20 June 2007

Wigan Athletic - Female Oppressors

Man is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim. The real enemy is women's denigration of themselves.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006)

After so many women have fought so hard to rectify the cultural, political and economic practises and inequalities that discriminate against women, it is saddening to see so many naive girls entering the "Miss Wigan Athletic" competition in the Wigan Observer.

In the bastion of manhood that is the JJB, some may find it surprising to find club secretary Brenda Spencer on the competition's judging panel. Ardent Wigan Athletic supporters however, will not.

What may be dismissed by some as "a bit of fun", will also go some way to eroding the intellectual work done by Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan and Naomi Wolf (amongst others), that argued against female stereotyping, sexual objectification and gender oppression.

No doubt some of the girls entering the competition will at some point during their lives, complain about sexual inequality. Will they think back and remember this time in their lives as a time when they actively contributed to their own exploitation in a patriarchal system which devalues women and the substantial work that they do?

Not all the blame can be laid at the door of the contestants however. The powers that be at Wigan Athletic hold this competition every year, and for that, they should hang their heads in shame.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Are you a lesbian?