Headlines that make you go... huh?

By LindaBeth

Scary, Isn’t She?

That’s the September 11, 2008 headline of an article about Jaime Nared, the 12 year-old basketball phenom who, back in May, was curiously kicked off of a previously mixed-gender basketball team (the league citing old rules barring coed teams) after she clearly demonstrated she was “too good” to be on the team–she makes the boys look “bad.”

Scary? The article is about how good she is, what potentiaal she has, and how she struggles to find appropriate peers to play with and against. How about describe her as “amazing”? “Phenomenal”? “Incredible” Why “scary”?

Scary she’s so good…because she’s female? Scary that her talent and physical blessings (she’s 6'1") threaten a male-dominated sport, that women are rapidly becoming more visible in? How about scary that she seems expected to apologize for her talent, her drive, her interest, her skill, her motivation…

Scary that “female” and “exceptional athleticism” still are assumed to be contradictory terms.

(Cross-posted to Smart Like Me.)