"Women who play rugby are not from planet butch"

Raekha Prasad

We hear the voices telling women that their views, their understanding of the world, are as important as men's. We hear TV and radio stations and newspapers saying they want - need - women journalists, even if only to bump up audience or readership figures. It is a knock, then, to open the first edition of The Journalist's Handbook in the new millennium. The media quarterly is devoted entirely to the media themes and personalities of the 20th century, the centrepiece of which is a collection of profiles of journalistic heroes. There are 23. All of them are men. No Martha Gellhorn, no Katharine Graham, no Kate Adie, Katharine Whitehorn, Mary Stott, Jill Tweedie. Roll, roll, roll on the new millennium.

It's official. Women who play rugby are not from planet butch. In fact they have things in common with, well, normal women. Just look at the evidence. A survey of women rugby players has found that playing rugby does not disqualify wimmin from being seduced, being chatted up and having an ideal date; 28% said they'd want to go white water rafting and 80% said they like a GSOH. So next time you feel confused about whether women playing rugby are really women, do the ultimate gender test and see if she's interested in your oar and laughs at your jokes. How useful! How practical! How depressing. Sidelines has been sent desirable gloves. Desirable, that is, if you're dealing with your cat's litter tray, gutting fish, chopping chillies or doing housework. Yes, three pairs of household gloves without a hint of irony. And to top it off, the bumf tells us when we're scrubbing the toilet rim, these rubber monsters will protect our manicured nails and keep our hands looking young. Nice to know someone cares. Where's the chocolate?

Source Citation
"Women: Side lines." Guardian [London, England] 11 Jan. 2000