I have been banging on about this exact subject in my world for years. I regularly make comments on social media posts that use the word "girls" to describe our professional and overwhelmingly adult female athletes. I always get pushback but I persist and I'm glad I'm not the only one. Because inequality in ALL its forms matters, and it is everywhere. It's baked into the language and it shouldn't actually be that hard to get people to change a few words. Getting them to want to is the really hard bit.
The Guardian started using ‘batter’ for both men and women some time ago, and they do in over-by-over commentary also, when quoting what has been said on TV. I imagine in that latter case they ‘correct’ the TV commentator/pundit in line with the house style guide, as required.
They also typically headline sports stories and results without reference to ‘women’, so ‘Arsenal beat Chelsea in 7-goal thriller’ could refer to either the men’s or women’s teams. This inevitably adds a layer of confusion - and doubtless annoyance for many - and it’s clearly unrealistic to suppose that the numbers scanning the sports pages for the results of men’s and women’s football or cricket ar in fact equal - yet.
It’s inevitable for a media outlet to have to go through this phase, of seemingly ‘making a point of it’, until the reality catches up. I don’t read other newspapers, so I don’t know how many others do likewise - The Guardian would in the UK mediasphere clearly be the first you would expect to adopt a non-sexist approach.
I wonder how long it will be before I stop thinking ‘What? Arsenal aren’t playing Chelsea today!’ when I read those headlines.
I agree with every word of this. Language is just so important and I’m sick of the male terminology being the default. From nursery rhymes to modern sport it’s galling that we’re still in this masculine mindset. And yes, using the word woman as you write in last paragraph does beautifully point out your argument.
I agree on this - men are still the fault, especially with BBL and WBBL, AFL and AFLW, NRL and NRLW. Have to say the A Leagues are leading the way - they just use A-Leagues for much of the comms and then ALW or ALM.
Personally is always use AFLM and MBBL to distinguish the men’s games from the women’s. Extra bonus how it riles up some very sensitive men when I do.
I have been banging on about this exact subject in my world for years. I regularly make comments on social media posts that use the word "girls" to describe our professional and overwhelmingly adult female athletes. I always get pushback but I persist and I'm glad I'm not the only one. Because inequality in ALL its forms matters, and it is everywhere. It's baked into the language and it shouldn't actually be that hard to get people to change a few words. Getting them to want to is the really hard bit.
Glad you’re fighting the good fight Lynne! I think the word “girls” needs a whole post of its own - absolutely infuriating language!
The Guardian started using ‘batter’ for both men and women some time ago, and they do in over-by-over commentary also, when quoting what has been said on TV. I imagine in that latter case they ‘correct’ the TV commentator/pundit in line with the house style guide, as required.
They also typically headline sports stories and results without reference to ‘women’, so ‘Arsenal beat Chelsea in 7-goal thriller’ could refer to either the men’s or women’s teams. This inevitably adds a layer of confusion - and doubtless annoyance for many - and it’s clearly unrealistic to suppose that the numbers scanning the sports pages for the results of men’s and women’s football or cricket ar in fact equal - yet.
It’s inevitable for a media outlet to have to go through this phase, of seemingly ‘making a point of it’, until the reality catches up. I don’t read other newspapers, so I don’t know how many others do likewise - The Guardian would in the UK mediasphere clearly be the first you would expect to adopt a non-sexist approach.
I wonder how long it will be before I stop thinking ‘What? Arsenal aren’t playing Chelsea today!’ when I read those headlines.
I agree with every word of this. Language is just so important and I’m sick of the male terminology being the default. From nursery rhymes to modern sport it’s galling that we’re still in this masculine mindset. And yes, using the word woman as you write in last paragraph does beautifully point out your argument.
Thanks Kerrie! Yes, it’s maddening we’re still having these conversations in 2025. Let’s hope we see some change soon
I agree on this - men are still the fault, especially with BBL and WBBL, AFL and AFLW, NRL and NRLW. Have to say the A Leagues are leading the way - they just use A-Leagues for much of the comms and then ALW or ALM.
Personally is always use AFLM and MBBL to distinguish the men’s games from the women’s. Extra bonus how it riles up some very sensitive men when I do.
Haha, yes I do this too!! Funny how they suddenly finds words very offensive when this happens