WPS Social Impact: N/A

As some of you know, Peter Wilt has been on a guest blogging run at Pitch Invasion, my favorite site to leech from. At the end of last week, Wilt submitted his report card on the first WPS season. Those of you who've already read it can probably guess what I'm going to focus on. Overall, there's a lot of encouraging stuff in his report, although it's clear the league is not yet profitable for the owners. Hopefully the league can get the commitment it needs from those writing the checks to make it until WPS becomes self-sustaining. It was a truly enjoyable season.

At any rate, whereas every aspect of the league, from fan experience to quality of play received a letter grade, one aspect did not. I'm reprinting the whole of that section here:

SOCIAL IMPACT: N/A

Please don’t confuse the term “Not Applicable” with “Did not happen” or “Failure” or “Success”. There is no doubt that WPS players are de facto role models, give young girls aspirational heroes and advance the cause of equal opportunity for women in sports and sports business. My point in calling this category out as a non-gradeable category is that I believe WPS needs to succeed as a business based on its entertainment value, marketing and on field performance not as a social cause.

This doesn’t mean that there isn’t real value or benefit to providing opportunities for women and goals for young girls to admire and aspire to emulate. It just means that as a business, WPS needs to stand on its own legs and not be considered a charity that is supported BECAUSE it provides the added social benefits. It should be mentioned that WPS teams and players were active in many charitable and social endeavours including Greenlaces, the environmental awareness non-profit founded by Chicago Red Stars defender Natalie Spilger.

For those new to the discussion, I first responded to Wilt's thoughts on WPS promotion and women's rights (from a Du Nord interview) in this essay (covering the problems and inconsistencies with not promoting WPS as a social cause), and more recently a conversation on the same topic broke out in the comments thread of Dan's epic piece last week, spilling over and merging into the discussion at From a Left Wing.

I commend Wilt for continuing the discussion, and it appears that he's offering some clarification of what he said to du Nord in this column. He certainly could have chosen not to address it. That being said, I still think he's wrong.

Social Impact

In my first response to the du Nord interview, I rhetorically asked why there might be the notion of promoting WPS as a social cause. To more clearly answer that question, the notion exists because women are still fighting for things many men take for granted. It exists because women in mainstream media are still largely viewed and promoted as objects and not as people. It exists because women are still fighting for a say in how their bodies are treated in every aspect of the reproductive act.

I'm not going to put too fine a point on it, but we don't live in a post-feminist society. There are plenty of good reasons why the notion of promoting WPS as a social cause exists, and why it's wrong to discount that notion out of hand. The Professor at From a Left Wing has a nice take akin to what I'm getting at:

You just can't underestimate the positive impact of the sport on girls and women. For all sorts of reason. And I don't see why that shouldn't be enough . . .

Charity & Pity

I also find it odd that Wilt would argue on his report card that WPS should not be treated like a charity, but that WPS players were involved in several other "charitable and social endeavors". The implication, intended or not, seems to be that there are worthwhile movements to support, which WPS is happy to acknowledge its involvement in, but that women's rights, girl power, or feminism aren't among those things. Wilt's statement referring to "de facto role models" for girls and women suggests that it's something WPS is stuck with, and it needs to intentionally market itself in another manner.

In his comments to my first essay, Wilt said this:

pjw: No, i'm just saying that WPS shouldn't be a pity sport that begs the public for support BECAUSE it's providing opportunities for women. i believe we should be promoting WPS as an enjoyable, entertaining and competititve professional sport played by fantastic athletes.

I'm going to assume that desire is still at the core of what Wilt said in his report card. My contention now, as then, is that promoting the WPS as a bastion of women's rights, feminism, girl power, whatever you want to pick up and run with, doesn't have to be done in a way that inspires pity. In fact, I've rarely, if ever, seen material promoting women's rights in that manner. Usually it's about empowerment or even defiance.



Feministe



Bitch Ph.D.



Feministing

It's imagery like this that could make one wonder if "pity" wasn't the real reason behind the reluctance to ally with the women's rights movement. Take a look at some of the images from this design contest centered around women's rights violations. While some undoubtedly evoke emotion and a sense of injustice, several are downright in-your-face. Check out this design from Weronika Kowalska, titled "Try It":



Obviously, that's not going to appear in a WPS marketing campaign anytime soon. But you know what? I'll bet Soccer United Marketing has some talented people who could think up an appropriately edgy marketing campaign based around girl power, women's rights, or feminism that would push all the right buttons for getting people into the gate. Male and female. Niche or mainstream.

Soccer

At our core, the reason we're at the games, watching the games, any game, is soccer. And like any other institution, pro leagues provide a lasting skeleton and direction for aspects of our culture we think are positive to preserve. I believe it's ok for WPS to be supported because of the benefits it provides, and that it would be good for the league to promote those benefits. Furthermore, there are plenty of tough, noncontroversial issues that WPS could get in front of that are of critical importance to women but transcend gender. Rape. Objectification. Academic and athletic achievement. When you've got FIFA stepping in front of the anti-rascism banner ahead of a major tournament in South Africa (think that's a mistake?), there's not much justification for a women's league opting out of issues that are just as pressing and relevant to its own existence.

And ultimately, the soccer that's at the core of our experience at WPS games is wrapped up in the context of moments like this:

There is one moment from that match that stands out in my mind: Suddenly, in a fast, fluid, and masterful sequence of moves, Marta flicked the ball over and around the US defender, sending the ball one way, and going the other to scoop it safely to her feet and dribble it past another defender, and then slotted it past the goalie - the whole bar was on its feet.

The guys started shouting "Maradona! Maradona! Maradona!" And the French broadcasters were screaming - "If she were a man, she would be making millions." and "Ce n'est pas juste!" It was a "crise de guerre" - and everyone in the bar started talking about that, too - that it was wrong - criminal - that we couldn't watch her play every weekend.

Half of us were literally in tears - it took us all by surprise (like the US win over China at the Rosebowl). We were united, as any group of spectators is when a player transcends what we think is possible.

It also revealed how much of women's abilities we don't get to see. Because we don't get to see it, we think it doesn't exist at all. And when some series of accidents gets a woman like Marta out of her village in Brazil (to Sweden, then), and broadcasts her skill to millions of viewers - well, that has a huge effect on us all. Marta and her teammates play a "Latin" style of football that is deeply associated with masculinity (even as it involves lots of hip-swiveling!) It's very entertaining, and explosive. They trash-talk, they dive, they sometimes choose to hold the ball where you think they should pass it - and then weave it through the entire backline and score.

I didn't know women could play like that. And I'm a feminist, and fan of the international women's game.

It's not something the league can hide from.

Fake Sigi out.