Be A Good Sport.

Last week I was watching the news with my parents and it was announced that the British team had retained the trophy in the Women's Ashes 2014. My parents exchanged murmurings of congratulations, especially given the poor performance by the men's team this year. I was pleased to hear this strong progress for the women's team as well, yet I could not help but wonder, why was this the first we are hearing of the women's cricket team in their 2014 Ashes campaign? 

From the moment the British men's team first set foot on that Australian turf to start their ill-fated Ashes campaign, it was all carefully documented with regular updates on the television, radio, social media and in newspapers. However, there was little coverage of the women's matches which started in early January. Only once they had won was it thrust onto the news and everyone could congratulate them; these women deserve a tremendous amount of praise and congratulations, but it is a shame that the support was not there from the very beginning. I will confess that I don't know cricket, but I do know that when it comes to sport there are large gaps in our acceptance and attitude towards gender, race and sexuality within the sporting world. Women's sport is given lacklustre coverage, racism is still rife and, homophobia is still very much present.

The only occasion there seemed to be a general interest in women's sport is at the London 2012 Olympics. Of course there were the athletes such as Jessica Ennis, Rebecca Adlington, Nicola Adams, and Victoria Pendleton, amongst numerous others, who waved the flag for an empowering female presence within the sporting world. And yet for all the respect they were given, the female beach volleyball teams were getting a lot of attention for, largely, all the wrong reasons. Whilst the men's teams wore baggy shorts and vest tops, the women's teams wore tiny pants and tiny crop tops. I get it that the women's attire was designed to bring maximum efficiency while playing the sport; I am also aware that Tom Daley was subject to much attention due to his similarly tiny swimming trunks. However, Daley was still given credit where credit was due and rightly so. Unfortunately the same can not necessarily be said for the women's beach volleyball teams. So much emphasis was on their derrières that it was clear very few spectators were taking them seriously as athletes. 

Men and women should not be discouraged from participating in any sport, from boxing to beach volleyball, to figure skating due to imposed gendering of certain sports. Nor should they feel objectified or undermined for participating in certain sports. Russia's hosting of the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi exposes not only the blatant homophobia in sports but also Russia's anti-LGBT legislation and its obstruction of people's basic human rights. From Canada to Google, everyone has been backing LGBT rights in Russia; check out the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion video here, which uses humour to highlight how ludicrous Russia's actions are. Google's homepage is also a very public dig at Russia, on the day of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. 

The opportunity to respond to Russia's disregard for LGBT rights, and human rights, in such a significant way was almost like fate; the timing could not be more perfect and it is fantastic to see so many, globally, rally in support of the plight of the Russian LGBT community. Could this be a breakthrough in the worldwide homophobia? The battle is a constant one, and nothing will change over night, but it is refreshing to see such strong support, especially when it involves sport, an area that has had a problematic relationship with sexuality. Regardless of how seamless successful the Winter Olympics may turn out to be, it will always serve as a reminder of Russia's regressive attitude towards human and LGBT rights and hopefully it will serve as a platform to challenge homophobia within sports, and more importantly, homophobia in everyday life.

The legacy of the London 2012 Olympics was to inspire a generation, so let's continue by encouraging equality throughout all sports.

Discrimination is incompatible with the Olympic Movement.

- Olympic Charter.

Talkin' 'Bout My Generation.

"I am a millennial. Generation Y. Born between the birth of AIDS and 9/11, give or take. They call us the Global Generation. We are known for our entitlement and narcissism. Some say it's because we're the first generation where a kid gets a trophy just for showing up. Others think it's because social media allows us to post every time we fart or have a sandwich for all the world to see. But it seems that our one defining trait is a numbness to the world, an indifference to suffering."

- Madison Montgomery, American Horror Story: Coven.

First off, I love American Horror Story. I have watched it from the very beginning, when it was a seldom heard of show that the guys from Glee produced. AHS has this uncanny ability to delve into social phenomenon in, at times, such a matter of fact manner that it makes the viewer think about what is being said and what message that is conveying (or that could just be me because my literature degree taught me to over analyse everything). That is why this monologue is so fascinating.

I was hesitant about using the word Millennial in the title of my blog. In all honesty, I had tried a dozen different names before finally landing on this one. Millennial, to me, seemed to have so many negative connotations. Narcissistic, entitled, overbearing, over-sharing, lazy, insensitive are just a few things associated with the term, and, whilst they are not completely unfounded, they by no means represent an entire generation. Yes, Generation Y has scored worryingly highly on the Narcissism Scale and yes, I think there is a struggle to differentiate between representation and reality and yes, I do think people show a major lack of sensitivity at times. But we are not all media-centric, zombified hooligans. 

I think there are people out there who would empathise with Madison's speech. Although it is a one dimensional way of portraying Millennials, her words pick out some fundamental aspects within society that are related (but not exclusive) to my generation. There is an obsession with social media and the validation it offers us. I know for a fact that if I get over ten likes on a status or photo on Facebook, I feel a smug sense of achievement; it's pathetic, I know, I like to think I would be above that, but, honestly, I'm not. And I'm not alone. Social media gives people a sense of anonymity, where they can say the most cruel things with little care for the consequences or equally portray themselves as a certain persona. People can share offensive material and because the internet is so hard to regulate, it is hard to prevent. But on the flipside the internet exposes us to so much information, which is a fantastic tool to have as we should never stop educating ourselves. However, the speed at which things can be spread means that violent, disturbing or distressing images become old news quickly, resulting in desensitisation over time. This 'indifference to suffering' is part of how we, as a society in general, have been conditioned over time to show a lack of reaction or emotion to even the most shocking of content.

Yet, we are a generation full of contradictions and that's why everyone, including ourselves, cannot quite figure us the fuck out. For all the numbness that supposedly encompasses us, there is also an abundance of emotion in the way we overshare every aspect of our lives; the need to do is because every moment is a defining one to us. We have to constantly reassert ourselves through a 140 character tweet, a selfie on Instagram, a slogan t-shirt, hell, even a tattoo. We are always in search of ways to express ourselves and identify with others. Similarly, the sense of entitlement and self-involvement is balanced out by the fact that we, as a generation, have opened up more areas of discussion than ever before. We are generally more tolerant of others and we are unafraid to confront controversial topics; same sex marriage, mental health, sexism, racism, social hierarchy, the list goes on. We want our voices to be heard and we want to make our mark on the world.

Many have criticised Madison's speech for unfairly attacking us Millennials, but I do not think that is the case. I think the AHS writers are warning us. We could all become numb, cynical and desensitised, like Madison (who, let's face it, turned out to be a cold-hearted, self-centred bitch through and through), if we are not careful. If we do not exercise our humanity then we'll lose it.

In the end I decided that I should not be ashamed of being a Millennial, after all I can hardly deny it and why should I let the media control how I feel about myself anymore than it has done already?! This blog is a platform for me to rant and rave about everything and anything. Some people might read it, most might not. But I believe in the therapy of writing things down. And hey, I wouldn't be a true Millennial if I didn't want to post my thoughts all over the internet. Right?