FALLON Sherlock is a name I hope we have all become familiar with over the past few days as she gained a place in sporting history by becoming the first woman to defeat a male darts player at the PDC world championship.
This achievement will open doors for more women to be accepted into darts, where brain not brawn is the requirement.
However, it was disappointing, as always, that this amazing accolade brought with it its own sets of issues – basically, a long list of social media haters. There is obviously a group of people who never listened when their mothers told them: “If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all!” It must be so difficult to learn to ignore the negative comments, the insults, and – on some occasions – the threats that this small group of faceless people force on others without invitation.
Social media has proven to be a major benefit to women in sport, as it has allowed them to share information and raise their profile.
However, it has also given a platform to the haters who, for whatever deluded reason, think they have a right to lodge insults, and that anyone is fair game.
This is why we need the written press to continue to increase coverage of women in sport and give them an equal share of this platform. I am part of a collaborative, Gender Equal Media Scotland (GEMS), which looks to bring together academics, journalists, campaign groups and organisations who are working for women’s equality in the Scottish media, and are looking to ensure that we have a Scottish media which treats women equally.
Just recently, one of the partner organisations, the University of Strathclyde, created an online resource to explore how women are represented in the media and reflect on what it means for contemporary society, culture and, of course, sport. Participants will be introduced to key gender issues and will explore female representation in areas from news to sports to feature films. You can check out the course here: www.futurelearn.com/courses/gender-and-the-media/1#. The good thing is there is an option to gain access to the course for nine weeks free of charge.
With more and more awareness around these issues I, as always, remain hopeful that Scotland as a nation will continue to challenge inequality and work tirelessly towards creating a gender equal society in all aspects of the word.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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