Last week, this message was posted on the Girls Can’t… board in our forums:
“Ok, So its almost the beginning of a new year and once a again the girls of Diva Racing (#1 All Girls BMX Race Team) has been busy looking for sponsors the 2007 season. We sent out over 75 letters to various companies asking for help. How many responded? 3, they said no, but at least they took the time to mail us the standard form letter. To add insult to injury we were told of a new mostly boy team that is up to 20 new sponsors and now was the money to race all next year. Does anyone else think that there is an injustice here?”
This, to me, is absolutely insane. First off, Diva Racing is not a brand new team. They have been racing since 2004. The team members have several years of racing experience and several of them hold very high rankings including the #1 spot. They don’t just have talent, they have already proved themselves worthy of sponsors!
So what is the problem? Why are people so reluctant to sponsor girls sports?
I can think of one reason right off the bat. Girls sports do not get the media coverage that they deserve. Sponsors know this. They want to put their advertising dollars where they will get the most bang for their buck. It’s not fair, but do we blame the sponsors for this? It all boils down to media coverage. That’s the bottom line. It seems to me that businesses these days don’t want to sponsor a cause they truly believe in. Their greenbacks will line the pockets of he (yes, I said HE) who gets the most media attention. It may be a smart business decision, but smart isn’t always right. Note to advertisers: Spending your campaign money to support something because it’s popular doesn’t always score points with your customers. From now on, I am going pay better attention to who is supporting women’s sports. I think I will change my shopping habits to make sure I am supporting the businesses that are going against what is popular and backing events they truly believe in. If other women will do the same, we can make a difference. Perhaps we should start a list…
This brings us to the question of why don’t women’s sports get as much media coverage? There is so much to say about this subject. Is it lack of excitement? Are women’s sports boring? Hardly. Did you see the US Team at the 1999 World Cup Soccer Championship? Have you ever watched Lisa Fernadez or Cat Osterman pitch a no-hitter? What about Cammi Granato, slicing the ice to fire the puck into the goal just seconds before the buzzer sounds? Womens sports have all of the same edge-of-your-seat elements that men’s sports do. This is not the issue.
Could it be that men don’t want to see women as athletes? Quite possibly. I know this view does not encompass every guy on the planet, but there are some men out there that would rather not see a woman in a hockey uniform or decked out in football gear. Because the media overloads them with images of women as sex objects, it is very difficult to try to slip in a program where women are competing in an athletic competition and wearing gear that men do not find attractive.
(I have so much more to say on this that I will split it into a future article.)
Ego bruising? Yeah, I think this is a big one. Men have a need to feel dominant. It bruises their egos to see women with the same skills they have or who may have more talent than they do. This doesn’t mean that women’s sports coverage is doomed. This is just an area where education is needed to close the gender gap. I know I’m gonna take heat for saying this, but society has been breeding men to think this way. Yes, there are natural differences between men and women, but that does not mean that women can’t be talented in areas that are dominated by men. This Diva Racing jersey should have just as many sponsors on it as a boy’s jersey.
So I am totally blaming the media and their portrayal of women for the lack of sponsors in women’s sports. Nothing is going to change unless we speak up do something about it. It is time to step up to the plate and take a swing for the girls. Batter up!
So visit Diva Racing’s Web Site and show some love for girl athletes who have talent and ability and deserve all the support they can get. You can leave comments here, but you may also join us in the Girl Talk forums to discuss this topic in detail.
More to come on the subject of women in the media. Stay tuned.
