The struggles of women through athletics

A GIF of a embarrassing throw from fugly.com

Throughout my life I have been extremely involved with athletics. The term "throwing like a girl" as stated by James Fallows in his essay is a term I have heard and been affected by for many years. James Fallows begins his argument by comparing Hillary Clinton to Bill Clinton throwing the first pitch of the season for the MLB opening days of the Cubs and Indians. One can imagine how he perceived Hillary to be through his image and text. She was a girl not wearing athletic clothing and just casually side throwing the ball. As I am a former softball player and a frequent baseball player with my neighbors I know very well that is not the right form to use. It is very intriguing to me to find out that this specific instance was where the phrase “throwing like a girl” began and was first was adopted. Who knew the first lady would create such a distinct phrase that would live on for years.

 

Image of Hillary Clinton throwing a pitch from the Chicago Tribune

What Fallows goes on to mention through his writing is that athletes gain their athletic skills through a lot of practice and muscle memory. Also, there is a chain that must all link together in order for an athlete to be at high skills. This idea is something I truly believe in. One of my close friends began playing volleyball at the age of 14 and could not hit the ball over the net and always sat the bench. Now at the age of 18 she will be attending University of South Carolina on a full ride Volleyball scholarship. This argument alone shows you just how much practice and hard work can fight the original perceptions of spectators. So, I agree very much to Fallows essay fighting that throwing like a girl is a perception that we could fight against by proving people wrong.