Rachael Jefferson-Buchanan
The Lionesses’ recent victory at the Euro 2022 football championships – the first major win for England in 56 years – has filled the news for weeks. It has also led to a spike in discourse exploring the origins of gender inequity in sport, with many – including elite sports players and other celebrities – weighing in to make PE the scapegoat.
Multiple public figures have spoken out to link successes for sportswomen to their PE experiences, such as Ian Wright quipping that “Whatever happens in the final now, if girls are not allowed to play football just like the boys can in their PE after this tournament then what are we doing?”. Shockingly, only 63 percent of schools offer football opportunities for girls in PE, and these numbers reduce to 44 percent for girls in secondary school specifically.
“To suggest that more time playing football in PE will increase girls’ pathways into professional football is misguided.”
Similarly, Ciara Kelly, an Irish radio presenter, columnist and former GP, wading into the PE trashing, discussing her “rubbish” experience of PE growing up, and advising that not much has changed since. She went on to claim that “Girls sport wasn’t celebrated, wasn’t promoted, and we’re failing girls”.
Is PE really to blame?
To suggest that more time playing football in PE will increase girls’ pathways into professional football is misguided.
“PE becomes the media punchbag”
What’s more, these types of verbal assault on a school subject are fundamentally misconstrued, as the UK government argued in their Education Hub statement, which notes the importance of having a “flexible, diverse and challenging PE curriculum that suits the needs of all their [schools’] pupils”, and refutes the notion that girls are prevented from playing football in PE. Sports minister Nigel Huddleston followed this statement up by arguing that indeed “Not everybody is a fan of the sport” in reference to the Lionesses’ open letter to Government which called for all girls to have access to football in PE.
“We see this as only the beginning.”
An open letter from our #Lionesses… pic.twitter.com/Ty9kA7zgGa
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) August 3, 2022
This Government retort was welcomed by many of us in the PE profession, although simultaneously somewhat surprising, given the pattern that my own research has revealed – of PE and sport being treated as one and the same by a succession of governments in England since the 1990s.
PE bashing is a smokescreen
PE bashing may in fact be a smokescreen for two major issues that historically have adversely affected women’s football in England. Firstly, the 50-year national ban by the Football Association (FA) on women’s football (1921-1971), and secondly, the ongoing low level of global media interest in women’s sport. Both of these are an inherent part of the patriarchal institution of sport, yet they have been conveniently swept aside as PE becomes the media punchbag.
Gender inequities: from the pitch to the boardroom
Although the FA announced in 2020 that its ambition was to give girls equal access to football in schools and clubs by 2024, responsibility lies at their feet for creating the current deficit model in the first place. There were few opportunities for women to play at a competitive level in football in England until the development of factory, munition, and community teams during World War One. The ensuing 50-year national ban by the FA was a two-pronged attack that originated from fear and pseudoscience.
The hugely popular women’s games were likely to steal the men’s thunder when they returned from the war – or so the story went. Furthermore, in keeping with the frailty myth, scientific evidence was conjured up to ‘prove’ how playing such a vigorous game would compromise women’s fertility levels. The FA promptly declared that football was “quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged”. 101 years later, gender inequities remain in the FA, from the pitch to the boardroom.
Global media embargoes on women’s sport
The FA’s censorship of women’s football works hand in hand with global media embargoes on women’s sport. 40% of sports players are women, yet women’s sport only receives around four percent of all sports media coverage; this negative trend has not budged over the last three decades according to a 2021 report, reinforcing the long-held view that sport is an exclusive boys’ club.
“Rubbishing PE might raise viewer ratings and give individuals a therapeutic outlet to rant about their previous PE woes, but it will not help future ‘Lioness cubs’ be successful in women’s football.”
Furthermore, even the scant media attention paid to female athletes is gender biased, with its focus based more often than not on physical appearance, femininity, and sexuality, as opposed to women’s athletic prowess. Media has the power to transform society’s views on gender equality in sport, but it can only do this if there are readily available positive role models for women, and if women’s sport is normalised.
Systemic barriers: time for action
The reluctance to prioritise discussion of these two systemic barriers that generations of female footballers have faced – and continue to face – is a glaring omission in news coverage of the Lionesses’ conquest. Rubbishing PE might raise viewer ratings and give individuals a therapeutic outlet to rant about their previous PE woes, but it will not help future ‘Lioness cubs’ be successful in women’s football. What we need instead is a long-term commitment to gender equity within the FA and global media, to ensure that women’s football does not continue to be stunted after decades of suppression and silence.
Featured image courtesy of Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license can be found here.
Dr Rachael Jefferson-Buchanan
I am a lecturer in Human Movement Studies (Health and PE) and Creative Arts within Charles Sturt University's School of Education on the Albury-Wodonga campus. I hold a BEd (Hons) in physical education, dance and special educational needs, and an MA in dance studies. I gained a PhD at Charles Sturt University in 2019; my thesis was entitled: ‘A genealogy of the governance of the body in physical education in England from 1902 to 2016’. I have more than thirty years of experience in education, which has involved designing, teaching and leading physical education and arts activities. During this period, I have fought tirelessly for inclusion, particularly in terms of gender and ethnicity. In 2020 I worked as the senior international expert on a UNICEF-Montrose project in Myanmar, creating modules and teacher training materials for the 'Playing Sports Together' project. This programme supported all students, from diverse communities, studying in schools in Rakhine State, with the overarching goal of contributing to inclusion and a sense of togetherness, through educational activities. My research interests include physical education, sport, PE/sport pedagogy and policy, inclusion (gender, ethnicity), sociology, genealogy (body governance), fundamental movement skills, dance, mindfulness, and yoga. I have extensive experience in writing and leading professional development for teachers within the UK and for several years I have taken on a more international role as the lead consultant for physical education in Cambridge Assessment International Education/Cambridge University Press Asian (Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar) and Nile Egyptian schools projects. Moreover, I was the UK consultant for Fundamental Movement Skills (STEPS PD) for 5 years, which served to intensify my passion for working with teachers, students and children in the early years sector. This role was also a catalyst for the writing of my book: ‘Fundamental Fun: 132 activities to develop fundamental movement skills’, as well as my PhD research. I love to contribute articles in the media and have written engaging pieces for The Age and The Conversation on gender and sport.