chapotraphouse

There is a lot of unexamined in this thread.

I'm not defending the use of the term "sportsball", of course its cringe its from like over 10 years ago. And there is nothing inherently wrong with sports, playing sports, or watching sports. They can be fun.

For me personally, i grew up hating sports, because i had no real interest in them yet they were used by society to police gender. I hated and resented that sports were what i was "supposed" to like, expected to like, and maligned for just not liking. I was not allowed to "just enjoy things", what i liked was stupid, a waste of time.

What I really hate and am upset by is the patriarchy of course, not sports themselves. I recognized that now that I'm older. As i kid, i only understood it as hating sports. But while i can delineate between the two, its also impossible not to notice how bound up sports, patriarchy, an gender policing are.

I think its important to keep that in mind when someone dislikes sports and criticizes its manistream and hemegonic acceptance as the default male gendered interest. Its not just a hobby, its bound up in America's enforcement of gender.

I hope its not as extreme as when i was younger, but i doubt it has gone away entirely. Either way, its pretty depressing to see dissmissive takes in this thread and not seeing any expression of self crit on these issues