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(Published April 1996 in The Taekwondo Reporter) “Pushups,” the instructor barked, “men on your knuckles, ladies, just hands.” It was early in my taekwondo training and I was a little surprised when a woman in the class grumbled about discrimination. It seemed that she, too, wished to be a strong martial artist. More than fifteen years later, at a recent tournament, a couple of young women told me that they were going to write an article for the paper about sexual discrimination in taekwondo. Though the men were split into weight divisions, the nine black belt women were grouped together in one division. I thought they had a valid complaint, but I haven’t yet seen their article. The sports world, in general, favors men: universities place far more emphasis (and money) on men’s sports than on women’s, and in professional sports there’s little interest in “the girls”. Is this discrimination, though, or simply the result of a free market? When the football team is the sacred cow of the athletic department, is it because the university president is a fan, or is it because a winning football team produces large alumni contributions? When the local newspaper devotes ninety-eight percent of its sports coverage to men’s sports, is it because they’re misogynic, or is it because ninety-eight percent of the sports section readers are men? (Incidentally, for many men, the sports section is the only reason that they buy a paper.) Is this fair? Of course not! It is a fact of life, though, and one that’s not going to change overnight, if ever. The reason; more men are interested in sports than women. Spectator support is why, in the “wide, wide, world of sports”, the big money is on football, basketball and baseball. Truth be known, a preoccupation with the outcome of team sport events is but one of the many differences between the two sexes. As the French say, Vive la différence! Taekwondo, though, is different. Generally, the only people who pay to watch the competition are the friends and family of the competitors, and your local newspaper rarely gives it any ink, even though it’s now an Olympic sport. With its stronger dependence on lower body strength, taekwondo is also more “equal opportunity” than other sports. The difference in lower body strength between men and women of the same size is negligible, compared to upper body strength. Women and girls, in fact, especially as beginners, even have an advantage over men and boys. They seem to pick it up more quickly. Because the use of our body in taekwondo is so different than it is in other sports, most men are very awkward when they begin, even those considered athletic. Most girls may not be able to throw a baseball as well as a boy, but they seem to have more flexibility, and are able to perform kicks and stances with greater ease. Perhaps because they haven’t played football and baseball, women slide into taekwondo forms more gracefully, especially those who’ve studied ballet. With a lower center of gravity, women have better balance from the beginning and, therefore, progress more rapidly. More and more females have embraced martial arts, including taekwondo, for self-defense, exercise or sport and, yet, we continue to see unequal treatment of male and females, not only in the dojang and at competition, but also in the martial arts business and its male dominated politics. In corporate America, however, it’s the same story. There truly are glass ceilings that women have been unable to penetrate. However, they become less in number with each generation. In an agrarian society men and women formed traditional teams to tend the fields and raise a family. The roles of each were clearly defined, and there was little trouble. The battle of the sexes began after the Industrial Revolution, when society changed and, with it, the needs of the family and its members. In addition, modern conveniences made the job of homemaker less of a full-time occupation, and as we became more educated, men and women both felt an attraction for occupations considered more sophisticated. As the “breadwinner”, men got a jump on their female counterparts and began their upward social climb. Not to be left behind, women followed and, in a short time, they’ve have made great strides in all fields of endeavor. After all it’s been a scant eighty years since women in the United States fought for and won the right to vote. There are people, men and women, who feel that the “lesser person” status that Asians have traditionally conferred on women is the reason that we find sexism in taekwondo. It’s true that in Asian cultures women haven’t enjoyed the equality that American women have (recently) demanded. That too, though, has begun to change. In rural parts of those countries, as in rural America, traditional values are more likely to be observed. In thoroughly, modern cities, though, such as Seoul and Tokyo women are refusing to be treated in a protective, and demeaning manner. In addition, Asian women who have immigrated to this country, as well as their daughters, seem to embrace a less traditional role. As Annie Lennox sang, “We’re coming out of the kitchen, ‘cause there’s something we forgot to say to you!” Is taekwondo especially sexist, or is it is but a microcosm of our society? If you consider the change in the numbers, and sex, of the people who study all of the martial arts, you’ll find far more females than there were even ten years ago. Women’s competition is at the same level as men’s at regional, national, and international events, and will enjoy the same prestige when we go to the Olympics in the year 2000. Taekwondo can’t be sexist because of its philosophical basis on um and yang – the duality of the universe. It represents two opposite and extreme sides of the one. Are some of the people in taekwondo sexist? Sure, as they are in every walk of life. Is there room for improvement in the treatment of the sexes in taekwondo? There’s room for improvement in everything. On another, related, note: A couple of months ago I wrote an article on how to write a press release. One topic that was supposed to be covered but was left out was sexism. It is no longer acceptable to use male pronouns in non-gender specific cases. That is: unless you’re describing a specific person, you use the pronoun “they” instead of “he” or “she”. This is not “politically correct” or a “nineties kind of thing”. It is the accepted practice among writers. The use of gender specific references in articles is considered archaic, lazy and unlearned. If that is the image that you want to project continue to use them. If you want to be respected by your readers, when you write an article about training or competition, instead of “he” or “him” use the pronouns “they” or “them”, or words such as: partner, opponent, competitor, contestant, attendee, fighter, practitioner, performer, martial artist or taekwondoist. If you are a male and this seems silly, remember, it’s not you who is on the receiving end of the slight. Copyright © April 1996 Michael D. Kerrigan Women who strive to be equal to men lack imagination - Dr. Timothy Leary |
