UC Blue Ash expert comments on rise of girls football in Ohio

The recent growth of girls flag football at high schools across Ohio caught the attention of WVXU-FM. Reporter Zack Carreon produced a story that highlights the increased interest in the sport and turned to a UC Blue Ash College professor to provide insight based on their research and experience.

J.A. Carter, PhD, is a sociology professor at UC Blue Ash who focuses on gender and sexualities as they relate to sports and health institutions; she also played professional football for the Cincinnati Sizzle.

The WVXU story covers the first girls flag football state championship sanctioned by the Ohio High School Athletic Association that was held on May 16. The game showed how girls football is finally crossing the goal line and opening new opportunities for young women who were previously encouraged to stay on the sidelines.

“Opportunities in football have been limited over time due to long-standing, long-held believes about gender,” Carter told WVXU. “You know what it means to be ladylike. Football is kind of the antithesis of that.”

Carter conducted research on women in football for her dissertation and has been quoted in other stories on the topic in the past. She says the growth of girls flag football is important for a variety of reasons.

“Participating in a sport that’s most exalted or valued in the U.S. culture is important in and of itself,” Carter said in the WVXU story. “You get to learn the language, the positions, the strategies, and it gives you the opportunity to participate in the conversations that perhaps have been more difficult to participate in the past.”

The story notes that Princeton, Badin and Mount Notre Dame are among the local high schools that have very competitive girls flag football teams.

You can listen to and read the full story on The Ohio Newsroom website.

Featured image: Aerial view of the UC Blue Ash campus.