Elle Magazine recently published an article about WNBA player Brittney Griner. Brittney played college basketball for Baylor Univeristy and just started her first season in the WNBA.
I remember while she was still playing at Baylor there was a lot of buzz going on in the media and on social media sites because of her level of athleticism. Brittney has dunked a few times during basketball games and because this is a skill seen as something only men can do properly there were alot of people referring to her as a man and comparing her to NBA players. Sports analyst questioned whether or not she should play in the NBA and an owner of an NBA team even suggest she come play for them but Birttney said she would never do that because it does a disservice to other WNBA players in the sense that the only way for you to a be a good basketball player is for you to be a man, women will never be good enough.
This was a pretty interesting article that highlighted the issues that come from having strict societal norms about gender and there is more than one way to be a girl.
Things I Found Interesting From The Article:
- Nike signed Brittney to model their menswear
- During her WNBA rookie orientation she said she declined to participate in a session about make up application and how to dress. (It was noted that NBA rookies are taught to beware of gold-digger groupies who might prick tiny holes in condoms.)
- During her time at Baylor school officials told her to keep her being a lesbian a secret because the school classifies "homosexual acts" as sexual misconduct.
- WNBA league marketing used to focus their efforts on appealing to female fans that are drawn to the league more for the opportunities it afforded women than for actual basketball playing.
- The author of the article notes that as she trailed Brittney from appointment to appointment she felt like a guy to her but she later goes on to say that she found her face attractive because she found it feminine.
Source: Brittney Griner Profile - Brittney Griner Interview - ELLE
I like her comment about how joining the NBA would just make it seem as though women will only be good if they are compared to men. This is a great point that I never thought about. When it comes to sports, I hate it when women's skills are only compared to men and not talked about as their own achievements.
ReplyDelete"Brittney has dunked a few times during basketball games and because this is a skill seen as something only men can do properly there were alot of people referring to her as a man and comparing her to NBA players." This is sooo typical of good players. I played volleyball most of my life with one of my best friends. She is a really good athlete and she constantly got the comment "You should play for the boy's team since you're so good." This society views women as not being able to compare to men in ANY field except looks.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that she has chosen to speak up about these issues and use her ability as a platform to bring these issues to the light! Go her!
ReplyDeleteI love how she decided to not play for the NBA but play for the WNBA. Ah! She is awesome. New hero.
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