Dear Editor,
Who can be an Archer? According to The Montage, men. Women who play sports for St. Louis Community College are called Lady Archers. The assumption that “male” is the default gender isn’t unique to The Montage. But it’s an old trope that needs to be retired. It’s ironic that we celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage while simultaneously reminding all women who read this publication of “their place.”
In times when we can’t seem to keep the Constitution safe from the President’s assaults, why should we care how The Montage refers to (in some cases nationally-ranked) women athletes? We should care because words aren’t just a collection of letters used to approximate speech. Words are also symbols that carry the weight of history. When we refer to athletes as “Lady Archers,” what are we saying? Are we saying that even with the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments (48 years ago, by the way!) women’s sport is not as important as men’s?
Is it sexist to call STLCC’s women’s teams the Lady Archers? The argument for doing so is that men’s teams preceded women’s teams so to differentiate between the two, reporters started inserting “Lady” in front of the Team name. In 2020, do STLCC’s women-identified athletes need a constant reminder that they are not the men’s team? Are players, coaches, and fans going to the wrong places to practice or watch games? Is there rampant confusion as men’s and women’s teams try take the court or field at the same time because without putting the “Lady” modifier in it’s anyone’s guess?
To answer these questions, we need go back to 2007. Then-president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, Aimee Mullins said, “On surface, it seems like a small issue, but it’s symptomatic of a larger pattern of women’s sports programs being viewed as the stepchild of men’s programs…I think it’s passe now.” Of course, “now,” back then was 2007. Here we go again 13 years later!
The world of sports is ideologically male, not demographically. Boer (2009) noted in Social Science Quarterly, “I was told by a Red Sox official that since he began working at Fenway Park in the early 1980s the male/female ratio at the park has remained consistently even.” Professional franchises make a lot of money off of their women-identified fans, so one would think these they’d make more of an effort to be inclusive of those fans.
I’m disappointed that women still have to strive for basic equality and inclusion. In the board room or on the ball field, women are reminded that men are considered the default, normal gender while women are anomalies needing different rules.
STLCC’s website encourages everyone to “embrace diversity and inclusion.” Moreover, looking into the future, a core value of STLCC is to “ensure that all activities demonstrate commitment to diversity and inclusion.” The Montage can be a positive force for diversity and inclusion by ending the practice of calling our women’s teams Lady Archers. When reporting on sports, don’t focus on the gender identity and/or gender expression of the athlete. Focus on the game.
-Dr. Emily Neal
Professor, political science
