Broad (Out)Casting

I am angry today.

It all started this morning, over at Jere's blog. There was a thread of conversation going on in response to Suzyn Waldman's ridiculous cry of sexism over the mocking of her tears by some. I guess she got all emotional wrapping up the season for the Yankees and was criticized for it. My response, in a nutshell: Yeah, I know that she is a human being with human emotions and she is going to express said emotions when feeling, um, emotional. What she fails to realize, though, is that when she makes an ass out of herself (blubbering, orgasmically, all over the fact that Roger Clemens came galloping back to the Yankees on his stallion of greed) she is showing America what happens when you "stick a women in the broadcasting booth." It stinks, but it is her responsibility to be polished and professional AT ALL TIMES. We aren't at that stage yet where women can fart and burp all over the booth but still be taken seriously when announcing games. Men have always enjoyed this. Therefore, the women LUCKY enough to obtain these jobs should go the extra 10 miles. Why? Because these are male dominated arenas. Women are still "proving" themselves in them. Female sports casters, unlike their male counterparts, have to watch their weight, shlep all over the field in high heels, and wear low cut blouses to keep the male audience (because that's the ONLY audience for professional sports, you know) engaged. Totally f'd up, but it's the price you have to pay if you want a job doing something you love.

So, after getting myself a little worked up over that, I was then faced with blatant objectification on "1510 The Zone." This is an alternative station to WEEI and I've been listening to it regularly. They've got a decent morning program with a duo called "Mike and Lew." I was so happy to have found this show, I emailed them through their website, expressing my gratitude and congratulating them on a job well done. They don't discuss politics, they're smart but not full of themselves and they really know their Boston sports. Well, like a complete slap in the face, they used this morning's program to talk about the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders and their asses. The old, "sure she's pretty, but she's really dumb" comment was thrown around a lot, too. Hello! As a woman, I have zero interest in this stuff. The message is clear: Women in sports are only good for eye candy. We don't want to hear you and we only want to look at you if you've attained our visual ideal. Please stay out of our sandbox.

My immediate reaction was to first reinstate the "women in sports" links I had in my older blog on this one. I've added a few new ones, too. There's a pretty good article about gender bias in sports through Fair.org - you ought to read it. My next reaction was to create this post.

It's not like I am just waking up to this disparity. I've lived with it my entire life. Most times, I am not bothered by it. Every once in a while, though, the realization that a woman, no matter how able she is, will never be allowed to play in major league baseball sinks in. That really sucks. I've heard the arguments that physically-speaking, a woman's body isn't built the same as a man's body and therefore a woman would somehow become a liability on an all-male team. Bullshit. You mean to tell me that in this whole big world of ours, there isn't ONE woman, NOT ONE, who can throw a 98 MPH fastball? You've got to be joking.

Also, I think I'm coming down with something. Maybe this has fueled the cranky factor. I hate to start the day like this. Especially an important day like today. By game time, I will have brushed all of this off, I'm sure. Sorry to have ranted. I thank you for your patience.