Sport in YA

 

In YA the female characters don't play sports and loathe all physical activity or they play the stereotypically 'girly' sport. And all the male characters play very masculine sports. Could it be anymore unrealistic?
So many females participate in these less 'girly' sports and so many males don't participate in these masculine sports so can never fully relate to a YA character due to this fact. For example in rugby there are around 7.2 million female players across the world and what representation is there is YA?
One line in one book. Carry on by Rainbow Rowell talks about Lucy playing rugby with the boys at Watford in one line and then it is forgotten.
But, why is the lack of representarion such a big deal? Well, YA is supposed to be the progressive genre and has  brought in more diverse characters in areas such as race and sexuality yet when it comes to sport YA is still in the misogynistic dark ages. How can that not make you angry when it is such a simple thing to change?
We need more representation of females and males in sport that are accurate. Not every boy enjoys sport and not every boy plays American Football. Some are gymnasts, divers, synchronised swimmers etc. Likewise, not every girl hates sport and not every girl is a cheerleader. Some of us are rugby players, boxers, shot putters etc. Is accurate representation really too much to ask for?

Thanks for reading this rant. What do you think of the representation of sport in YA?

Last Post: July Wrap-Up

Twitter: twitter.com/ElReadABook

Goodreads: goodreads.com/EleanorReadABook