A young man named Joel Northrup in Iowa recently defaulted in his first round of the state wrestling match in order to avoid wrestling with a girl, Cassy Herkelman. His reason was due to his religious convictions; he did not feel right engaging in that manner with a girl — wrestling is a violent sport.
The girl’s response, as well as her family’s, was they had a great amount of respect for the young man in sticking to his beliefs regarding the treatment of women, even if it cost him a chance at a state title.
The media’s response was a bit different. ESPN columnist Sarah Spain offered a different take on the situation. “If he felt some sort of need to protect Herkelman (the girl) from the violence of the sport, he’s sorely misguided. She chose to compete, and she competed well enough to qualify for the state meet.
The physical nature of sport is, by definition, what makes it sport, so no one would have complained had he beaten her fair and square in an athletic competition. The best way to show respect for Herkelman and her accomplishments would have been to compete against her,” Spain wrote.
Sports writer Rick Reilly also voiced his opinion. “Body slams and takedowns and gouges in the eye and elbows in the ribs are exactly how to respect Cassy Herkelman. This is what she lives for. She can elevate herself, thanks,” Reilly wrote.
I have a problem with these viewpoints. First of all, I do have a great amount of respect for Cassy and any other girl who wants to wrestle. I don’t write any of this to say they shouldn’t do it; I had a sweet friend who played on the junior varsity football team — and she could hold her own with any boy on the field.  She later quit, because it was simply out of place for her to be on a team of boys who are supposed to tackle her to the ground. It put them in an uncomfortable position, much like Northrup. I’m all for a women’s football league to avoid such confrontation, but I digress.
Northrup did not want to body slam and gouge a woman. Is that so wrong? I don’t think it is insulting to women in the slightest; in fact, I think it shows a great amount of respect. There is no doubt in my mind if a girl could take down a boy in wrestling. But I think women are set apart from men. We are not better, and we are not inferior; we are simply set apart. We’re wired differently. Women are companions. Women are beautiful, nurturing, compassionate and caring. Women are mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and dear friends. I believe women were created, like men, in the image of God. I also believe we were created to fulfill a role no one else can: to be a woman.
But what does that mean? Pop culture and the media give us a lot of ideas on what a woman should look like, especially on the outside. How many times a day do you see commercials promoting some product to help you get that hot body? How often to you see people, whether intentionally or not, tell you what clothes to wear, products to buy, purses to carry? I could go on and on. Women are strong, powerful and very influential. Remember that line from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding?” “The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” (To any feminist readers out there, that was meant to make you smile, not raise your blood pressure.)
In my personal beliefs, I do believe men are the head of the household. I also believe that does not make women inferior in any way. Some of you may be thinking of the Bible verse that says, “Wives, submit to your husbands.” Read a little further and it says, “Husbands, love your wives.” (Colossians 3:18-19)
Anyway, back to my point: women are irreplaceable. And for Northrup to respect a woman by not violently wrestling her is a huge breakthrough in my theory that chivalry is not dead.
 
Mary Chase Breedlove is a sophomore majoring in communication. She can be contacted at [email protected].