For our showcase, I have decided to discuss the topic of female oppression. The story of Persepolis and de Beauvoir’s definition of the “Other”, were topics that stood out to me the most when looking at how women are oppressed in society. I have decided to elaborate on my most recent diary that covers women’s oppression within sports. Last week, there was an incident that took place within one of the March Madness facilities. During the tournament, the committee has granted the players a gym so that they can stay fit during off days. The men were gifted an entire gym while the women were given nothing but a rack of dumbbells to workout with. The inequality didn’t stop there. The men received better meals and much larger gift baskets than the women did. Pictures of all of this surfaced on twitter and it didn’t take long for them to go viral. After the pictures surfaced, many of the coaches and players demanded change. The way the women in the tournament were treated may not have been as severe as how the women in Persepolis were treated, but it deals with principle. This news shouldn’t come as a surprise to most. Women in sports have gone through a lot of discrimination over the last decade. They don’t get the credit they deserve, while also being treated differently than males. This is an example of systemic injustice because it happens in every level of society, not just sports. As far as the “Other” is concerned, de Beauvoir talks about how being a woman is constructed in contrast to being a man, which most cultures have treated as the default fully human type of person. Woman is a contrast with man, and therefore defined by being “Other.” The mistreatment of women in contrast to men at the tournament was extremely evident. The reason I decided to pick this topic to discuss was because of how recent it was. I felt like after recently reading Persepolis, this topic of the mistreatment of women was very relevant to discuss for this post. I’m hoping that one day, hopefully soon, we see total equality in society and completely eradicate female oppression. 
sources: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/ncaa-tournament-addresses-womens-weightroom-backlash-1.5958064
I also saw this on twitter when the comparisons between the men’s and women’s meals, gift baskets, and weight rooms were first released. I agree with you that women in sports have faced a lot of discrimination over the last decade. One example that I think of is the women’s world soccer cup team fighting for equal pay that the men’s team received. They fought hard to be considered as equals so that they could receive the same pay. Now the NCAA is going through something similar where the women’s teams are not treated equally as the men’s teams. I believe that this change is long overdue and they deserve the same treatment as the men’s teams.
This reminded me of the gym I recently resigned from. Personally, I think there is obviously a stereotype built around men being more athletic or bringing in more money for their sports, or at least this is how people justify their behaviors against women. I think people need to stop and consider why men may be performing better. Could it be that their food is more nutritious? How about that their trainers are better? Maybe it is that their gyms are better equipped. Either way, I don’t think it is just because of a difference in gender. As I said before, this is just how people justify their behavior. In many cases, I think this is common and not just in sports. Men are often given bigger and better opportunities, but as society moves forward, will we progress or stand still? What are your thoughts on this? Great presentation by the way!
I’ve seen lots of people talking about this recently and I need to do a bit more research into the whole situation. Through from what I’ve been seeing, it really does seem like women were given less to workout with for no real reason. Gender discrimination in sports is an extremely pervasive issue and it frustrated me that these huge organizations don’t really seem to care. I can’t imagine the NCAA figured the women wouldn’t mind or say anything, which indicates that they simply don’t care about treating women fairly, nor do they care about obvious discrimination. Something similar happened with the US Women’s National Soccer team who, in conjunction with a demand for pay equality, claimed they weren’t provided with the same quality equipment or accommodation as the men’s team, and the USSF had no real explanation or defense for this, which makes it seem like they don’t even care enough to fake the appearance of fair treatment.
What inspired the decision to discuss this topic, and how did reading Persepolis influence the choice?
Can you discuss any parallels or differences between the mistreatment of women in the incident you described and the experiences of women in Persepolis? Tel U