hucksplat
Member
this is in reference to the Freeski Super Fling having equal purses for the mens and womens events.
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to be honest, i'm not very down with equal prize money for men and women yet. couple reasons:
1. the female level of skiing isn't as high. yes you girls are progressive, but i personally don't think female skiing has matured to the point of being worthy of equal prizing yet. in the future? yes, but not yet. the technical degree of difficulty is unequal, nor is the level of progression (maybe, maybe not, chicks have been impressing me, that point is iffy). but it comes down to spectator interest and though girls still rock the crowd, we both know who lures the crowd in, who gets the bigger cheers, and why. sorry.
2. demographics, although the alpine ski industry is still fairly split between the genders, the freeski segment is not. there are more men in the freeski market, men spend more and men constitute the larger market: dollars and spending. also meaning there aren't as many girls watching the girls comp as there are men watching the mens comp (not that they are mutually exclusive). the men are the larger market segment and consequentially need a larger marketing budget (and a comp is pretty much a marketing tool). when there is equal interest and demand for womens skiing and equipment, then match prizes
3. participation is almost always several multiples larger for the men than the women; meaning men generate more reg fees (that in part subsidizes the women) and the men face a larger and stiffer competition field. they should be rewarded on both accounts.
now i like to think i'm not a sexist. frankly i'm super down with chicks ripping and i think they kickin ass and progressing phenomenally over the last few years. nevertheless, a large but unequal female purse will still continue to progress womens skiing, whereas an equal purse marginalizes the men; it's good to see financial encouragement for more chicks to rip but pay should be based on performance. at the moment, i feel that the female level of skiing, the degree of competition, and quantity of interest are not yet sufficient to generate equal prizing. in the future, women may command equal or greater market presense to the men, but currently the equal prizing system burdens the prizing of the men.
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call me a chauvinist if you will, but i think my logic is sound. equality between the genders is all good, but when there are obvious discrepancies present, to pretend they don't exist and ignore them is equally ignorant as gender stereotyping or pure chauvinism (which can be BOTH male and female).
on a personal note, i believe that gender equality has for the most part been achieved (though there are still certain barriers to women in certain fields, as there remain certain to men). however, i feel that feminists have abused the gender equality movement and leveraged it to position themselves ahead of men in numerous settings (divorce, executive representation, etc). similar to my beef with racial diversification with university entrances, i believe that performance should be the ultimate determinor of status, not the color of your skin nor a persons gender. to allow otherwise is only to allow the perpetuity of segregation/categorization of people based upon physical attributes; which is contrary to the entire equality movement. either we live in a society where race, sex, and orientation are irrelevant; or we live in a society where those attributes serve as factors of judgement and discrimination shall continue.
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"i'm not racist. i hate everyone equally."
-anonymous in response to 'why does racism exist?' *no not me*
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to be honest, i'm not very down with equal prize money for men and women yet. couple reasons:
1. the female level of skiing isn't as high. yes you girls are progressive, but i personally don't think female skiing has matured to the point of being worthy of equal prizing yet. in the future? yes, but not yet. the technical degree of difficulty is unequal, nor is the level of progression (maybe, maybe not, chicks have been impressing me, that point is iffy). but it comes down to spectator interest and though girls still rock the crowd, we both know who lures the crowd in, who gets the bigger cheers, and why. sorry.
2. demographics, although the alpine ski industry is still fairly split between the genders, the freeski segment is not. there are more men in the freeski market, men spend more and men constitute the larger market: dollars and spending. also meaning there aren't as many girls watching the girls comp as there are men watching the mens comp (not that they are mutually exclusive). the men are the larger market segment and consequentially need a larger marketing budget (and a comp is pretty much a marketing tool). when there is equal interest and demand for womens skiing and equipment, then match prizes
3. participation is almost always several multiples larger for the men than the women; meaning men generate more reg fees (that in part subsidizes the women) and the men face a larger and stiffer competition field. they should be rewarded on both accounts.
now i like to think i'm not a sexist. frankly i'm super down with chicks ripping and i think they kickin ass and progressing phenomenally over the last few years. nevertheless, a large but unequal female purse will still continue to progress womens skiing, whereas an equal purse marginalizes the men; it's good to see financial encouragement for more chicks to rip but pay should be based on performance. at the moment, i feel that the female level of skiing, the degree of competition, and quantity of interest are not yet sufficient to generate equal prizing. in the future, women may command equal or greater market presense to the men, but currently the equal prizing system burdens the prizing of the men.
-------------
call me a chauvinist if you will, but i think my logic is sound. equality between the genders is all good, but when there are obvious discrepancies present, to pretend they don't exist and ignore them is equally ignorant as gender stereotyping or pure chauvinism (which can be BOTH male and female).
on a personal note, i believe that gender equality has for the most part been achieved (though there are still certain barriers to women in certain fields, as there remain certain to men). however, i feel that feminists have abused the gender equality movement and leveraged it to position themselves ahead of men in numerous settings (divorce, executive representation, etc). similar to my beef with racial diversification with university entrances, i believe that performance should be the ultimate determinor of status, not the color of your skin nor a persons gender. to allow otherwise is only to allow the perpetuity of segregation/categorization of people based upon physical attributes; which is contrary to the entire equality movement. either we live in a society where race, sex, and orientation are irrelevant; or we live in a society where those attributes serve as factors of judgement and discrimination shall continue.
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"i'm not racist. i hate everyone equally."
-anonymous in response to 'why does racism exist?' *no not me*
