Over the past 100 years, women have come a long way in the world of sports. We've trained, pushed, fought and competed as the powerful people we are despite the constant criticism we receive for doing what we love. Even at the international stage of competition, we see scrutiny for putting on the best performance we can, because we are women. Leave it to the 2016 Olympics to remind the world how a woman can’t accomplish anything without being compared to a man who does the same thing, being labeled as a “wife” or “mother” above anything else, or being flat out patronized on national TV.
Here are the top 10 sexist things that have occurred thus far in this year's Olympics:
1. Three-time world champion Simone Biles flies from the uneven bars and soars above the mat before sticking a perfect landing. Amazing. However, an NBC commentator mentions, “I think she might even go higher than some of the men.” Huh? For whatever reason, a lot of the male NBC anchors undermine just how talented these female athletes are without first comparing them to men. This was the first of many times they did this throughout the games, and each time was just as unnecessary as the first.
2. U.S. Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer having a baby over a year ago. “She’ll be the first woman to win a medal after having a baby,” the NBC commentator says, because they love the whole “first to win” labels. The media attention around her for being a mother implies that women who have children are then incapable of all the things they did before giving birth. Which is far from true. So the fact that she continues to do what she loves after giving birth isn’t that shocking. Women are strong.
3. When 19-year-old Katie Ledecky broke a world record in the 400-meter freestyle by about two full seconds, NBC commentator Rowdy Gaines said, “Some people say she swims like a man." Again, huh? We should be able to acknowledge her athletic ability without having to compare her to a man. And what's with the media labeling her as the “female Michael Phelps.” Why can't she just be Katie Ledecky?
4. Even if you’re a female athlete in the Olympics, you're still labeled as a “girl.” Why? NBC announcers referred to the “men’s cycling team,” and the “girls’ cycling team.” When they are clearly grown women.
5. Right after Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley, NBC announcer Dan Hicks immediately focused the attention on Hosszu’s coach and husband, saying he was “the man responsible” for her performance. But wait... wasn't she still the one in the pool? Didn't she break the world record? LOL this baffles me that despite all her hard work and dedication, the man gets all the credit.
6. During their downtime, the U.S. gymnastics team talked to each other on the sidelines in between dominating the competition, and leading the rest of the world by nearly 10 points. “They might as well be standing around at the mall,” said the very ignorant, Jim Watson. Why? Who says that? Irrelevant and unnecessary.
7. NBC’s chief marketing officer John Miller implied that women aren’t into sports. Miller said, “The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the games than men, and for the women, they’re less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. It’s sort of like the ultimate reality show and miniseries wrapped into one.” Is. He. Kidding? Did he ever once think that women tune in more to the Olympics because It’s the one time that women’s sports are actually highlighted? Again, ignorance at its finest.
8. After Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom broke her own world record in the 100-meter butterfly,she was continually asked by NBC anchors if she was going to “do the samba on Copacabana Beach,” which she apparently said she’d do if she won. NBC oddly fixated on this rather than her actual win? Odd.
9. The Chicago Tribune labeled two-time bronze medal-winning Olympian Corey Cogdell as “Wife of a Bears’ lineman.” This Olympic medal-winning, world class athlete is being reduced to simply a “wife,” which is not OK. How is being married to a professional football player a more deserving label than a women being one of the best trap shooters in the world? In today's society women are being defined more often by their appearance or marital status rather than by their strength or speed.
10. Rio says this will be the “sexiest ever” Olympic opening ceremony, saying there will be “lots of nearly naked women doing the samba. The costumes have been designed to show off as much flesh as possible." They also added that, “This is Brazil, after all, where the female body is celebrated like no other place on Earth.” Maybe that wasn’t the best way to frame the opening ceremony, before a major world event where so many women have been training their whole lives to be looked at as more than just a piece of flesh, and more than a wife and mother. I think they'd much rather be recognized for the athletes that they are.Stay tuned for more sexism to take place in the 2016 Summer Olympics.