Women in Wrestling

I found both an online article and a recorded piece about a young woman who is finishing her high school career as a wrestler, preparing to begin at Harvard, and hoping to enter into Harvard's wrestling club.

Julia Ernst, a senior a Georgetown Day, recently broke her school's record for wins in wrestling.  Wrestling is certainly a sport dominated by males, so I found it not only inspiring, but interesting to hear about the struggles Ernst has faced as a female opponent. 

Fellow team captain Armand Harvey said, “When people make comments about her, I think that they’re looking at her aesthetically. They’re not really looking at her as an athletic peer. That definitely gets to us, but the role is reversed when she ends up pinning the kid. Then it’s pretty different.”

Not only has she had to struggle with the perceptions others have of her, but she has gotten a glimpse into how far both parents and peers can take their discomfort out on her opponents.  In the video interview she mentions how some parents scold and yell at their children for losing to a girl, reportedly one school’s team captain quit after losing to her, and other opponents have experienced bullying.

I think this is a pretty cool young woman to read and hear about.  Some great points are brought up and it provides an interesting look into the struggles that girls and women face when they step into boxes previously only occupied by males.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/03/08/unguarded-foreman-female-wrestler.cnn.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/a-woman-among-boys-georgetown-days-julia-ernst-succeeds-as-a-female-wrestler/2014/02/12/8c2d2564-92c7-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html