一周前,美國女子國家足球隊以2:0的比分擊敗荷蘭,贏得了今年的女足世界杯。 梅根·拉皮諾埃再一次展現(xiàn)了標(biāo)志性的動作——昂首挺胸、張開雙臂且自信非凡。不久之前可能還會有人認為該姿勢凸顯了無可救藥的傲慢。美國女足表現(xiàn)卓越及拒不道歉的作風(fēng)推動了女足運動發(fā)展,而且不管怎么說都帶來了巨大榮耀。 既然說起來,有個問題值得一提:在八屆女足世界杯比賽中,美國女足四次奪冠。美國男足卻一次都沒有當(dāng)過冠軍 《衛(wèi)報》的莫伊拉·多尼根評論道:“美國女性足球運動員的人才庫似乎源源不斷。”她指出了很正確的一點,即美國女足之所以強大,很大程度上是因為鼓勵女性參與體育運動。而且是通過立法實現(xiàn)的: “在很大程度上,我們是靠政策得以實現(xiàn),特別是1972年的《教育修正法案》。在夏威夷國會女議員帕特西·明克帶領(lǐng)下,《教育修正法案》第九條對女權(quán)主義者做出回應(yīng),填補了《1964年民權(quán)法案》的漏洞,因為該法案允許聯(lián)邦資助的學(xué)校、學(xué)院和大學(xué)進行性別歧視。第九條規(guī)定禁止性別歧視,而且適用于所有教育機構(gòu)以及各種學(xué)科——包括體育。” 多尼根回顧了幫助女性爭取參與體育運動權(quán)利的歷史,包括立法過程中讓人不想了解的荒唐細節(jié)。“總的來說,《法案第九章》在為婦女和女孩創(chuàng)造無歧視教育環(huán)境方面只能說還算成功。”她總結(jié)道。“但是體育運動中的非歧視條款確實鼓勵了美國女孩參加體育運動,取得了巨大成功。”當(dāng)然也降低了中學(xué)的學(xué)費。 因此,在運動場上找到歸屬的女性,往往也希望能夠幫助別人獲得同樣的尊重。 比如,拉皮諾埃成為第一批聲援科林·卡佩尼克的職業(yè)運動員之一。“我沒有經(jīng)歷過過度監(jiān)管、種族貌相、警察暴行或者家人曝尸街頭。”她在《玩家論壇》(Player’s Tribune)發(fā)表了一篇見解深刻的文章稱。“但這個國家里有人被迫面對痛心的場面,我不能袖手旁觀。” 她不是唯一一個這樣做的人。 所有參加比賽的美國運動員都知道下一場比賽將慘烈無比,因為下一場是針對管理機構(gòu)美國足球總會提起的性別歧視訴訟調(diào)解。男足運動員每場比賽的收入是女足運動員的三倍,今年女足的世界杯獎金為3000萬美元,而去年男子世界杯的獎金為4億美元。 盡管拉皮諾埃的招牌動作令人激動,但無法與粉絲們傳遞的力量相提并論。 美國隊獲勝后,國際足聯(lián)主席詹尼·因凡蒂諾上臺,體育場內(nèi)的觀眾開始噓聲四起,然后高呼: “同工同酬!同工同酬!" 我打算必要的時候就循環(huán)播放這段呼聲。 當(dāng)然,美國女足并不是只為自己追求公平。但低收入人群也奮起支持很令人高興。希望球隊卓越的成績可以讓選民和商界領(lǐng)袖更愿意接受復(fù)雜的法案制定過程,能夠堅持到底。 如果每個人都有機會一展風(fēng)采,一切都會變得更好。大家還要繼續(xù)努力。(財富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:艾倫 審校:夏林 |
I’m talking, of course, about the United States Women’s National Team, who won this year’s World Cup after beating the Netherlands 2-0 on Sunday. Megan Rapinoe’s now signature move — chin up, arms outstretched, gloriously confident, could have been interpreted not long ago as irredeemably arrogant. Instead, the team’s outsized excellence and their unapologetic acknowledgment of same, has been a thrilling development for a sport which has produced nothing but glory by any measure. But since we’re measuring, here’s just one to consider: In the eight World Cup competitions that have been held, the U.S. women’s team has won four. The U.S. men have won none. “The talent pool for female soccer players in America appears bottomless,” observes Moira Donegan in the Guardian. She correctly points out that this bounty is thanks in large part to an effort to include girls and women in sports. And that came by way of legislation: "In large part, we got them through policy, in particular the Education Amendments Act of 1972. Shepherded into law by Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii, the title IX provision of the act was a response to feminists’ push to close a loophole in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that allowed federally funded schools, colleges and universities to discriminate by sex. Title IX was intended to prohibit this kind of discrimination, and it applied to all educational programs and all aspects of a school’s operation—including sports." Donegan walks through the history of the fight for the inclusion of women in sports, including the grotesque sausage-making that was the legislative process. “Taken as a whole, title IX’s success in creating discrimination-free educational environments for women and girls is spotty at best,” she concludes. “But the athletic non-discrimination provision has been a massive success in encouraging American girls to play sports.” And of course, earn an affordable secondary education. So it should come as no surprise then that the women who found a home on the playing field are often interested in making sure that others are afforded the same respect. Rapinoe, by way of example, became one of the first professional athletes to take a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. “I haven’t experienced over-policing, racial profiling, police brutality or the sight of a family member’s body lying dead in the street,” she wrote in a thoughtful post for the Player’s Tribune. But I cannot stand idly by while there are people in this country who have had to deal with that kind of heartache.” But by no means is she the only one. All the U.S. athletes took the field knowing their next fight will be a bloody one: Mediation related to the gender discrimination lawsuit they filed against U.S. Soccer, the sport’s governing body. Men make some three times as much per game as the women and the prize pot for the women’s team this year was $30 million, compared to $400 million for last year’s Men’s World Cup. While Rapinoe’s pose was thrilling, it couldn’t hold a candle to the power move delivered by the fans. When FIFA President Gianni Infantino took the stage soon after the U.S. victory, the crowd in the stadium began to boo, then chant: “Equal pay! Equal pay!” I plan to keep that chant on a loop and play it when I need it. The USWNT’s quest for equity is bigger than themselves, of course. But it was great to see the idea found support even in the cheap seats. Hopefully, the memory of the team's joyful excellence can make the sausage-making of inclusion palatable enough for voters and business leaders alike to stay the course. Everything is better when everyone gets a shot at playing. And we all have work to do. |