Spain Wins, Yet Sexism Seemingly Still Takes Over
by Sherry Hakimi
In 2019, when New York City hosted the ticker-tape parade in honor of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team's World Cup victory, I had the rare opportunity to be there with a front-row seat for it all. I had just been appointed as a Commissioner for the NYC Commission of Gender Equity a few weeks prior, and it was incredible to get to witness the USWNT athletes in all their glory. Among other things, they kept talking about the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand -- and I made a promise to myself then that I would be there for it.
Fast forward four years, and I was, in fact, lucky enough to be there in person and cheer from the stands at Stadium Australia in Sydney and Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. What I witnessed was truly special. There were 75,754 people in attendance at Stadium Australia for the Colombia/England quarterfinal match, and the mood was excited, energetic, supportive, communal. The only other time I’d been at a stadium with this kind of capacity was Madrid’s Bernabéu Stadium for a Real Madrid game, and that experience very different; it felt much more intense, vitriolic, aggressive, and competitive (not necessarily in a good way). In Sydney, it felt like people were all there with love - for the players, the team, the game, the nation. It was the same at Eden Park (Auckland, New Zealand) for the Spain/Sweden semifinal match.
After having watched the undeniably-talented Spanish national team play in their semifinal match against Sweden, it was disappointing to later see the sexism-laced takes on the team in the media. For example, the @nytimes Instagram post about the Spanish team’s victory includes a caption that spends more wordcount on the purported drama* around the team prior to arriving for the World Cup than lauding its strength, speed, teamwork, and talent. Don't just take my word for it; these superlatives are evidenced by simple game stats, like shots on goal (14-7), ball possession (47%-37%), and shots on target (5-3). But that pales in comparison to how the Spanish women's victory is now being overshadowed by the actions of the president of the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales. As senior writer Christina Cauterucci wrote for Slate:
It happened on the stage at the postgame medal ceremony. Each Spanish player filed down a line of top soccer officials, shaking hands and accepting her medal. When the players got to Rubiales, who was visibly brimming with joy, he embraced them. He planted passionate kisses on their cheeks and necks. He lifted some women off the ground. And when star player Jenni Hermoso arrived, Rubiales held her by the head and kissed her on the mouth.
This action, the RFEF’s subsequent poor choices, and Rubiales’ misguidedly-defiant refusal to apologize + resign now dominate the global conversation about the team’s historic win, robbing the players of the unsullied moment in the spotlight they deserved. Instead of fully enjoying their well-deserved window to celebrate and be globally celebrated, the 2023 World Cup winners have been forced to spend the aftermath of their victory organizing against their employer. It’s also worth noting that this wasn’t the start of their issues with the RFEF and Rubiales (see footnote below).
Having witnessed the Spanish women play, I believe they will prevail. As unfair as the situation is, there are also hopeful glimmers. Many professional players and national teams from all around the world have put out statements of support for Jenni Hermoso and the Spanish women’s team, including some prominent Spanish male players like Iker Casillas (see tweet) and joint statements from the national teams of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and others. This is not your grandmother’s - or even your mother’s - era of professional sports.
When people call for a feminist future, it’s not about women dominating men. It doesn’t mean a world that’s ruled by women (that’s matriarchy). A feminist world is actually the opposite of one in which people dominate others; it’s a world that’s governed and lived by more feminine traits and sensibilities, like kindness, community, and equality, instead of more masculine traits like dominance, aggression, and competition. Experiencing this World Cup in both Australia and New Zealand was living proof that a feminist future - a kinder, more supportive, more communal, more equal world - IS possible if we want it to be.
Yet, as Spain’s World Cup victory has shown us, sexism will still rear its ugly head every time. It will continue to do so until we hold leaders accountable, create change in our institutions, and collectively decide to believe and behave differently. It gives me hope that this case is showing us that all three of those conditions are possible - and are even in progress.
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*Regarding the reported “drama” ahead of Spain arriving at the 2023 World Cup: this NYT piece is a bit more illuminating around the conditions in which this team reached its first-ever World Cup title for its women’s team. Despite the obstacles in the Spanish women’s way, they now join their male national team counterparts in holding a World Cup victory (the Spanish men’s World Cup victory came in 2010).