Isn’t it just ridiculous how some people can’t wrap their heads around the idea of women being into sports or games? Like, seriously, why do they assume that just because a girl likes cricket or F1, she must be after male attention or clueless about the game? It’s like they think women can’t possibly have a genuine passion for sports or gaming without some ulterior motive. On a similar note, we spoke to some women who shared their experiences of being judged for liking a sport or playing a game. I mean, do men have better things to do?
Women Being Judged For Liking Sports Or Playing Games
Janvi Manchanda, Associate Editor
We once had to deal with a man leading a campaign at the publication I was working with. It was during an initial discussion about the campaign and I asked this man a very technical question about the website campaign to which he (in a very condescending tone) replied that he’s worked in digital long enough to understand that and does not feel the need to answer my question. While I’m not a fan of responding harshly, I had no choice but to shut him down by reminding him that I work for a digital-first publication and work on a website daily, much more than he does. These aren’t battles women should have to fight despite being experts at what they do. I did not have to tell him that I knew my work better than he did or to have to prove my worth and knowledge to him.
Manasvi ‘Vivi’ Dalvi, Senior Producer – IGN India, Woman in Games International Ambassador
When I used to stream many games, the most common notion was that this person only gets subscribers or followers because she’s a girl. It’s easier for female gamers to grow in the market because they are females and they get attention. This isn’t true, because in India, there are so many content creators and among the top content creators there are only a handful of women who have crossed millions of followers. Whereas there are men who have 40 million followers, so if people think women get followers easily, where are these followers? Most of the time women get trolled by men where they say- “Oh, you are not even a gamer or you just play one game.” Also, if you play very well, they’ll never believe it’s you. But, if you play badly then they will say things like, “Go back to kitchen.” This is the most common quote we hear.
Meghna Rajpal, Junior Features Writer
Being a Formula 1 fan as a girl came as a shock to many of my male friends when I posted a story about the race. They came at me saying that I MUST be a Carlos Sainz fan because I am a girl. And all girls are only Carlos Sainz fans because we only focus on the looks. Questions like “But do you really watch the race or is it only to impress a boy?” get to me as I actually enjoy watching the race.
Sneha Ghorai, Junior Entertainment Writer
For starters, I’m a huge cricket fan. I love it so much that I even had a fan page for the one and only MSD. However, just saying that I’m a fan is never enough to prove my love for the sport. A lot of women would relate with me because whenever we have expressed our love for the game, it has always raised questions and stupid assumptions. Like, they assume we are here for their charming look which is not wrong, but who are you to judge? Their initial thought after realising a girl’s into cricket is to ask her questions- “Do you know at what position he plays, is he a leg spinner?” Why can’t a woman enjoy cricket without them raising stupid questions? FYI, I’m not friends with him anymore, because it’s better to cut off such toxic people.
As we celebrate 78 years of freedom, one question ponders over my mind- Are women really free? Can they have likes and preferences, a voice? Because, even though there’s slight progress, men cannot fathom the fact that a woman likes cricket, F1 or enjoys playing “male games.” What a woman really wants is to enjoy her hobbies without any judgment, which is hard to achieve in today’s world like it was back then. So, where’s our freedom?
Also Read: 5 Things Women Feel Guilty About But They Shouldn’t. We Need Freedom From Being Apologetic!