Abby Bergman ‘18
Contributing Writer
One of the most famous head-to-head matchups in the history of sports was, arguably, the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between tennis stars Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs on Sept. 20, 1973.
Leading up to the big match, Riggs repeatedly disparaged women’s tennis and bragged that he could beat any current women’s tennis star, despite his retirement from the sport. King finally accepted and the two athletes met for an exhibition match that attracted around 90 million television viewers. 30,000 people were in attendance at the Houston Astrodome when King beat Riggs by winning all three sets.
Last week, Fox Searchlight Pictures released a film depicting this historic match, starring Emma Stone as King and Steve Carell as Riggs.
Although the events of the film took place 44 years ago this month, the themes of male arrogance and gender inequality are still relevant today.
An article published in the New York Daily News the day after the historic match proclaimed that “Billie Jean King freed all the women in chains.” However, even today female athletes are not granted the same credit or opportunities as their male counterparts.
One current example from sports is the pay disparity between the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams. Though the women’s team boasts a much better international record than the men’s team, they are still paid far less annually.
In 2016, several players finally submitted an official complaint about this apparent discrimination, citing their win record and revenue as a basis. Recently an agreement was reached that narrowed the pay gap but did not eliminate it altogether.
Forty-four years after Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, female athletes are still fighting for equal recognition despite superior performance.
Sports are not the only avenue where women are still facing an uphill battle for equality. In the technology sector, reports continue to emerge highlighting blatant workplace sexual and gender discrimination.
Just as Riggs made clear his chauvinistic beliefs when he famously declared that “Women’s tennis is so far beneath Men’s tennis,” current discriminatory practices throughout Silicon Valley underscore the need for even more progress.
Ideally, the “Battle of the Sexes” film should reflect back on outdated practices and highlight the progress of the intervening years.
However, the current culture of blatant and underlying sexism makes it almost seem like this historic showdown occurred just yesterday. Rather than looking at the film’s themes as those of a far gone era, the American public must recognize that these are very much the themes of today.
Instead of asking why this is still occurring after all these years, the public must ask how much longer we will allow this culture of discrimination to continue.
