What is special about the ladies? | Golden Skate

What is special about the ladies?

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Medalist
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Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Some people keep saying they do not watch ladies any more. They say it persistently from one thread to another. But it does not help. The same as for the general public figure skating is mostly about Winter Olympics for the GS public figure skating is predominantly about ladies. I just counted - on the front page of the Edge there are 12 topics about ladies and 11 about all other events combined.

3 threads on US, Russian, and Japanese ladies have almost twice as many views as all other threads on the Edge front page combined (Programs by discipline aside)

Skate Canada ladies discussion was on 110 pages - all other three events had 143 pages combined.

Why is that? What is special about the ladies in figure skating to make it the center spot of discussion and interest?
 

silverfoxes

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Feb 16, 2014
I wonder the same. Well, actually I wonder more why nobody cares about the men (apart from the handful of top men who get 95% of the attention). They were always more exciting & diverse to me.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
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Dec 27, 2009
Ladies was a huge entry point for me when I was a young fan. I loved Kristi, Midori and Lulu. And of course Michelle Kwan. And I actually resumed watching skating again a few years ago because of Yuna Kim.

But since then, ice dance and men have become my favorite disciplines. Partially because I am a big fan of certain skaters in those disciplines and also what silverfoxes said, there seems to be more diversity.

I still have a passing interest in ladies, especially U.S. ladies, and sometimes I feel compelled to discuss them. But I just don't have a huge vested interest in Ladies' results. I think there are a lot of folks that feel as I do. But even if there are more people who are not watching ladies all, ladies is SO popular that I think it's still leading easily.

So these are hypotheical numbers--but I'm sure at one time Ladies was like 10 Men 4, Icedance 2 pairs 1. Maybe now you have something like 8 ladies, men 5, ice dance 4 or pairs 2 or something like that. There's probably more interest in the other disciplines, but not enough to overtake the ladies.
 
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Spirals for Miles

Anna Shcherbakova is my World Champion
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2017
Ladies was how I originally got into skating. I saw a book about Sasha Cohen at the library and it all started from then.
I enjoy the other disciplines as well, particularly pairs and men, but I have less history with it and thus have less "outrageous" thoughts. Much of what I would say is already said by others! :laugh2:
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I don't even think that ladies are my #1 enjoyment to watch - but for some reason I feel emotionally invested. Pairs skating was my entry point into skating, but dumb kid me got bored by it when I didn't have a North American to root for after 2002 (I WAS SO STUPID - SHEN/ZHAO ARE MY FAAAAAVES NOW), but I had Sasha Cohen for 4 good years of heartbreak, and the US ladies have proceeded to break my heart ever since. It's an addiction.

That's not to say I'm not completely in love with skaters from all over the world - but my skating interest was more nationalist and dumb as a kid. But I do think it would be nice to have a US lady contending for OGM because it would make skating a little more relevant in the US, which I miss.

I'll also hazard a guess that the dominance of 1-2 countries in the discipline brings out some more extreme emotions, either from the fans of those countries or from people who would like to see more countries represented at the top. Heck, I think a dominant country or skater is going to bring out some arguments/debates no matter the discipline. Evgenia, and Russian ladies as a whole, have been more dominant than Yuzuru Hanyu, for example. We'd probably see more discussion of the men if Hanyu was undefeated, because more people would be happy or mad about it.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Why is that? What is special about the ladies in figure skating to make it the center spot of discussion and interest?

Blame Sonja Henie. She is the skater who transformed figure skating from a macho display of Man against Nature, Man carving his initials into the virgin ice, into Hollywood pretty girls in short skirts.
 

Shayuki

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
It's just the main event in figure skating in my opinion.

It doesn't help that Men are in a poor spot with all the falls caused by enormous quad inflation and the increasingly diminishing importance of artistry. It's really not been all that enjoyable to watch lately.

I've never been huge on the non-single disciplines and I guess many others feel the same way.
 

Hannah555

Ava artwork by talented ShampooNeko
Final Flight
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Well following this season discussions you can blame either russians or canadians.... or both )))
Just joking...

Was there any poll here on GS regarding percentage of male and female users? This may give some explanation.... (just in theory)
 

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
It's just the main event in figure skating in my opinion.

It doesn't help that Men are in a poor spot with all the falls caused by enormous quad inflation and the increasingly diminishing importance of artistry. It's really not been all that enjoyable to watch lately.

I've never been huge on the non-single disciplines and I guess many others feel the same way.

I've always been a "ladies girl" but the last four years greatly turned me into a men and pairs fan. I think they are way more exciting to watch and with overall better/more interesting programs than ladies.
As for the popularity of ladies figure skating, it doesn't involve people who are already fans, but in some countries (mine included) sports with artistic sides are often perceived by people as gay and this is certainly one of the reasons why they are not popular (I know, it's awful that there are people like that in the XXI century...). Ladies on the other hands still carry the idea of the perfect ice princess in many 4 years viewers. Maybe all the quad mania can actually be positive in presenting figure skating more as a sport in the eyes of those occasional viewers.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Joined
Jun 27, 2003
In the US it's a masculinity thing - even though we have a lot of fantastic male olympic champions it's still seen as a "lesser" sport. Sequins, dance moves, etc all "belong" to women. A lot of it has to do with culture.

I've almost always preferred the men's skating, ladies are boring because they for so long had to fit this cookie cutter type look... plus they rarely are explosive in their jumps. And they're just boring. That's why I like the "tom boy" skaters in ladies skating... though even they get tamed if they want to win.
 

VIETgrlTerifa

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Because the public has been fascinated by young girls doing amazing things. I think youth, pageantry, femininity (I'm using this word in the broadest sense), and the fashion (people pay more attention to women's fashion then men in all facets of life) all play together to make it the premier event of the Winter Olympics.
 

Shayuki

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
I've always been a "ladies girl" but the last four years greatly turned me into a men and pairs fan. I think they are way more exciting to watch and with overall better/more interesting programs than ladies.
As for the popularity of ladies figure skating, it doesn't involve people who are already fans, but in some countries (mine included) sports with artistic sides are often perceived by people as gay and this is certainly one of the reasons why they are not popular (I know, it's awful that there are people like that in the XXI century...). Ladies on the other hands still carry the idea of the perfect ice princess in many 4 years viewers. Maybe all the quad mania can actually be positive in presenting figure skating more as a sport in the eyes of those occasional viewers.
Hm, well that's true as well. Many don't consider it a sport for men. And it doesn't help that, for instance, I remember back in elementary school all the girls got figure skating skates and all the boys got ice hockey skates. It certainly isn't considered to be a very manly sport.

But still, when I watch someone like Hanyu have some of his best performances, I do definitely find it masculine rather than feminine.
 

qwerty

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
I think it varies country to country, based partially on which discipline yields the best results. For example, I doubt the women's discipline is the top draw in China (pairs being the more successful discipline there, and I'm sure Boyang Jin will garner some interest too). I'd imagine French Olympic coverage in 2018 will be focused on ice dance.

I'm not privy to the statistics, but I'd bet GoldenSkate's readership and participation is weighted heavily toward the US, which results in plentiful ladies' discussion. The reasons for the USA's fascination (painting with a broad brush here) with women's skating are complex, but I think can be attributed in part to the legacy of Olympic Champions from Fleming-Hughes, and the longevity of Michelle Kwan (and also her various rivals, including Sasha Cohen). The whole Tonya/Nancy incident is also enduring and brought the ladies' discipline to the fore. I think there are cultural/societal factors at play too, although those are more difficult to articulate.
 

Tulipstar

Medalist
Joined
Apr 5, 2017
Perhaps part of the interest is that figure skating is one of the few sports were ladies are as celebrated, if not more, as the men.
 

kenboy123

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
It's kinda ironic that people go from one thread to another saying that they don't watch ladies and yet there are just so many threads about ladies...almost one for every important nationality and all of them get pages and pages of comments when the others disciplines seem to have pretty much 0...does not compute...

I must say i fall into the more interested in ladies category just because for me, i feel like figure skating is about being artistic and there is a lot more of that in the ladies whereas in the men, i feel like it's just about people trying to outdo one another...not a lot artistry involved and it's all about tricks now...there also seem to be a lot more options as in people that can randomly surprise in the ladies than in the men, it's just the top few...i don't know...it's just a feeling...Pairs and ice dance, i'll watch it too...but it doesn't peak my interest...i still have not figured out what ice dance is supposed to be anyways...
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Perhaps part of the interest is that figure skating is one of the few sports were ladies are as celebrated, if not more, as the men.

I definitely assume this is part of what attracts young girls to the sport. It totally did for me!

Sports culture in general tends to be an unwelcoming place for femininity (heck, male athletes are compared to women if they are bad at something, "he throws like a girl," etc.). Figure skating is an exception to that.
 

OS

Sedated by Modonium
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
The interdisciplinary nature of the sport intrigues me, encompassing something elemental (ice/water) meet the artificial (blade). A relation that can be so simple and pure, yet so infinitely complex. It being an amalgamation of artistic learning, musicality, dance, fashion, and makeup combining with the nature of sports: primal + cultured + gaming strategies makes it unique and interesting. Potential is enormous to represent femininity.

At its best, it can be a powerful statement of womanhood and female empowerment being represented as the very best version of what we can be. Beauty, Goodness, Truth. How women separate from the men. How women evolve and fit in with the changing world. A statement, a representation. At its worst, it shows hard work, dedication and incredible talent may not be enough, just like the real world, it is who you know, where you are from, not what you know and what you can do.

It being a human judged sport also bring up its soap opera moments, particularly the political and complex social drama behind the scenes. Its feudal-like hierarchy system, compromises, conflict of interests, federation interests above the individual, and clansmanship relations mirrors an outdated society, lay bare with the power play between those who have it, those yearn for it, what they do with it, for the greater good, or to empower the privileged few. Pretty much the good, the bad and the ugly.
 

hippomoomin

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
I follow ladies most, because it is more exciting than other disciplines. By exciting, I mean the young crowd of talented Russian and Korean junior ladies, or to a lesser extent, junior Japanese ladies, so that every year, I get to know new faces and new styles, all at a very high level.

If it is almost always the same pool of good skaters, I wouldn't be that exciting. That's just me.
 

GrandmaCC

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Ladies are all I watch!
As a child, I enjoyed watching “girly sports”, things like gymnastics, diving, skating, basically anything artistic. In Australia these sports were (and sadly, mainly still are) only shown every four years, so when the Olympics rolled around, I’d watch whatever I possibly could - meaning I’d watch men’s, pairs skating, dance....but as an adult, with the ability to watch what I choose (thank you, Internet!) and less spare time than as a child, I go with what takes my interest, and that is only ladies.

The reason? Sadly, I’d say it’s as simple as me being a female myself!
I find I prefer to watch female competition in all sports I watch.
As much as I try to think of some deep reason as to why, I absolutely can’t. Most I can come up with is that it’s easier to identify with them? But that doesn’t work for skating as there’s no way to identify with landing those jumps!!
Also doesn’t explain why I don’t like pairs or dance.

I’d imagine some factors which influence what discipline people choose to follow would be if there’s an element of the competition they enjoy (such as men landing quads) or whether there’s a personality in the field that they particularly like.
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
I liked to watch every discipline. I like diversity. I think Ladies are so exciting to watch this year, just phenomenal CoC. But im sadly to admit, i started to completely skip Men competition in last weeks. I just cant enjoy watching competitions where the accent is in skaters trying not to fall or miss their elements :roll5: Too many mistakes in Men skating is my answer on question why Ladies
 
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