And while these attitudes persist, there is more work to be done to ensure women’s sport is taken as seriously as men’s sport – and more broadly that girls and women are taken as seriously as boys and men.
It only takes a quick perusal of the comments sections of news websites and social media channels when articles are posted about women’s sport to see “jokes” like Sheargold’s rear their head multiple times.
By putting the Matildas into the realm of “girls”, Sheargold was trying to – whether consciously or unconsciously – take away the little power they had earned after dragging women’s sport into the spotlight.
As Melbourne AFLW player Saraid Taylor noted on Instagram, year 10 is when girls are around 15 years old, which is precisely the age when many girls stop playing sport.
There was a sense – particularly after the success of the Women’s World Cup on home soil in 2023 – that women’s sport had finally overcome the last of its barriers.
