In 2014, Florence-Agathe Dubé-Moreau was at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York, as part of a master’s seminar in art history when her phone vibrated, carrying news that would turn his life upside down. Her husband, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, had just been recruited by the Kansas City Chiefs, his first contract in the National Football League (NFL).
A few months later, the art historian was catapulted from the peaceful and progressive rooms of museums to the noisy stands of football stadiums. Behind the scenes of a show where everything – from the rules of the game to the politics, including commentary and entertainment – is thought out by men, for men.
Yet women are everywhere in the NFL, starting with the players’ spouses, whose invisible work around the home and children makes their lover’s dedication to the sport possible. On the field, the cheerleaders, athletes in their own right, encourage, dance and surpass themselves to create a great atmosphere. On a smaller scale, coaches, directors and referees act as pioneers and work hard to do an exemplary job and, thus, change the face of sport.
“From the start, I was deeply shocked and destabilized by this male omnipresence and its impact on society in general,” indicates Florence-Agathe Dubé-Moreau in an interview with Duty. From this awareness was born Off-side, a cultural and feminist essay on the professional sports industry, which is appearing in bookstores these days.
“My writing project emerged from a desire to celebrate these invisible women, to bring a different voice to sport and to think about the way we talk about sport in society. Sport is eminently cultural and identity-building and it is a collective duty to link it to today’s world and make it a driver of social justice and equality. »
In his reflection, the essayist asks two fundamental questions: What does sport do to women? And what does sport do to the world we live in?
Invisibilized and devalued
The art historian soon discovered that the figures were as staggering as her perceptions. So, although women represent 40% of professional athletes, only 4% of air time is devoted to women’s sports.
On the ground, the situation is hardly more rosy. The vast majority of female athletes are unable to make a living from their sport. For example, in 2021, the Premier Hockey Federation announced that it was increasing the average salary of players to US$15,000, a historic first. In contrast, among their male counterparts in the NHL, the lowest salary was US$700,000 for the same season.
In addition, the proportion of women who occupy key positions in sports organizations is still far from the parity zone. In Quebec, the percentage of women with the title of coach in sports federations was only 17%.
“This lack of recognition and representativeness has serious consequences. In Quebec, 90% of young girls do not meet national standards for physical activity. They drop out from primary school. To reverse the trend, it is notably proposed to offer them important female role models. »
By becoming a gamer’s spouse herself, the author quickly understands the immense mental load that weighs on those we call “the WAGs », wives and girlfriends (wives and girlfriends). Despite the privileges that surround all those who play in the major sports leagues, these women are forced to deal with the volatility of their spouse’s employment. They must take care of the running of the home, the care and education of their children, in a context where moves are frequent, thus often putting their own professional dreams on hold.
“There is something problematic in this idea of an industry that relies on women’s work without paying them. What would it mean, for these leagues that rake in billions of dollars in profits, to establish a daycare system or give a bonus to women who have to change jobs when their spouse is transferred? These are small gestures that would recognize the existence and fundamental contribution of WAGs to the success and economics of sport. »
For a united sport
In the meantime, it is clear that the responsibility for revolutionizing the world of sport rests almost entirely on the shoulders of women.
The author recounts the numerous legal proceedings brought over the years by cheerleaders, particularly in the NHL and the NFL, to deplore the unfair and sometimes dangerous working conditions in which they are immersed. “These prosecutions have had mixed results and cheerleaders suffered the repercussions. However, when the problem became visible, the NHL and the NFL began thinking about it without inviting the main stakeholders to the table. »
“The leagues make announcements with great fanfare when they appoint a woman coach or referee, but they are not able to recognize the athletes who have been playing on their field for years,” she laments.
Florence-Agathe Dubé-Moreau advocates a united sport, representative of the complexity of the world. “Men’s sport as it is designed is riddled with problems of racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism. However, as a creator of culture, sport has the power to change the world. » She gives as an example the impact that players’ speaking out had on the actions taken by clubs to reduce racial discrimination within the industry, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
“I think athletes are becoming more and more aware of the power of their voice as individuals. I want to challenge the biggest structures: the leagues, the franchises, so that they take their responsibility and respect the universal and humanist pretensions of sport. Together, we must redefine what sport says about us. Together, we must rewrite the rules of the game.”