"Gender Watch" Reflections on the World Universiade: Why do people say Taiwanese women are "not like girls"?

The World Universiade is in full swing, Taipei our home, Taiwan for their own athletes proud, incubate in relatively less than the entire sports environment, they neatly grabbed 19 gold medals, 29 silver, 28 bronze, we began to see the award behind the story, with personal constant practice and efforts, wings rich.

We talked last week about the body and the desires on the playground , body and mind two yuan polarized angle of view how to limit our viewing imagination; Recently in the PTT has the discussion is also very enthusiastic, accumulates 312 message string, he asks, why Taiwan female athlete, often does not see is the female student, has less feminine characteristic?

The original quote, "see the Universiade competition, can-do Taiwan does not lose, but in terms of appearance, it seems that the western female athletes, have retained some of the feminine characteristics, the opposite view of Taiwan seems quite a lot of projects, are very manly." You do not say, I will not be able to see that they are girls, this is because the Taiwanese more militarized training? Or is it because the sports industry is not commercially viable? 」

The question drew on the discussion of gender temperament. What is gender temperament? Is the feminine trait the long hair skin white slender limbs? and can't "see" Like a girl, will harm her is a girl's fact?

The question of "Don't look like a girl" is more interesting, and it may be a mistake to point out the perennial contradictions of female athletes-we do not want female athletes to look like girls, and we do not encourage women athletes to show feminine qualities in the playground.

Sports and gender wrestling: female athletes and masculine rules of the game

Reviewing the staggered history of movement and sex, there is a wrestling, the movement was initially identified as male, power display, masculine competition, the prohibition of negative involvement.

The earliest Greek Olympic Games, sports to be naked, showing the balance of the United States, women have neither qualification nor admission to see. The male body is the power of being admired, and the female body is a demeaning desire.

The first Olympic Games site, photo source:WIKI

In the 1894, Pierre de Coubert, the father of the modern Olympic Games, promoted the first modern Olympic Games and repeatedly objected to women's participation in public sports competitions, alleging that "Women's main role in the Olympics should be like the ancient arena, the crown of male winners." ", led by sociologists Jennifer Hargreaves criticism," The Olympic Games at the beginning of development, that is institutionalized gender doctrine and class dominated best example. 」

The 1990 Paris Olympics, 997 participants, only 22 women, 2016 years of the Olympic Games, female athletes accounted for 45%. Female athletes begin to walk into the playground, challenge authority, empower themselves, and have more different female faces on the playground, but in fact they are still being asked to play the relatively masculine rules of the game.

In the sports field identity break, a female athlete must first appear to be an athlete (and the athlete must have masculine body prototype), then is a woman, conceal the female body, only then appears to have the strength.

What about your feminine qualities? The road for the transformation of female athletes outside the playground

This is particularly the case in Asia. Feminine traits are often useless and unnecessary in the playing field of power, and the pursuit of feminine qualities should be subtracted or even belittled.

What happens when a female athlete shows her feminine qualities on the playground? The comment loses the focus, regards it as the feminine which may desire, is too honorable athlete, may desire and the respectable in the body and mind two yuan rigid frame, cannot coexist in the same body.

On the playground, once the desire, I do not know why she is not professional. To avoid trouble, as neutral, less masculine, save worry.

Outside the playground, it's another world. Female athletes in the sports field to give up the feminine characteristics, out of the sports ground, but was anxious to recover. People have a rude awakening to change the name of the challenge with women to prove that they are still girls, can still be amiable.

In the playground to "not like girls", out of the playground but to "have a woman".

Give an example.

Weightlifting Xu Shu NET, in 12, the London Olympics won silver returned, the media reported that mother's biggest wish is to see her daughter wear skirts. 16, Rio Olympic won the card, not leisure, the news made a Xushu of the Girl Heart special, inventory childhood her "feminine characteristics", and said: "Xushu after retirement can slowly put back the skirt, hair long, start makeup, perhaps beautiful and moving Xu Shu net can come back." 」

Female athletes in the sports field and outside the playground, again and again blurred identity. But why is it possible for Taiwanese female athletes to return to their female identities when they are out of the court or wait until they retire before they can "wear the dress back"? Long hair is regarded as unprofessional in the sports field, and "skirts" and "feminine qualities" are considered inappropriate, which is the problem we should discuss.

The dress was also worn back in the field: a playground where a female athlete was seen well

As a result, when the weight-lifting women Guo 142 kg to break the world record, when the Chinese basketball team took off the bronze medal, when the billiard player Zheng grabbed the women's singles silver; Can support women athletes to participate in sports competitions in a comfortable way.

Photo: World Universiade official website

There has been little discussion about gender in Taiwan's sports circles, and the paper,"the gender culture of Taiwan Sports and the survival strategy of the masculine female athlete" , is a half structure in-depth interview for 10 female athletes. It is found that the masculine female athlete does not have the gender role conflict, but "must" through transforms feminine feminine image, only then can sneak into the sports culture and the sports field domain.

The stadium hides the patriarchal, the worship strength, the masculine body and the outward form, is the privilege in the sports field, also is the ticket, lets you enter the stadium more smoothly. So the female athletes in Taiwan in the training process, is often encouraged not to wear makeup, not long hair, give up the female characteristics, only possible with men in the same field struggle.

Many female athletes acquire one thing in the sports environment: the choice of the gender-oriented, masculine body, is to enter the stadium without pain, is to better be seen as an athlete, more attention to her professional.

So, instead of asking female athletes why not dress up, why do not see your feminine characteristics, as a reflection of our sports environment to exclude the emergence of negative temperament?

The participation of female athletes is more likely to actively promote the transformation of sports venues. The sports ground does have a beginning and a history of gender, and the times have changed, there are all kinds of body and sex on the playground today, and the doctrine of loosening is no longer the rule of the game by single sex. The power and beauty of the sports field will have more shapes and possibilities in the future.

After the Universiade, we celebrate our personal efforts, the victory of the country, but also the next discussion of the gender, people say that exercise, gender to gender, and I said perhaps this world Universiade, the surging gender discussion, about the body and desire, about the gender temperament, we have been late for too long.