Hey men, it's time to stop making sport so hostile for our girls

I’ve unfortunately seen many women eating hot dogs on a baseball broadcast. Never seen a man.

I’ve been a sports fan basically since the day I was old enough to be one.

My dad used to sit me down when I was about five years old and watch Manly Sea Eagles games every time they were on TV, and State of Origin nights quickly became one of the most important times in my life (don’t worry, my priorities have since changed).

I have extremely fond memories of attending the Sydney Paralympics as a child, and still remember where I was when Cathy Freeman won her famous gold medal, even though I was barely eight at the time.

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My love grew through my teenage years, when I discovered that sport existed outside the Australian bubble, and before long I had a team I was following in just about every major competition in the world.

It hasn’t really slowed down much in adulthood either. My wife would be the first to tell you I watch far too much sport, and the collection of team-based onesies, T-shirts, jumpers etc. for my two kids is probably big enough to clothe them comfortably for the next six months.

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I've been buying my daughter sports gear since she was really little. Picture: Supplied

I hope one day she has the ability to enjoy sports the same way I have. Picture: Supplied

"I've never seen a male on screen eating a hot dog"

In recent years, it’s been fascinating to watch the astronomical growth of women’s sports, and also the amount of men who seem to want to make sure it never gets off the ground.

Every time the issue of gender equality in sports is raised, particularly when it comes to paychecks, you’ll get a wave of men saying ‘if you want women to earn more, go and support them’.

Now, I fully understand the conversation about gender equality in sports is extremely nuanced, and I’m not offering up any type of opinion about that today, but I do have a message for the aforementioned men.

If you’re so keen for women to support women’s sports, or just sports in general, why are you also adamant on keeping it as a hostile environment for them?

You might have seen the recent Kidspot story about two young women who attended a game of the College World Series (baseball) last month in Omaha, Nebraska.

The girls, who say they both love baseball, bought themselves an ice-cream on a hot day, and sat back down in their seats to enjoy it.

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They weren’t there for 20 seconds before a cameraman working for ESPN spotted them and hovered on them for an uncomfortably long period of time.

You probably know exactly where this is going, but the girls were soon sexualised for the simple act of eating an ice-cream.

It’s not a one-off thing either. I’ve watched enough cricket and baseball in my time to know cameramen love finding attractive women in the stands to linger on when there’s not much happening on the field of play.

Men only get featured on the telecast if they’re kitted out in the team’s gear, or if they’re enthusiastically celebrating their team’s achievements. Women are on the screen simply for existing in a public space.

To put it another way: I’ve unfortunately seen many women eating hot dogs on a baseball broadcast. Never seen a man.

In fact, just a quick Google search brings up many articles just showcasing the 'attractive' fans the camera has found at various sporting events.

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This woman just wanted to cheer her country on, but she instead found herself at the end of a photographer's lens. Picture: Herald Sun

"It needs to change, and fast"

It’s happening on the field itself as well. For the longest time, the only way women could play anything resembling professional American football was to play in the Lingerie Football League.

I’ll let you figure out what that looked like.

Thankfully that has improved in recent years, but they still don’t get anywhere near the coverage of their male counterparts. It’s still a league full of short shorts.

Men have been making crass jokes about women’s volleyball for years, soccer and softball players have been forced to hear the ‘lesbian’ stereotype for too long, and successful female athletes are still valued by a lot of men more for their looks than their athletic abilities.

It needs to change, and it needs to change fast.

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Caitlin Clark has become one of the most talked about athletes in America, and is helping to drive a newfound popularity for the WNBA. Picture: Getty Images

"I just want my daughter to have the same experience I did"

My daughter is four years old, and I can’t wait until she’s interested in sitting down with me and watching some of the teams that have brought me so much joy and anguish over the past 25 years.

More than that though, I’m excited that she can also watch women play a lot of these sports at the highest level, and can have just as much of a shot at being a professional athlete as my son.

Just in the past decade we’ve seen the AFL start a professional women’s competition (AFLW), and the NRL has done the same (NRL Women’s Premiership).

Women’s soccer has gone from strength to strength, perfectly exemplified by how the nation was captivated by the Matildas' run at last year’s World Cup.

The WNBA has seen a wave of new interest over the past 12 months thanks to a bumper crop of rookies coming out of College. I’d wager a bet that even folks who don’t watch a lot of sport have heard the name Caitlin Clark at least once in the past few weeks.

Despite all this, I’m still fearful my daughter will be turned off sport because she finds out men talk just as much about Serena Williams’ physique as they do her amazing on-court achievements.

I don’t want her not coming to games because she’s uncomfortable at hearing men in the crowd make lewd comments towards the players.

I just want her to have the same experience as I did growing up: being able to love sport (if she wants) without worrying if it’s a place where she will be accepted.

Originally published as Hey men, it's time to stop making sport so hostile for our girls