Is Softball Gay?

Elena Kagan playing softball (Photo: AP)

It's been two days since the Wall Street Journal ran this front-page photo of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan playing softball, and people are still asking: Was the photo intended as innuendo suggesting Kagan is a lesbian? Some lesbian activists think so, and they've pegged the paper as homophobic. And the Journal isn't exactly bending over backwards to apologize. But a deeper question lingers: does softball = lesbian?

For answers, we turn to the NY Post, which is owned by the same guy who owns the Journal. Yet the Post's article actually confirms that most people associate softball with lesbians, so we're not sure what kind of perverse game they're playing here. "Unfortunately, I think that it's common for people to associate playing softball with being gay," one lesbian softball player from Manhattan tells the tabloid. "A lot of female athletes try to distance themselves from this stigma by wearing makeup or ribbons in their hair during games."

And in a second Post article, another softballer shares her experience as the "token straight gal" on an all-lesbian softball team. But don't get too excited fellas; her teammates "were so husky you might wonder whether they have a beard to shave." There was a lot of peer pressure to get her to switch hit—they even offered her a toaster—and she says the league actually had a rule that there couldn't be more than two straight players on the field at a time.

As for the Journal's use of the softball photo, one gay activist tells Politico, "It clearly is an allusion to her being gay. It's just too easy a punch line. The question from a journalistic perspective is whether it’s a descriptive representation of who she might be as a judge. Have you ever seen a picture of Clarence Thomas bowling?" We wish! In response, a Journal spokeswoman says, "If you turn the photo upside down, reverse the pixilation and simultaneously listen to Abbey Road backwards, while reading Roland Barthes, you will indeed find a very subtle hidden message."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on May 13, 2010 10:13 AM

Comments [rss]

spiritross

I would think any sport that involves binge drinking probably is not on the most favorite of activities of residents of the Castro in San Fran and Chelsea in NYC.

of course

It is a very happy game, so in that respect, yes, it is gay.

Stevennnn

Ugh, stereotyping as usual. Women are ONLY suppose to do this and Men are ONLY suppose to do that, if they don't something is "wrong" with them.

Love gender roles, eh?

ides_of_march

Of all the photos that have been published of this woman lately, this is probably one of the more flattering ones. The WSJ simply printed it with no mention of sexuality, therefore, anyone making the connection between the photo and lesbianism are revealing their own prejudices. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Politburo

Recognizing the possible existence of a minority stereotype is not prejudice.

Thespis

Indeed. If I were to write a story about you, and included a picture of you with a banana in your mouth...but didn't mention sexuality...I wouldn't be implying anything. What? He just looked good sucking on a banana.

And just for the record, the lady doth not protest at all.

ides_of_march

The "lady" being those that are protesting the use of the picture. Not sure if the term applies to Kagan.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/05/so-is-she-gay.html

It is Andrew Sullivan who wants to "out" her when he doesn't even know that she is gay. what an asshole.

ides_of_march

Andrew Sullivan is deranged.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

agreed.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

WSJ used that picture to gay-bait her. many of us know Murdoch's agenda, more know about him in the UK

ides_of_march

Unless you subscribe to the stereotype of the tomboy, softball playing lesbian, the photo won't gay-bait you.

F1Mikal

Why can't anyone just answer the bloody question?

YES.

Softball is gay.

Hence the word 'soft'.

Sheesh.

Now if the question was whether Elena Kagan is gay because she played softball that would warrant some excellent responses.

It is not like she is a regular participant at the Dinah Shore Golf Classic in California.

My 2p

Angelheaded Hipster

hey, this bat smells funny

Mr. Shankly

Which end?

Cannibal

both

Thespis

It's one softball game a year, it involves faculty members who can barely tie their shoelaces (much less run out a ground ball), and it's played with a soft (16-inch) cloth ball that you can catch without a glove. It's closer to kickball than actual softball. No self-respecting lesbian would even ALLOW herself to play in that sort of non-athletic joke. It's not like she was in a softball league, or played softball in college. She was willing to make a fool of herself for an annual drunken game -- just like everyone else did.

But I agree that the only reason to show her playing softball at all is to emphasize the rumors. There's a picture from the same day of Richard Epstein falling down in the same game -- but if someone wanted to talk about him, would that be the picture? Of course not. And why a 17-year old photo, rather than the thousands of photos taken since?

Yeah -- obvious Journal is obvious.

Rocknrope

Who's the comedian spokesperson at the Journal?

Splicer

If any Senator brings up her sexuality, Kagan should just ask these public servants why they don't grow the fuck up.

harrisgraber

Why does anyone pay any attention to Rupert Murdoch's rags? The Post & WSJ have lost their credibility since he acquired them. He uses them to advance his political agenda not for worthwhile journalism.

The Post & WSJ are paper versions of Faux News. Worthless as news, entertaining to the wingnuts.

BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)

"There was a lot of peer pressure to get her to switch hit—they even offered her a toaster"

haha

The WSJ knows what they are doing. Every picture has meaning. Any other nominee it would have been a standard portrait, but the WSJ chose this picture as a subtle insult? a frat joke?

personally I find the notion of adult journalists wondering about 'what kind of s*x she has' pathetic. thats not news. thats gossip.