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IUSTITIA

Publication Citation

2 (1) IUSTITIA 56 (1974)

Abstract

The life of a female professional athlete in many ways seems undesirable. Attitudinal pressures and societal demands coupled with the rigors of competitive sport make a female pro's life draining, if not oppressive. On the outside there may appear a gleam of happiness as a photographer catches a pro in action during her moment of glory. Magazine articles assume by inference that being "number one" is glamorous and highly desirable. It does mark a tremendous achievement in an athlete's life, but for a female athlete, "getting there" is almost a nightmare. No female professional is without some battle scars.

Our society acclaims those who are "the best" in their field yet we still continue to treat female athletes a bit differently. She is, in a sense, a marginal person, never fully accepted by men or women. Hopefully, our society will come to the point when women will not only be given equal opportunity to participate in sport but will not be made to feel they are unfeminine, inferior or abnormal. Someday, perhaps, the chauvinist remarks about female athletes of one Sanche de Gramont will be a laughingstock. Women who indulge in sports will not be compared to longshoremen by the male establishment. All comparisons will be gone.

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