Page 11 - Headingtonian Magazine 2017

In these situations I tend to say, “What about your daughter - how would you feel to have
that kind of a glass ceiling imposed on your own daughter?” It’s really interesting to see them stop and think about the comments they’re directing towards females on the team that they think are just funny. We’re changing things for women, and these attitudes are holding us back. We don’t want society to be like that.
At somewhere like Headington everyone does sport; it’s taken for granted. At a girls’ school, I think you just have the freedom to do whatever you want to do. When I taught at my first school, I discovered that the girls weren’t keen about participating in sport. They’re worried about their image; it’s not cool. It’s such a shame, and something we should try to change.
What are your views on the media’s portrayal of Rio’s female athletes, such as reporting on their outfits rather than their sporting achievements?
I think there is a need to accept that to a certain extent girls and boys are different in terms of how interested they are in appearance. Body image is often more important to girls and I like to be wearing nice clothes when I go the gym. In terms of encouraging more females to go into sport, if your role models look elegant, it does help. It’s not the be all and end all; clearly it’s about what they achieve and how hard they are prepared to work. But I don’t think that having elegant and glamorous females at the top level of sport is a bad thing. I think it is going to help to encourage young girls. Helen Glover, for example, is now a double Olympic champion and an absolutely exceptional athlete, but she also likes to wear nice dresses and look pretty. I think having someone like her who is obviously incredibly dedicated and determined, but also looks nice at the same time, does make more girls think “Oh, actually, I don’t need to sacrifice being feminine.” It doesn’t have to be “be feminine or do sport”. However, it should always be about your sporting achievements first.
Is there any advice that you would give to
the rowers at Headington today?
Don’t set any limits on what you want to achieve, because the good thing about rowing is that a lot of success just comes with hard work. You can overcome some physical and potentially technical shortcomings by being prepared to work harder than other people. And make sure you enjoy it!
Katie’s medal
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Photo: Andy Hopper, Daily Mail