I know that I have talked about women in sports before but I really want to dive into it with the March Madness brackets going on. I haven’t watched March Madness this season at all but I do know that the only brackets that most people are making are for the guys games and not many people even are paying attention to what is happening in the women’s league. Catlin Clark recently just became the NCAA all time high scorer for both the men’s and women’s divisions. I feel like this does not get enough recognition and it is genuinely frustrating to watch a woman break down barriers and make history and yet it still does not get the attention it deserves. The men’s divisions will always have more viewer and more people in the stand and that does not just go for basketball it goes for all sports. It is very frustrating as a woman who grew up playing almost every sport there was and for most of my games the only people I knew that would come were my parents. I wish we could change the misogyny that so many people are innately possessing when it comes to women in sports and in other aspects of their lives. I still play club sports here at Penn state and some of them are co-ed and I can see the difference in the way that women are treated even within their own teams.
It is very damaging as a child to watch the weight that is placed on male sports and the lack of support for women. I want my potential daughters to grow up in a world where they know that they have equal opportunity and they are not treated as less than in their sport. I want more girls growing up today to break more barriers like Caitlin Clark and redefine what it means to be a women in sports. I want them to get the attention of people so they have no other choice than to watch the history that is being made by women.
It truly is so sad to see how women are treated so differently than men in sports. Women work just as hard, yet they get so little in return. I didn’t know who Caitlin Clark was before you introduced me to her, but she truly is an amazing athlete and deserves so much recognition for her hard work and skill. Even though I was only ever a competitive cheerleader I have seen and still do see how women are treated like they are less important, and it is so frustrating. As you said I hope that if I have daughters one day they can live in a world where it doesn’t matter that they are women and get the same recognition and opportunities as a guy would.
Being a retired athlete there is a major difference in how women in sports are treated differently and it is very draining. All recognition and eyes go towards the men. Women in sports receive the bare minimum and it is upsetting. Caitlin Clark is truly amazing and has worked so hard to make herself known for her dedication.
I hate how most people only pay attention when MEN are breaking records in sports. Caitlyn deserves so much more representation than what she is getting. I hope she continues to break records and gets more positive attention. We need some justice for the girls in sports!