Female rugby players tackle stereotypes
Posted May 22, 2007 at 10:00 AM by Amanda Black
Section: Her Fitness, Athletics
Rugby aficionados debate when and where the game originated; medieval chroniclers documented games of football (to North Americans football = soccer) between different villages in Western Europe, where men would do anything possible, including carrying the ball, to beat out their rivals (“Origins of Rugby”). William Fitzstephen, a monk, documented the first game in London in 1175 (“Origins of Rugby”).
According to a popular legend, a man named William Webb Ellis, while at Rugby School (one of England’s oldest public schools, established in 1567), showed “a fine disregard” for the football rules and subsequently took the ball in his arms - effectively inventing the game we now call Rugby. Although the Old Rugbian Society disregarded this story after an investigation in 1895, the legend still resonates for many (“Rugby Football”).
Rugby steadily gained popularity and fans over the years, especially in Western Europe, Australia, and the Netherlands. Now it’s gaining popularity in the United States—Especially amongst young college women. But many people wonder, as Kristi Casey did in a feature in Rugby magazine, “Why do women love rugby?” Casey adds: “The image most Americans have of the sport is that it is a brutish, alcohol-fueled malefest complete with sexist songs and attitudes.”
Not surprisingly, many women new to Rugby constantly come up against stereotypes such as: If you’re a rugby girl you must also be crazy, fat, lesbian, butch, an alcoholic, and various other falsities. Kristin Turco, former captain of SUNY Binghamton Women’s Ruby team, elaborates:
“Well, mostly what we hear is that we’re a bunch of lesbians. Like, most people comment how I play with a bunch of lesbians, which is untrue. Our team goes against the stereotype. I guess some girls might choose it because they’re gay and they’ll feel accepted, but on our team that’s untrue. We’re diverse culturally and have different sexual preferences.”
The prejudices female rugby players face reflect the fact that females must still overcome prejudices in sports—especially when breaking into a male dominated sport. However, from my experiences with women’s rugby players, the stereotypes are mostly, if not all, untrue. As Casey points out “ . . . like the men who have played before them, more women are seeing through [these stereotypes] and finding a game that is physically and psychologically liberating.”
Most of the impressions North Americans have of rugby originate from what few things they’ve heard about the sport (too violent, manly, dangerous, no pads, etc.), so it might be inherent to assume that females who play Rugby must prefer the “butch” side. At first, I, too, assumed that women who played were probably built like linebackers. That’s why after running into several average, even petite, looking women who played rugby for my university, I began to question my own assumptions. Similar to other sports, women rugby players come in different shapes and sizes.
The Binghamton Women’s Rugby team is one of the most diverse looking teams I’ve ever come across. Like many universities in America, Binghamton now has a very popular women’s rugby team. Referred to as the “She-Devils,” they have been at the University since 1990. They’re a competitive club sport that competes with other Division I schools. They won the Upstate Tournament in 1998 and placed second in 1997, 2001 and 2003. The team also has 5 consecutive undefeated seasons under their belts, along with many other accomplishments. The She-Devils even competed in Ireland and they annually host a spring tournament called Scrumstock, which was founded in 2002.
To learn more about the She-Devils or how you can support the team contact Chelsea Griswald, Team President, at
The Girl’s official website is http://sa.binghamton.edu/~shedevils/
Sources: Casey, Kristi. “Why Women Play Rugby.” Rugby Magazine. “Origins of Rugby.” http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm “Rugby Football.” Wikipedia. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_football>
Photo: ©istockphoto.com/Imre Forgo