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This topic came up in a discussion at work today, and it got me thinking. Those of you who didn't go to high school in the US may not have heard of Powder Puff Football before, so let me describe it briefly: American football is a boys' sport, and it's extremely rare for girls to have an opportunity to play. Many high schools (and colleges too) have an annual event called a Powder Puff Football Game, in which the gender roles are reversed. Boys and girls dress in drag and switch places, with the girls playing the game and the boys cheering from the sidelines. The game is often a charity event, and is typically one of the big traditional parts of the high school experience, like Homecoming and such. (At least that was my experience living in the southern US.)
Here are some pictures I found by googling. (I have no idea who these people are, but it looked fairly typical.)
When I was a high school student, I didn't participate in that event because I thought it actually reinforced gender roles. Having the girls play football (and be very girly about it) and the boys dress in drag and cheer from the sides, the message to me seemed to be pretty clear: girls can't really play football, and boys can't really wear skirts and cheer them on. It was a public mockery of the very idea that anyone might try to break through that gender stereotype. I knew drag queens and I knew some of what they dealt with (in the south, no less). Thus I refused to participate.
But I've also heard arguments on the other side, people who suggest that it actually does push participants to think about that gender divide and question its relevance. From this college newspaper article:
The subtle message of the game is to get women and men to critically reevaluate social norms and the society and culture that shape us and our potential and responsibility to shape it. [...] The Powder Puff game will be fun, but it also speaks to our values and offers an opportunity to remember, celebrate and give back. It is a chance for college-age women and men to think about gender roles and stereotypes.
I'm just not sure I buy that, though. Thoughts?
If you have never seen this before, what do you think? Is this a huge WTF, or do you do something similar where you live?
If this was part of your high school experience, what do you think about how it affected your ideas about gender roles?
ETA: Whoa! I came home to see more than 50 comments on this post! It seems like an issue that people have a LOT of different opinions on, too. Interesting...
ETA 2: I also have to say I'm finding it interesting that quite a few people are commenting describing what sounds like exactly the scenario I describe here (which is apparently an extreme version of the idea of such a game), and then going on to say it was all in good fun and not a big deal, that they didn't even think about the implications -- and they have no intention of doing so now. I think maybe that frightens me more than the fact that such things exist. When it's a big deal for girls to get to play a single game of a sport that is the center of American high school life, and then the next week they go back to making cookies for the boys who usually play, and people don't see anything remotely wrong with that? 0_0
IMNSHO, of course.
Here are some pictures I found by googling. (I have no idea who these people are, but it looked fairly typical.)
When I was a high school student, I didn't participate in that event because I thought it actually reinforced gender roles. Having the girls play football (and be very girly about it) and the boys dress in drag and cheer from the sides, the message to me seemed to be pretty clear: girls can't really play football, and boys can't really wear skirts and cheer them on. It was a public mockery of the very idea that anyone might try to break through that gender stereotype. I knew drag queens and I knew some of what they dealt with (in the south, no less). Thus I refused to participate.
But I've also heard arguments on the other side, people who suggest that it actually does push participants to think about that gender divide and question its relevance. From this college newspaper article:
The subtle message of the game is to get women and men to critically reevaluate social norms and the society and culture that shape us and our potential and responsibility to shape it. [...] The Powder Puff game will be fun, but it also speaks to our values and offers an opportunity to remember, celebrate and give back. It is a chance for college-age women and men to think about gender roles and stereotypes.
I'm just not sure I buy that, though. Thoughts?
If you have never seen this before, what do you think? Is this a huge WTF, or do you do something similar where you live?
If this was part of your high school experience, what do you think about how it affected your ideas about gender roles?
ETA: Whoa! I came home to see more than 50 comments on this post! It seems like an issue that people have a LOT of different opinions on, too. Interesting...
ETA 2: I also have to say I'm finding it interesting that quite a few people are commenting describing what sounds like exactly the scenario I describe here (which is apparently an extreme version of the idea of such a game), and then going on to say it was all in good fun and not a big deal, that they didn't even think about the implications -- and they have no intention of doing so now. I think maybe that frightens me more than the fact that such things exist. When it's a big deal for girls to get to play a single game of a sport that is the center of American high school life, and then the next week they go back to making cookies for the boys who usually play, and people don't see anything remotely wrong with that? 0_0
IMNSHO, of course.
