In late June the 100th Tour de France kicked off in Corsica for its epic 2,000 mile journey
and I noticed something. Got any guesses? It's all dudes. For that reason the most famous
cycling race in the world will kick off my list of the ten sporting events where you
are least likely to see a woman compete. So put on your gender inequity referee uniforms
and come along.
So first up we have as I mentioned le Tour de France. Now there used to be the Tour de
France feminine later changed to le Grande Boucle, pardon my terrible French pronunciation,
which were the women's equivalents of the Tour de France. They didn't go the exact same
route as the Tour de France, they weren't quite as long because the UCI which is the
international governing body of professional cycling does not even allow women cyclists
tor ride for as long of distances as it does for male cyclists. Apparently if we pedal
too far our uteruses might fall off. In the eighties and nineties though the Tour de France
Feminine was a pretty close equivalent to the Tour de France but then the Tour de France
actually sued the Tour de France Feminine for trademark infringement which totally undercut
sponsorship dollars leaving the race with very little funding which is one reason why
it piddled out for good in 2009. Next up on our list let's go to a more obvious major
sporting event where you're not going to see any women and that is the World Series of
baseball here in the United States. And folks, don't get me wrong. I love baseball. I'm a
fan of the Atlanta Braves. There is no female equivalent to women's professional baseball.
Now from 1999 to 2004 there was something called the Women's World Series which took
place among a few teams, most notably from the US and Japan but it's nowhere near as
popular obviously as the Men's World Series of Baseball and it was a pretty short-lived
thing. Women's professional baseball though is probably never going to happen because
people say time and time again you have an equivalent and it's called softball, even
though those are two completely different games. Next up we have probably most obvious
on our list which is the SuperBowl, which for me is a night dedicated to the eating
of snacks so for that I enjoy it. But when it comes to women's participation the SuperBowl
gets a big ole thumbs down because there is no such thing as the women's NFL. In 1999
there was something started up called the Women's Professional Football League and it
had two teams: the Michigan Minx and the Minnesota Vixens. Come on. And I'm going to start up
a team called the Houston Harlots, San Diego Sluts, the Detroit D-cups. The Vixens are
going to be taken really seriously although I will say speaking of being taken seriously
you know the one aspect of women's professional football that is being taken seriously money-wise?
The lingerie league. Slow clap for the world being terrible sometimes. Now put on your
ice-skates for the next one because we're talking about the Stanley Cup. Now the New
York Times does report that the Canadian Women's Hockey League which is about six years old
is the closest equivalent to a pro league for ladies who want to play hockey, but get
this: it's a non-profit organization and the players don't even get paid. Fun fact though,
there are 12 women's names engraved on the Stanley Cup but of course they're not the
names of women players. That'd be crazy. No those are the names of female team presidents,
team owners and NHL administrators. Let's take a break for a little bit of good news
at the Olympics. They Olympic Women's Boxing which was up until the 2012 London games the
very last male only sport in the Summer Olympics. For a name drop, Claressa Shields who is one
tough lady bought home the gold for the US in those inaugural women's boxing events.
But just to get an idea of just how uncomfortable we have been with women boxing on a pro level,
until 1996 Great Britain had a ban on women's pro boxing. And until 1993 USA boxing had
a male only policy. So at least we have some good news that the Olympics are paving the
way for women's boxing to get more recognition on the international stage. Now for number
six we're switching from the summer Olympics to the Winter Olympics for the ski jump because
in 2014 women will be allowed in the ski jump for the very first time. So why has it taken
so long for women to compete in ski jumping? Well, there have been some weird notions about
what the event might do to the female form. In 2005 the then president of the International
Ski Federation told an NPR reporter, ski jumping quote, 'Seems not to be appropriate for ladies
from a medical point of view.' What does that even mean. If you reach a certain elevation
your boobs explode. The fact we can fly in airplanes should be baffling to this man.
In 2010 women ski jumpers actually did sue to jump in the Vancouver games and the case
went all the way up to the Canadian Supreme Court but the Canadian Supreme Court just
said, eh, we don't want to hear this case eh? But thankfully in 2014 finally women will
get to ski jump in the Olympics. It's the little things. And side note though speaking
of gender and the Olympics while women are now allowed to compete in all of the sports
there are two that remain female only: Synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. Sports discrimination,
goes both ways. Now next up we have a trio of horse related events which is pretty ironic
considering the stereotype that all girls are really obsessed with horses. But if they
grow up and want to ride that horse on a polo field well they might be able to play professionally
but they will not be able to compete in the top tier events which happen usually in Argentina.
Ranked by National Geographic as one of the top ten athletic events in the world, the
Argentine Polo Open Championship is not for women. This event has been happening since
1893 and there has yet to be a woman on a competing team, as far as I could tell. Now
people if you know any different let me know but according to my research, no women on
those horsies. Let's go over the pond to the Grand National which is like Great Britain's
Kentucky Derby and female jockeys are rare indeed to find. In 1977 Charlotte Brew became
the very first female jockey to ride in the Grand National and there have only been eight
total who have ever ridden since then. A female jockey has yet to win but in 2012 Katie Walsh
did come in third overall in the Grand National so male jockeys watch out because the ladies
are galloping up behind you. Now second to last on our list is the Kentucky Derby which
kind of like the Grand National does not bar female jockeys from riding but female jockeys
have simply been a rare breed even though Rosie Naprovnic this year, only a couple of
months ago came in fifth overall so as with the Grand National female jockeys are starting
to make a big name for themselves and I have a feeling that we're going to see a female
jockey win either the Grand National or the Kentucky Derby by 2020. That's my prediction.
I'll make a bet, find me in seven years and if I didn't win, I'll pay up. Set the terms
of the bet in the comments. And finally number ten is Formula One race and I saved Formula
One for last because not only have very few women competed in this top tier auto racing
event where the cars zoom around the track at up to 220 miles per hour, but because it
has been notorious for having a sexist culture. Recently a guy named Sir Sterling Moss who
made a huge name for himself as a famous Formula One racer made a statement that women simply
don't have the mental capacity to drive in Formula One, that is why we haven't been doing
it. We can't handle speeds and stress, spontaneously have our periods. So clearly Moss definitely
gotten a lot of flack in the press for it and has led some people to publicly come out
and say that Formula One does need more women. Basically Formula One needs it's Danicka Patricks.
Plural. So there you have it the ten major sporting events where you are least likely
to see a woman competing or that has been traditionally male only or does not have a
female equivalent. Lots of qualifiers in compiling this list which is why I want to know from
you did I leave anything out, leave them in the comments. Are there any female big name
sporting events that men are not allowed to participate in. I want to hear about those
as well. Comment. Let me know your thoughts, do you think it even matters? Do you think
it's a big deal at all that women for instance can't ride in the Tour de France? I think
that's kind of crazy. I think that they should let anyone who can bike 2,000 miles ride it
if they can compete and get there. I feel like I should end with a sports pun so hope
this video was a homerun. And not a strikeout.