by Jennifer Katherine Jones

Created on: April 15, 2008   Last Updated: April 16, 2008

The Stigma of Playing Rugby

I am on a college women's rugby team. I noticed the stigma of rugby before I even knew what the sport was. My freshmen year, I received a little white piece of paper saying "Bored? Try women's rugby." My friend said to me "Oh, don't do that, they are all dykes". Coming from a really small closed-minded town, I naturally wanted to stay far away from something that would make me look different, and definitely didn't want to be seen as lesbian. For the record, I am straight and in a relationship with a man. As second semester rolled around, I received another white slip under my door. This time, I took them up on their offer. I went to the interest meeting and saw that these women were not at all the people I had imagined. They were not hairy women with "I hate men" tattoos that farted and burped to their heart's content. They were women like me, people that are competitive, fun-loving, outgoing, and base their team around pride, power, and teamwork. I was never judged about how I looked or the way I acted, I was immediately accepted to the team and welcomed into their way of life. I remember asking my teammates about the stereotypes of women rugby players, and my teammates saying that as long as we knew who we were and what we loved, what others said didn't matter.

I have been on the team since the spring of 2007 and through all of the teasing from family and friends; I have never been happier to be a part of a team. They are more like family than teammates. As a member of a family, I am naturally upset when someone takes aim and hurts another member of our team. Anytime someone makes a derogatory comment toward a player, it hurts not only them, but all of us. As a whole, we are tired of the jokes, stereotypes, and prejudice against us. These offenses come from all levels of power when it comes to school and work. Students, professors, advisors, and even members of management have something against rugby players. Oh, and of course that little organization called the NCAA. Our team and the men's team are full of outstanding athletes. Athletes that can play 80 minutes straight with no breaks, take hits with no pads, handle thousands of pounds of force in scrums, and use all their strength to score. These athletes, if none other, deserve to be recognized for their dedication to their sport and their team.

The typical rugby stereotype for women is that we are stupid drunken lesbian rebels with no respect for authority. Doesn't sound like

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