Women's basketball and sumo

When Fred comes back from the states, he always has new stories about the changes in America. We were sitting in a bar watching sumo when Fred suddenly wondered when we would see women's sumo wrestling on mainstream television. I was unaware that women's sumo wrestling had enough wrestlers, sufficient popularity, or adequate sponsorship to exist as anything more than a niche sport, let alone make it to mainstream television.

After I said that to Fred, he waved away my lack of awareness and started talking about seeing women's college ball on television his last trip to the states. "So, I went out with some friends for a drink. The television was on and there was a college ball game on. Nothing new about that. The television was a little far away and I couldn't see it too clearly but looking at it a second time, something did look a little different. I finally realized that it was women's college ball. Staring at the television, I said, 'Wow! Women's college ball on mainstream television in a bar. What a mindblower!"

I knew that more culture confrontation was coming and so I waited, Fred continued, "So, the guy sitting next to me at the bar, I have no idea who he is, turns to me and asks, 'Are you a sexist?'"

I just couldn't picture anyone thinking Fred was a sexist. Bay Area born and bred, thinking of men and women as equals, Fred was as far from a sexist as you were likely to find these days. I waited, eager to hear what Fred responded. "I was about to reply when Maura jumped in. She turned to the guy and said, 'He sees something new, he expresses surprise, and the only think you can do is ask if he is sexist? Did it ever occur to you to get some more information before asking such a rude question? For example, have you never seen women's college ball on television before? Or you don't watch much television?' The guy mumbled something and slunk away. Not too much you can say to Maura when she gets rolling."

I smiled at the very thought and answered Fred, "So, you are saying that women's college ball, which used to never be on television, is now regular established television fare?"

"That's right." Fred replied and he continued, "I don't know how long women's college ball has been on television, but when I left the states only men's college ball was on television. If you had asked me about women's college ball on television then, I wouldn't have been able to see it. In retrospect, it is perfectly clear that Title IX set the stage for all of this. The big question is how long this process will take in Japan."

I paused to think about that, but Fred did not. He continued, "Obviously, this process will take a long time. The changes of the 1960s in the states set the stage for Title IX. Japan may be talking a lot about gender equality and there may be a lot of new laws and rules, but I am not seeing much in the way of penalties. Rules, regulations, and laws without penalties do not create quick progress. I remember help wanted adds in Japan in the 1990s divided according to male and female. Well, we don't see that anymore, but employers still hire males for certain jobs and females for certain jobs."

Fred was right. It would be a long time before we saw women's sumo develop into a major sport, but the seeds may be being planted now. When Title IX was passed, in 1972, who would have dreamed of women's college ball on television? Now, in 2008, who would dream of women's sumo on Japanese television? The future sometimes brings incredible changes. From Title IX to today has been almost 40 years. Japan has not yet had it's own Title IX, but Japan does not work that way. Perhaps the Japanese are in the equivalent of our 1972. We will have to wait and see what the next 40 years hold in Japan for women's sumo and other women's sports.