TOMBOY:Throw Like A Girl

By: Zoe Burgess and Alyssa Pedersen

Forty-five years ago, the United States government passed Title IX of the Education
Amendments Act. The law states, No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under
any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. This single federal law
would change the future of women in athletics. Although the law was enforced almost half a
century ago, women still face challenges in sports today. Female athletes are constantly fighting
for equal opportunities alongside men in the sports industry. Compared to the common male
athlete, female athletes encounter obstacles such as stereotyping and lack of confidence.

On March 10, 2017, Comcast SportsNet (CSN) launched TOMBOY a documentary told
through the voices of many of the worlds most prominent female athletes, broadcasters, and
sports executives. The documentary went on to explain the title which signifies the negative as-
sociation between the word tomboy and gender stereotypes. According to Oxford Dictionary, a
tomboy is a girl who enjoys rough, noisy activities traditionally associated with boys. Caroline
Paul, the author of The Gutsy Girl, perceives the word tomboy as a derogatory term. She
quotes in the documentary, I dont understand why these great values like bravery, resilience,
confidence, and leadership are considered male. We need to decouple it from gender because
those attributes are so important for the life of both a girl and a boy. Saying tomboy, immediately
inferring that shes not totally a girl, is not only not helpful, its kind of insulting. Even though the
word tomboy has developed a negative connotation throughout the years, women who play
sports often dominated by men gain perspective, improve character and learn valuable skills on
how to work with others through their athletics.
 Prior to the public airing of TOMBOY, we were able to experience a private symposium
about elevating the conversation about gender in sports at San Francisco State University. The
symposium included a panel discussion featuring some of the Bay Areas top female sports
voices and leaders. Examples include San Francisco Giants in-game reporter Amy Gutierrez,
13-time Associated Press sports Editors Award-winning journalist Joan Ryan, and Pac 12 Net-
works Senior Director of Talent & Development Odele Hawkins. Each panelist went on to tell
their own success stories in the industry along with the challenges they faced. Although pre-
sented with these challenges, each was able to overcome the obstacles which led to the suc-
cessful women they are today. Uniquely, each woman was the first female in their career field
whether it be: sports journalist, audio engineer, radio producer, etc. The success of these panel-
ists have paved the way for young women who are interested in the sports industry today.
Alongside the stories told by the panelists, the documentary, TOMBOY, also inspires young
women interested in the sports industry to follow their dreams no matter what obstacles present
themselves.