Female professional athletes are paid less than male professional athletes. For the most part, a female professional athlete is NOT going to be making a decent living. We don’t hear much about female athletes, and if we hear anything about them at all, we only hear about tennis, golf, soccer, basketball and boxing. For the most part. Soccer is my thing, so that’s what’s up with all the soccer posts. What I say about soccer you can apply to almost any sport in which women compete (or try to compete) professionally. The US women’s national soccer team was one of the best in the world, yet becuase of a lack of funding, there is no longer a women’s major league (it used to be the WUSA). Yeah we can argue that Americans just don’t care about soccer, except for the fact that David Beckham is getting paid $1 million a week to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Here is an article from 2000, when the US Women’s National Team, right in the middle of a winning streak, had to go on strike becuase they were getting paid so little. “Star players” were making $42k a year, and they had to go on strike to be making $60k.
Mia Hamm, one of the most respected and highest paid professional female soccer players, was the first woman to make over a million dollars a year by playing soccer. Here is a list of the world’s highest paid professional soccer players.
Title 9 resulted in more funding for women’s sports in college and a loss of funding for men’s athletics of lesser interest. High interest men’s sports, ie football, baseball and basketball, provide funding for women’s college sports. Since Title 9 colleges are providing scholarships to women at an unprecidented rate. I attended several women’s soccer games at Arizona State last year and the stands were full. ASU doesn’t have a men’s soccer team!
Yes, male athletes make more than do women. It’s a matter of supply and demand. People would rather watch men play soccer than women. The game is faster, more powerful and more athletic. I love the US Women’s Team and it’s a shame that WUSA evaporated. Personally, I hope the addition of Beckham to the Galaxy has the intended effect of increasing general nterest in soccer in the USA. More interest-more $$-more funding for US Soccer-hopefully some of that $$ can be channeled into women’s soccer.
But then I am the eternal optimist. When the fogie sportswriters start dying off and some of the younger ones take the limelight, perhaps we will have celebrity anouncers, who grew up with soccer and have developed a love for the best and most popular game in the world, generating more publicity for the game. Perhaps we will eventually have an American bred Cantas providing detailed analysis during games and generating heart-felt excitement, then more of us will be screaming Goooooooooooal and the fervor will be contageous. Until then we will suffer through Eric Wynalda’s sniveling and the superficial drivil provided during the rare, American broadcast of the world’s greatest game.
“Yes, male athletes make more than do women. It’s a matter of supply and demand. People would rather watch men play soccer than women.”
Oh, really? Well, I guess that settles things, then. Next topic, Jessica.
No, seriously, why do you think that is? Why are people disinclined to watch female athletes play the same sports as men? That, I think, is the root of the issue, and we ought to think about how that attitude is reinforced. Are female athletes overlooked, paid crappily, and not given media attention because they’re just not as fun to watch as the guys? Or do we not watch female athletes because they’re overlooked by the media and generally not treated like professionals?
Personally, I think that a female NFL would KICK ASS.
The reason is as I stated in my initial note: power, speed and athletics. I did not say that I do not enjoy womnen’s athletics. I simply stated a fact.
I think Jenny’s on target when she says: “Are female athletes overlooked, paid crappily, and not given media attention because they’re just not as fun to watch as the guys?” Clearly the answer is yes. It’s a matter of bang for the buck. Women are treated well by the media. Fine examples are glof and tennis. Professional soccer players are “overlooked by the media and generally not treated like professionals” whether they are male or female. That’s the point of my post.
If I offended you, I’m sure you’ll get over it eventually. In the mean time, whose ass would a female NFL kick?
Daddio
Professional soccer players are international stars–just not in the United States. I really don’t know what you mean by bang for the buck–you don’t pay a damn dime to watch sports at home and even if you did, would you expect the money you spend to somehow correlate to an athlete’s muscle mass or something? People don’t give a shit about bang for their buck–they watch sports that are dominated by male athletes because that’s what’s on the television.
We, as a society, have a real problem seeing women as anything but mothers or potential sexual prospects, as is evidenced by basically every television program on every major network in the country.
Also, this blog is not for beginners. If you want to contribute to a discussion, you better have some working knowledge of feminist theory and you better know how to conduct yourself properly. Throwing your privelege around and then telling me you’re sure I’ll get over it is not getting you off to a good start, I’m afraid.
The thing about women’s soccer (as I was trying to get at when in the very first soccer post I made, about a month ago) is that yes, for the most part, women’s soccer games are not as fun to watch as mens. Again though, that’s a majority of the games. I have only seen maybe two women’s soccer games where they aren’t totally afraid ro make physical contact. Soccer isn’t like football, where it’s dependent on tackling or full contact, but it seems like in games where there is more body contact made, it is more of a struggle for the ball. There is more passion, more power. And that is what makes it interesting to watch.
If women were perhaps paid better, then maybe they would put more time into training seriously to become professional soccer players. If there was more incentive, there would be more skill. And if there was more skill, people would be more interested in watching it.
Lol “Soccer isn’t like football.” Obviously I meant American football.
Geez. Maybe sensitivity training should be offered to the overly-sensative.
I don’t know how many professional Athletic competitions you attend, Jenny, but the price of a ticket is almost prohibitive. People, like me spend a great deal of money when we attend these events. When we spend our money, we want to see competition that we think is worth what we pay. Bang for the buck is also a metaphor not limited to dollars. Telivision programming is driven by ratings. WUSA started after the US Women’s team won the World Cup. WUSA games were televised. Unfortunately the ratings nor the live attendance justified the continuation of the league. People just didn’t think the comeptition was worth even the time to tune the TV to the gamesmus more pay the price tom attend the games. Thewe wasn’t enough “bang for the buck” literally nor metaphorically.
I suppose you have the right to sensor my comments. I noted your sarcasm in your reply to my opening post. I responded in kind. I have made no sexist comments and met sarcasm with sarcasm. If you want to play with the big kids then grow up and play. If not, sensor me. When someone challenges you, belittleing and uninformed comments are not helpful.
Our society HAD mistreated women for years. Since the protests of the sixties, great inroads have been made in women’s rights and much work is left to be done. Nothing happens over-night. Your criticism of me is unjustified. I am neither a sexist nor a woman hater nor anti-women’s rights. If you don’t beleive it, ask my daughter, Jessica, she’ll tell ya.
By the way, I didn’t realize this is a feminist site. Perhaps I should sensor myself.
Haha, I didn’t know it was you!
I had to delete some comments that were really amazingly hateful, and at first, I thought you were a straggler from that crowd. No need to censor yourself!
It’s funny, on the internet, sarcasm is dreadfully unapparent–as is civility. It has a lot to do with tone, inflection, etc…
It sounds like you attended a boring-ass soccer game, and I don’t know much about sports, so most games would be that way for me.
Hi,
I found your blog via google by accident and have to admit that youve a really interesting blog
Just saved your feed in my reader, have a nice day
Thanks, Florian!
Why’s the girl in that picture have that round thing stuck to her haid?
this is a great site! i found it but accident looking up pics of mia hamm 4 my blog!
it’s rele kewl that u’r discussing how unfair it is that female athletes r sometimes overlooked. i’m a soccer player myself in a place w/out oppurtunity 2 play on a girl’s team until high school! it frustrated me 4 years as when we were younger, i was often not passed to because ‘girl’s can’t play soccer’!
i’m finally getting sum respect bu ti still think women’s soccer has a long way 2 go!
thanx 4 writing an awesum blog about an important issue!
Interesting read - but here’s another perspective….
My daughter is on a provincial team in Canada and is trying out for the U17 Canadian World Cup team for the 2008 games. She just returned from Chile where their team met Argentina and Chile WC teams for some exhibition games and a couple of “mini” tournaments. Some of the games were televised and some of our girls were interviewed for TV and radio. They were escorted by a motorcade of security in and out of the various venues and were generally treated like celebrities. My daughter would go back there in a heartbeat to live.
Soccer is so ingrained in the culture there. I’m sure men’s soccer gets a LOT more attention but these young women were treated to an amazing taste of what it would be like to play professionally in a country that values the game way more than we do in Canada. I think if we treated our women athelites with anywhere close to the respect they garner in other countries the game would attract many more quality athelites and would become much more prevalent and “main stream”.
While it’s true the women’s game is not as hard-hitting overall, tell that to the players who have come up against my girl, a 6 foot 170 lb center D. I’ve been told it’s like hitting a brick wall!
Cheers!
Ruth
Wow… your blog is very interesting. I play soccer too and every once in a while I watch a game when I’m not playing in one. But when I do watch a game I never look for a womens game. I’m consantly cheking for male soccer only because I find the games more intense, aggressive, and interesting. In womens soccer we tend to stay spread out and send long balls, we usualy dont have very much physical contact or any good moves by good players that break away, on the exception of Hamm. But male soccer is full of new tricks and fakes, awsome tackles, and a few yellow cards. Male soccer is the center of attention because women play a too many “safe” games. Even as a player I would rather play with boys because their more challenging and aggressive.
I like your site. Well done!
I’ll come by again soon.
I THINCK THERE SHOILD BE MORE FEMALE SOCCER GAMES ON TV LIKE MEN ITS NOT FAIR AND SHUOLD GET PAYED LIKE THEM TO SOCCER IS NOT ONLY FOR MEN IT CAN BE FOR WOMEN TO PEOPLE SAY OH YOU ARE GOING TO GET HUURT TO GIRL IS LIKE SAYING YOU CANT PLAY AS WELL AS THE GUYS WOMEN SHUOLD HAVE MORE APPORTUNEITY TO PLAY PRO SOCCER WHY PEOPLE THINK A MEN SOCCER GAME IS BETTER TO WATCH THAN A GIRLS SOCCER GAME?
MEN SUCK
I THINK WOMEN SHUOLD PLAY SOCCER ALOT LIKE MEN DO AND GET PAYED LIKE THEAM TO PEOPLE THINK THAT A GOOD SOCCER GAME IS WITH MEN BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE CACHES BE SAYING YOU CAN PLAY YOU WILL GET HURT BUT THAT SAYING YOU CANT PLAY GOOD ENOUGH OR THEY THINK YOUR NOT TUFF ENOUGH I HOPE SO THAT WOMEN CAN PLAY MORE SOCCER IN THE FUTURE IT MEAN THE WORLD TO US WHY PEOPLE THINK A GRATE SOCCER GAME IS WITH MEN ?
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