Figure skating will stop calling women skaters 'ladies,' a step toward dismantling a century-long culture

Calls for a cultural shift in figure skating have led to small changes in terminology and costume rules and larger changes that have created a more accepting culture for women and LGBTQ+ skaters.

February 8, 2022

In 1924, figure skating became the first sport in the Winter Olympics to allow women to compete. But though the men competed under categories for "men," women could only compete under "ladies."

Figure skating is also the last winter sport to change that naming convention: The 2022 Winter Olympics is the first to let women compete as women, not ladies. It's a subtle change — one that audiences may miss — but a meaningful one. For a century, figure skating has clung to rigid gender rules, about everything from costumes to who can compete as a pair, that have enforced specific expectations about how athletes should look or behave. Some skaters have even reported hiding their gender identity in order to conform.

That culture, while still deeply embedded in figure skating, is starting to change. And not just in name alone.

This year, more out LGBTQ+ skaters, including the first out nonbinary Winter Olympian, will compete in the Games than ever before. This year there will be nine openly LGBTQ+ figure skaters in Beijing. There were three in 2018 and none in 2014. Overall, at least 35 out LGBTQ+ athletes will compete this year, double the number that competed in the last Winter Olympics.

All of it is happening as the popularity of figure skating, particularly in the United States, continues to wane. More athletes and fans are calling for a significant cultural shift in figure skating that sheds its gendered, classist and racist roots and embraces a more diverse vision of what the sport can be. In the last couple of years, those calls have grown louder and more powerful, leading to small changes in terminology and costume rules and larger changes that have created a more accepting culture for LGBTQ+ skaters.

Historically, figure skating was dominated by men and reserved for elites. Figure skating clubs excluded women and people of color.

That legacy remains. The sport is dominated by White, well-off athletes who are molded, coached and judged by former athletes or judges who adhere to traditional aspects of the sport. It's still extremely expensive for kids to participate in figure skating, and much of the technical structure has rewarded heteronormative couplings and performances. That's particularly true in pairsskating and ice dance — the two disciplines of figure skating that are done in pairs. Pairs skating involves jumps and throws, while ice dance is a form of ballroom dancing on ice. In both disciplines, the rules are written to specify moves the man should do and moves the woman should do. It was only recently that women figure skaters started to wear pants more in competition — for ice dancers the rule was just changed for the 2021-2022 season.

The terminology of "ladies" is a relic of the origins of figure skating, but over the past five to 10 years steam has built for change, said Jackie Wong, the expert behind Rocker Skating, a figure skating analysis site. Other countries, including Canada, had already adopted the change for some time, but the International Skating Union (ISU), the sport's international governing body, and the United States were holdouts.

Ice dancer Kaitlyn Weaver, a two-time Olympian and three-time World medalist, said the terminology further emphasized the gendered nature of the sport. Women were celebrated for being graceful, polite, demure — all the qualities of a "lady" — instead of being athletic.

In Canada, the country she's represented, women figure skaters have been called women figure skaters for as long as she'd been competing — at least a decade. Leanna Caron, the former president of Skate Canada, was one of the people who pushed the International Skating Union to make the change to women, Weaver said, along with other skaters and fans who felt the terminology was outdated and sexist. Men weren't being called "gentlemen," after all.

But there was pushback from some who felt uncomfortable calling the teenagers who dominate figure skating "women," Wong said. Many of the leading athletes in the women's discipline are under 18, but that's not necessarily a new phenomenon. When Peggy Fleming first went to the Olympics to represent Team USA in 1964, she was 15.

"As people have tried to post-rationalize why they use the word 'ladies' as opposed to women, that's what they've come to," he said.

The change finally came last year, when the International Olympic Committee's Gender Equality Review Project proposed a rule change to the International Skating Union, calling for a balanced portrayal of men and women, the ISU said in a statement. The rule ultimately passed in the summer of 2021, making figure skating the last sport to do so at the international level.

The impact of that can't be understated, Weaver said.

"The term 'ladies' takes away our power, our athleticism, our sexuality," Weaver said. "Even in the English language there are instances where 'ladies' feels right versus where 'woman' feels right — 'the ladies who lunch' versus 'the first woman to land a triple axel.' When we talk about any type of athletic feat or strength or power, we use the word 'women.'"

U.S. Figure Skating, however, has still not made the change.

Barbara Reichart, a spokesperson for the national governing body, said U.S. Figure Skating is in the process of "reviewing the impact" of the ISU's change and how it would be implemented domestically, but, when asked, did not specify whether the change had already been decided on.

Further reading: https://19thnews.org/2022/02/winter-olympics-figure-skating-women-lgbtq/?utm_campaign=19th-social&utm_content=for_a_century%2C_figure_ska&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2YI57qKj08gTk7IkYksd2N-FSTgSIsMjTsruaKHZmUURoqXLC_CQstBuk

U.S. Soccer and women soccer stars settle equal pay lawsuit for $24 million

The landmark agreement will ensure equal pay for male and female players in U.S. soccer.

Feb. 22, 2022

U.S. women soccer stars, including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, have reached a $24 million settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation following a lawsuit over unequal pay with men's team players.

The landmark settlement was announced Tuesday, years after a group of five U.S. Women's National Team players filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint over inequality in pay and treatment.

According to the terms of the settlement, U.S. Soccer will pay men and women at an equal rate in the future in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup.

"For us, this is just a huge win in ensuring that we not only right the wrongs of the past, but set the next generation up for something we only dreamed of," Rapinoe said Tuesday on NBC's "TODAY" show.

"We are really in the midst of an incredible turning point in women's sport," she said, adding, "If you're not paying attention to this right now and what's happening in women's sport, you're sleeping on the whole thing."

The EEOC complaint was filed in 2016 by Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd, who are now both retired, Becky Sauerbrunn, Morgan and Rapinoe.

Then in March 2019, 28 members of the USWNT filed a lawsuit, citing years of ongoing institutionalized gender discrimination against the players in their compensation and working conditions.

The lawsuit garnered national attention and led to stadium chants of "Equal Pay!" when the U.S. women's team won the 2019 World Cup in Paris.

The disparity in pay between men and women is stark. FIFA awarded $400 million in prize money for the 32 teams at the 2018 men's World Cup, and $38 million to the champion, France. By comparison, FIFA awarded $30 million for the 24 teams at the 2019 women's World Cup, including $4 million to the U.S. after winning their second straight title.

A global sensation and powerhouse in the sport, the team has won four FIFA Women's World Cup titles since the competition's founding in 1991.

That stands in stark contrast to the men's national team, which took third place in the first World Cup played in 1930 — and hasn't come close since.

U.S. Soccer will pay $22 million to the players in the case and an additional $2 million into an account to benefit USWNT players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women's and girls' soccer, according to the settlement terms. Players will be able to apply for up to $50,000 from this fund.

The legal back and forth in the case saw former U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro resign in March 2020 in the wake of bitter backlash stemming from a legal filing that included sexist language comparing female and male players.

His resignation led former American midfielder Cindy Parlow Cone to become the first woman president in the federation's history.

The settlement is contingent on the ratification of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement for USWNT and U.S. Soccer, which will resolve all the claims in the 2019 suit.

Morgan said on "TODAY" their work in leveling the playing field is not over.

"U.S. Soccer has agreed to equalize the prize money moving forward, obviously we call on FIFA to truly equalize that for men's and women's tournaments," she said. "That's really what we set out to do. Equalize on all fronts."

"It's a proud moment for all of us," she added.

In a joint statement, the players and U.S. Soccer said: "Getting to this day has not been easy. The U.S. Women's National Team players have achieved unprecedented success while working to achieve equal pay for themselves and future athletes. Today, we recognize the legacy of the past USWNT leaders who helped to make this day possible, as well as all of the women and girls who will follow."

Thumbs up from me, too, Miriandra!

I recently read a book called “The Nice Girl Syndrome” by Beverly Engel. It was very insightful. Religion, society and my family have ingrained in me that I must be nice. One problem with that is I ended up putting everyone else’s needs and feelings before my own. Like, I never showed up for myself most of the time and was made to feel guilty, selfish and mean if I did. But of course it was perfectly fine for others to look out for their own best interests.

I’ve learned to say no more often. I’ve mentioned on the forum how I’ve worked on setting firmer boundaries for a couple of years. Saying no was extremely difficult at first. But I started doing it more often and worked through my guilt feelings. Now it’s much easier and guilt is melting away. It took awhile, over a year, before I became more comfortable with it. Now, tho, people are getting the real me. I like being more genuine.

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