The UBC Thunderbirds football team grabbed headlines this weekend by winning the Vanier Cup, but the university’s women’s hockey team has been in the news lately for a very different reason -- one that extends beyond what happens on the ice.
Members of the team are featured in a YouTube video published this week called “Stupid Questions Female Hockey Players Get Asked.”
In it, the players share some of the cringe-worthy questions they get asked as women playing a sport traditionally dominated by men.
“The dumbest question I’ve ever been asked is ‘Do girls wear figure skates while playing hockey?’” says one of the women in the video. “And the answer is no, because I’m not figure skating. I’m playing hockey.”
Defenceman Kirsten Toth produced the video for her creative writing class with the help of Bobby Saretsky and Amanda Hutch. Students in the class were assigned the task of attempting to make a viral video.
The video makes light of the ridiculous nature of some of the questions that female hockey players get asked, but it also highlights the serious gaps in knowledge about -- and fan interest in -- the women’s game.
“Do girls get paid?” says one of the players in the video, quoting a question she’s been asked in the past. “No, we don’t get f***ing paid.”
“Maybe if you guys would show up to the games and we’d get a little fan base I would get paid,” says another.
Watch the video below:
