Letters | No place for sexism in Hong Kong sport
- The emergence of home-grown Olympic champions such as Sarah Lee and Lee Lai-shan should have helped change perceptions
- However, gender bias is apparently still very much alive in local sports circles
In a diverse city like ours where gender equality is a championed value, sexism simply has no place. A seemingly misogynistic attitude towards athletes speaks volumes about the ignorance and patriarchal tendencies of some in football that hinder the development of the sport in the city.
What is egregious is not only that female athletes receive relatively less adulation from fans than their male peers, but also the inequality they face almost on a daily basis: whether it is lower salaries, fewer sponsorships, or lack of access to training facilities and proper match venues. Female athletes’ perseverance and dedication would go to waste if such basic matters are not taken care of.
Nobody should dismiss the current complaint as another example of the rise of feminism in sport, as such a characterisation only perpetuates systemic gender stereotypes and subverts attempts to advance equality.
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Tokyo Olympics: Women in Japan dance for female rights after Games chief’s sexism row