A couple of ON...Fwords
Ilove a good F word, particularly when said with conviction. Footy is a good one. Feminism is another. Hopefully you are familiar with at least one of those concepts. Either can be a little unsettling, particularly if you haven’t been exposed to it. But both have played an important part in Aotearoa’s history.
Women have been playing footy – aka rugby – in New Zealand since before they had the right to vote. We’ve been smashing the traditional patriarchal sporting and societal structures since the late-1800s.
The first recorded modified women’s game – played by “young ladies” with parental consent – came only 20 years after the first recorded men’s game, and yet, when it comes to the sport’s history, women’s experiences and voices have often been sidelined.
Instead of trying to fit the “historical”, masculine rugby mould, women in rugby have fought. They’ve pulled up their socks, sidestepped the traditional gatekeepers, and done it anyway, in turn creating their own community.
We are now seeing the fruits of their dedication, determination and grit as we watch the Black Ferns run out during the Rugby World Cup on home soil. (side note: the wāhine in black are reigning world champions and have won the competition a record five times. That’s more than the All Blacks by the way. Just saying.)
Women’s rugby has come a long way since the first Rugby World Cup in 1991. Back then, the sport’s global body was disapproving, but the women did it anyway. Teams fundraised to get to Wales – New Zealand would lose the semifinal 7-0 to eventual World Cup winners US – and female athletes juggled work, family and sporting commitments (not much has changed regarding that last part, even 31 years on).
The Rugby World Cup for women wasn’t fully sanctioned by World Rugby until 1998, 11 years after the men’s first iteration. It has been dominated by the Black Ferns ever since.
There’s another F word that’s appropriate too, that women in footy and feminism know well. Fight.The women’s sports community have had and still continue to fight. Like the suffragists in the 1890s, we fight to be heard, fight to be seen and fight for our place on and off the field.
The fight is starting to get noticed. Having the Rugby World Cup on home soil is a victory and is part of the societal shift we are seeing when it comes to women in sport. It’s one of four major sporting events being held in Aotearoa. First, it was cricket in March, now it’s rugby’s turn. Next it’s the International Work Group for Women in Sport, next month, bringing together the best minds in sport to Auckland. The cherry on top is the Fifa Football World Cup – the largest sporting event in the world – next year. Women’s voices and experiences are being put on the podium, where they belong. They are becoming more prevalent around the boardroom tables, in the CEO chairs, in a scrum, on the field with a whistle, and in our sports news pages. Women are being seen. And that bodes well for the future because if you can’t see it, you can’t be in. While it’s inspiring to see women’s contribution to sport in this country being taken seriously, there is still this culture where women should just be thankful for what they’ve been given. What we are seeing right now is a great start, but it’s still not good enough.
It’s hard to describe what this Rugby World Cup elicits in me, but it’s a bit like your mother saying “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed”. I’m thrilled to see our wāhine toa running out and representing us, but I’m disappointed about how hard and long we’ve had to fight to get here, and how we are going to continue to fight to get meaningful change.
While Aotearoa has said “yes” to world cups, women in sport – not just in rugby – still face a world of “no”. No to equal opportunity and access. No to equal investment and sponsorship. No to equal pay. No to appropriate uniform designs. No to gender equity quotas. No to safe spaces. The “no” list goes on.
We continue the fight because we – with our daughters, nieces, mothers, aunts and friends – deserve equality not only in society but in sport.
So come join us with our F words. We need you. The fight is not over. For many it is just the start. What side of history do you want to be on?
Zoë George is a senior sports journalist for Stuff and is hosting The Podium, Stuff ’s sports news podcast, returning every Monday and Friday during the Rugby World Cup.