Illustration by Tanya Bearson
According to a recent study released by the Women’s Sports Foundation, by the age of fourteen, girls are dropping out of sports at a rate twice as high as for boys. This shocking statistic reminds us that despite the vast strides made in gender equality, boys and girls are still being funneled down different paths.
This can be traced back to high school, or rather the transition into high school. To many younger students, high school can seem like a big place where everyone expects something from you and that you must fit into a box. This can be hard to disprove when there are so many movies depicting exactly what these younger students feel, especially for girls. In our society, girls and boys are taught about what is and isn’t acceptable behavior through social media, strangers, family, and friends from a very young age. Throughout history, one of the lessons young children have been taught is that sports are generally a male activity. Based on these statistics, it appears that young girls may still be internalizing this message. Besides all that, girls who like sports often receive less access to sports. The social stigmas combined with unequal quality put so much pressure on them that many of them quit.
The study released by the Women’s Sports Foundation included some key factors explaining why girls drop out of sports. Some factors that were pointed out were transportation, safety, cost, and a lack of positive role models.
Transportation, safety, and cost are factors that make playing sports difficult for everyone, regardless of gender. When it comes to role models, however, there is a stark difference. To inspire people to be in certain fields there has to be some sort of role model for these young kids to look up to. Male athletes are dominantly shown in on screen sporting events, while female athletes receive much less publicity. This leads to a degree of hopelessness in young girls. If no one like them is being shown on screen having athletic success, then how could they hope to attain it themselves?
Fortunately, every year new women make inroads into the sports industry. In 2015, Jen Welter made history, becoming the first female coach in the NFL when she was hired by the Arizona Cardinals as a line backing coach. Now little girls throughout the country are able to dream of coaching in the NFL-something that would be much harder without a female role model.
Another issue is the social stigma, which means that some people frown upon girls who do sports because they believe that girls should be into more “girly” things. However, who is to say what is girly and what’s not? Lastly, the quality of resources available to teams can vary greatly based on gender. This is shown in which facilities each team gets and what state or price the gear is in as well as where they can practice and when.
To get girls to stay in sports and continue to play them for the rest of their lives, we as a society need to change our methods and attitudes. Elements of a society only grow when we allow them to, and that starts by getting rid of all the barriers that girls have to jump over, such as lack of access and social stigmas. To get rid of the ever-present social stigma society must actively show girls in all different ways instead of just the “girly” version that has been around for awhile.
Next, the quality of experience within the teams at schools should be equal; no team should have more support diverted to it than another based on gender. Lastly, girls should have equal access to teams socially, beyond . Sports should no longer be a “guy’s thing” but rather an all-inclusive one.
From learning how to work in a team to improving physical fitness, the benefits of playing sports are wonderful. Sports can breed confidence, and mould leaders of the future. And, most importantly, they’re fun! Everyone should be able to reap these rewards. At the moment, countless girls are missing out on these benefits, and our society is to blame.