A Girl Debater's Guide to Keep Going

Joining speech and debate can be scary. Most teams are large groups of confident and outspoken people. Jumping into that can be hard for anyone, so hard that sometimes it’s easier not to join. While the mindset that leads to quitting or not participating affects everyone, women are more likely to experience it. Female debaters are 30.34% more likely to quit than males, and further research has shown that there are more junior and senior boys in debate than junior and senior girls. It doesn’t help that there are simply fewer women participating in the first place, with most debate events being incredibly male dominated.

So why are these girls quitting? Among the reasons are things like judge bias, discouragement, lower chances of winning rounds, higher standards, and bullying. One of the most prominent issues is the gender stereotypes that women shouldn’t be loud or argumentative. That subconscious bias can affect judge decisions. At a local tournament in my district Cadie Hood was called “rude and crass” by a judge for responding to male debaters' classist and problematic arguments in a round of Congress. Speaking up and participating in the round led to that judge dropping her ranks. Another female debater, Ayana Mejorado, experienced the same treatment at the National Speech and Debate Tournament. In a round of world schools, she was given less points because the judge said she was “yelling at him” and was being “too aggressive” even though fellow teammates said she was debating in the same manner as others who were not docked points. Even further, Mejorado was one point away from winning the round, and would have if not for the enforced gender stereotypes. There are countless examples and stories of women in debate being held to different, and much more intense standards.

Not only do those intense standards affect how female debaters are treated for being assertive and confident, but also through choices like clothing. Zoey Pickett, Camila Rivera, Dani Schulz, Carly Benn-Thornton, and Faith Duncan shine a light on this issue and their personal experiences in 2 Episodes of the OneClap podcast. Rivera, Pickett, and Duncan are all female debaters who speak about different clothing phenomena affecting their wins and losses. There’s smaller things, like the notion that wearing glasses leads to more wins; but then there’s larger things like not being taken seriously for wearing pants instead of a skirt, or wearing flats opposed to heels. But as a female debater, pleasing the judge with your wardrobe is practically impossible. For judges that do care about your outfit, opinions differ. Some prefer you dress and debate in a more masculine style, while others want you to be quiet, nice and feminine presenting. Even if you win the wardrobe battle with a judge, pink suits and more feminine attire are often discounted by male debaters, leaving these girls left with comments meant to be derogatory, such as “legally blonde” and “princess.” But wearing masculine attire to avoid those comments could leave you with unfair losses. Catering to one judge or the other inherently sacrifices a ballot. Women are constantly playing a back and forth game, trying to even out the scales between female and male debaters. It seems like the simple solution is just to dress differently. The problem comes from that “solution” relying on those scales to be evenly balanced in the first place, but when those scales are unevenly weighted in favor of the male side, girls are left playing catch up. No matter which way these women turn there is someone criticizing their outfit and telling them it makes them less of a debater. Because of gender stereotypes, these girls have lost the ability to be seen as people and are instead seen as the clothes on their backs.

But possibly the most dangerous issue for female debaters, are the boys with whom they compete. Between outright bullying, snide remarks, and objectifying comments, women are pushed to deal with more and more. During my freshman year I was the target of older male debaters discrediting my wins and openly making fun of me. When I performed well in my events I was told “You only won because you have tits and an ass,” and “Do you need to go offer that judge a blowjob so you can place?” As a novice, I was barely starting to compete on their level, but was still the target of comments and bullying. When I brought up how uncomfortable it made me I was ignored and belittled. It hasn't just been me, the other girls in my circuit have watched the boys in this space do this to other women too. During the regular season, a Congress competitor had the school code of “DD'' and coincidentally happened to have a large chest. Instead of listening to her speech and staying quiet, some male debaters made jokes about it the entire round and called her a "whore" and a "slut." Even outside of round those issues continue. During a casual conversation about Congress with a debater I thought highly of, he remarked “the only way girls place above me is when I’m too 'bricked up' thinking about them to focus.” Example after example, these are only a few occasions of sexism happening in my state, let alone across the nation.

So what do we do? The first step to fixing these issues is to acknowledge that there’s a problem. It took the NSDA years to begin implementing procedures and programs to help disparaged communities in speech and debate (the earliest rostrum going back to 2018), but they eventually did start those initiatives. However, we cannot continue to wait that long to make changes. Tournament officials should be mandating judge training that keeps biases and discrimination in check, as well as hiring a more diverse judge pool to begin with. When the NSDA addresses a problem, they attempt to make the solutions ripple through the community. That ripple is only effective when people are willing to implement the measures needed. Even just one tournament setting up measures to help reduce sexism at their tournament could be the difference in losing another woman from the community permanently, or allowing her to keep on debating and continue reaching new heights. Specifically, male debaters need to acknowledge the issues taking place. We as girls know the problem doesn’t lie within every single man in speech and debate, and boys know that too. Instead of shifting blame and saying “but I didn’t do that” or “I’ve never treated a woman like that,” step up. Don’t allow your friends to make sexist remarks or make a woman feel unsafe. If you hear something, speak up for the girls in the room who might be too scared to. And if you choose not to be an advocate, at least be an ally, and support the women on your team instead of putting them down.

For girls, you have to speak up. It’s difficult! Having conversations with coaches about sexism can make you feel gross or ashamed, but it isn’t your fault. Whether it was a judge commenting on your voice or outfit, or a competitor harassing you, you are not alone. Unfortunately most of us have experienced these issues, so you can talk to fellow competitors and share your experience. With a network of support, a weight is lifted off your chest. So use your voice! It starts with support from friends, and it can end with intervention from a coach or tournament official. You do not deserve to feel less as a debater, let alone as a person, because of your gender. If I had been brave enough to talk to my coaches about some of the treatment I faced, getting through those times would’ve been so much easier. It’s scary, but worth it. You deserve a safe space to excel in an activity you love, and if something or someone is putting that safe space at risk, speak up!

Lastly, it’s up to our coaches. When we acknowledge the problem and encourage girls to speak up, it’s down to how to handle these situations. The very first order of action should be to teach preventative measures in the first place. Just as flowing and case construction are some of the essential basics taught first to new debaters, respect and etiquette should be taught immediately as well. Coaching a general philosophy of respect and good manners towards opponents doesn’t just help women have a safe space, but helps everyone. Making the rules against poor behavior and etiquette very clear reduces the chance a debater will feel like it’s okay to do those things. When a debate team has no tolerance policies in place there is no gray area on what is okay to say, and what will have consequences. Finally, support your girls. Speaking up is really difficult, and having conversations about your experience can feel dumb or difficult. Stay encouraging of your female debaters, and be direct about being a safe space to have those discussions. From the start, I’ve known that my coach would handle any issues that related to gender discrimination, strange judge ballots, or harassment. That openness and assurance should be a basic right on every team, not a luxury.

Speech and debate should be a safe space. So often we get wrapped up in advocacy and global issues that we forget to handle the issues in our own spaces. We can not preach the ideals of community until we put in the real work to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to feel safe, welcome, and supported. To the female debaters across the nation struggling because of the obstacles we face, keep going. You’re more than what other people think. You have the capability to excel and you deserve to feel on top of the world. Keep on debating.