Women and Sport (continued)
As regular Rusters will be aware, despite being an old-fashioned Neanderthal born in the 1950s, I like to demonstrate my continuing relevance to younger generations by monitoring and occasionally featuring on this organ bulletins from the brave new “woke” world as the “Monstrous Regiment of Women” continue their relentless march to domination of the world of sport as well as everything else.
[Author’s Note: the term “Monstrous Regiment of Women” is taken from – and should in truth be copyright-credited to – John Knox (1514 – 1572), Scottish theologian, founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and author of the polemical tract The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women, published in 1558.
In researching my subject for this piece I discovered some facts that may be of general interest. The Wikipedia entry for Knox’s most famous publication states that its title employs certain words and senses that are now archaic. The word “monstruous” – from the Latin “monstruosus”, means “unnatural” and “regimen(t)”, coming from the late Latin “regimentum” or “regimen”, means “rule” or “government” – it is not to be confused with “regiment” as in a unit of an armed force.
As actor Michael Caine – apocryphally or not – has often been often and famously quoted as saying “Not many people know that”. Well, I certainly didn’t.]
Anyway.
Here are links to two recent media reports that I have spotted in the British press:
CONCUSSION
In the UK over the past five years or so the effects of head injuries – not least concussion – upon athletes has been the subject of a great deal of publicity and academic research.
Against the background of the extraordinary developments in the USA in the sport of (NFL) American Football – not least the 2013 settlement costing US$765 million to former players – UK sport generally has had to sit up and take notice.
A spectacularly notable case in point was that of former footballer Jeff Astle of West Brom (1942 – 2002) who was formally identified as suffering from dementia caused by heading a football.
Elsewhere rugby union has since introduced much stricter head injury protocols [now resulting in pitch-side attendance by doctors specifically looking for signs of concussion and “HIAs” (head injury assessments) at the slightest suggestion of a player displaying symptoms] and also begun a new research project with in excess of fifty former players taking part and/or separately suing the authorities for not doing enough to protect players from the effects of head collisions.
At the weekend news emerged in the UK of concerns as to the effects upon elite sportswomen of head trauma. Dr Willie Stewart of Glasgow University called for urgent research to be conducted into the long-term effects of the issue, citing the fact that the risk of concussion in women’s sport was at least double that of men’s.
Here’s a link to a piece by David Robson that appeared in January on the website – BBC FUTURE
FEMALE SPORTSWEAR
One aspect of female sport that attracts comment and sometime controversy is that of female attire when taking part in sport.
Never mind the male “locker room”-type (drooling) interest in female beach volleyball in which the participants seem to wear little more than crop-tops, bikini bottoms, baseball caps and dark glasses – there is a real discussion to be had around the subject of the female image and elite sport.
Whether it be tennis, or swimming/diving, or gymnastics, the question arises as to what degree femininity should to be celebrated or downplayed generally – at the elite level, or simply the amateur participatory level.
For example, take gymnastics. Can anyone imagine male gymnasts taking part in an event involving throwing a ball in the air and rolling several times across a mat in order to catch it again, or doing similar with a stick attached to a ribbon?
I cannot – and yet we see women in the Olympics doing just that. Should this be regarded a a celebration of one of the wonderful difference between the genders … or dismissed (as some suggest) as being all “A bit too girly, and therefore demeaning to women generally as sporting participants”?
Discuss.
Anyway.
Here’s a piece I spotted by Molly McElwee on the first-ever wearing of a long-legged leotard in gymnastics competition by Sarah Voss at the European Championships that I spotted overnight on the website of the – DAILY TELEGRAPH
[RUST WARNING: At the time of posting this blog the above “link” to the Daily Telegraph article concerned was working perfectly. However, the Telegraph, in common with now most British newspapers, increasingly likes to “protect” its articles behind pay-walls of one nature or another. I apologise in advance if – by the time any Rust reader seeks to use the link in order to read the article – when he or she “clicks” upon it, the article in question has become “unobtainable”.]
