“Girls’ Soccer wins Regionals.”
“Girls’ Lacrosse is State bound.”
“Girls’ Badminton makes it to State.”
“Girls’ Track and Field attends State.”
These headlines are ones you may or may not have heard around our community, but it is certain that you haven’t seen them on Instagram via accounts such as “Lake Forest Barstool.”
As many sports seasons come to an exciting close, students have begun to realize that LF Barstool, followed by the majority of the student body, doesn’t have any posts of female athletes. Junior Leah Barnes, a member of the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team, voiced her opinion on the issue.
“I feel like there is a lack of information surrounding most girls’ teams at this school. An example of this is how the Girls’ Lacrosse team got absolutely no attention from LF Barstool for their recent accomplishment in making State, but there were countless posts for the boys’ team,” said Barnes.
Consequently, this causes a smaller turnout to important girls’ games all while diminishing the recognition and support that female athletes deserve. Junior Nora Sharman stresses that without social media posts for LFHS girls’ teams, she is unable to stay updated on how the team is doing, and further cannot attend the games to show her Scout spirit.
“As someone who’s not involved in sports at LFHS, I rely on accounts like LF Barstool to inform me about our sports team’s successes. However, I’m never informed about the women’s teams, making it so I’m unable to go to the games and support them. I feel like this representation of girls’ sports on social media reflects the lack of support for women’s sports in our school culture as a whole,” said Sharman.
Senior Lissy Blume, Captain of the Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse team, shared her disapproval with how LF Barstool is being run.
“I think it’s disrespectful that more often than not, the boys’ teams receive more praise and appreciation in our school when girls’ sports are doing just as well, if not better,” said Blume.
This issue, in fact, goes even further beyond just girls’ sports not receiving online recognition; overall, there seems to be a lack of diversification in terms of which sports are featured on LF Barstool.
“I wish the Boys’ Tennis team had received more recognition on the account,” said Junior Jonathon Hough, a member of the JV Boys’ Tennis team. “One of our doubles teams made it to State, yet there were no posts celebrating their success.”
Barnes also finds it disappointing that not every sport is recognized on the account.
“Being a part of a school that is so sports oriented, I think the priority should be on representing all teams and their successes instead of only valuing some over others,” said Barnes.
This issue is one that extends beyond LFHS. In professional sports, men seem to receive a lot more recognition online. The Atlantic suggested that a lot of our perceptions of how interesting women’s sports are come from the media itself.
“Men’s sports are going to seem more exciting. They have higher production values, higher-quality coverage, and higher-quality commentary. When you watch women’s sports, there are fewer camera angles, fewer cuts to shot, fewer instant replays; it’s going to seem to be a slower game, and it’s going to seem to be less exciting,” said Cooky.
Although the school year is coming to a close, we can raise our expectations for LF Barstool in the upcoming years. It is important that all of LFHS’ sports receive equal attention and recognition as all of our athletes deserve support. Not only does this help individual teams but it also creates a better image for LFHS’ athletics. Mrs. Amanda Homesheid, a Spanish teacher at LFHS, voiced her hopes for LF Barstool.
“I would love to see more equal representation of all LFHS sports so we can celebrate the accomplishments of all Scouts,” Homesheid said.
