THERE is a fine line between calling out sexism and using it as an excuse when things don’t go your way. For me, gender equality is not about recreating every characteristic of our male counterparts. It’s about giving everyone the same opportunities and ensuring everyone receives an equal day’s pay for an equal day’s work, no matter the role.
However, we also have to ensure we don’t create double standards for women, have higher expectations of their actions or dissect everything they say and attach labels to their actions, words and character, which on many occasions can sound derogatory.
Understanding and highlighting this particular type of sexism is difficult as it becomes a matter of opinion, so we need to continue to work hard and break down many, many years of labelling women as emotional, hormonal, dram-
atic and bossy, when in fact they are being assertive and making their point.
I can’t think of any instance when those labels have been attached to men. They are more likely to be called, independent, strong, a leader! So words are important, but for me, there are none to describe the achievement of the Scottish women’s national football team and their coach, Shelley Kerr in qualifying for the World Cup.
I have been amazed at the coverage of this feat, good, bad and indifferent. A lot of people now want to be associated with this winning team and we have folk popping up out of nowhere to add their good luck wishes, every one of them welcome. However, comparing what our women footballers have accomplished to our current male national team is not helpful. We aren’t the same and we don’t aspire to be little mini-men in any aspect of life.
My hope is that the members of the media who now profess to be supporters of the women’s team begin to cover the women’s domestic game on a regular basis. Perhaps when people are being chosen to go to France to cover the World Cup, there will be staff available who are familiar with every aspect of the women’s game and the players, and allow this achievement stand on its own two feet, without comparison.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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