Found a new rugby blogger down in New Zealand … well, actually she found us. Ferdy’s blogging rugby and the media at ruggerblogger down in New Zealand, from a woman’s perspective.
She gives more insight into the international game at the higher levels in a country that doesn’t necessarily agree that women can play the game well, much less talk about it. From one of her first posts …
Sexism in Sport
There is a truth universally accepted that a lot of people who enjoy rugby are rather sexist. Not everyone of course, but a lot. If you disagree with this – go to some of the rugby chatrooms and you’ll see what I mean. Apparently, if you’re a man you can pontificate on and on and on and on and people will listen. If you publish your thoughts with a woman’s name on some of these threads, you will often be slagged off. I’ve posted the same comments with both male and female names. A male name is often entered into with debate. A female name usually brings a lot of sexist posturing and ‘what would you know about rugby – you’re probably a fat, hairy, ugly lezzer’ type comment. Ironic really considering that a lot of these male armchair experts who are so quick to launch scathing attacks have probably never played the sport themselves. Or perhaps they did, for about a year at primary school.
Anyway – since coming back to New Zealand from the UK, I’ve noticed the sexism is even worse here. The media are backward. There are probably three good rugby writers in the whole of the country. The rest are biased, arrogant and extremely anti-English, (which in my opinion often borders on racism and is another topic in itself). Through this average coverage we’re then fed crap rugby advertising. Cheerleaders welcome the Super 14 teams onto the field. Women in skimpy rugby outfits adorn the cover of the rugby magazines. And why if we are country obsessed with rugby – do we not have more representation of women in the commentating box? I mean, don’t women make up half of this rugby mad population? I guess pigs will fly before Murray Mexted hands over his sweaty mike to someone like say, Anna Richards, a woman who has lead the Black Ferns to world cup victory three times. Three times more than any man in New Zealand has ever done.
Yes indeed, pigs will fly.
I fully admit to not even trying to blog much of the international game – partly because in the good ol’ US of A, rugby’s hard to come by on television and partly because I don’t really give a damn. 🙂 So I’m looking forward to Ferdy’s blogging for a different perspective.
Welcome to the ruckosphere Ferdy!
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