Carlie Pracht
Lantern Staff
With the rise of feminism in recent years and the general consensus that there is a major problem in today’s society with regards to gender inequality, it is easy to think that things are already better. While in some aspects this is true, as women continue to gain more equal opportunities in the workforce and are overall treated with more respect, it is not true in all aspects of life. Men seem to think that since some things have changed for the better that everything is fine now, and this ignorance causes them to shame women and disregard their opinions without even noticing it.
A prime example of this is when men talk about sports. Sports are something that I have very personal experience with. I have many siblings and cousins who are involved in sports, including baseball, basketball, softball and football as well as family members who love to watch sports on TV and at live events. I also played various sports growing up, so I know a thing or two about sports. I have found that many times when talking about sports to men at school and work, my thoughts and opinions have been disregarded as invalid or unimportant.
Many times I have made a comment about a game I watched the night before and even commented on a questionable call and men have repeatedly argued with my opinion and “mansplained” to me why my opinion is invalid and completely wrong. It is my opinion; therefore, it is not wrong, but since I am a woman, and therefore in the eyes of most men don’t know much about sports, it becomes invalid in that man’s eyes. While they may not directly say to me “you’re a woman, so you don’t know what you’re talking about,” it does not need to be said because it is clearly implied by the way they talk down to me and make me feel inferior. This is not true of all men. I have had great conversations about sports with various men, especially my friends and family, but I have noticed that with a lot of men, the conversation of sports becomes a sport itself.
Discussing sports has become a competition about who knows the most stats, who knows of the best athletes and who knows the most trivia about any given sport. Why can’t discussing sports be a fun conversation rather than a debate, regardless of the genders of those involved in the conversation?