Female Sports

Watching the women's world cup and the new season of the WNBA, I can't help but notice the lack of interest that female sports generate. When one looks at the crowd, the first thing that you notice is that lack of people in the stands and i am still trying to figure out why that is. At least for the WNBA the lack of interest is understandable because it is a fairly recent organization, as is most of female athletics, and you also are not likely to see any highlight reel dunks and crazy feats of athleticism. However for soccer, crazy athleticism is not normally what people are seeking. The women seem to be just as skilled as some of the men, there have been just as many goals, everything is real technical although obviously with a little less power in the execution of the moves but that still does not take away from the enjoyment of the game. Given that that is so, why do female sports attract so little attention, even among female viewers. Looking at the world cup, the buzz that was there for the male's tournament is just not there for the women and one wonders why. It still involves professional players participating an in event to represent their nation. In an event that sill pits country against country, you would think that level of interest would always be somewhat up there.

Is there something about women athletics that turn us off? We know the stereotypes associated with female athletes. Most people automatically seem to think that they are "butch lesbians" for some reason. Being physically strong and fit still seems to be something that is viewed as an exclusively male attribute, and women that seek to be that are somehow deemed to be masculine. To even have a shot at attracting male viewers, it seems that the women have to be out there playing in next to nothing or lingerie as they do with the lingerie football league, or better yet beach volleyball. It seems that no matter the level of skill, however good the games might be, people don't care to see women sports whether at the college or professional level. What is responsible for our aversion to female athletics? I still can't put my figure on what it is exactly.