Prepare thyself for a broken record.
Ok, ready?
Why are all mascots male? I know, I know, the feminist rage, it's like always here. Sorry. This is, apparently, my cross to bear. But seriously, there are no wacky-colored, felt-covered ladies capable of leading festive crowd nonsense?
I grew up in Kansas City, home to a bevy of male mascots. The Chiefs have KC Wolf, the Royals have Slugger, the Blades had...a chipmunk? I think it's name was Chilly? I don't think the struggling minor league hockey team had big mascot priorities.
A quick Wikipedia search produces a list of the mascots in your American professional sport of choice. Practically every team in the NFL has a mascot. The overwhelming majority are male. If their name doesn't specifically denote them as male (Sir Purr, Freddie Falcon) their physical representation is pretty clearly supposed to a guy. I understand that many of the mascots are dressed the same as the players on the team (see Blitz, Swoop, Big Red) and all of those players are male (Of course, whatever, I don't have time right now). Is it ok that the mascot is only representative of the members of the team? Or are mascots more about the fans? Certainly kids don't care whether the giant, colorful animal is a boy or a girl. Right? Should they? They just want a hug and their picture with it. It.
Sure, a lot of the mascots in pro sports are technically gender-less, but even some women's sports have male mascots. Meet Freddie Fever and Sky Guy. (blargh) To be fair, the WNBA also has Maddie. Why is female fandom's only representation so often cheerleaders? Male fans are either dedicated and serious or the life of the party. Female fans have one speed: cute. Marketing folks for American professional sports have only recently taken note of the fact that including women as fans means more than selling replica jerseys in pink.
I was pretty pumped to find out that the Pawtucket Red Sox have two mascots, one male and one female. Sox is a white bear who wears a blue baseball jersey, red skirt, giant tennis shoes, and a visor. She has exaggerated eye lashes, but those and the skirt are really the only differences between her and the male mascot, Paws. Kudos, Pawtucket. Way to make an effort.
Next time I'll rant about gender specific team names. Lady Broncos? Seriously? I'm looking at you, Lee's Summit North.
Know of other female mascots? I'd love to know about them!
Ok, ready?
Why are all mascots male? I know, I know, the feminist rage, it's like always here. Sorry. This is, apparently, my cross to bear. But seriously, there are no wacky-colored, felt-covered ladies capable of leading festive crowd nonsense?
I grew up in Kansas City, home to a bevy of male mascots. The Chiefs have KC Wolf, the Royals have Slugger, the Blades had...a chipmunk? I think it's name was Chilly? I don't think the struggling minor league hockey team had big mascot priorities.
A quick Wikipedia search produces a list of the mascots in your American professional sport of choice. Practically every team in the NFL has a mascot. The overwhelming majority are male. If their name doesn't specifically denote them as male (Sir Purr, Freddie Falcon) their physical representation is pretty clearly supposed to a guy. I understand that many of the mascots are dressed the same as the players on the team (see Blitz, Swoop, Big Red) and all of those players are male (Of course, whatever, I don't have time right now). Is it ok that the mascot is only representative of the members of the team? Or are mascots more about the fans? Certainly kids don't care whether the giant, colorful animal is a boy or a girl. Right? Should they? They just want a hug and their picture with it. It.
Sure, a lot of the mascots in pro sports are technically gender-less, but even some women's sports have male mascots. Meet Freddie Fever and Sky Guy. (blargh) To be fair, the WNBA also has Maddie. Why is female fandom's only representation so often cheerleaders? Male fans are either dedicated and serious or the life of the party. Female fans have one speed: cute. Marketing folks for American professional sports have only recently taken note of the fact that including women as fans means more than selling replica jerseys in pink.
I was pretty pumped to find out that the Pawtucket Red Sox have two mascots, one male and one female. Sox is a white bear who wears a blue baseball jersey, red skirt, giant tennis shoes, and a visor. She has exaggerated eye lashes, but those and the skirt are really the only differences between her and the male mascot, Paws. Kudos, Pawtucket. Way to make an effort.
Next time I'll rant about gender specific team names. Lady Broncos? Seriously? I'm looking at you, Lee's Summit North.
Know of other female mascots? I'd love to know about them!