Game, set, match, sexism?

Attacking From The Left

For a second, just imagine that one of the highest ranked male tennis players in the world, be it Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic or any of the others, had just won a marathon five setter. Now imagine them taking part in the obligatory post game interview with a commentator who starred in the game for decades, and no doubt knows it inside out. Now imagine the first question they get asked is “so who would you most like to date?” or “So how is married life treating you?”. Having a difficult time imagining the last step in that sequence ever eventuating? That’s because it’s incredibly unlikely at best.

These are the sexist double standards that female tennis players and athletes in general have to put up with. The latest case of this was at the Australian Open in the past few days. Having just won her way through to the…

View original post 575 more words

Margaret, you should have stuck to tennis…

Many years ago Margaret Court was a halfway-decent tennis player with an illustrious career in the sport. Probably her only close rival ever in international women’s tennis would be current US star Serena Williams.

Unfortunately Court’s career since retiring from tennis has been less than illustrious. It has lately consisted of using her Christian ministry in an obscure Pentecostal sect to push unproven and debunked anti-gay so-called “conversion therapies”, treatments which consist largely of bullying and psychological manipulation similar to the brain-washing tactics used in torture.

Such “treatments” end up with many of the victims in sham marriages, distressing and cruel for the victims, and with the creation of new victims in the form of the partners and the children of such unions. Statistics from the Family Court on the success of these “marriages” would probably be truly enlightening if they were available.

How sad to see a once-great athlete and sports role model for women descend into advocacy for quack psychological theories and the expression of public bigotry.

Elsewhere

Margaret Court stirs controversy with anti-gay comments; protest planned at Australian Open

Tennis great accused of inciting gay hatred/3771854?section=vic

Aussie Open organisers distance themselves from unrepentant Court