ATENEO WOMEN’S sports have catapulted to greater heights with the help of towering female figures who have stood as a testament to their capacities in a male-dominated field. However, the sports community enacts a disesteemed separation between men and women in the industry, resulting in unwanted gender disparity. Amid the physical stipulation female athletes are subjected to in their respective leagues, they also grapple with a mental battle in sports—countering the odds of inequality and standing against gender-based biases.

Generations of female athletes were accustomed to the gender disparity and imbalance in a system that was supposed to measure skill rather than base merits on sexual identity. Braving these tides are women athletes breaking stereotypes and being unapologetically themselves.

Fighting for equality

Known for its contributions to the Philippine sports industry, the Blue and White has produced a stellar roster of female athletes who cemented their names in sports history. 

Coming into the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) league in Season 66, Cassy Tioseco (AB IS ‘07) showed that she was a force to be reckoned with in Women’s Basketball. As a forward-center, she displayed her strong athleticism in areas where the Blue Eagles needed her the most. Because of this, Tioseco further solidified her mark on the court with her back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in Season 69 and Season 70.

Alongside her individual medal tallies, Tioseco’s key contribution for the Blue and White was securing two titles in Season 68 and Season 70, including the team’s monumental first championship in the league’s history.

On the shuttlecock’s playground, Geva De Vera (BFA ID ‘21), dominated the badminton scene with her stellar performance alongside Chanelle Lunod (BS MIS ‘21). Together, they led the Blue Eagles in ending the Ateneo Women’s Badminton title drought, banking the back-to-back championships in Season 81 and 82, and the co-MVP award in the same season.

Apart from De Vera’s contributions for the Blue and White, she was also previously part of the National Team from 2012 to 2018, landing her the opportunity to compete in the 2020 Southeast Asian Games (SEA) Games.

While their list of accolades position them as a hallmark of excellence in their respective sports, these successful athletes demonstrate their femininity despite the presence of various challenges that stem from their sexual orientation. Central to these obstacles is the pervasive societal perception of women athletes, which engenders substantial inequality, particularly support.

Tioseco’s experience underscores such reality, as she elucidates how the Philippines perceives basketball with high regard only as a male-dominated sport, serving as a foundational factor in the hurdles faced by women teams. Concrete examples would be how women teams constantly had to adjust to their male counterparts, such as working around their practice schedule. Television coverage was also limited to the finals matchup, and jerseys in the national team were men-sized that required alterations to fit women.

Similarly, De Vera expresses how the challenge was to transform people’s ideas that the women’s team is just as capable of reaching heights as men in sports. Moreover, she highlights how doing the work and showing the effort amid the physical demands her sport requires was the challenge. The most difficult part, however, was proving herself. She also notes that the disparity is felt especially when one is in an uncommon sport in the women’s category and how she had to face and deal with body shaming.

Despite these formidable challenges, Tioseco and De Vera were at the forefront of surmounting these barriers.

Breaking boundaries

Overcoming the obstacles that Tioseco and De Vera were subjected to was more of a mental game. Daring to grace through such challenges, these renowned female athletes rose beyond their limits and let their games speak for themselves. Their drive toward achieving the roster of female athletes that Ateneo has today stemmed from unapologetically embracing their identities as women.

Even in the age of social media, the sports community’s presence in various online platforms played a pivotal role in prevailing over and building up these challenges. Through an accessible avenue, athletes are openly given a rostrum to share their stories. However, these channels also became a window for gender-based biases, such as body shaming and stereotyping. Amid the clamor, how these women stood tall against them was very telling of their impulsion of breaking boundaries. “Take criticism and improve yourself. Take what you need and discard noise,”  De Vera acclaims.

Driven by their passions to create a difference in the industry, these female athletes stand as a testament to a new generation of women in Ateneo sports. Braving the odds and presenting themselves as role models have paved the way for Tioseco and De Vera to create change, not just in the current generation of female athletes but in succeeding ones as well.

For instance, in the present generation of female athletes, Kacey dela Rosa (2 AB IS) is making a name for herself. She dominated the stat sheet with her all-around play in just her first two seasons with Ateneo.

In Season 85, her stellar performance earned her the coveted Rookie of the Year and a Mythical Five citation. The next season, she played to even greater heights, leading the Blue Eagles to their second consecutive Final Four appearance and clinching MVP honors—the first for Ateneo since Tioseco in 2007. 

Despite her remarkable skills, the specter of inequality remains prevalent: Dela Rosa notes the low attendance numbers in women’s basketball games compared to the men’s division, highlighting the prevailing view that basketball is a men’s sport. 

Opening opportunities 

The challenge of working around an androcentric ideology of sports entails acknowledging its roots in patriarchal society. Both generations of female athletes exhibit the same challenge of lacking media exposure.

While this male-centric view continues to prevail, today’s women in sports remain headstrong with bridging the gender gap in the industry. Despite the present hurdles women athletes continue to face, gradual yet noteworthy changes like increasing media exposure have been made to foster an environment where women are progressively gaining parity with male athletes. 

Empowering the roster of women athletes in the current generation was the result of the increased female representation and recognition in the media, along with the expansion of opportunities for female athletes.

Granted that there are small-scale changes evident in the sports community, there still lies room for growth for the fans. The key elements in bridging the gap between men and women in Ateneo sports are improving our perspective, taking up space in society, increasing female exposure in the media, and empowering women. “Love the sport for the skill, not for who’s playing it,” Tioseco says.

The sports community serves as a microcosm of the patriarchal values persistent in society. These deeply ingrained and often unquestioned practices not only perpetuate but also reinforce societal norms. Despite the disfiguration of women’s capacities in sports, followers must hold the responsibility of countering the odds of gender inequality.