|
Women in High School Debate J. Cinder Griffin and Holly Jane Raider 1989 - Punishment
Paradigms : Pros and Cons |
|
'I don't usually vote for girl debaters because debate really is a boy's activity. I am surprised by your ability to handle these issues.'1 This is virtually a verbatim quote received by one of the authors on a ballot during her senior year in high school. A woman wrote the ballot. In recent years there has been some effort to isolate the factors that limit the participation of women in collegiate debate.2 These studies are superfluous if the factors regarding participation of females at the high school level are not understood. Unfortunately, no such formal research attempt has been made to explain the reasons underlying the thoughts that contribute to the opening quote. The issue of participation of other minority groups in debate is a topic beyond the scope of our discussion. The virtual non-existence of minorities is a deeply disturbing issue and deserves further investigation. Understanding gender and minority selection of debate as an activity in high school level is useful in explaining those selection factors at the collegiate level. One finds few college debaters who were not exposed to the activity in high school. Furthermore, it is unlikely that a female who has not experienced some competition and success in the activity while in high school will remain, very much less begin, debating in college. Additionally, given its competitive nature, quest for excellence, and skewed gender composition, debate offers a micro-model of the business and academic worlds. There are implications for female representation and treatment in these societal roles as debaters tend to become leaders in both the business and academic worlds. As the perceptions of women ingrained through debate experience are translated into society at large through leadership positions, the implications for under-representation of women in debate takes on greater significance. This article addresses several of the reasons behind female participation rates at the high school level and offers a few solutions to the problem. All things being equal, one would assume roughly equal numbers of male and female participants in high school debate. Debate, unlike athletics, does not require physical skills which might restrict the participation of women. Additionally, debate is academically oriented and women tend to select extracurricular activities , that are more academic in nature than men.3 Based on these assumptions, one would expect proportional representation of the genders in the activity. Why then, are there four times more men in debate than women?4 Several explanations exist that begin to account for the low rate of female participation in debate. Fewer females enter the activity at the outset. Although organizational and procedural tactics used in high school debate may account for low initial rates of participation, a variety of social and structural phenomena, not necessarily caused by the debate community also account for these rates. Ultimately, the disproportionate attrition rate of female debaters results in the male dominated composition of the activity. There are more disincentives for women to participate in debate than for men. While entry rates for women and man may in some cases be roughly equal, the total number of women who participate for four years is significantly lower than the corresponding number of men. This rate of attrition is due to factors that can be explained largely by an examination of the debate community itself. Socially inculcated values contribute to low rates of female entry in high school debate. Gender bias and its relation to debate has been studied by Manchester and Freidly. They conclude, "[m]ales are adhering to sex-role stereotypes and sex-role expectations when they participate in debate because it is perceived as a masculine' activity. Female debate participants experience more gender-related barriers because they are not adhering to sex-role stereotypes and sex-role expectations.5 In short, 'nice girls' do not compete against or with men, are not assertive, and are not expected to engage in policy discourse, particularly relating to military issues. Rather, "nice girls" should be cheerleaders, join foreign language clubs, or perhaps participate in student government. It should be noted that many of these attitudes are indoctrinated at birth and cannot be directly attributed to the debate community. However, there are many activity specific elements that discourage female participation in high school debate. Structural barriers endemic to the forensics community dissuade female ninth graders from entering the activity.6 Recruitment procedures and initial exposure may unintentionally create a first impression of the activity as dominated by men. By and large, it is a male debater or a male debate coach that will discuss the activity with new students for the first time. Additionally, most debate coaches are men. This reinforces a socially proven norm to prospective debaters, that debate is an activity controlled by men. This male exposure contributes to a second barrier to participation. Parents are more likely to let a son go on an overnight than they are a daughter, particularly when the coach is male and the squad is mostly male. This may be a concern even when the coach is a trusted member of the community. While entry barriers are formidable, female attrition rates effect the number of women in the activity most significantly.7 Rates of attrition are largely related to the level of success. Given the time and money commitment involved in debate, if one is not winning one quits debating. The problem is isolating the factors that contribute to the early failure of women debaters. Even if equal numbers of males and females enter at the novice level, the female perception of debate as a whole is not based on the gender proportions of her immediate peer group. Rather, she looks to the composition of debaters across divisions. This may be easily understood if one considers the traditional structures of novice debate. Often it is the varsity debate team, composed mostly of males, who coach and judge novice. Novices also learn how to debate by watching debates. Thus, the role models will be those individuals already involved in the activity and entrenched in its values. The importance of female role models and mentors should not be underestimated. There is a proven correlation between the number of female participants and the number of female coaches and judges.8 The presence of female mentors and role models may not only help attract women to the activity, but will significantly temper the attrition rate of female debaters. Novice, female debaters have few role models and, consequently, are more likely to drop out than their male counterparts; resulting in an unending cycle of female attrition in high school debate. Pragmatically, there are certain cost benefit criteria that coaches on the high school level, given the constraints of a budget, must consider. Coaches with teams dominated by males may be reluctant to recruit females due to traveling and housing considerations. Thus, even if a female decides to join the team, her travel opportunities may be more limited than those of the males on the team. Once a female has "proven" herself, the willingness to expend team resources on her increases, assuming she overcomes the initial obstacles. Perceptually, women lack the levels of confidence present in males; their expectations of success are lower, and the pressures placed upon them are higher. As a result of socialization, women lack confidence in their public speaking skills. This coupled with the lack of role models leads female debaters to view themselves as tokens and outsiders in the activity very early. This self perception as token "females" creates a performance pressure.9 For example, if it is assumed that a female debater is not as competent as her male counterpart there is additional pressure on the female to overcome the (not necessarily overt) expectation that she will be inadequate. For many persons this stress is so counterproductive that it interferes with one's judgement, and ultimately the predication that the token will be inadequate may become a fulfilled prophecy. Thus, in some situations performances failure is linked to performance pressure, and not the objective validity of the female debater's inabilities. This performance pressure does not require the explicit low expectations of the dominant group, but results as a consequence of simply being unique.10 This phenomena of performance pressure is especially prevalent on specific topics in high school debate, for example military issues. It is usually presumed that a female does not have a good grasp of military issues. Therefore, a female debater must debate not only as well as her male counterparts, but feels a need to command an even greater level of expertise in this area. Performance pressure effects selection of events and argument preference as well.11 In general ' women are not Encouraged to discuss military and political issues. Women prefer social and theoretical arguments to military issues, and this is reflected in women's choices of debate arguments. On the collegiate level, more women participq4e in CEDA debate as compared to NDT debate.12 On the high school level the ratio of male to female participants in individual events activities is nearly one to one.13 Therefore, even if a female is not discouraged from entering debate itself, she will not remain in the activity for long because the argument discourse either does not interest her or she is actively discouraged from becoming fluent in it. The overall rate of attrition of women in debate and their decision not to enter college debate after high school may also be related to more noticeable and determinable sexism in the debate community. Sexism is a word that has not been used thus far. Given the charged nature of this issue we have opted to focus discussion on less "sensitive" or "more objective" measures. However, as women in debate who have interviewed and surveyed other women in debate, there are several general statements we can make regarding this issue. High school debate coaches, tournaments, and even trophies herald policy debate as "two man" debate. Often, two women debating together are referred to as "the girls." Many female debaters observe that male debaters when referring to a female competitor's argument, frequently say, "on his argument. . .." Also observed, are references to female debaters as honey or chicks. Other lingo of the community supports this conclusion. Arguing military issues is "manly." Debating straight up is "going balls up." Aggressive females are either bitchy or manly. The effect of this type of behavior on female attrition is difficult to measure. At its core, this kind of overt sexism makes young debaters uncomfortable. It is offensive and intolerable. Contrary to popular opinion, women do not find it funny. By the time many females have ended their debating careers offensive language has become such a part of their daily existence that they may laugh about it. One will never know how many women are intimidated and offended to such a degree that they leave the activity before they develop the self-confidence and level of success necessary to overcome the inherent gender bias against them, a bias contributed to by the "old boy" tactics of the members of the community. If the assumption that there should be an equal number of male and female debaters is granted, reformation must begin within the existing community in order to attain this goal or the "old boy" traditions will remain. Solutions to the problems related to gender issues in debate will not simply appear as the result of a discussion of the issues. Direct reform on issues of language, terminology, attitude, and trophies is immediately attainable. Given the significance of gender bias on the discussion of arguments it is logical to assume that resolutions and topics that focus on non-military issues would be more conducive to attracting and maintaining female participants. This is not to say that all military topics and issues should be phased out; rather, they should be relegated to a less dominant position in the overall discourse. Military issues have come to dominate the activity in a way that overshadows all other concerns. This is not the reality of our society, and it should not be the reality of our debate community. A greater emphasis should be placed upon the central issues of the debate as opposed to the creation of as large an impact as possible. Even when social/economic issues are discussed, they lose presumption to the shorter time frames of military issues. We do not underestimate the importance of military issues in society; rather, we feel resolutions of employment and agriculture should not be automatically "perverted" to military issues. High school debaters would then argue issues that are more tangible to society at large, and more understandable to the potential participants. Perhaps this would help train male debaters to discuss issues and ideas more openly and confidently with their female counterparts as well, while slowly socializing women to understand and enjoy the discussion of military issues. Coaches and male participants must be more sympathetic to the needs of younger female participants. The concerns of a young woman and her parents about overnight travel and high levels of participation in a traditionally male dominated activity cannot be ignored. Additionally, it requires a large degree of independence, a not traditionally female characteristic, for a women to enter debate initially. This sense of independence needs to be encouraged and applauded. Women should not be relegated to positions of lesser authority and leadership than their male counterparts. They should be actively encouraged to run for positions such as team captain. Women can discuss arguments after debates and engage in intellectual discourse after a round on the same level as men. Finally, women can shake hands just as firmly as their partners. The issue of female role models cannot be overstated. An active effort must be made to increase the number of female coaches on the high school level, resulting in direct increases in female participation. This is perhaps the most important, yet most difficult issue for the community to solve. Female coaches should be recruited at all levels. Greater incentives should be offered to female debaters that graduate from high school encouraging them to remain in the activity. Recruiting of females for college debate is not nearly so competitive as recruiting of males. This has a ripple effect on the number of women entering and consequently coaching in college. Socially, it is more acceptable for men to travel on business than women. This makes it even more difficult for a normal, family and business oriented female to enter a community that places a premium on extensive travel. Men should accept this fact and offers support to women in this difficult position. While the debate community may not be able to alter social norms on a macro level, it can provide an arena of support to women as opposed to reinforcing existing social biases. Attracting greater numbers of female coaches is a problem on the high school administrative level. While the debate world alone cannot solve the problem, debate coaches and sometimes debaters themselves can influence the selection of new coaches or assistants. This is a useful long term goal. Statistically speaking, females will continue to select activities other than debate if the problems of gender related argument selection persist. These problems need to be addressed in tandem. Thus, not only must the community encourage women to become debate coaches, it must encourage them to remain in the activity. At this level, some degree of selecting females over males may prove desirable. All other qualifications being equal, being a female coach should be seen as a qualification. Unlike affirmative action, this is not meant to redress past harms, but is intended to help solve future problems. The cycle of male domination will never be broken if female role models are not present and active. This is not forthcoming in the status quo. While the debate community may not be able to solve all of the problems related to gender bias in the world, it can most certainly help women develop the independence and self confidence necessary to combat these problems when they leave debate. Female debaters who have graduated agree that the skills they acquired through debate have been valuable in the ''real world.' More women could benefit from these results if they were better integrated in the community at large. This is a first and necessary step to solving the more global problems associated with gender bias. ---------- 1. This quote comes
from a ballot from a large national tournament. Written by a woman who,
judging from the other comments on the ballot, had seen a fair, but not
large, number of high school debates. Thank God Paula Nettles judged the
next round. |