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Feminism
Wrestling
Equality
will be awarding 3 Academic/Athletic scholarships IN 2022!
MARCH WINNER
JUNE WINNER
DECEMBER WINNER
Winner #1 will be announced soon!
IF YOU DID NOT GET AWARDED IN MARCH 2022, YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED IN JUNE 2022.
APPLY NOW!
Describe your image
March 2021 Scholarship Winner
Future Plan:
I will be attending UCSB to major in Biology. My ultimate career goal is to be a pediatric nurse practitioner or a pediatric physician assistant.
March 2022 Scholarship Winner:
Hailey Chapman signed with Colorado Mesa University in December and will wrestle for CMU Women's wrestling in the fall. She plans to major in exercise science and become an athletic trainer and women’s wrestling coach one day. During her college wrestling career, her plans include working toward national championships, world championships, and the Olympics.
June 2022 Scholarship Winner:
Samantha Pichardo
Future Plan:
I am attending CSU Long Beach to major in Nursing. My career goal is to become a registered nurse and
either become a travel nurse or an Obstetrics nurse.
Testimonials
"When somebody tells me I am strong for a girl, I correct them because I don’t think that it’s—I don’t think that it should be I am strong for a girl. I think of the stereotypical girl with skirts and dresses and their nails done. I just correct them and I say I am stronger—I am strong for a stereotypical girl because that’s what they are thinking in their head." (SPHS011)
"I feel like it’s definitely changing a lot, especially with wrestling for our school. This is the first official team that we’ve had ever for wrestling so that’s really amazing cause you like oh we’re being recognized now and the girls wrestling community is growing bigger and bigger by the day. "(LHS006)
"Since we don’t have any male coaches or teammates none of that but kind of just like prove yourself constantly like even male referees that like ref male matches you kind of have to prove that you are equal or better than the boys wrestling or boys male-dominated sports in general. You don’t want to make yourself seem less than in a male sport. " (NHS015)
ABOUT
Female Wrestling
Gender norms dominate social constructions of how males and females are defined in society (Dworkin & Messner, 2002; Krane, 2001). It is thought that aggressiveness has been a male attribute, which overlooks the fact that it is a learned behavior (Messner, 1990) and is suggested more to males in a variety of ways such as toys, words, songs, movies etc. Males tend to approach tough and aggressive sports in a different way than females do, and these perceptions are shaped from birth. Males are taught to be violent as part of learning to be masculine (Messner, 1990). After the passing of title IX, many more females participated in organized sports, although the “benefits” were outweighed by the disproportionate advantages historically enjoyed by the already privileged males (Stevenson, 2007). Female participation in male-dominated sports, such as wrestling, became a way for females to challenge social constructs of femininity.
Meet the Coach:
I am an educator, wrestler, grappler, jiu-jitsu fighter. My passion is to serve female athletes who are fighting a gender disparity that is often beyond their control. I have learned from my own wrestling and grappling experiences what it feels like to be mistreated based on gender. I also know what it feels like to have to "earn your spot on the mat".
I support all athletes and wish to empower young women to follow their dreams in the world of combat sports. I grew up in a single-parent household where my mother did the best she could to raise me. We had our struggles of car repossessions, being removed from the housing we had, and not having enough to eat some days.
Through adversity, I saw that education was a way to overcome these environmental challenges.
I was exposed to many inappropriate situations which resulted in my desire to educate myself and others to be strong in who they are. When growing up around violence and in communities that did not offer many opportunities for the youth, I knew I had to seek other ways to grow. My wrestling career began when I was 14 years old. I approached my coach and asked if I could join the high school team. His response stuck with me for the rest of my life. "Hell no honey, not in that". I eventually did join the team, I made the best friends I ever had, and I learned more about myself and the social expectations of women than I had ever thought possible. This sparked something in me where I had found what made me strong. I felt like I was able to fight my battles more effectively because I had the mental and physical competence that had developed through this sport that is genuinely one of the toughest things I have done. I am now on a journey to help other young female athletes find their place on the mat.