The idea of sport has always held male connotations, with many sports being male-dominated or even entirely in the male domain. But many women have recently started participating in traditionally “masculine” sports, with some even competing at the same level as their male counterparts.
Every Sunday, Pam Ewen has the same routine. Upon arriving at the shooting range, she pulls out her hooped earrings; ties back her hair and lies motionless behind a rifle, waiting for the target to appear. For the last five years, ever since she started her rifle hobby, it goes without saying that her false fingernails have been thrown in the bin.
“I love to shoot,” Ewen says. “It’s not a normal hobby for a woman but I fell in love with it, although I end up with a bruise on my shoulder and have to keep my nails short. That’s a small price to pay when you get a good score though.”
Traditionally it has been seen as “un-ladylike” for women to participate in certain sports, especially those that are primarily male-dominated. However, over the last decade women have started taking a keen interest in traditional male pursuits – and that trend is growing.
The sports experience for girls and women has grown dramatically in recent years. A variety of women involved in sports has generated attention in the media and more and more have started to actively participate in local sports groups and clubs. Sport has become an essential part of the culture for women. Health issues are always important and everyone, male or female, needs to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine.
Football is now the UK’s favourite female sport, with a 2011 Sport England Active people survey highlighting that 1.38 million women and girls up and down the country are playing the game regularly. Golf has also increased in numbers since Catherine Zeta Jones and Gerry Halliwell were pictured playing the game. Membership figures for the ladies Golf Union have increased by 65 per cent in the past 20 years.
But surprisingly, one of the fastest growing male sports that women, including me, are infiltrating is shooting. According to statistics from the National Sporting Goods Association, 3.8 million of America’s 17 million target shooters are women – and those numbers are fast increasing in the UK.
I started shooting three years ago when my godfather took me to an open day. A coach there noticed that I had a natural talent, and asked me to try out for his club, of which I have now been a member for two years. I have had a lot of support from family and friends especially when I bring home medals. This year the club, consisting of 23 men and just four women, has put together a ladies’ shooting team, and the four of us hope to compete in female rifle shooting Olympic competitions.
Norman Edwards, my coach for the 27th Rifle club Putney, has been coaching full bore rifle shooting for over 30 years. “Over the last few years the NRA UK (National Rifle Association) has had a lot of new females taking up the sport, but it is still very much male-dominated at a senior age level,” he says. “I think the shooting industry as a whole does not hold any bias at all. Target shooting is a relatively small sport compared to others and it is more concerned with keeping the sport going and encouraging everyone to get the most pleasure as possible. Males and females are both able to put up good scores.”
There isn’t much difference between the men and women’s scores or shooting ability, I myself shoot higher scores than men who have been doing it for years. The only difference on the range is women removing earrings and pinning back loose pieces of hair that could get in the way, along with the often high-pitched whoops of success.
“Females can be quicker learners than the males due to the element of strength,” Norman says. “They have to rely on kit supporting the weight of the rifle and therefore concentrate more on the sight picture and trigger release. Unconsciously, males tend to use their superior strength, which has disastrous consequences on scores.”
This is another difference between males and females: the kit. It is rather difficult to get gloves, jackets and guns to fit comfortably to the petite female form. One of my shooting teammates, Lorraine Pearson, has been looking for a shooting jacket for a while. “I would love a really nice warm padded jacket for shooting but unless you want cammo or any other variety of green it just doesn’t happen. What really angers me is when you ask if the stock comes in any other colour and they reply, ‘I suppose you want it in pink?’ No I don’t want pink, do I look like Barbie?”
Lucinda Bailey, another of my teammates, nodded in agreement recently over a glass of wine after a day’s shoot. “Personally, in such a male dominated sport I don’t want to wear anything that’s revealing, but I don’t want to look ugly either,” she says.
Pearson added: “Surely there has to be a market for more choice for us women who take on challenges and have a go at a sport which 50 years ago would be completely male. It’s about time the shooting fraternity dragged itself in to the 21st Century. Women will spend their money on these things.”
With the sudden interest in shooting shown by women, however, some shops have started to sell female jackets off the peg. G E Fulton & Son have tapped into this growing market and have started to produce jackets to fit the curves of a woman. Collin Shorthouse of Fulton’s said: “The main difference is the shape of the hips and chest; we have a man that makes them for us and adds in space for women’s curves. They are the same price as the men’s and are made from new. We sell roughly 10 male jackets to every one female but the market is slowly increasing so we keep about 10 female and 50 male jackets in stock at any one time.”
The problem that many manufacturers face is the cost and keeping up with yearly trends. Since the quantity bought is so small, to have jackets designed and transported to warehouses is not cost-effective. This is a great relief to me and my shooting buddies. It proves that males don’t cater to the female needs because they are biased or against female competition but because they don’t understand the female wants and needs and it’s not worth the money. So ladies, it seems the more of us that get involved in a male sport, the more choice we will have. If there are more of us, the sales may correlate with the demand.
There are many positive aspects to women competing in non-traditional sports. They open the door to something new and unexpected, something that may not be socially acceptable at the moment, but might be in the future. Women who are taking the plunge now are opening new opportunities in sport up for younger generations. Eventually this hard work and effort will make it easier for women to enter into sports that they typically wouldn’t have chosen and perhaps this will create more funding for women’s sports and organizations.
“I found that a whole new world opened up to me when I started shooting, it was unexpected and I didn’t think I would take it up when I went for the open day. But I’m glad I did as now I’m competing in competitions and winning medals. I also love the surprised looks I get when I tell people about my unexpected hobby. I think women should try and partake in sports and not worry about any connotations they may hold, it’s worth it,” said Ewen.
Femme Finesse 