Walk into any Parker women’s game and you immediately notice the lack of people in the stands, but when you walk into any Parker men’s game, the difference in attendance is impossible to miss. Whether it’s soccer, volleyball, tennis, field hockey, or the Clark Street Classic, you often see students hyping up the men’s games more than the women’s. Why does this happen? I think it’s because many people at Parker tend to value men’s sports more than women’s. This makes it unfair for the female student-athletes who are putting their time and effort into their sport. Meanwhile, men’s teams put in the same effort, but they actually get the reward of full stands and loud support.
Some students say that men’s sports are more “interesting” than women’s. I don’t see how this could be true, since women are playing the same sport, and the aspects which make a game interesting—close scores, energy, or good plays—both teams have. It seems like people think women playing basketball would be less interesting than men playing basketball. The answer is a clear gender biased double standard. Some people automatically assume that men would have a better game because it would be more competitive, thinking the players are better at their sport. This shows our community’s bias towards men’s sports.
I have seen this firsthand. As captain of JV volleyball, I am always being told to bring up the energy because energy helps us win. But whenever I look out into the stands, I only see varsity and a couple of other students. This gives us a lack of energy and sometimes causes us to lose the game. Meanwhile, there could be a soccer game going on at the same time as varsity, and there are significantly more people at the soccer game. This is a perfect example of our community’s gender bias. It doesn’t matter if it’s varsity or JV. Most tend to pick the men’s game over the women’s. One day, there was a soccer game at the same time as a volleyball game. At a men’s varsity soccer game, the stands were completely full even though the team lost that night. Compare that to the women’s varsity volleyball game where we had a double win with nobody in the stands.
During the Clark Street Classic, few people were at the women’s game. Many say this is because they don’t play Latin, but the men do. How can this be the excuse when women’s basketball played Latin last year? But either way, we should still support the women’s team, playing Latin or not. The games are still exciting, and it is always fun to see our Colonels win. Students also say that at the men’s game there is more team spirit with a full student section. Why don’t we bring team spirit to the women’s games? Why don’t they have a full student section too? These excuses we could easily fix if we all went to support our women’s team. The women’s team always puts in the work, and we as a school need to bring the spirit to their courts as well.
Many people who read this article will agree with what I’m saying and still not go to a women’s game. I think this is because they think the games will be boring, with less excitement and energy. During our volleyball season, we have seen student sections louder than us during home games. We need everyone to bring that excitement and energy instead of giving up on it. If we just give up, women’s games will never be seen as exciting, and we can fix that by bringing them a full student section. The only way to make any sports game not boring is by showing up. More cheering and more energy make the game more enjoyable for everyone.
In reality, the only thing that makes a women’s game “boring” is an empty student section, and we can change that. If we actually brought the same energy to women’s games that we bring to men’s, the games would be just as exciting. Once we do that, we can break through that bias and see all of Parker’s sports as equal.
