There's something of a debate going on at the moment about sexism in sports blogging. One of my fellow lady football bloggers was interviewed about the subject but was then cross when cuts were made which she objected to.
Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while will know that one of my many objections to the game before I started learning about it was a perception that men used it to exclude women from conversations. I have to say that my experiences since then though have been almost exclusively positive. For example no one (touch wood) has left abusive comment on this blog. All the men who have left messages or emailed me have been really respectful and encouraging.
"But" I hear you cry "You started the blog because of a sexist comment Georgina".
Which is correct of course, although as everything there was a context. If I really felt my lover was sexist at heart and disrespected women do you think I would be with him? Of course not.
Nor am I suggesting sexism doesn't exist. I'm a girl remember. I meet discrimination and prejudice in all its subtle forms, as do most of use in some way shape or form in our lives. And I also understand the complexities of how power coupled with these is what really causes the problem.
But somehow we have to find a way to deal with all this and move forward, otherwise we just get locked in a battle.
The point is men and women make sense of the world differently. We think differently and we are interested in things in a different way.
I know that is generalisation and I know you will always find exceptions to any 'rule' like that. But take the very issue of female vs male football bloggers. My analysis would be that on the whole the blogs written by men (assuming they are being truthful about their identity of course!) are more technically focused, whereas the girls tend to adopt a broader approach.
That is not a judgement on either. One is not better than the other. They are just different.
And I like to read both. One of my favourite male bloggers is this one. For me he has a great blend of knowledgeable analysis with enough technical information to stretch me but not leave me behind. One of my favourite girly bloggers is this one, who has just a slight tendency (!) to consider wider football matters, such as the level of hotness of various players and narrative about the latest antics of their WAGS.
The point is by accessing both perspectives, I think I get a much more holistic view of that thing that is football. The sociology as well as the technical game.
So it seems to me the problem of sexism is simple. Open your mind, accept we are different, listen to other perspectives and get more out of life.
What could be simpler?
No comments:
Post a Comment