, many of the players on these teams would leave practice and hang out
with each other at their local lesbian bar; they were teammates, but also
friends who existed in shared community. At the time, though, it wasn’t safe to
be publicly out, so most of the women never discussed their sexual orientation
in the media…
…These visible relationships serve to normalize queerness on
a large, public scale. And they also introduce mainstream culture to a
different way of thinking about relationship and community, one where exes
frequently coexist and interact with one another — something familiar to any
person who has ever walked into a lesbian bar and seen their friend making out
with their ex while another ex is sipping a drink at the next table…
…But the benefits of queer existence should not just serve as
teaching moments for straight fans; these relationships are, first and
foremost, a beacon to queer fans. Sports — particularly men’s sports — is often
a place where queer folks don’t feel safe. But when you know there are large
numbers of athletes on the field who are gay, it signals to queer fans that the
space is for them.
In fact, there are some women’s sports fans who got into the
league because of how openly and visibly queer the players
were.”[1]
Women’s professional
sport was always a gender transgressive arena. It is disturbing to see how much
Christians want to seek to make this one of the most important cultural issues. You can't save western civilisation by advocating for one of the hobby horses of the feminists.
List of
References
[1] https://archive.md/CqS1j#selection-589.0-777.56
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