Female sports reports in male locker rooms
I posted the following in the comments section for this post from Vox.I was in high school sports when this stupid court ruling came down. I was thrilled. You obviously can't let female reporters in a high school boys locker room, so all reporters were banned from the locker room. This is as it should be at all levels of sports for men and women IMHO. The locker room should go back to be a place where only the team, coaches and staff are ever allowed.
Reporters would ask for interviews with certain players who would go outside the locker room either before hitting the showers or in their street clothes immediately after.
Just my $0.02.
His post starts with this:
Because for a long time, the myth has existed that female sports reporters are able to conduct themselves inside a male team's locker room more professionally than men could do inside a women's locker room. And that's stupid.
I largely agree with this, but then Vox goes on to say:
Male reporters, generally speaking, don't have unfettered access to women's locker rooms. The reason is simple and obvious: For the most part, we're perverted scum. We couldn't handle it.
That I totally agree with. It isn't our fault but it is true :-)
4 Comments:
As I understand it, most female sporting events allow all members of the media access to the locker rooms for only a set period of time after the game ends (after which the players change) or only after the players have showered and changed. In this way both male and female reporters should have equal access.
I wouldn't doubt that your statement is true but I stand by the point that the "correct" answer is no reporters in the locker room. We clearly have female reporters in male locker rooms while showers and dress are still going on.
My point is not that we do or do not treat female athletes different from male athletes but that NO locker room should be invaded by ANY reporter of ANY sex.
You simply underscore my point that we clearly have a double standard in pro sports which shouldn't exist because reporters don't belong in locker rooms at any level of sports. (with the possible exception of national/international championship winners for a short period of time BEFORE anyone wants to walk away from the party to shower)
First off while the comparision to health care is often used, the difference is most of the time unless its an emergency, you choose your health care provider. Most of the articles I see are from the reporters point of view. The view that they have to put up with this or that, that they belong their becasue it is their job. But the choice is the reporters, not the athelete. While some, maybe many or most don't care, you have to know that some of the men have modesty issues. What about them? To further (and in referring to you I mean reporters in general) your ambitions you are entering into what society normally defines as a same gender environment. Do you feel at any level guilty that you are forcing them to sacrifice their privacy so you can achieve your ambitions? They are not given a choice or a voice.
Second, you must also understand that if these men protested they would be labeled sexist just as twins did. In the past if a coach or player protested they were labeled sexist, or the perpatrator, the issue wasn't they were modest, it was they were sexist and instead of being the victim, they were the violator. Since the media controled what was printed, they portrayed the men as bad or evil and they were the victim. Accepting what is happening doesn't mean they are OK with it. Do you recognize this or disagree?
Do you also realize that some of it has nothing to do with the reporter being a professional. You seem to be just that, but you are also the one who is fully clothed invading their privacy. Society has long defined areas that are single gender restrooms, locker rooms, showers, etc...it was a female judge who removed male locker rooms from that. Do you honestly feel female reporters would be just as accepting if the roles were reversed and they were the ones trying to shower after exertion and males were trying to interview them?
Last, the double standard is pretty obvious. I think it is even more disturbing when it is college. While some argue its becasue no one cares about female sports...the Lady Vols would probably take exception. In the college environment where females are allowed in male locker rooms, but males are not allowed in female locker rooms...even though female reporters may acknowledge the issue....I have never heard of a single one fighting the issue or accusing or labeling the college as being sexist. Why do female reporters attack this obvious double standard or sexist practice with the zeal that (and again I am referring to the profession) that they get when trying to gain "equal" access to male locker rooms. Should not the atheletes as well as the reporters be treated equally.
The law should have never been established letting the female reporters into a male locker room in the first place. The female judge that make it law had to be insane (or a card carrying feminist). I completely understand the equal access issue, and it’s a valid one, BUT, in no other segment of our society do we allow the opposite gender into changing rooms or bathrooms, I think there's a name for that...VOYEUR. If they want to be called PROFESSIONAL SPORTS JOURNALISTS then be PROFESSIONAL and give these men their privacy when naked and showering. Privacy is guaranteed by the fourth and eighth amendments, especially against being viewed naked when showering and changing clothes. Feminists have done good things for oppressed women, but they went too far with this issue. Men have never and will never be given EQUAL ACCESS to a woman's bathroom or locker room while there's a single naked female inside. The feminists that broke the door down and pushed their way into men's locker rooms for a free peep show should be ashamed of themselves. It's pretty blatant the double standard that exists for men in this society. If the females persist in disregarding these men's privacy issues and the teams won't do anything to protect their privacy the only other option is the courts. The government has done something about these issues. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 came to be there is a Title VII exception for consumer privacy and a bona fide job qualification acknowledging that in some positions where bodily privacy was important (when genitals are exposed) it is perfectly ok to hire or staff same gender as in bathrooms, locker rooms, hospitals, etc. Title V11 attests that personal bodily privacy ESPECIALLY WHEN NAKED trumps gender rights in hiring. An example is men being excluded from Labor & Delivery in hospitals to protect female patients modesty. This same law applies in the case of women invading men’s personal bodily privacy when naked. I can list several court cases where women's equal employment rights and equal access issues were overthrown by the courts when it invaded men's personal privacy when naked. It’s called a BFOQ or Bona fied Occupational Qualification. Get out of the men’s locker rooms ladies (and I use that term loosely) and give these men the respect and dignity they deserve while showering and dressing. Give them the same respect and dignity that the men of our society afford you. You can wait till the men are showered and fully clothed to interview them. It appears the simple solution to regain privacy and morals is to not let anyone in the locker rooms.I can name one Professional Female Sports Reporter, Hannah Storen, sports director of KSRR-FM in Houston, Texas. This is a quote from her:
"I feel it is demeaning for me to walk into a locker room with 60 naked guys," she says. "I do my interviews in the hallway. . . . I feel the players respect me more and I have always gotten great interviews."
She apparently gives men the same respect and dignity that she see’s men of our society give to women, bless you Hannah for your convictions.
To bad the majority of female sports reporters can’t self regulate themselves on one of the most basic of principles in our society; to respect the opposite genders privacy when naked
Lefteddie
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