MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Kathleen Stauffer on here new book, Womansport: The Women's Sports Bible. She discusses how women belong in sports, the inequity in the field, and the changes to come.

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(00:00:00) Within the male Sports Arena. I hear men lamenting the lack of values in men's sports. And one of the things that I say in my book is that Sports needs women as much as women need Sports and I remember when I was interviewing Catherine right through the of the women's sports Foundation. She had told me that when she was in college. She was working out with her coach had devolved developed what he considered a woman's work out and then she went to visit one of her friends at a competing campus and she worked out with that track team and that coach had the women doing the same workout that he had the male team doing and she said it nearly killed her but she managed to finish and she realized at that point that she really could do more. So I think constantly competing against yourself and reaching new goals of Fitness would have to be an element of women's sports as well.
(00:00:56) What's holding up the development of women's professional sports. And I guess I'm referring to team sports as opposed to individual sports like golfing or skating or tennis.
(00:01:08) Well, there are a lot of reasons one is that it's a vicious cycle a lot of people think if you can't draw a crowd you can't make money and so you don't have any sponsors and I'm not sure how hard anybody's tried on the other hand to though. I think that you have a lot of women being channeled into wood is considered appropriate sporting venues. Speed skating for instance versus figure skating. I had read some place that Tonya Harding were pitted against an NHL hockey Wing. She would leave him 20 yards in her wake there isn't really a challenge for women in some of the sports that they've been funneled into which are perceived and they're often the more feminine ones which doesn't mean that those aren't good things for women to do but I think women should have options to go into other areas.
(00:01:56) How would you describe the state of women's sports today? Cynic would say Kathleen come on, you have title 10 several years ago. You have gender equity on the horizon with what's your
(00:02:08) beef? I don't know that I have beef in the sense that that there's a great wrong being committed. I think that there isn't equity and women are half of the college students, but they certainly are getting far less than half of the resources in the college sports arena, but I don't That's really not the focus of my book. The focus of my book is that women have done so much and people don't seem to understand that and I really wish that more women were aware of how much Sports can be their domain physical activity is good for us. It's good for our bodies. I think in my own personal life. I've noticed that it's been really good for me as a writer. It's helped me to stick with something and I come across women for instance in my work, who are Makers that they had 10 kids and they say, you know, my daughter who was in sports just as so much more of a leader than my daughters who weren't and this is something that that men have known for years really. It's one reason that Sports is such a big thing for men and women athletes have known it for years to but I think that women who by the traditional femininity concept that is is somewhat thrust upon us really are cheating themselves because there's a whole lot more out there in life for us to participate in rather than standing on the sidelines
(00:03:34) and the arguments over whether women can compete on a level with men are Irrelevant. In this case. If you're writing more about the value of sports to people women,
(00:03:46) especially that's right, and there's a real need for women and the women's Sports World for instance since Title Nine. We have found that whereas before Title Nine ninety percent of the coaches in women's sports were women. Now less than half as more money comes into him and sports. One of the reasons for this book is to to make women more aware that there's an Avenue out there for them to pursue a particularly if they like sports but there's a need for attorneys. There's a need for trainers. There's a need for dietitians. So the second part of this book which is deals with Sports careers. Once you're given the context the sports Heritage that women do share. Then you can act on on it by building a career in sports or applying this stuff to your own career. And the third book is is a directory so that women can Network and we need to stick together to make a difference.
(00:04:42) Where are the best professional opportunities for women in sports these
(00:04:45) days. I think that the field is wide open. First of all, the Atlanta Falcons have have a woman in their front office. It's really any place that you want to look. I think that probably in the mail Sports World. Harder for women to succeed, but certainly the in the women's Sports World coaches are needed and certainly the numbers are decreasing and
(00:05:11) more men are coaching women's teams and girls teams than women. Isn't
(00:05:15) that true? That's right and women who've had men coaches have said that it's a totally different experience the next thing you know, you're being told to wear makeup. You're being told what to wear that. You should look more. Ladylike and this is a problem not because these things are bad on the face of themselves. But the problem with with femininity is it so often the trappings of femininity are confining from high heels to fingernails. They just kind of put us in a gilded cage
(00:05:52) women you point out in the book risk the scorn of people in in a number of ways. When they compete in sports, don't
(00:06:01) they? Yeah, they really do and I think one of the most unfortunate ways is that because so much of society's endorsement to femininity runs counter to what it takes to be a strong athlete. It's really antithetical the first thing that women get hit with is that they're homosexuals and it's such an unfortunate thing. I just read an article about the numbers of women who have quit it coaching women sports simply because they were sick of having to prove that they were heterosexual and one of the points that is made by a writer in my book. I quote this woman. Her name is Pat Griffin. She's a university professor and she has written extensively on the subject. She says that you know in the times that this homophobia has escalated with in the women's Sports World men have come in as you've pointed out. They've gotten more of the jobs it really Serves the interest of men who want a piece of the women's sports business to have women pointing at one. Another saying is she or isn't she on top of that as another woman said, you know, how would would men do on the Pro Golf Tour if they had to worry about being asked about their sexuality during after after they're making this 30-foot putt it's just really a distraction I think and I think it's a political move that keeps women off balance.
(00:07:29) What do you think would be a positive Evolution for women's sports at this point given the way that you described men's sports. I would think that you probably don't want women's sports heading in that
(00:07:42) direction. I think that women need to make the choice as to which direction it does go. I think that that first of all though, I would like to see women's sports seen as a legitimate Sports Forum by men because it is and I think that men have have some things to learn as we've discussed. About sports about their own sporting attempts and and their own sporting arenas from the women's sports model and I also think though that as women become more aware of their abilities or their potential there is going to be more of an influx of women probably in the male sports arena and I think that men are going to be angry about that. They're going to be saying that we want it both ways, but if women can do the job I can't think of a good reason why they should not be able to.