Women’s athletics find themselves struggling to survive in the realm of professional sports coverage. The money in the industry is mostly dedicated to male sports commentary. There isn’t much televised discussion of women in sports, pushing female players into an inferior position.
Male sports stay on top, particularly football. Men’s infamous defenses against women’s sports is their dryness, in comparison to male contact sports. Masculinity thrives on the thrill of a competition where someone can get tackled. It becomes a part of male identity to enjoy the sport. The only way women can enjoy such a thrill is by displacing themselves, risking the accusation of masculinity and even lesbian-ness if they are too interested.
Despite not having the same privilege to coverage and commentary, members of the Independent Women’s Football League are making strides for the representation of women in full contact sports. They dismantle the presumed fragility of femininity and in doing so denaturalize men’s association with physical sports.
When men play sports, they are awarded for their masculine abilities. When women play sports, it has to be non-aggressive in order to stay in the boundaries of femininity. Players of the IWFL go against both odds. Because of the league women get to playing a sport they love, but their mission extends to other roles besides playing, “The IWFL also allows women and men alike the opportunity to coach, manage and even own a sports team in order to further this opportunity for women athletes.”
The IWFL is a non-profit organization, rooted in honest values. “Our focus is on providing opportunities for women to play this great American sport while providing exciting and progressive entertainment for the public. This league was started with player safety, community service, honesty, and integrity in mind.”
Games are independently run because there is little space for them as a new sport. They face judgements towards their gender identity and sexual orientation because of our own conceptions of femininity and masculinity. What would it take to support women’s full contact sports in the same way we support men’s full contact sports?
