A short but not very sweet Men's Health article gave advice to its readers on how to snag the interest of women who couldn't care less about sports. Apparently we need story lines and a personal connection, otherwise we simply aren't interested. Excuse me?
In just a couple of paragraphs, allegedly written by a woman, we're given sweeping gender statements and generalizations that are as plainly insulting as they are untrue. Though the mag quickly realized its bad and deleted the page, the cache is still visible here for your groan-worthy reading pleasure.
I can't decide which is worse—the recent gaffe by this game show, or speaking for an entire gender. Assumptions make an ass of you, as the saying goes, to which I say hell yeah.
True, I no longer watch sports or even much TV for that matter. But once upon a time I dished stats with the best of them. (And in fact, one boy I used to talk hockey with later joined the NHL.) I had no interest in playing, yet I went to minor league games and heckled alongside much older men, and knew every player by his jersey number. If a game went into double overtime, I stayed up and was glued to the screen. Mercifully I never felt any judgment.
Though I rarely watch sports on TV, I still love the atmosphere of a live sporting event. I have taken my husband to rugby matches and not once did I—or would I have—feign my interest. Nor did I ever give a damn about the players' private lives. And if I were so inclined I would happily continue this tradition, but I would never do it purely for my husband's or son's sakes.
You tell me: Is this article demeaning, or are we reading too much into a frivolous piece?
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