A Rant about Hockey and Sexism

The CBC has recently made a partnership with an online audio show which provides an alternate commentary during hockey games. For the Stanley Cup Final games they're going to be hosting the show as an online stream alongside the English and Punjabi (!!!) commentaries. There are several problems with this.

- the show is called "While the Men Watch"
- the subject matter seems to have absolutely nothing to do with hockey
- the subject matter is in fact extremely stereotypical, hetero-normative, and "girly"

None of which would be a problem (except in the general sense) if it weren't being

- funded and supported by the CBC, and therefore public money

Now, I realize that this show is not aimed at me. It is not supposed to be for people who are hockey fans regardless of their gender. The aim of the show is to make hockey more interesting to people who aren't interested in hockey. Instead they are talking about what the coaches are wearing, how hot players are, what's happening in the crowds and various other things.

Actually, I'm totally in favour of those things. And I was filled with glee when I found the places on the internet where female (and male with corresponding interests) hockey fans hung out. I like looking at photos of attractive hockey players. I like hearing about their families and the parts of their lives which are off the ice. The players are people as well as players and they are most interesting to me when I can see both sides of them.

And I would be perfectly fine with these women talking about these things on the internet. Except for one two key points.

1. They are not hockey fans.
2. They are being endorsed by the CBC.

Let's expand on these things. Second things first: the CBC is endorsing them. By endorsing them the CBC is presenting an image of how women should be involved in hockey broadcasting. And it's an image which is not a good one.

Here's some of the subtext:
- women should only start watching hockey because they want to spend time with their man
- they should not actually be interested in the sport, but only the social aspects surrounding it
- the only relationships worth acknowledging are heterosexual ones where the man watches sports and the woman has to find ways to be amused by said sports instead of doing something else that interests them

First things second: they're not hockey fans. Making the sport more accessible is a great thing. I love that they have a commentary track in Punjabi (for example). It's amazing. But I don't understand why they seem to be courting people into... continuing to not be hockey fans?

These women are opposed to playoff beards (BLASPHEMY!). And they most alarmingly have a post on their website which suggests that you shouldn't decline sex with your man after a big loss.

Things the CBC should do to court the casual sports fan:
- make an alternate commentary track that explains the rules in game as well as the significance of certain plays and milestones
- talk about the social aspect of the sport. This is already done somewhat, but not very much. Don't make it gendered. Don't say: "Because women want to hear about your families..." - cause guess what? lots of men want to hear about that stuff too. Talk about what the players do off ice. Talk about the pranks they pull on each other (which are often hilarious). Talk about how they got to where they are (not just "He's a good Saskatchewan boy!").

I mean come on. The CBC has a study that says 40% of the hockey fans in Canada are women. We're not here because we date men who like the sport.

Some of us date women who like the sport.
Some of us date men and make them watch the sport.
Some of us find hockey players attractive for what they do on the ice as well as what they look like off the ice.
Some of us spend time listening to our hard core hockey fan male roommates complain about coaches suits.
Some of us stream hockey games at home alone and yell at the internet.

Being a hockey fan isn't about your gender. So CBC, please don't tell me that the the female perspective (ie my perspective) is what these women are offering.

On the other hand I would love it if you would have more women commentators on Hockey Night in Canada. Cassie Campbell-Pascal is awesome but she's not around nearly as much as she deserves.

I long for the day when a female commentator doesn't have to have more gold medals than the combined players of the teams upon which she's commentating in order to gain respect.

(NB - Cassie Campbell-Pascal (Olympian x3, World Champion x6) is apparently very well respected by the players in the NHL who often talk to her about hockey and ask after the women's team etc. But their respect unfortunately doesn't equate to the respect of the general audience or the broadcasters. Sigh.)

There are many more things that can and have been said about this issue. In various blogs and things across the internet - most of them are more articulate and organized than me. If you're interested I can russell up a few links for you. But the main point I'm trying to get across here is that the problem here isn't that it exists - the problem is that the CBC is backing it as "the female perspective". That's the sexist and derogatory part here.