AFLW and sexism

[Freshwater]

No. But I reckon the AFL could be the slightly sexist one. The quarters are too short and the everyone should play everyone once.
Our club was very smart to get ahead of the culture on this one.
I said yesterday that I went to Geelong on the weekend, great night but there weren’t 18,000+ there. There were many more people a few weeks ago at the BigBash and there was 18,000! So fudging figures and propaganda won’t help.

 

[BrisDog]

Not a fan of AFLW - too slow.

Womens rugby sevens however is unreal. Would pay good money to watch it.

 

[Mofra]

Caught the second half of the game against the Crows, found myself willing our girls to win the game as much as I would our other two teams (VFL & AFL).
Glad it was televised.

 

[Fossie 32]

I don't know if it's sexist but simply don't watch it if you don't like it and don't go to the trouble of bagging it.
I don't see people bagging those who don't like it, quite a bit the reverse. I don't notice the AwFL plugging it too much, don't pay attention to ads etc much.
I'm not that interested in other women's teams or games apart from the Dogs, same as with AFL
No you aren't less of a supporter of the club if you don't support it.
I think it's a great thing that the other 50% of our population now get to participate in the sport on a national level and that this is encouraging girls to participate and have something to aim for.
The standard doesn't bother me too much. Bit like watching a toddler grow, which is a magic time.

 

[Munnez]

Hmmm this is one of the things I struggle with

The assumption that because you support the dogs you should by extension support the AFLW

So using this idea if the dogs form an Esports team as Essendon have or a netball team at the pies have we are assumed to support those teams also?

I still think it's a personal choice as to what you support. I choose to support the AFLW side as they are still a Dogs side.
Can totally understand why others don't as it isn't the same product. And as a spectacle can be hard to watch at times. Guess I am just a football tragic, so just try and enjoy it for what is another Dogs side going at it.

 

[Sentinel]

I don't think it's sexist at all to dislike AFLW, everyone has a choice in what they follow or don't. Being a professional sport, criticism will naturally come but provided its about the game itself rather than the sex of those involved, then I don't see an issue.

As others have said, I follow it due to the Dogs involvement and the fact its a form of AFL (I'll turn on AFLX too but highly doubt I'll be very interested). About it being 'shoved down your throat', to me its no different to any of the number of sports/current affairs that receive heavy coverage at some points during the year - again, just don't click the article/change the channel. I can't stand tennis but am not bothered by its coverage.

I do think that the AFL have gone a little hard in raising expectations though. They're naturally going to talk up their own product, but the game in its current form does need a bit of tinkering (IMO) and a few years to improve. I think the bar was set a little too high in the beginning, and when those expectations aren't met they've given detractors plenty of ammunition.

 

[potdog21]

We don't have to like every sport. There are many I cannot stand but I do not have to tell everyone why I hate it and carry on like an arse about it. The AFL has expanded the AFLW very quickly, I believe too quickly. Next year there are more teams and therefore more of a dilution of the talent pool. Also with so many cross coders playing at this level it means that some very pure footballers are missing out. It will take tame but it will be so bloody good when that time comes. It is not sexist to not like AFLW unless the reasos for not liking it is based purely on the fact that they are female and you don't think females should be playing.
The skill level will improve when females have the same pathways as males do. As for the scoring, remember that AFLW play 15 minute qurters so they are playing just over half the time that the men do. Thay are also playing at the hottest time of the year. They are also not professionals and have full time jobs. I think some men are just angry that women are being given an opportunity.

 

[Martyn_30_]

I would love for the aflw to be entertaining to watch, but I’m realistic that’s at least a generation away from happening. The lowest level local footy reserves is a much higher standard right now, a lot of the current can’t players can’t execute the basic skills that most junior footballers can. But when have girls who will grow up with a footy and are able to get some decent coaching that will change dramatically.

One thing that annoys me about the aflw is the constant message that the skill isn’t as good as the men’s because they’re not professionals which has nothing to do with it. In general draftees only improve their foot skills slightly across an afl career. Most of the skills are learnt in childhood then fine tuned throughout the teenage years.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Norm De Guerre]

Not really, however constantly criticising a competition that you have a long standing and well known antipathy toward, whilst at the same time proclaiming to have no interest in watching certainly leaves you open to the label. It is a little odd.

Whilst we are here asking "very serious questions" Are you the same Matt that was on the WB fb page banging the awfully familiar trope as to why the Womens team has a presence of the clubs offical page? The reaction that he got kinda explains why this thread exists.

 

[Virgin Dog]

Not really, however constantly criticising a competition that you have a long standing and well known antipathy toward, whilst at the same time proclaiming to have no interest in watching certainly leaves you open to the label. It is a little odd.

Whilst we are here asking "very serious questions" Are you the same Matt that was on the WB fb page banging the awfully familiar trope as to why the Womens team has a presence of the clubs offical page? The reaction that he got kinda explains why this thread exists.

That bloke on the FB page just seemed to be sooking for the sake of sooking. I genuinely don't see how someone could have a problem with the official WB club page posting about the AFLW. They are just as much a part of the Western Bulldogs Football Club as our mens team, considering they were created by the club. Doesn't matter in the slightest whether you support/watch the women's team, they are still part of this club, just the same as our VFL side is.

I really don't get how people get so wound up over this stuff. The WB fb page averages maybe 1 post a day, so throwing up the occasional women's post during the AFLW season is not exactly flooding the page and causing other content to go unnoticed. There are plenty of videos and articles posted on the page that I don't watch/read because it doesn't interest me, but I have no issue with it having been there. Just like people shouldn't sook about the women's team getting vital exposure DURING THE AFLW SEASON. The men's season is still nearly 2 months away, what else is the club going to be posting on there anyway?

 

[Mattdougie]

Cheers to those that answers the op without sarcasm or vitriol

To those that didn’t it diss track surprise me who and you simple proved the thread correct.

It’s an interesting topic that we proved some can answer well

On a different note those AFLW away jumpers are very nice

 

[mambavino]

I only have a passing interest in the score of the Bulldogs AFLW games because they wear the colors. The time/value proposition for watching full games just doesn't work for me at the moment.

The day someone can't easily "code hop" from another sport is the day it will become worth watching. That so many have been able to do this in the first couple of years really is an indicator of the low skill level bar that currently exists. It'll take a minimum of 10 years to get there.

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

Now I’m not trying to bait anyone and I’m asking a very serious question

Is it sexist to think that the quality of AFLW(at the present) is poor and due to that having no interest watching it?

I don’t want to create an argument so just answers to that simple question! No extensions into comments from that because that will no doubt end in a s**t fight.

I have just been reading a lot on the topic over the weekend and it seems anyone who doesn’t praise the game is labelled a sexist? I’d that fair or is it sexism?

Its not sexist in itself but much of the criticism that I have read over the weekend is so unnecessary then its hard not to conclude that in part it is.
A good example is the twitter responses to other twitters who have commented on the games in either a neutral of with some form of praise. I just dont get why some posters (mainly men) feel the need to critique the sport (and the other twitteres) when its quite simple to ignore the sport if you dont like it.
People are free to not like it as a sport but when you get on twitter and bag the crap out of it in a forum where there is a lot of support both male and female for it then it really prompts the question as to motivation.

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

So if you don’t support the AFLW are you any less a supporter of the Club?

Sorry mate I can’t agree with this. Regardless what they say the ladies team is an extension to the club and there is no requirement for anyone that has supported the club for years to follow it.

Ive tried each year but I can’t watch it and can honestly say did not care one iota we won the AFLW flag but that does not diminish my love for the club and the team I have followed for my 45 years on this earth.

Possibly in the future when/if it gets to a level I can watch I’m more than happy to sit and watch it and selfishly if I had a vested interest of course I would watch it but I cannot watch thins that don’t interest me. I cannot watch the Big Bash cricket I think it’s absolute shite so is that a form of sexism also?

No definitely not does it make you any less of a supporter if you don't like it but to be fair I don't think you are the target market.
If we want to grow our club into the future then I believe it was essential for us to be one of the leaders in the AFLW as it will give more exposure to the kids of today both female and male.

 

[Virgin Dog]

Cheers to those that answers the op without sarcasm or vitriol

To those that didn’t it diss track surprise me who and you simple proved the thread correct.

It’s an interesting topic that we proved some can answer well

On a different note those AFLW away jumpers are very nice

The comparison I like to draw is the Goodes situation. So many people didn't like him towards the back end of his career, and you could largely split them into two distinct groups:

1. Racist bandwaggoners
2. People who took legitimate issue with his constant appealing to the umpires and all-around poor sportsmanship displayed on field at times

I think it's similar to the AFLW, where some are critical of the league simply because it's women playing and they don't see women as equals, while others don't enjoy the spectacle because it's not as skilled as the mens for example. I'm guessing you are implying you'd be part of the second group, which is perfectly fine, but if people from that group then complain about AFLW getting so much exposure, despite it not affecting them whatsoever, then it's just going to elicit a negative response from others. I think it's perfectly fine to not be interested in women's footy, so long as that doesn't become actively brigading against women's footy like some have been doing. That's just my opinion on it anyway

 

[Mattdougie]

I only have a passing interest in the score of the Bulldogs AFLW games because they wear the colors. The time/value proposition for watching full games just doesn't work for me at the moment.

The day someone can't easily "code hop" from another sport is the day it will become worth watching. That so many have been able to do this in the first couple of years really is an indicator of the low skill level bar that currently exists. It'll take a minimum of 10 years to get there.

I think we all have to be realistic on where it will end up.

Some suggest it will become very watchable and I question that also. The Matilda’s have been around for a long time and on a world scale I believe are ranked number 6. Yet if you watch the games they are still hard to watch and they recently got beaten 7-0 by an under 16 boys team.

Realistic targets must be set for any future goals and

Its not sexist in itself but much of the criticism that I have read over the weekend is so unnecessary then its hard not to conclude that in part it is.
A good example is the twitter responses to other twitters who have commented on the games in either a neutral of with some form of praise. I just dont get why some posters (mainly men) feel the need to critique the sport (and the other twitteres) when its quite simple to ignore the sport if you dont like it.
People are free to not like it as a sport but when you get on twitter and bag the crap out of it in a forum where there is a lot of support both male and female for it then it really prompts the question as to motivation.

Just for clarification I am not an have never been on Twitter

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

I think we all have to be realistic on where it will end up.

Some suggest it will become very watchable and I question that also. The Matilda’s have been around for a long time and on a world scale I believe are ranked number 6. Yet if you watch the games they are still hard to watch and they recently got beaten 7-0 by an under 16 boys team.

Realistic targets must be set for any future goals and



Just for clarification I am not an have never been on Twitter

No worries and there are times i wish I hadn't!

 

[dergert]

No. But just my thoughts: When the women are afforded the same amount of resources (coaches, sports scientists etc), renumeration and preparation times as the men are then the skill level and quality of the game will improve.

I have little interest in the women's team but I do believe they are severely under resourced and deserve to have the same opportunities as men in their designated sport.

 

[Sentinel]

Yet if you watch the games they are still hard to watch and they recently got beaten 7-0 by an under 16 boys team.

I think this sort of thing is a complete distraction. Being hard to watch is relevant, but the fact they got beaten by an under 16 boys team is not.

They aren't men and they don't play against men (besides the odd training/exhibition match like this one) and I find any comparison totally pointless - similar to the Williams sisters getting beaten by some low ranked bloke when they played him. The Australian women's netball team would very likely be beaten by the Australian men's team too, but that doesn't mean women's netball is a bad example of the sport. It's a complete red herring.

 

[Mattdougie]

I think this sort of thing is a complete distraction. Being hard to watch is relevant, but the fact they got beaten by an under 16 boys team is not.

They aren't men and they don't play against men (besides the odd training/exhibition match like this one) and I find any comparison totally pointless - similar to the Williams sisters getting beaten by some low ranked bloke when they played him. The Australian women's netball team would very likely be beaten by the Australian men's team too, but that doesn't mean women's netball is a bad example of the sport. It's a complete red herring.

It’s isn’t when’s it relates to quality which was my point mate. People can think what they want about me but I will watch anything as long as to my eye it’s a decent level. Gender is irrelevant.

People will only buy in once/if the level reaches a decent watch. These games show how far away they are from that because I guarantee channel 7 are not putting Central Coast under 16 games on prime time TV.

 

[MYOB]

It’s isn’t when’s it relates to quality which was my point mate. People can think what they want about me but I will watch anything as long as to my eye it’s a decent level. Gender is irrelevant.

People will only buy in once/if the level reaches a decent watch. These games show how far away they are from that because I guarantee channel 7 are not putting Central Coast under 16 games on prime time TV.

You wouldn't know what the standard is like because you can't bring yourself to watch more than 5 minutes. You said so yourself.

I watched 2 matches live on the weekend, and 2 matches on TV, and the standard has improved. And that is the only comparison we need to make. The standard will continue to improve, because each year, the new draftees will have 1 more year of football under the belt. This years draftees have probably been playing for 5 years. Next years draftees 6 years, the following 7 years, plus they would have been in academies for longer periods.

So when I think it gets to a standard that meets your lofty level, I'll let you know it's safe to watch a full game or 2. Until then you can stick your head back in the sand, safe in the knowledge that you're not missing out on anything.

PS - do I think your sexist. NO

 

[Mattdougie]

You wouldn't know what the standard is like because you can't bring yourself to watch more than 5 minutes. You said so yourself.

I watched 2 matches live on the weekend, and 2 matches on TV, and the standard has improved. And that is the only comparison we need to make. The standard will continue to improve, because each year, the new draftees will have 1 more year of football under the belt. This years draftees have probably been playing for 5 years. Next years draftees 6 years, the following 7 years, plus they would have been in academies for longer periods.

So when I think it gets to a standard that meets your lofty level, I'll let you know it's safe to watch a full game or 2. Until then you can stick your head back in the sand, safe in the knowledge that you're not missing out on anything.

PS - do I think your sexist. NO

Lol are you ok?

I actually did try to watch it(as I said in the thread) and sorry if it bothers you but it ain’t my cup of tea. The skill level doesn’t belong on prime time TV imo

If you want to say I require lofty levels then all power to you and possibly I do but why is that not permissible? I won’t watch sub par apparently TOP LEVEL ELITE sport of any description.

I struggle to watch the ALeague and NBL due to its inferior level but no one will make an issue of that will they?

 

[MYOB]

I struggle to watch the ALeague and NBL due to its inferior level but no one will make an issue of that will they?

How many threads to do start about those sports

 

[Mattdougie]

How many threads to do start about those sports

Have a great night

 

[MYOB]

Lol are you ok?

I actually did try to watch it(as I said in the thread) and sorry if it bothers you but it ain’t my cup of tea. The skill level doesn’t belong on prime time TV imo

300,000 viewers would suggest it does