Casual Sexism In Sports: From Sexist Vocab To Barriers Bruising Women’s Sporting Ecosystem

"Equality and fairness are the fundamentals of sports," they say. Sure, that sounds good on paper, but is it really true? Are we still going to turn a blind eye to the casual sexism that runs rampant? From sexualizing sportswomen to asking them who their favorite male player is, the disrespect is as blatant as it gets. And the scary part is, that’s just the surface. On International Women's Day, let’s go deeper, let’s confront the inequalities. (More Sports News)

Beneath it all lies the sports culture for women, masking the real battle that runs much deeper: unequal pay, lack of visibility, and constant undermining of women’s accomplishments. Whether you’re an athlete or a partner of one, you’re still bound to be booed, dismissed, or reduced to a stereotype.

Taylor Swift, Anushka Sharma, these are just some women who faced hate simply for supporting their partners, who are athletes. And what happened? People booed them. Why? The answer is simple, as Virat Kohli said: "In our society, people love blaming women."

For what? For being a WOMAN in a world that claims to value equality.

You all must be thinking, "Oh, these are just words. No one does this in today’s world. We had an equal number of women and men's athletes in the Paris Olympics, that's equality." Mathematically, sure, that looks like equality.

But representation without respect is hollow. It's not enough to just check boxes; we need to create an environment where female athletes are valued and respected as equals. Cases like Imane Khelif's prove the point—where you have to look a certain way to be considered a woman in sports. This is the reality we can’t afford to ignore.

Read About Five Defining Moments That Revolutionized Women’s Sports HERE.

Sexist Remarks In Sports: The 'Casual' Incidents That Cut Deep

The gender-equal Olympics had its own sexist moments.

"On the left, we have Sara Errani, who's in charge. She takes care of everything: the washing up, the cooking, the cleaning," a commentator from RMC radio remarked during a doubles match featuring Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry of France against Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

Similarly, British journalist Bob Ballard made a questionable remark after Australia won the 4x100m freestyle relay, saying, "Well, the women are just finishing up. You know how women are... always hanging around, doing their makeup."

These comments highlight how deeply ingrained stereotypes continue to undermine women's roles and achievements in sports, even in the face of progress.

These are just a few examples; there are plenty more. One came just a week ago, when an Australian radio presenter left the network after making misogynistic and disrespectful comments about the country's women’s football team.

Marty Sheargold, speaking on nationwide radio station Triple M, compared the Matildas players to "year 10 girls" and implied that their matches were boring.

These remarks aren’t limited to players, they also suggest that women can't understand sports. India's World Cup-winning bowler Harbhajan Singh made headlines for the wrong reasons when he criticized Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final.

When the two women were shown interacting on camera, Harbhajan said, "Aur yeh main soch raha tha ki baat cricket ki ho rahi hai ya filmon ki. Kyunki cricket ke barein mein toh janta nahi kitni samajh hogi", implying that he doubted their understanding of cricket.

And crossing boundaries isn’t just limited to personal interactions, women, in general, constantly fight for consent, and the sports world is no exception.

A clear example of this occurred during Caitlin Clark's first news conference with the Indiana Fever. When columnist Gregg Doyel had his turn to ask a question — he mimicked Clark's signature heart-shaped hand gesture. Clark smiled and responded, "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game."

But then Doyel crossed the line with an inappropriate comment: "Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine." The remark, broadcast live, sparked immediate backlash on social media.

The Constant Comparison To Male Athletes

In sports, it seems you’re only truly recognized if your achievements are compared to a male athlete, not a female one. Why is that? Because misogyny continues to shape the landscape. Women’s accomplishments are rarely acknowledged for their own merit; they're always weighed against the success of men.

Recently, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana went viral during a press meet when asked about sharing the same jersey number as Virat Kohli.

With the 2025 Women's Premier League approaching, Mandhana smiled and subtly looked down before responding, "We are here to talk about WPL, so let's stick to women's cricket." She urged the journalist to focus on the women’s game instead of comparing it to men’s cricket.

Female athletes are constantly compared to their male counterparts, and it’s rarely the other way around. The coverage area, too, is riddled with sexism. Mandira Bedi, for instance, recently opened up about the criticism she faced during her Cricket World Cup coverage. People mocked her saying, "What the hell is she doing? Why is she discussing cricket?"

While things have slightly improved, have they really gotten better? In her 2024 article, sports broadcaster Rebecca Adams highlighted the problems with sports industry. She wrote, "As a woman working in sports media, I must battle constant micro-aggressions."

The Double Standard: Sexism In Conversations About Women's Sports

Remember Andy Murray’s "First Male Player" moment? He was praised for correcting a reporter who claimed Sam Querrey was the "first US player" to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 2009, conveniently overlooking the success of female American players like Serena Williams.

Murray pointed out the oversight, emphasizing that the remark only applied to men’s tennis. This incident highlights casual sexism in our vocabulary, where women’s achievements are ignored, reinforcing the notion that men’s sports are superior.

This sexist vocabulary is so ingrained, it’s evident in the names we use. Take the Indian Premier League (IPL) – it's simply called the IPL, but the women’s version is the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

Why is there a need to specify "women's" in the WPL when we don’t say "men’s" in the IPL? The IPL launched in 2007, but it took until 2023 for the WPL to begin, showing how long it took for women’s cricket to gain recognition.

Yet, the sexism in naming persists. When discussing male athletes, we say "racer," but with women, it’s "female racer." These subtle differences may seem small, but they have a significant impact.

A hopeful shift came with the Hockey India League, which simply named the women’s league the Women’s HIL, alongside the Men’s League, which was called the Men’s HIL. But in many sports, women’s leagues remain a distant dream, like in Pro Kabaddi League. The fight for gender equality in sports continues.

Aesthetics Over Athletics

It's a sad reality that women are often judged more on how they look than their performance. When people focus more on how a female athlete looks rather than her actions, it reflects the "Aesthetics Over Athletics" mindset.

According to Media Smarts, a Canadian digital media literacy organization, commentators use different language for male and female athletes, men are described as strong and aggressive, while women are labeled as fatigued or vulnerable. Female athletes are often referred to by their first names, diminishing their status.

A 2016 Cambridge University study also found that media coverage of women’s sports emphasizes appearance and personal lives, overshadowing their athletic achievements.

These are just a few examples of how women in sports face different treatment. But you might be wondering, what can we do to change this as readers and viewers?

Follow Murray's lead, acknowledge both men and women equally. And the next time a woman says she loves sports, don’t ask her to name five players or explain the offside rule. Because casual sexism IS NOT COOL.