On Wednesday, November 21 we celebrated our accomplishment of bringing in 10,000 cans. As a reward, the school prepared a Powder Puff game as a celebration and to strengthen school spirit. The question I pose is: did we do it correctly? If you were sitting where I was in the bleachers, school spirit was complaining about the cold. School spirit was throwing snow (or more ice) at unsuspecting victims. School spirit was ignoring the game by talking or texting. School spirit was ridiculing the female athletes. School spirit was playing a misogynistic game: Powder Puff.
Powder Puff Name
I, as an Abington Heights student, would like to voice my concern regarding the sexist nature of the “Powder Puff” event happening on the half-day of Thanksgiving break. Due to both the name and nature of the game, it puts me and other young females in an awkward position, where we are supposed to laugh along as our gender is made fun of. The term “Powder Puff” itself comes from the tool to apply makeup powder to one’s face. This name automatically gives the connotation that the activity and the players involved are delicate, fragile beings. What I later learned was females would be participating in a modified version of football.
First off, this game involves males as well as females: they will be cheering from the sidelines as females play. So why does the name have to involve a “feminine” tool? Why does the name solely focus on what the girls do? Do we need to change the name of a game just because another gender is playing it? Is it not still football?
Gender Stereotypes Revealed
Schools are mocking the social acceptance to males cheering and females playing football. Many guys don’t cheer, but some do; not all girls play football, but some want to. Have you noticed we don’t have a female football team and the football team does not have a single female player? Is this just an excuse to humiliate us by showing our ignorance on this particular sport in front of the whole school? And does this exemplify the stigma that our school feeds into - football is for men to play and for women to cheer? According to ScotScoop, a high school article discussing their own Powder Puff game, “Soccer has girls soccer and boys soccer, basketball has girls basketball and boys basketball, but football is just football. The connotation is male and remains so. Powderpuff does not help eliminate this.” The intention is that viewers will be laughing with the males as they purposefully make fools of themselves cheering. At the same time, others will be laughing at the females who are trying their best to play a sport that has been kept from them their whole lives.
My Observations of the Event
The participants constantly slipped and fell on the ground or onto their classmates. Thankfully, there were no injuries -maybe their heavy coats cushioned the fall? Also, the teachers had to explain to the players what to do and where to go.
Furthermore, their gloves became an issue. It was difficult to catch a ball when you have gloves on -something the audience did not seem to understand. They were quick to judge their abilities as if the girls had been playing football all their life. The phrases “How could she not catch that?” “They can’t even catch!” were often said.
Even though the females were expected to play their hardest, the males were able to goof off. Granted, one male wore a pleated, cheerleading skirt, but the rest in only dressed in school colors. At times the males would try and start a cheer, but not many people would catch on. They mostly screamed “Let’s go!” and “Yeah!” a few times before calling it quits.
The Importance
We are impressionable young adults. No one is born racist. No one is born homophobic. No one is born sexist. Our community, the media, and our own insensitivity to issues lead us to be these characteristics. Just because activities will be “funny” and “enjoyable,” does not excuse us to ignore the underlying problems. Our brains are developing and actively participating in these events continuously leads us to believe these stereotypes.
For example, when people joke about women needing to clean, stay in the kitchen, or the famous line, “Go make me a sandwich!” does this not have us thinking men are better than women? You may laugh now, but these jokes are becoming more and more popular. We are surprised to find women in power or women in important fields because this isn’t where we assume they would be. All the times we have made small, sexist jokes add up. Over time, this becomes one of our main ways of thinking. So sure, keep believing that this is only one game and it won’t affect you, but it will. And it won’t be for the better.
In Conclusion...
Even if you don’t agree with any of my points, I hope you do understand where I’m coming from. If other schools have banned this activity, aren’t there some logical reasons for doing so? Because of the blatant sexism in its name, and the game in general, its clear ignorance in the gender stereotypes presented and its nature of forcing young women to watch as their sex is ridiculed by the general community, Powder Puff games should be put to an end. If our school administration can endorse this game, do they understand the serious negative effects and implications that will come from it?
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