If you’ve been a fan of RAINE Clothing for a while, chances are you’re likely already aware of how passionate we are about fostering an inclusive, welcoming community of eco-friendly, sustainable clothing fans and sportswear enthusiasts; it’s for this reason that we work so hard to try and educate on all the different aspects of living an eco-friendly lifestyle, and why we go out of our way to ensure we have a diverse range of RAINE Clothing athletes that we work with, too.
That’s why International Women’s Day is so important to us, and why we knew we had to get involved with this years’ theme, especially – #BreakTheBias!
This year, we asked some of our incredible female athletes to share what biases or prejudices they’ve faced during their time within the sporting world, and what exactly this years’ theme of #BreakTheBias means to them. When it comes to this incredibly important subject, we think some of their experiences and quotes speak for themselves!
What our female athletes had to say about #BreakTheBias this International Women’s Day
We managed to get quotes from two of our incredible female athletes who practice BJJ, MMA, or both
First up, we spoke to Sophie B, one of our women’s MMA and BJJ athletes, who felt that her gender could, in some spaces, be an issue in and of itself, including creating barriers to how she could train:
“I have experienced prejudice in the past, simply because of my gender. I often find males avoid me when it comes to getting a partner or rolling. Breaking the bias this International Women’s Day means to me that we need to find a way for women to enter BJJ or MMA and make sure they can feel comfortable in it. I do feel like some males in these spaces can look down on women when it comes to training or practice, too, because they think we might actually be incapable of giving them competitive rounds.”
Unfortunately, Sophie’s experience isn’t unique – a lot of individuals who identify as female within this space do tend to feel as though they’re not taken seriously or not chosen for practice or rolling.
Next up, we spoke to Sophia Wilding, one of our BJJ athletes who was keen to help by sharing her experience within the space:
“Breaking the bias to me is a chance for equality to change the stigma that BJJ is simply ‘a male dominated sport’. Instead, we need to see it as a sport for all who choose to invest time, effort and hard work into it. It would be great to also see just as many female headliners and promotions as men and just as many opportunities for women who feel like no doors are opening for them, despite having the necessary skills and talent.”
Sophia is keen to see some changes to how women’s spaces in BJJ are being amplified and supported, and we have to agree that we’re hoping to see more women feeling like they can join the BJJ space.
We’re glad to have been able to share some experiences of some of the incredible women we work with at RAINE Clothing, this International Women’s Day, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can all #BreakTheBias!
Make sure to sound off in the comments below!
