Women Deserve Respect Too

It is no surprise that in today’s society men are viewed superior to women in all aspects of life, especially sports. Joan Ryan states in her book “Little Girls in Pretty Boxes” that women’s gymnastics year in and year out attracts television audiences in record numbers. I am one of those viewers that fix their eyes on these incredibly talented girls who are barely old enough to drive. After reading Ryan’s book I have an even greater appreciation for these young girls and for women’s athletics in general. Ryan sheds light on the grueling year round training these young girls go through and the insurmountable pressure put on them by coaches, parents, and Americans as a whole. This pressure and training leads these girls to revert to such things as using laxatives and throwing up after they eat to keep themselves in the perfect form that they are constantly told they should be in. The time table for these young athletes is smaller than any sport, male or female. The training these young girls put themselves through and the pressure they are put under by themselves and others often times leads them to finish their careers with not only physical problems but psychological ones as well. This alone should have American’s hold a much higher respect for women and women’s sports as well.

In her article, Kelsey Manning explains that this past year’s women’s Olympic gymnastics team averaged an age of 17 while the men’s team averaged 21.5. The difference between the two genders is the race against time; men’s gymnastics welcomes puberty while women’s gymnastics fears it. Manning further explains that the intense training these girls go through stunts their growth and pushes the age they reach puberty back. Because men hit puberty at a later age, they ultimately have longer careers and more time to prepare. Women on the other hand have a small window to make or break their careers, they can train for years to be at their peak at a certain Olympics but not making the team or suffering an injury could wipe away all those years of training. They may not have a second chance because the next Olympics could come too late for them. The intensity seen on their faces during competition shows it all, they know that a single moment can determine their fate, whether they will be known as an Olympic hero or an Olympic bust. How are these girls not suppose to be celebrated as top men’s athletes are, there is no male sport that demands so much at such a young age. ( http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/07/20/career-management/why-male-gymnasts-have-longer-careers-than-females-nastia-liuken-age-gymnasts-730/ ) 

 The physical and mental abuse these girls go through can affect them long after their careers are over and it is not uncommon for these girls to retire as early as 20 years old or sometimes sooner. An article by the American Academy of Pediatrics explains the multitude of injuries that athletes of high intensity training such as gymnasts experience and further explains how detrimental it can be to a young person’s growth. Proper nutrition is essential to everyone but is more so for athletes and as Ryan explains, elite gymnasts do not get it because they are trying to fit the mold of what a gymnast “should” look like. The physical and emotional stress is what could be the worst of it all. Young gymnasts could miss social and educational opportunities, are put under unrealistic parental expectations, and are exploited by their coaches. These things, amongst other can cause these girls to develop deep psychological problems. Little Girls in Pretty Boxes opened my eyes to a world that is not seen during the bright lights of the Olympics and shows what these girls go through to make it to this big stage, the lone sport of women’s gymnastics should put women up there with the most famous of male athletes. (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/1/154.full)

Ryan, Joan. Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite      

 Gymnasts and Figure Skaters. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print.