Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a tennis match at the Houston Astrodom on September 20, 1973, and raised his arms. AP Yonhap News
Sports history is a textbook of gender struggle. Women are often excluded from sports and have been discriminated against in terms of prize money and wages while playing in the same sport. When it comes to being, there wasn’t a single female participant in the first Modern Olympics (1896)? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) now says “Sports is one of the most powerful platforms that promote gender equality and empower women and girls.” According to a 2017 Fortune magazine survey, 65% of America’s most influential women (20 out of 31 respondents) were athletes in high school or college. There is also a survey (2015 ESPNW) that women who exercised earn 7% higher wages than women who did not. Women’s voices are growing louder in the sports field, and gender inequality is gradually being resolved. I picked the’game changer’ that achieved gender equality in a sports world full of testosterone. ■ Katherine Switcher breaks down the Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon, first started on Patriot Day in 1897, officially banned women from participating until the 1960s. Not just the Boston Marathon, but most marathons. It was because of the reason that “it is unsuitable for a woman’s body to run 42.195km”. But Catherine Switcher thought differently. In 1967, the switcher applied for the contest with the’KV switcher’ in order to hide his gender, and then put 261 on his chest and officially participated in the contest. When he ran around 5 km, a tournament organizer who noticed that the switcher was a woman tried to get him out of the field roughly. This image was captured intact on the camera and appeared in the 〈Boston Herald〉, and after that it caused a tremendous repercussion. The switcher finished the race with a firm, bloody foot. Since 1972, the Boston Marathon has officially allowed women to participate. It was the year after the New York Marathon opened the competition to women. However, the women’s marathon was adopted as the first official title at the 1984 LA Olympics. In an interview with the LA Times, Switcher said, “Women are never inferior to men in endurance and stamina.” ■Billie Jean King wins the first sex showdown
In September 1973, more than 90 million people around the world watched the tennis battle of the century. It was a gender showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. 3,472 people gathered to watch the game in person, which was a new record in the tennis game. Riggs, who was number one in the world rankings in the 1940s, has usually said that “women’s tennis games are much inferior to men’s games.” Although he was 55 years old, he said, “I can win a confrontation with a female player.” After winning the world’s No. 1 Margaret Court 2-0 at the time, the momentum became more equal. As Riggs continued his provocation, the 30-year-old King, who won 12 Grand Slam singles, emerged. The result was King’s 3-0 (6:4/6:3/6:3) win. In addition, the perspective on women’s tennis has also changed. In an interview with ESPN, King said, “I thought I would go back to 50 years ago if I couldn’t win the game. I thought that this game would affect the women’s tour competition and women’s pride, so I focused more.” King, who revealed that he was the first professional player in the world to be a homosexual (1981), continues to speak out to promote LGBTQ and women’s rights. His relentless efforts have led to equalization of the men’s and women’s prize money in the 4 Grand Slam competitions (2007).
Nawal Muttawakil, the first Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 L.A. Olympics, is smiling brightly after receiving an award at a sports awards ceremony held in Abu Dhabi in March 2010. Abu Dhabi/EPA Yonhap News
■ Muthawakil becomes the hope of Muslim women
The participation of Muslim women in sports is very limited. In a male-centered society, women’s movements are accepted heretical, and it is difficult to wear hijabs and compete with others. In some Muslim countries, women have a hard time even watching sports. In this environment, Moroccan native Nawal Muttawakil made a surprise of winning the gold medal in the 400m hurdle event at the 1984 LA Olympics. Muthawakil was a student at the Iowa State University in the U.S. and was the only woman on the Moroccan Olympic team. Muthawakil’s Olympic gold medal was the first for Moroccan and Muslim women. At once, he became the hero of Morocco and the romance of Muslim girls. Hashiba Bullmerka (Algeria) was also one of those who admired Muthawakil. He was also threatened with murder by Muslim extremists, but at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he won the first gold medal (1500m on land) to his motherland for the first time in the history of men and women. “I am proud that the situation has changed,” said Muthawakil, who has been working for gender equality in sports at the World Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in an interview with a media outlet. Change is slow, but it’s beyond. That’s why we will keep pushing.”
Rain Bitchley (Australia) performs a surfing trick at the Billabong Pro ASP World Title held in Maui, Hawaii in October 2006. Maui/EPA Yonhap News
■Female surfers win equal prizes
Female surfers have long been discriminated against in terms of prize money compared to male surfers. Often treated as a male surfer’s bridesmaid with a sexy image. Confronting the dangerous waves was the same, but all that came back was discrimination and a sticky gaze. In an interview with the Guardian in 2017, Rain Beechili, the winner of the 7th World Championship, said, “I earned 550,000 dollars (600 million won) in prize money over 19 years. Sometimes during the competition, there was no lodging, so I slept on a board bag, and I prepared for the next competition by selling bicycles and other items that were injured. Gender discrimination must end in our generation.” Rebecca Woods, who said her sponsorship was cut off because she didn’t wear a bikini during the competition, sighed in her 2016 〈ABC〉 (ABC), saying, “I even thought I wanted to be naked to become more famous.” In June 2018, in South Africa’s junior tournament, female surfers’ anger reached a peak when the female champion won only half of the male champion’s. Eventually, the World Surfing Federation (WSL) raised a white flag and announced that men and women would receive the same prize a few months later. Bianca Valenti said: “Some people say they’re ruining the surfing sport by raising prize redistribution issues, but that’s a mistake. In the future, the whole surfing sports world will grow.” In addition, the first female general manager (Kim Ng) appeared in the American Professional Baseball (MLB), and the acting female manager (Becky Hamman) conducted the first official game in the American Professional Basketball (NBA). This year, a female referee (Sarah Thomas) first appeared in the NFL Super Bowl. The sports glass ceiling is gradually cracking even at this time. By Kim Yang-hee, staff reporter [email protected]