I am a fan of curling, a huge fan. I always have been. I love the hard hitting of the men’s game and the precision of the women’s game. But I’ll tell you something without being asked twice – I don’t like all the commentary during the women’s game about smiling.
I can’t ever recall a commentator making note of whether Roger Federer smiled as he smashed a backhand down the line, nor did they comment if he frowned when he gave up an unforced error. No hockey player is questioned as to his facial expression during any part of the game. Was it expected that Muhammad Ali should smile while delivering a rear uppercut to the chin of his competitor? I don’t think so. But I can’t even begin to count the number of times TSN host Vic Rauter, bless his heart, commented on the smiles offered up by women curlers at the recent World Curling Championships in South Korea. Rachel Homan seldom smiles. Why should she? She is a top athlete with razor-sharp focus that runs to her core, which allows her to make some unimaginable shots based on her deep understanding of the angles and strategy of the game. Why, why, why are women expected to look pretty and offer up a lovely smile while they are a top performance athlete or even while they are merely breathing? What does a smile have to do with anything? I may be shouting. I’ll calm down. I love a smile as a much as the next person but… it got me thinking.
Serena Williams was often criticized by the media for her intensity during a tennis match. Maria Sharapova was criticized for the noise she made while striking the tennis ball. Kerri Einarson was asked who was caring for her children while she was away curling. I cannot find one example of those types of interactions with male athletes. One circumstance that got severely under my skin was at Caitlin Clark’s very first news conference after being signed to the Indiana Fever. Caitlin’s move at the end of every game is to signal to her family with her heart-shaped hand gesture. Columnist Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star repeated the gesture to Clark during the media scrum and Caitlin explained the reason for the gesture. “Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel said during the live broadcast. I cringed. That was his first comment to the WNBA’s Number 1 draft pick, not her incredible skill or passion for the game, not the positive role model she is for young athletes with dreams. Doyel later apologized. Natalie Stechyson of CBC News in April 2024 reported on Doyel’s comment and went on to quote Angela Schneider’s reaction saying, “We take a step forward and then two steps back.” Schneider is an Olympic rower, with a silver medal on her resume and is now at Western University, the director of International Centre for Olympic Studies.
The International Olympic Committee prepared guidelines in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympics for the media to consider when broadcasters were covering female athletes, to place gender equality first and to always avoid sexualizing women. I’m weary of the imbalance, tired of the tearing down of women who dare to be successful. Taylor Swift is constantly under fire despite her impressive creativity, her savvy business skills, her willingness to applaud her peers. Female actors are asked what and who they are wearing at awards shows while seldom being paid on par with their male counterparts. Case in point, based on media reports, Michelle Williams received less than $1,000 for reshoots when Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey on the film All the Money in the World (2018), while Mark Wahlberg received $1.5 million for the same work. How did anyone ever think that was a sound decision? I know things are improving, but too slowly for my liking.
My granddaughter’s recent report card’s first comment was that Abby was helpful during classroom clean-up. This is a good quality for anyone to have, boy or girl, but to be the very first acknowledgement somehow made my skin itch. I’m very proud of her sense of citizenship in her classroom but I’m prouder when she speaks up for the protection of others, when she demonstrates kindness and support of those around her who need help. I’d far rather the report card recognized that she knows herself, that she is never afraid to try new things even if she fails at first, that she is curious and tenacious. My granddaughter is emotionally strong and, despite being pint-sized, she is a force to be reckoned with, smile or no smile.
wendistewart@live.ca
