Female athlete’s accomplishments were routinely given to their male coaches and husbands, or were compared to their male counterparts during the recently-ended Summer Olympics in Rio.
Right after swimmer Katinka Hosszu broke the 400-meter individual race record, the announcer gave credit to her husband as being “the person responsible for her performance.” No one bothered to mention this 3-time Olympic champion’s endless hours of training and dedication to this sport for years, but rather gave her husband all the praise for her achievements.
Additionally, Corey Cogdell-Unrein, a three-time Olympic athlete who won bronze in women’s trap shooting, was referred to as “the wife of a Bears lineman.” Her husband has achievements of his own, but once again, a female athlete’s performance is given to her husband.
Throughout history, women have been treated as inferior to men. They have not been allowed to own property, to vote, to choose a spouse for themselves, and to this day, are often paid less than men in the same positions.
In the past few decades, there has been an increase in women’s rights due to social movements seeking to find solutions to the injustices that women face daily. Women can now vote, divorce their husbands, and marry other women, but why can’t female athletes be given the recognition they deserve?
This sexist issue at the Rio Olympics made headlines everywhere, yet reporters continue to demean female Olympic athletes. After swimmer Katie Ledecky beat her own world record in the 800m freestyle, a Bryan-College Station Eagle newspaper headline the next morning said, “Phelps ties for silver in 100 fly,” and had a sub-headline that said, “Ledecky sets world record in women’s 800 freestyle.” Yet again, a female athlete who, in this scenario, accomplished something much greater, is undermined by a male.
There were also several instances when female athletes were seemingly praised, when, in reality, they were just being compared to men. For example, when Simone Biles, the 2016 all-around, vault and floor champion finished her bar routine, NBC commentator Al Trautwig said, “she might even go higher than some of the men.”
Ryan Lochte also told Sports Illustrated, “[Katie Ledecky] swims like a guy. Her stroke, her mentality: she’s so strong in the water. I’ve never seen a female swimmer like that. She gets faster every time she gets in, and her times are becoming good for a guy. She’s beating me now, and I’m, like, ‘What is going on?” Lochte later added, “Her stroke is like a man’s stroke. I mean that in a positive way. She swims like a man.”
In both Simone Biles’ and Katie Ledecky’s cases, the women are being congratulated for performing so well, but they also gained recognition for being better than men rather than for pure talent. These women might have performed better than some men, but that doesn’t mean they do things “like a man.” Instead, they should be acknowledged for doing something spectacular and being extremely young and talented female athletes.
Sexism has always existed and clearly still exists, but much progress has been made since its origin. It’s unfortunate that female athletes, who have come so far in their career that they’re able to perform in the Olympics, are still being downplayed today. Maybe someday women will receive the acknowledgment they deserve.
