Cars for male, not for female, British Olympians

After the issue of discrimination of British Paralympics gold medal winners compared to their Olympic counterparts … now, discrimination of British Olympics women.

This video from the USA is called Gender discrimination in sports.

By Alexandra Morgan, Women’s Views on News co-editor, about Britain:

BMW gives cars to male rowers but not female rowers

Posted on 13 August 2012

A row over sexism has broken out on Twitter, after it emerged that 12 male Olympic rowers, including silver medallists Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase, had received BMW cars, while the female rowers had not.

Maybe the BMW fat cat bosses agree with the Saudi Arabian absolute monarchy that women should not drive cars.

After all, BMW bosses used to collaborate with Hitler, who discriminated against women as well.

While it would appear that the cars given to the Team GB athletes have been provided by individual BMW dealerships, rather than as a marketing strategy by BMW, it has still struck a nerve, particularly as this has been the most inclusive Olympics to date, with women from ever[y] country taking part for the first time.

Anna Watkins, a gold medal winner with Katherine Grainger for the women’s double sculls, was asked on Newsnight whether the men had received BMWs while female athletes had not.

Watkins confirmed: “It did work out that way, yes. It’s a bit of a coincidence because it’s the individual dealers that chose who to give the cars to, so it wasn’t any grand strategy but it did just happen that there were a dozen or so for the men and none for the girls.”

…

Concerns over sexist attitudes to women’s sport were raised last year during the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, which featured no women on the shortlist, despite strong performances from several women, including swimmers Keri-Anne Payne and Rebecca Adlington.

The BMW story is likely to reignite this debate, especially as the GB women have performed so well at London 2012, taking home a huge number of medals.

The BMW sponsorship deal involves 150 athletes being given 2-year leases of either BMWs or Minis. BMW claims that the selection of most of the athletes was made prior to the London 2012 games and is not related to performance, but there have still been claims of misogyny levelled at BMW, and calls for the women rowers to also receive BMWs like their male counterparts.

From the BBC:

13 August 2012 Last updated at 15:29 GMT

Japan’s women footballers get Olympic flight upgrades

The Japanese women’s football team was upgraded to business class on its flight home from the Olympics, Japan’s football association has confirmed.

Team members had complained they had flown economy class to London while the men’s team sat in the business cabin.

The women’s team returned on Saturday from Britain after losing in the Olympic final to the US.

The Japan Football Association said the women had their flights upgraded because they won the silver medal.

The men’s team came home empty-handed.

The Associated Press news agency quoted the JFA as saying the men’s team had flown business class to London because they were professionals.

But after both teams arrived in London, members of the women’s squad had complained they had been treated unequally.

When the modern Olympics were first conceived, they were intended as a peaceful alternative to war. The nations of the world were supposed to lay down their arms and stop fighting during the games out of respect for the Olympic ideal. That, of course has not happened: here.

BP’s Olympic Ads Seek To Erase Oil Spill From Memory: here.

A successful Freedom of Information request has revealed that additional public costs of hosting the Olympics Games in London are close to £24 billion: here.

The spectacle of the 2012 London Olympics should be subtitled “The Bashing of the Chinese Athlete”: here.