MISSadevntHERS Pt. II

MISSadventHERS in Gym Class: An anonymous column in which we address the problems with sexism in gym class by making sure everyone can get their story told.

In this article, I have interviewed two students: a sophomore and a junior at Needham High School. They both feel that there is fault in the way gym classes are being run, and would like to share their individual experiences.

What do you feel the atmosphere of gym class is like as a girl?

I think it depends on who the gym teacher is, because obviously, girl gym teachers are way more understanding and less critical of girls. I think that sometimes, gym teachers assume that girls don’t want to participate. It’s generalizations like that that are really harmful, and there are definitely people of all genders who don’t want to participate, because they’re just like “Ugh, this is gym class,” but it’s important to understand that everyone can be equally as talented at sports.

How do you feel the environment could be improved?

I think that if teachers, especially man gym teachers, could be talked to about how they are so sexist and support boys way more than girls, that would be important. And I think if there were less blaming and made fewer generalizations, girls would feel more comfortable to participate. Maybe, if they had more engaging and exciting activities, then more people of all genders would want to participate, and maybe that would stop these stereotypes from being perpetuated.

Have there been any specific experiences?

One time, I was playing this game in gym and I was told by a boy on my team that I was the reason my team was going to lose, solely because I didn’t want to look like an idiot and throw myself at the ground when a ball came towards me. The teacher did nothing about it, even though he had said at the beginning that if people were aggressive he was going to do something about it. I was also told by this same student that he needed to see more effort from me on the court and the teacher, who heard, did nothing about it. The teacher leading this class was a man.

There is a clear lack of teacher-student support in gym class at Needham High School. It seems that this is not a difficult thing to change, as all teachers should be observant and care about their students. To avoid the detrimental effects of neglect in gym class, teachers should make sure to enforce rules and reprimands equally across genders. It is small actions such as these that can make a big (positive) difference. And to the boys contributing to this environment: please think about your actions. It would mean a lot. Just because your choices are condoned by the gym teachers does not negate the impacts of those choices.