Gender Discrimination

Yesterday during Sisterhood, we read and discussed this article:

You play ball like a girl.
That used to be an insult. In Beaverton, Oregon, it's becoming more like a fantasy.

Jaime Nared, a 12-year-old girl who stands 6-foot-1, has been told she can no longer play on the boys team of which she has been a member since the second grade, according to a report on the Web site of The Oregonian. Curiously, the timing of her ban came in the wake of a 30-point effort against an all-boys team.

"She scored 30 points," Jaime's mom, Reiko Williams, told The Oregonian. "I remember one play. She stole the ball, dribbled up court and made a behind-the-back pass to a teammate. He missed the lay-in, and she grabbed the rebound and put it in. I think it was just too much for some of those parents."

The next day, she came home and said they wouldn't let her play with the boys anymore."

Last month, a group of parents from an opposing team told management at The Hoop, a private Beaverton basketball facility that runs the league in which Nared's team competes, that they didn't like Nared playing against their sons. Hoop officials then told Nared's coach, Michael Abraham, that she could no longer play, citing a league rule that prohibits mixed-gender teams, the newspaper reported.

"I never saw the rule," said Abraham, who has coached basketball for 32 years.

"If I'd known about it, I wouldn't have put any of my teams in the league. Besides, she's been playing on this team since second grade, and she plays on our team when we travel around the region. There's never been any problem in any event, not one word of complaint."

Neal Franzer, The Hoop's director of operations, told the paper that parents were "adamant" their complaints had nothing to do with Jaime's skills.

"They said the problem was the boys were playing differently against her because she was a girl," Franzer said, according to the paper. "They'd been taught to not push a girl, so they weren't fouling her hard, and the focus had shifted from playing basketball to noticing a girl was on the floor with them.

"The rule may not have been enforced in past years," Franzer said. "We have new management this year. It's policy, and we enforce policy."

Nared, however, had a different take."I think the boys on a specific team don't like me," she said.

"It doesn't seem fair."Abraham was also skeptical about the ruling."I can't think of one boy that we've played against that's had a problem with her," he said. "Maybe their dads do. Teach the boys how to handle her. Front her, deny her the ball. You sure as hell don't complain. Listen, she's a girl's girl, but she plays tough. She's no cupcake. She gets knocked down and takes a charge."

All of the girls in the lunches agreed that what happened to Jaime was unfair. We then discussed if any of the girls in group ever felt discriminated against because of their gender. The group had a hard time thinking of times they felt this way, but some felt that they have been judged for not acting like the stereotype of what a girl is "supposed" to be. Can any of you guys recall a time you felt discriminated against?

We also discussed how boys can be discriminated against and the most common answers came down to the fact that it is not acceptable for boys older than elementary school to display emotions publicly. We all agreed that this isn't fair to them either.

So why does gender matter so much? What do you guys think? One sister during 2nd lunch said that some people only want to see in black and white. Is she right? Is it easier to sort people into various categories than to recognize the differences that we all possess? Think about it and leave a comment.

On another note, there will not be group next week because I will be away on Wednesday, but group will resume the following Wednesday. See you then, sisters!