Female Identity

Coming across an online article about a female referee named Shelby Davis insulted by a male spectator who happens to be the father of one of the players in the match aroused my fascination to the cause of sexism. Women have been oppressed in historical and religious contexts all over the world. But that was all in the past. In the 21^st century it is bewildering when sexism branches to online news and should be given more awareness.

Football originally a male dominated sport has opened its boundaries to females over the modern period. After reading the father’s remark towards the female referee “you are a female and should not be involved in football-go and get your handbag and go home” my assumptions that women have equal opportunities with men has been overturned. What justifies men to claim football as a male-specific sport? Phoenix and Brah calls ‘identities’ as ‘processes constituted in and through power relations’ and this could explain the root cause of the incident. Football was originally a male dominant sport however through the advent of feminism and women’s rights, women were granted opportunities to participate in almost any sport. The father obviously does not approve of this. We can see that there is a misogynistic idea from his remark because Miss Davis’ was generalized to her gender as a ‘female’. She was associated with the male-archetypal view that all women wore ‘handbags’ to scrutinize her identity. His imperative to dismiss her due to the fact that she is female states the idea that men have power over woman in football. Personally I am not a fan of football however it interests me how individuals carry the idea of stripping others’ opportunities based on their gender.

Think of this, if women are not allowed to participate in sport then does that mean that men are not allowed to participate in female dominated activities? In a sense, gender imperialism is constructed through selecting gender to a certain dominion. If women face rejection from sport, this could occur in other field of activities such as the workplace and public events. Women’s rights that were fought in the late 20^th century would be overturned if attitudes displayed by the father in the game are not corrected. It is also possible that other identities such as race and age will be subject to discrimination if “imperialism” within sections is not abolished. The manager of Davis’ game stated that he was “ashamed” by the misbehavior. He showed the correct attitude towards a discriminatory behavior towards females.

The female identity still encounters issues until this very day. Society is a complex organization filled with different fields to suit the needs and skills of different individuals. Within the 21^st century the interlocking of different sections of society is inevitable. The attitudes toward interlocking genders, race and culture should be given more awareness as it will indicate the real purpose of ‘identity’. 

References:

Brah, Avtar and Phoenix, Ann (2004). Ain’t I A Woman? Revisiting
Intersectionality. Journal of International Women's Studies, 5(3), 75-86.

http://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/19060245/ref-calls-off-match-after-being-told-to-get-her-handbag-and-go-home/