A League of Their Own?

“Wanna hear a joke? Women’s basketball.”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that one…

As sad as it is, it’s pretty clear that a lot of people don’t take women’s sports very seriously. No matter how hard female athletes train, practice and compete, in our society they never seem to receive the same amount of attention and respect for their discipline as male athletes do. But wait! Maybe there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon!…Or not.

For all of you MTV2 enthusiasts out there, I’m sure you’ve heard of its new show covering the Lingerie Football League. The MTV2 website summarizes the show:

“MTV2 and the Lingerie Football League (LFL) team to create the television destination for guys on Friday nights with a new era of ‘Friday Night Lights,’ providing viewers action-packed 7-on-7 full-contact tackle football games played by some of America’s most beautiful athletes.”

If after reading this statement you gather that MTV2 has discovered a league that will give women a chance to make their big break as serious athletes who receive positive attention from the media and their fans, guess again. In fact, while this description of the LFL clearly demonstrates its true target audience, “guys,” it fails to report any benefits the league has for its female players. So what is the actual purpose of the league, to provide women an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to play a traditionally male dominated sport or to appease the lustful appetites of men? Let’s investigate.

Optimists may see the league as a step forward for women who want to play football and feel that it’s liberating for women to have a “league of their own” so to speak. It seems, however, that the league isn’t receiving attention because of any sort of emancipating qualities. In a 2009 interview with Ben Tatar of CriticalBench.com, LFL player Niki Ghazian, who apparently sees the league as a breakthrough, comments on how the league will influence women:

Critical Bench: “Do you think we should have the LFL in high schools? Do you think more girls will start playing football?”

Niki Ghazian: “I think this will definitely bring a new perspective to the role of women’s sports. I believe what we are doing is ground-breaking for women in sports and will definitely change things at a collegiate level as well as high school level. When I began playing water polo we only had a men’s team, which then expanded into a women’s team. Water polo was a men’s sport, just as football is today… and hopefully we can help be a part of a new movement.”

Sorry Niki, but I think I’ll have to disagree with you on that one. I’m all in favor of expanding the creation of women’s teams for sports that are traditionally dominated by men, but I don’t think these teams should compete in their underwear. Honestly, the LFL is not an appropriate activity for any woman because the fact that the players compete in practically nothing takes the focus away from any skill they might have. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s important for women to receive recognition for their achievements, but it seems as though the only “achievements” the girls are receiving recognition for are their lady parts (which are clearly visible in the picture below).

This makes me wonder, are LFL players competing for their own enjoyment, or to please men? I often wrestle with my feelings about women who choose to dress scantily. Are they demonstrating happiness in their own skin and expressing their freedom to wear what they want when they want, or are they simply objectifying themselves by putting their bodies on display for men to oogle? In this case, I will have to side with the latter. LFL players voluntarily sign up to play in a league where the focus will never truly be on their abilities as athletes, but rather on the jiggle of their jangles. Personally, I feel as though the league is teaching women, especially young impressionable women, that in order to receive attention while playing a sport, they’ll have to play half naked.

No really, nudity is actually included in these players’ contracts. According to a 2009 article on The Smoking Gun website called “Lingerie League Gets Litigious,” players must acknowledge that occasional accidental nudity during games will be acceptable and even hoped for.

“…[The league’s standard player contract] also warns of a $500 fine if a woman wears any “additional garments” underneath her lingerie uniform. The league, an ex-player told TSG, did not want women wearing bras or underwear, since that would inhibit instances where players were exposed when uniforms were ripped off or pulled down during play. Such “accidental nudity” is addressed in the contract, which requires a player to “knowingly and voluntarily” agree to such inadvertent exposure.”

Stipulations such as these can lead to “accidents” like this one.

If under their contract with the league LFL players can’t even protect their own bodies from being exposed, can we really say that this is a step forward for women? These women work for a man (Mitchell Mortaza) who responds to anything he considers an unwarranted gripe by saying things like, “Let me give you a little advice and this goes for any other player creating unnecessary, drama. Simply SHUT UP and play football” (“Lingerie League Gets Litigious”). Mortaza sounds a bit more like a horny, power-driven strip club manager than the facilitator of a women’s movement. But maybe that’s just me.

So can I say with confidence that I believe the LFL is forging a new path for women? Absolutely not. As long as the “new movement” Niki Ghazian refers to requires me to do things in my underwear in order to get recognition, count me out.

-Lauranium