Written by Caroline Williams
Regardless of attending an enormous state school or a tiny liberal arts school like ours, gender biases continue to exist. I never felt incredibly attached to the idea of pointing out every gender discrepancy I noticed, yet, lately, I have felt urged to comment. There is no doubt that Colorado College admits students with incredibly open and progressive minds, however, I noticed that gender biases, specifically regarding sports, are actually quite common on campus.
This first occurred to me when I spoke to a student who plays club hockey at CC. He explained that club hockey has a team for males and a team for females. I was curious if the two teams ever mixed together, and he said that if a girl wants a more competitive atmosphere, she may end up joining the guys’ team. It took me a second to comprehend why this notion seemed wrong. I understand one may believe that the level of aggression may differ between the two teams, but how is that progressive? The assumption that girls will automatically be less intense is rather biased. Additionally, why did it take me a second to unravel why that system proves biased?
In addition to the previous example, I see gender bias in many intramural sports. Every intramural team must have at least two students of each gender. I do not understand the reasoning behind that rule and it continues to perpetuate gender bias. “I have been approached by guys asking if I will be on their intramural team. They immediately follow their invitation with the explanation that they simply need more girls,” said first-year Melanie Mandell. I am not sure if guys add the second part of the question because they feel uncomfortable asking a girl to join, or if it is due to their belief that the girl may neither be skilled nor want to join. I can say with certainty that when a guy asks another guy to join their team, they do not feel obliged to give reasoning. Guys are expected to want to join sports and they are expected to be good, while girls are often assumed to be unengaged or unskilled. Gender bias exists on both sides of the spectrum.
Some level of gender bias occurs during the actual playing of the sport, too. Walter Brose, another first-year, plays intramural soccer. I asked him about the dynamic of genders on his team, and he said, “I see it with boys taking the more prominent positions in the sports. The boys play positions considered ‘more skilled,’ like forward or center-mid. The girls seem to migrate towards the back of the field, though.” He added, “No one says ‘hey girls, play this position!’ the boys just kind of move one way and the girls another.” Mandell added, “Also, my soccer team had two guys and six girls, so the guys had to stay in the whole game to agree with the gender rule. Except, the guys had the ball most of the game, while the girls just stood on the field. No one was angry or accusing the guys to be ball hogs; it just happened that way.” Again, it seems so unintentional and insignificant, yet all of these instances require acknowledgement.
Aside from intramural sports, “I think gender biases occur in the gym, too,” first-year Mary Kate Maloney explained. “When I run on the treadmill, I am surrounded by several other girls, however, if I walk downstairs to the weights area, I rarely see one girl. I feel uncomfortable and, honestly, like a misfit. No guy will approach a girl and question her action of lifting weights, yet I feel intimidated.” Of course, it would be easy to tell a girl to ignore the discrepancy between males and females and just lift weights, but it is not as easy as it sounds. No one likes to feel out of place. Also, the problem is prevalent given that there is such a large distinction in numbers of males to females in different areas of the gym.
While I believe any gender biases existing at CC are completely unintentional, the fact still remains that they are widespread on campus, specifically with sports. It seems like a problem that should not be prevalent at such a liberal school, but, unfortunately, we are all susceptible to implicit bias. Stereotypes affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner that have a significant, negative impact on campus.