Jerseys are for boys. Pink jerseys are for boys.

We’ve all been to a store where they’ve had a wide selection of jerseys available for the avid sports fan. Hockey jerseys, football jerseys, basketball jerseys, baseball jerseys, you name it and they carry it. They even carry sports jerseys for women! There’s just one problem. The women’s jerseys don’t look like the men’s nor do they resemble the colors used in the traditional garb. Women’s jerseys are pink and sparkly.

            Now, don’t get me wrong – I love the color pink and rhinestones catch my eye. But this doesn’t mean that that’s true for every girl or that a girl wants to have a jersey specially tailored to fit gender norms. A sports fan should be able to have access to an authentic jersey no matter what their gender is. To me, the strict selection of pink jerseys sends the message that women are not as authentic of sports fans as men are.

            While we saw today that sports and politics are not completely separate entities, I think that we can also say that sports are being exploited through the paraphernalia that is available to fans. This is shown through the fact that jerseys used to be used to show pride in a team and bond the fans together. Now they are seen as a way to separate genders and tailor to the specific fashion stereotypes of genders.

            I don’t want the conclusion of this blog to say that I believe that pink jerseys should be taken off the racks nor do I think the should completely be bought out. I just think that women should have the same easy access to traditional jerseys as men. Let’s bring back the bonding of a jersey rather than the boys vs girls battle.