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March 26, 2005
Liberty and sexuality
"It would be completely ignoring the obvious to not acknowledge that many women's hoops fans, who normally would be quite pleased with such an underdog's success, are feeling ambivalent about this one." Indeed it would. I watched Liberty's victory over DePaul. It was impressive; the players were impressive; and then came the post-game interviews. Coach: It was all God's doing. Players: it was all God's doing.
Well, I'm glad to know who God has picked in his women's NCAA brackets. I just wish I knew how to feel about his team. I'd like to like them, but—. But. "But let's be realistic: There is no "separating" Liberty and Falwell," Mechelle Voepel says.
Voepel continues, "This surprise Sweet 16 team does warrant discussion about some fascinating but not often openly acknowledged sociological aspects about women's basketball. Including the diversity of the fan base." Friends and neighbors, right there on ESPN.go.com, she's talking about—gasp!—lesbians.
So here we are with Liberty: A school founded by someone who has regularly denounced gay people and feminists (both of whom are a significant part of women's basketball) is also a school that's supportive of women's sport programs and has been the women's hoops powerhouse of the Big South conference for nearly a decade.
Now I know how to feel about Liberty's winning streak. I'm crazy about it. Because Liberty's wins get some conversations—public conversations—going that need to get going. And I'm not talking about religion in American life (though that's part of Voepel's article) but about sports and sexuality. The U.S. sports fantasy is one very much tied up with normative heterosexuality. To acknowledge that players and fans may not themselves actually participate in that fantasy is to put a chink in its armor. Thanks, Mechelle, for taking up a chisel.
4:30 p.m. update: LSU disassembled Liberty, 90-48. Nobody in this household wept, nor did we stick around to see what Falwell & Co.'s post-game comments might be. Why enrage oneself unnecessarily?
Posted by senioritis at March 26, 2005 05:59 AM