The Women’s Games?

Before the Olympic Games even started, the omens were good, with the news that for the first time, every country represented had both male and female athletes. Then, the first GB medals came from women, and the tally at this point still looks fairly female heavy. Commentators have been delighting in the performance of the British women in every sport, and it has been hugely uplifting to watch women in action, from the nifty footwork of the women’s football team to the power of the rowing pairs. I considered myself extremely lucky to see women’s hockey, basketball and handball live at the Olympic Park, and the level of performance was, quite simply, astonishing. Even the GB handball team, which was only formed in 2006, especially for the London 2012 Olympics, and which has suffered from severe lack of funding, scored the opening goals against an ultimately stronger Russian team, and made some spectacular saves during the course of a fast-paced, exciting match. What an impressive set of women!

Women are gaining a greater prominence in these Olympic Games than, it would appear, has ever happened before. The Deputy Editor of the Guardian tweeted yesterday that although she had been editing the paper since 2003, never before had they run so many stories about women athletes: “Thank you, Olympians and Team GB”, she wrote. The question is on many, many lips – are these the ‘women’s games’?

Well, they should be. Not because the goal is for women to perform better than men, and not because we would wish to deny male achievement. No – these should be the women’s games because they should mark a turning point in how we recognise our female athletes. Our sportswomen deserve equal recognition alongside their male counterparts. We should celebrate women as we celebrate men; they should be recognised equally, and we should glory in their amazing abilities.

There is a long way to go, of course. Earlier this week the Huffington Post reported research that showed how female athletes suffer from an over-sexualised representation in advertising, and a lack of visibility; we know how little female sport is available to watch on TV. Funding is a major issue – commentators earlier in the week compared the seven figure salaries of the top male cyclists to the small lottery grants afforded to top female cyclists. Lizzie Armitstead herself raised the issue of “overwhelming sexism”in sport as she displayed her silver medal.

So … we may not solve this glaring inequality immediately, but the Olympics have given us a great boost and a great reason to make a significant difference. Women shouldn’t have to fight harder to get funding than men, and they shouldn’t have to fly economy while their male peers fly business, as happened to the Japanese football team and the Australian basketball.

Let these Women’s Games mark the tipping point for a more equal, fairer, more balanced future in sport. What an inspiring legacy that would be!

 

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