Written by: Laurence Gabriel Arellano
Visuals by: Jayvee Fulgencio
Sports, in this modern-day, have no place for sexism. The notion that sports are only for men has almost been completely abolished. Although, there are still sporting events in the Olympics, both winter and summer, that have gender-bias when it comes to the rules and regulations. Also, there is a difference in the number of events held between the men’s and women’s divisions for some sports.
In gymnastics, only four events were held for women: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, while there are six events for the men: floor pommel horse, rings, vault parallel bars, and high bar. In Bobsleigh, a winter Olympic event, instead of just two members, the women’s competition has four members to push the bobsled. Also, in boxing, there are more weight classes for men than that for women’s
But as sports history continues to be progressive, here are just a few among the long list of women who succeeded in taking down levels of sexism in their respective sports.
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King, the American tennis champion, grabbed a total of 39 grand slam titles throughout her career, 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. But, it wasn’t her titles that topped her long list of accomplishments. She is also one of the most notable women’s rights advocates.
During the year 1973, an exhibition match between her and self-proclaimed chauvinist Bobby Riggs was held. This match was called the “Battle of the Sexes”. Riggs exploited “women’s stereotypes” for laughs during the game, but for King, it was more than just a game. She used her victory against Riggs to promote equal rights in sports specifically the pay.
In the same year, she organized a meeting which then led to the foundation of the Women’s Tennis Association, which fought for equal pay of grand slam title winners. Ultimately, the US Open was the first tournament that had the same prize for the men’s and the women’s tournaments.
Hidilyn Diaz
Philippine Air Force Sergeant Hidilyn Diaz became the first Filipina to ever win an Olympic medal as she lifted the silver medal during the 53kg division of the women’s weightlifting division, ending the country’s 20-year Olympic medal drought.
In the year 2018, she managed to grab the gold in the same division at the Asian Games after lifting a total of 207kg beating Turkmenistan’s bet Kristina Shermetova by a single kilogram. She became the first Filipino weightlifter to win a gold medal in the Asian Games.
She currently has her eyes set to grab the ever-elusive first gold medal for the Philippines this upcoming Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
Junko Tabei
Junko Tabei was the founder of the women’s climbing club in Japan. She shattered the gender barrier in mountaineering as she became the first woman to ever climb atop Mount Everest in 1975. In 1992, she became the first woman ever to climb the Seven Summits or the tallest peaks of the seven continents.
To this day, women mountaineers continue to rise. In the year 2019 20% of the climbers were women, the highest of any year.
Margarita Ochoa
Meggie Ochoa became the first-ever Jiu-Jitsu World Champion as she topped the 2018 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in Sweden. She is also the reigning South East Asian Jiu-Jitsu master as she grabbed the gold medal at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Months before this, she took home the Philippines’ first-ever gold medal in the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Like other athletes, her work doesn’t just stop at succeeding in her competitions. She too was a vocal advocate, in which she was also awarded as the Sportsman of the Year during the year 2019. Her advocacy focuses on children against violence and prostitution.
For her, Jiu-Jitsu is merely a competitive sport, its true purpose is to be used as self-defense. In the year 2016, she, along with her colleagues, taught Jiu-Jitsu to the children at the Safe Haven Community Center and Children’s Home for three years.
After the 2019 SEA Games, along with the national Jiu-Jitsu team, further supported the Freedom Sunday Network, a network of organizations helping children rescued from online exploitation.
