What they said ... `I believe like a lot of other females that I have the ability to play contact. I don't think I should have to settle for anything less. If this is the case, I would rather not play the sport' Brooke Robertson, 15 year-old ice-hockey player who has recently contested the decision to drop her from the Bendigo Raiders because of her gender
`We are trying to protect the girls, not stop them from playing' Victorian Ice Hockey Association president, Mr Doug Monahan
In May,1998, a 13-year-old Victorian girl received a favourable judgement from the Equal Opportunity Commission allowing her to continue playing ice hockey in a mixed team. The girl had challenged being banned from playing with the Bendigo Raiders because of her gender.
The Victorian Ice Hockey Association had previously banned women playing in mixed teams. In this they were following the guidelines of the International Ice Hockey Federation which ban mixed competitions. However, the Association later withdrew its objections.
This Equal Opportunity Commission hearing together with recent reports suggesting the media does not give adequate coverage to women's sport have re-opened debate on whether women and girls are treated fairly and equally in sporting competitions.
Background
Encouraging women's participation in sport is one of the objectives of the Australian Government's sports policy.
Australia's umbrella sporting organisation, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), has a Women and Sport Unit which was established in 1987. The aim of the unit is to increase the quality and quantity of sporting opportunities available to women.
The unit has increased the number of coaching and general sports scholarships available to women; supported research into issues affecting women athletes and developed the Prime Ministerial Women and Sport Awards to recognise women's achievements in particular sports.
Despite official federal government policy positions, however, it is argued that women's sport still attracts less media attention, less sponsorship and less official recognition and financial support.
There also remains the question of the extent to which the Sex Discrimination Act promotes gender equality in sport.
A number of sporting competitions will not allow women and teenage girls to compete on equal terms with male players. Some of these individual rulings are being challenged before the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal.
There are a large number of Internet sites which deal with aspects of this issue.
An Australian Federal Government fact sheet titled Sport in Australia outlines a number of the initiatives which have been undertaken to promote women's sport. Those paragraphs dealing with women and sport can be found at the end of the three page document. The fact sheet can be found at http://www.dfat.gov.au/ipb/pubcn/fact_sheets_96/039.html
The Australian Sports Commission produces a newsletter titled Aussie Sport Action. The Spring 1995 edition of this newsletter gives some background information on the Prime Ministerial Women and Sport Awards. This report can be found at http://www.ausport.gov.au/act64j.html
The same edition of Aussie Sport Action contains a detailed report on the impact of sexual harassment in discouraging women and girls at all levels of competition from taking part in sport. This interesting item is titled Don't stand for sexual harassment. It can be found at http://www.ausport.gov.au/act646.html
The Spring 1995 edition of Refractory Girl, a liberal feminist publication giving positions on a wide range of women's issues includes an item titled, Male groin strains get a guernsey as female world champions are ignored. The piece is written by Shani Keane. It outlines in some detail what it argues is the neglect of women's sport by Australia's media.
This item can be found at http://www.peg.apc.org/~janeg/issue49/files/news.htm
Arguments suggesting that women are discriminated against in sport
The first argument offered in support of the claim that women are discriminated against in sport is that there are a significant number of sporting competitions where they are either unable to take part or are discouraged from taking part.
It is claimed that one of these areas is amateur boxing.
Women's amateur boxing is officially recognised and regulated in only Victoria and Western Australia. In all other states, except New South Wales, it is given no official recognition. In New South Wales it is banned.
Mr Arthur Tunstall, the Australian Boxing Union's general secretary, has claimed that `a woman's body is petite and not built for punching.'
Those who reject such views claim that while not all women may be physically suited to sports such as boxing, there are some who are.
This point has been made by Peter Holding, a lawyer, who coaches men and women boxers.
It has also been claimed that the decision to take part in a particular sport should be made by the women concerned and should not be made for them by sporting bodies that attempt to exclude them.
The second point made suggesting women are discriminated against in sport is that many codes prevent women playing in teams with or in competition against men.
It is noted, for example, that the Australian Ice Hockey Federation decided to ban girls over 12 playing in contact hockey in 1996.
The Federation ruled that women and girls over twelve can only play in C-grade non-contact mixed teams or in women's teams.
It has been claimed that such a ruling is discriminatory because it prevents women playing in the higher divisions of their chosen sport and may prevent some Victorian women from playing at all, as women's competitions and C-grade, non-contact teams, are only available in Melbourne.
Brooke Robertson, an ice-hockey player who has recently contested the decision to drop her from the Bendigo Raiders because of her gender, has stated, `I believe like a lot of other females that I have the ability to play contact.
I don't think I should have to settle for anything less. If this is the case, I would rather not play the sport.'
According to this line of argument women should be able to take part in competitions with and against men so long as they do so willing, are aware of the risks involved and are selected to play in open competition with men on the basis of their fitness levels and skill.
Those who hold this view maintain that if an individual women demonstrates she is good enough to play in what is currently a male competition then she should be able to do so.
The third argument suggesting that women are discriminated against in sport is that it is claimed many women's teams and competitions receive less official and sponsorship support than comparable men's teams.
The Australian women's cricket team has been highly successful, becoming world limited-overs champions in 1998. Despite this, critics note, Australian women's cricket is a separate entity from the Australian Cricket Board, and receives only limited funding from the Board. (Women's cricket has recently merged with the English Cricket Board.)
It has also been claimed that all women teams, such as the Australian women's cricket team, receive less sponsorship. The Australian women's cricket team currently has only one sponsor and the team members are having to contribute $1000 each toward the cost of their tours.
The fourth argument offered is that there is a prejudice against women as administrators and officials in many sporting competitions.
A paper by Mr Michael Burke was recently presented to an international symposium on gender, sexualities and sport at Victoria University.
The paper claimed that in Australian Rules football the prevailing view was that women were unsuited to call the game, act on arbitration panels or administer the game because they did not have the first hand experience that comes from having played the game.
Those who are critical of this view maintain that it is simply prejudiced. They point out that many of the men who administer Australian Rules have never played the game either. They also make the general point that in many other sports, such as horse racing, those who run the sport have not participated in it.
The fifth argument offered is that women's sport receives much less media attention than does men's sport.
A recent Australian Sports Commission report has claimed that despite increases in the amount of coverage given to women's sport, it still receives only 11 per cent of the total space newspapers give to sports reporting.
The same report has suggested that radio and television reporting of women's sport tended to be `patronising' and `demeaning'. In addition to this it has been claimed that many female sporting competitions are only reported if the competitors strike provocative or sexually alluring poses.
Another report has suggested that the proportion of sports coverage devoted to women's competitions might be as low as 7.5 per cent.
In relation to the suggestion that women's games needed to attract more spectators before they would receive full media coverage it has been claimed that without full media coverage it is difficult to attract large spectator followings.
Arguments suggesting that women are not discriminated against in sport
There are five main arguments put forward by those who claim that women are not discriminated against in sport.
The first argument suggests that those sports which prohibit women playing in competition with and against men do so to protect the women, not to treat them unfairly.
According to this line of argument, there are many sports, especially contact sports , where women are physically less able to compete than men.
This point of view suggests that women's relatively less muscle, height and physical strength mean that they would be at risk of injury if they played with and against men.
Peter Gwozdecky, the sports medicine director of the Australian Ice Hockey Federation, has claimed that the average woman's body composition means she had less strength and stamina than an average man.
He has further suggested that full contact ice hockey players, for example, are at greater risk of injury if they are physically mismatched. According to this line of argument, the difference in strength and physique between men and women is likely to mean that any woman playing against men is likely to be mismatched.
This position has also been put by the president of the Victorian Ice Hockey Association, Mr Doug Monahan, who has claimed, `We are trying to protect the girls, not stop them from playing.'
The second argument offered against the suggestion that women are discriminated against in sport is that prohibiting mixed gender competitions prevents women having to endure unfair competition and perhaps even be closed out of their own sports.
Four women were prevented from playing in the men's baseball competition at the University Games in October, 1996.
The organisers claimed that this was to protect the integrity of the women's competition. They claimed that allowing women to play in men's games would mean that men could also be allowed to compete in women's competitions.
It has been suggested that this would give an unfair advantage to teams that included men and would also exclude women from at least some places in those teams.
The third point often made against the suggestion that women are discriminated against in sport is that they are not prevented from playing in many sports, including contact sports, where they are competing with and against other women.
Those who hold this view note that Britain has recently agreed to license women boxers and that Australia had its first professional bout between women boxers in December 1996.
Peter Holding, a lawyer who coaches men and women boxers, has noted, `There should be no problem in having two "petite" boxers matched against each other. If they are not "built for punching" then the risk of serious injury is diminished for both - as with juniors.'
It has also been claimed that in many competitions, such as ice hockey, where girls in their teens have generally been prevented from competing with and against boys there are single sex teams and competitions in which they can take part.
Further to this it has been noted that some traditionally male sports, such as rugby and league football, as well as baseball, have successfully begun to run both men's and women's competitions.
The fourth argument offered is that women are traditionally precluded from acting as officials or administrators in many sports because of their lack of detailed knowledge and experience, not because of any inevitable prejudice against them.
A paper prepared by Mr Michael Burke, and presented at an international symposium on gender, sexualities and sport at Victoria University acknowledged that sports such as Australian Rules Football have few women administrators.
The reason offered by those who support this situation is that men are better able to manage the game because of their experience as players.
The fifth argument offered is that women's sport does not receive less media coverage because of an unfair prejudice against it. Instead, it is argued, there are reasons why women's sport receives less media attention.
It has been suggested that the media pays women's sport less attention because spectators find it less interesting.
This position has been put by Patrick Smith, a former sports editor at The Age.
Mr Smith has claimed, `Men and women prefer to watch men play sport. Male sports are inherently more appealing because on top of a comparable skill level, men have strength and speed that is biologically beyond women. It is an argument about appeal ...'
It has further been suggested that women's sport would attract greater media attention and spectator support if women competitors performed well enough.
This point has been made by Kitty Chiller, a former pentathlon world champion, and a sports reporter and editor.
Ms Chiller has claimed that the `bottom line in the race for attention is performance.' She has suggested that elite athletes such as Cathy Freeman and Lisa Curry-Kenny, both of whom receive significant media attention, have proved that if women perform well enough they will attract the support of the public and the notice of the media.
Further implications
Female participation in sport is generally acknowledged as an important means of boosting physical fitness and self-esteem for women and girls.
A recent survey has suggested that teenage girls are 12 per cent more likely to drop out of sport than are boys. Other surveys have suggested the figure may be as high as four times more likely to cease participating.
Over the last ten years the Victorian education department has adopted a number of strategies to encourage all young people to become more active.
Schools are required to offer timetabled sport and physical education classes to all students from preparatory classes through to year 10.
Some schools have even more intensive and varied sporting programs, including, in some cases, all girl sports classes in years 9 and 10 in the hope that girls can be encouraged to continue to participate at a time when physical self-consciousness and fear of teasing might see them stop.
The suggestion is sometimes made that strong female role models in sport are important if women and girls are to keep taking part. This makes the question of how the media presents women's sport a particularly important one.
There are those who argue that only when women's sporting achievements are actively promoted in the media is it likely that female participation rates will grow significantly.
The question of whether there should be legislative change to explicitly allow for mixed competition in all sporting codes is more difficult.
There is, as some critics have noted, the real possibility that such provisions would work against women and girls, allowing larger and stronger male competitors to enter female competitions in a way that might disadvantage the female competitors.
Sources The Age
1/6/96 page 1 (Extra section) analysis by Emma Tom, `Girls looking for a fight'
5/10/96 page 27 comment by Libby Darlinson, `Sporting chance needed to win the gender war'
22/6/97 page 6 news item by Maree Curtis, `Footy for blokes only, study claims'
26/8/97 page 3 (Education supplement) analysis by Michele Lonsdale, `Girls lose out in school sport'
2/9/97 page 10 (Education supplement) analysis by Christopher Richards, `This sporting life'
7/2/98 page 9 news item by Claire Miller, `Women still losers in sports coverage'
7/2/98 page 9 list, `Neglected champions: Australia's sportswomen'
7/2/98 page 9 news item, `Performance the key to profile'
9/2/98 page 11 comment by Patrick Smith, `Women must win sports coverage by proving support'
11/2/98 comment by Joyce Brown, `Women's sport, bums on seats and the media'
22/4/98 page 6 news item by Sue Cant, `Girls challenge law over ice hockey ban'
25/5/98 page 7 news item by Sue Cant, `Kira leads the way in equality on the ice'
29/5/98 page 3 news item by Christopher Dore, `No sex, no news on women in sport'
The Australian
29/5/97 page 3 news item by Christopher Dore, `No sex, no news on women in sport'
22/7/98 page 3 news item, `Female cricketers reduce their game to ashes'
The Herald Sun
19/2/97 page 19 comment by Peter Holding, `Women in the ring'
26/2/98 page 13 news item by Natalie Sikora, `Girl goalie frozen out of sport'
27/3/98 page 6 news item by Natalie Sikora, `Goalie Brooke scores a win'
24/4/98 page 9 news item by Kim Wilson, `Ice girls back in the team'
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