Amid all the talk of “footy being back” last week, one could have been forgiven for thinking that it was round one of the AFLW season. It was not – footy has been back for weeks, and we are in the middle of the most exciting women’s season on record.
The eye-rolling that followed declarations of the game’s return is not about being anti-men’s footy. Most fans are able to enjoy following any of their club’s teams, and it has become common for men’s footy fans whose club is without an AFLW licence to adopt another club for the AFLW season.
It is about acknowledgement of and respect for the women’s season, although there were some in the industry doing their part this week.
The competition’s inaugural round eight – this season’s penultimate round – again provided the kind of entertaining, edge-of-your-seat-footy that has become the norm in 2021.
Darcy Vescio kicked things off with a five-goal clinic against the Gold Coast in Carlton’s record-breaking 60-point win, keeping the flickering hope of finals footy alive. Collingwood continued to stamp their authority on the competition, defeating St Kilda as Brittany Bonnici and Brianna Davey amassed 29 and 23 touches damaging touches respectively. Chloe Molloy was back on song, booting two goals, and all-Australian defender Ash Brazill was back in the side after recovering from an ACL injury.
Finals contenders Brisbane and North Melbourne battled it out with the Lions coming out on top, while Adelaide’s 56-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs signalled the two-time premiers are not only hunting, but are very capable of winning a third cup. Erin Phillips sent a clear message back to anyone coming for her impressive records, booting her 40th career goal.
The Jane Lange-coached Melbourne took it to Fremantle in a thriller in the west and set themselves up for a blockbuster against the top-of-the-ladder Lions next week. And West Coast’s charge after half-time to put severe pressure on Richmond in the wet at Punt Road was exhilarating footy.
Round eight was gripping. Yet with the word “men’s” missing from promotional reels for the new AFL season, the most basic acknowledgement of the AFLW has been lacking in some quarters.
The conversation around language in sport is a challenging one; for many of the words and terms currently used in relation to sport, there is no clear alternative.
During the Collingwood v St Kilda broadcast, commentator Samantha Lane used the opportunity to navigate some of the gendered language that is so naturally used in footy. On discussing Molloy, Lane said: “She’s started forward today as we’ve seen and… womanning her is Hannah Priest, Saints co-captain… I didn’t say ‘manning’, and I’ve never said ‘womanning’, there you go.”
“Womanning” is an awkward word. Hearing it was equally awkward, but it was encouraging to hear a commentator think through the use of language and speak to that process. Maybe using “womanning” is not the answer, but in the same broadcast, Abbey Holmes, when highlighting Bonnici’s dominance, asked, “Why don’t opposition sides man this woman up?” It sounded just as awkward.
So, back to square one, at least on this phrase. But that’s OK, as long as work continues to be done to help the game be more inclusive and reflective of those playing and supporting it.
Last week, the Sydney Swans made a change to their club song to address this issue, while the Outer Sanctum podcast team also used their platform to address the complication around using the word “girls” in a productive conversation.
Co-host Lucy Race said: “I don’t think you can ignore the history that’s attached to the word ‘girls’, the use of it as a put down, the way that it’s used to demean or belittle or trivialise… but what I’m wondering is, can it be reclaimed? I think it has been or it’s in the process of being reclaimed and maybe that’s why we feel this tension at the moment. But I do love it when the team uses, ‘yeah the girls’.”
Race’s colleague Nicole Hayes added: “It does come down to who’s saying it, and when there’s a power discrepancy, so I’m uncomfortable with a male coach saying it. I’m uncomfortable with broadcasters, male broadcasters in particular, and given the reality is they do dominate our airwaves anyway, I struggle with that. Because I don’t think it is done with the intention it’s used when equals, and women are talking about themselves.”
The etymology of the word “girls” is revealing – it was first noticed in the 13th century, when it was a genderless word used to describe young people, Race said.
“So it is a word that is actually meant to kind of embody in its past, small, diminutive, childlike, childish – so all of that weight sits behind the word and I think what is really interesting is the process of reclaiming it.”
Words have a history of revision and their evolving situation in common parlance has often worked against women and girls – and many other groups of people in society. A single word and how it is used can make a big difference. And clarifying that last week heralded the return of, specifically, men’s footy is a small tweak to make that can reap big benefits in the future.
