'She's a Lesbian'

“Some people believe, based on gender and lesbian stereotypes, that men are better coaches than women.”  (p 224) Pat Griffin

It’s wasn’t until I was trying to think of topics for my blog that I came across this line again in “Changing the Game” and made connections to it. This article states, that for many reasons, women who partake in sports are looked down on. Even if a coach has a male counterpart, or has kids, she is considered unfit to coach; she is considered a lesbian. (This viewpoint goes for female athletes as well.)

                Last night I watched Glee, a show, that many of you know, is all about bringing taboo topics out into the open to talk about. In last night’s episode, Sue, the cheerleading coach, writes in her diary that just because she is a strong independent woman who happens to have short blond hair and wears track suits all the time doesn’t mean she is a lesbian. She then tries to let others know this by dating a man publicly and selling pictures of them together to the newspapers. Although her lines made me laugh, they also stuck out to me because we had just finished talking about it in class on Monday. Should Sue have to announce that she is straight? Should she have to date someone of the opposite gender publicly to not be viewed negatively?

 However, this isn’t the first time Glee has brought these matters to its viewers’ attention. Last season, season 2, a new character was introduced- Coach Shannon Beiste. At first glance many people characterize her as either a lesbian or a man, and the other characters on the show viewed her just the same. She was seen as unfit to coach a football team even though she had brought other teams winning records. Although this case doesn’t fit exactly what Griffin writes in “Changing the Game” it relates to the same topic: female coaches being considered to be lesbians.

A female coach isn’t seen to be able to coach a team to a winning record and if she can, well then she must be a lesbian. This being another topic Glee brought into the open. There was an episode where Beiste admits that she has never been kissed and when another teacher goes to question her she has to come out and tell him she is straight. “Any woman who defies traditional gender roles is called a lesbian.” (p 226) Since Beiste coaches a male sport and can bench press more than most males, she is considered a lesbian. Since she doesn’t dress in skirts and heels (or other predominate feminine apparel), she is considered a lesbian. Since she doesn’t have a husband or even a boyfriend, she is considered a lesbian. This assumption that a female coach is a lesbian carries into most high schools and colleges as well. If a woman decides to partake in sports, chances are ‘she’s a lesbian’. Even if a person has never spoken to that woman before and they don’t know what her preferences are, if she is exceptionally good at something then she is automatically assumed to be a lesbian.

Bringing the attention of females in sport is only one small thing Glee has done, it takes backgrounds to most other storylines and it seems insignificant. Yet, it is still there in every episode pushing to be seen. Not all women are lesbians, and not all women who coach or participate in sports are either.