Over Spring Break, I was eating dinner with my family at a restaurant at home discussing a sports marketing internship I am in the process of interviewing for. Our waiter, overhearing our conversation, joined us in talking about international soccer and what I should talk about during the interview. However, after a few minutes, he said to me, “you know, you really don’t need to know anything about soccer, just dress nicely and look pretty and you’ll be fine.” I stared at him in disbelief, unsure of how someone could openly in conversation tell me I do not need to be qualified for any position as long as I “look pretty.”
This waiter’s comment has stuck with me over the past few weeks as I try to decipher the meaning behind his cynicism. Is it because I’m a girl trying to get an internship in a male dominated field? Is it just because I’m a girl? Would he ever tell a man that to get an internship he should just show up looking handsome?
Unfortunately, comments like these are common for women everywhere, and especially for women interested in working in sports. I have known forever that I hoped to pursue a career in sports, as I grew up both watching and playing numerous sports and it has grown into a passion of mine. At home, this was no surprise, and I would spend hours with my dad and brother watching and discussing games and news. With friends, however, it was much different. Trying to join a conversation with “the guys” was like trying to join an exclusive club and not being let in. One time some friends and I went to our guy friends house to watch a football game, and afterwards he said that “I’m allowed back because I could actually follow what was going on.” While this was meant as a compliment, I felt insulted that the automatic response to a girl watching football would be that she wouldn’t know anything about it.
There are also subtle underlying actions that distance girls from this “guy’s world” of sports and athletics. It’s when a group of guys are talking about last week’s basketball game and pretend not to hear you when you add some input, or a group of girls assume that when you say you want to do marketing, they assume in the entertainment or fashion industry. Or it’s when you say you like sports and are then bombarded with questions you would never know the answer to unless you are a human encyclopedia. Everyday occurrences like these reinforce the ideas that guys and girls are expected to fulfill certain roles and positions.
We all need to work to decrease this stigma that it is so unusual for girls to be into sports, and that it is something to be applauded when we can prove our knowledge- we shouldn’t have to prove anything. Yes, I am a girl. Yes, I watch sports. Yes, I want to work in sports. I should not be thought of as a lesser candidate, or an usual pick, because of this. Rather, we should all work to be more accepting of any field someone is interested in going into, regardless of their sex. Though it is sometimes hard to face the inevitable criticisms and doubt that come with wanting to make my way into a male dominated field, it motivates me to know that for every person who questions my aptitude or qualifications, there is another one that believes in me wholeheartedly.