*If we start from the premise that feminism is a perspective on the world that considers women the same as men then it becomes clear that Hope Solo has really advanced women’s rights since her altercation with family members and subsequent arrest.
What is undeniable is that Solo is an elite athlete. She has been a member of the United States National team since 2000, was a member of the Junior National Team prior to that, and has started in goal for the last 7 years. Currently her play has the United States sitting atop their group, having given up only one goal in 2 games during the current Women’s World Cup.
What is also undeniable is that Solo is a high profile celebrity. She was a contestant on the ABC program “Dancing with the Stars.” And she is so popular that she is one of the celebrities that was victimized in the celebrity hacking scandal last year when her personal photos were distributed on the internet.
So it should be no surprise then, that the United States Women’s Soccer program is willing to forgive just about anything when it comes to Solo because they want her star power on the team and her skill in goal.
In this way there really is no difference between Solo and Ray Rice or Adrian Petersen (two football players who found themselves in serious legal trouble) in the recent past. When you are good enough, teams and fans (and in the case of Solo – most of our country) will ignore the negatives; this is why Petersen, who has won the MVP award in his career and looks like a future Hall of Fame player who is still able to play well, still has a job. On the other hand if you can no longer perform at a high level, teams and fans will ignore the positives; this is why Rice, who by all accounts has been a model citizen following his violent outburst, told the truth, was active in his hometown and in Baltimore where he was a professional athlete, doesn’t have a job.
Solo has now proven that teams and fans can be just as shallow
when it comes to holding an elite athlete and celebrity accountable when the athlete is a woman. And take note that one of her alleged victims was a young man.
This is probably not the kind of victory that Betty Friedan envisioned when she wrote the Feminine Mystique so many years ago. But it is a victory nonetheless. The country is treating Solo just like they would any man in her position. And to be frank, in Friedan’s day Solo may have been forced to ignore any athletic aspirations in favor of settling down with a husband and raising children.
Ahhh. Progress.
Trevor Brookins is a free lance writer in Rockland County, New York. He is currently working on a book about American culture during the Cold War. His writing has appeared in The Journal News. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @historictrev.
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