Faux Real

I admit I have a thing for Geena Davis — I fell in love with her at 11 watching A League Of Their Own in the theater. Even though I played all kinds of sports as a kid, softball was the one that stuck, ’stuck’ being the operative word since my ass was stuck in right field for the majority of the decade I played. Having a role model on-screen was pretty revolutionary for my young brain, even if the material was and is flawed — as young athletes, girls were still interlopers playing on subpar fields, and we knew it.

Via Shakespeare’s Sister is this great speech on the goals Davis has for the roles of women in TV and movie media through her foundation See Jane, and it might be my hormonal BC at work but I actually shed a tear. I remember the wonder I felt in that theater, imagining grown women that could break those barriers and did so for generations like mine who would mature on the playing field and harbor weird unfeminine knowledge like how to properly cure a leather glove. It’s unfortunate that it had to be an actor that made me feel validated about my game instead of a woman athlete, but so be it. I’m glad the point was made.