"Throwing Like a Girl"
From reviewing James Fallows article concerning the common phrase of "throwing like a girl" I see that this phrase is much more common that I thought. Reviewing the World Series back in in 1994, when Bill Clinton attended Cleveland and threw a ceremonial pitch as did Hillary the same day in Chicago at a Cubs game. Many papers published the photos the next day and saw that these two and distictly different throws.
It is rather comical to say someone "throws like a girl," but in many cases is seen as offensive to feminists as it commonly means that you are doing it wrong. Although I have never put much thought into the subject i always felt as though the phrase "like a girl" simply meant that you weren't good at something.
One particular quote set my mind straight on the whole conflict. Linda Wells who was a highly successful softball coach at Arizona State University stated, "I know many women who can throw a lot harder and better then the normal male. Its not the gender that makes the difference in how they throw." And that is exactly it, if a brother was not taught how to throw a ball and his sister was, then he would be "throwing like a girl." Because just like any new activy, everyone has to learn.
It is rather comical to say someone "throws like a girl," but in many cases is seen as offensive to feminists as it commonly means that you are doing it wrong. Although I have never put much thought into the subject i always felt as though the phrase "like a girl" simply meant that you weren't good at something.
One particular quote set my mind straight on the whole conflict. Linda Wells who was a highly successful softball coach at Arizona State University stated, "I know many women who can throw a lot harder and better then the normal male. Its not the gender that makes the difference in how they throw." And that is exactly it, if a brother was not taught how to throw a ball and his sister was, then he would be "throwing like a girl." Because just like any new activy, everyone has to learn.
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