And where does that start?
The locker rooms. Yep you heard me. If you ask any young female hockey player about what gives them the most anxiety I can guarantee you they'll say, "trying to find the girls locker room."
Usually that involves going to the front desk at the rink and asking where the girls locker room is at. Then that person may or may not know if they even have a girls locker room at their rink. The girls will need GPS then to find the locker room as it is usually 3 rinks away in the basement and it used to be a broom closet that is now converted into a "girls locker room." They may or may not need a key attached to a tire to open it or they may or may not need to remember a 16 digit key pad code.
Am I exaggerating? Yes, some. But not as much as you think I am. Now imagine how that would make you feel. To be in a locker room far away from your team and usually with the opposing teams female players.
Really this is an easy fix. Require all players to come on a base layer and put them in the same locker room. Female athletes need to be treated as athletes and to stop having their lady parts being a source of "uncomfortableness."
If this is not an option, then the other easy fix would be to put effort into creating a space for females that is next to their male counterparts. Cut the current locker rooms in half with a divider and have a make and female side where they can still hear and talk to each other.
This is something that is huge for our daughter. She wants to be in the locker room with her team regardless of gender. She was kicked out of the locker room essentially because she has a boobs and that made the other parents uncomfortable.
We can do better. We have to do better.
Note: Statistics show that breaking down these barriers helps to reduce violence against women.
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