A Last-Minute Sub in the Game for Equality: A Conversation with Marion Reimers
Written by Paola Gonzalez-Solis
"Sport has a social function," explained Marion Reimers during her visit to King’s E-Lab on 3rd June. We see it everywhere, and most of us also share a collective memory around it: the times we went to watch a game with friends or family, when we took part in a tournament or in a league, or when we watched the finals of international or local tournaments in person or on television. We have medals from when we ran for a cause, or we nostalgically remember our swimming lessons from when we were little. But, for women, sport has an expiry date: adolescence. This was how Marion Reimers began to describe her personal and political position on sport: "I started doing sport because I wanted to be a sportswoman".
For her, as for many others in her native Mexico, this dream was thwarted by conditions that kept women away from sport. However, Marion did not leave the field: she became a pioneer in Mexico, openly defying gender stereotypes in the world of sports journalism. Marion has conquered many firsts, including being the first woman in history to narrate the Champions League final in June 2019. Her visit to Cambridge was mediated by her participation as a narrator of the tournament’s latest final in London. She has previously covered the German Bundesliga and the Mexican Women's League, as well as the Olympic Games. Her activism has also led her to become an advocate against discrimination with all its adjectives, as well as a fervent defender of women's participation in sport.
This is a daunting challenge in Mexico, where women face considerable barriers to participating in sport: "It is difficult to even go for a run because the streets are not safe for women". Violence is not limited to the physical world, it seeps into the media and the digital space, and has contributed to the re-victimisation of women. Marion revealed that, since she began to speak out more and more in favour of women's rights and supporting other oppressed communities, she has become the target of criticism and violence on social media, where there are no filters to protect women. Contrary to popular belief, she stressed that there is nothing organic about these platforms, and that the content that is reflected on them is usually the most violent towards minorities.
Marion reflected on how, while her work has been rewarding, she has also faced the high expectations of being one of the few women in a traditionally male space, as well as the pressure of having to be the sole representative of an excluded gender: "You can't make a mistake, because if you make a mistake you give them the tools to close the door for other women". Marion stressed the importance of solidarity networks and community building, and highlighted the support she received from her colleagues who accompanied her on her visit to King’s E-Lab: Miroslava Montemayor, Ricardo Murguía, Karla del Olmo, and Aldo Holm.
Marion has turned her life into a quest. Her own figure speaks of the need for new voices and stories in sports journalism, as well as a renewal of sport itself: "I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in Neymar's girlfriend or his new hairstyle. We can use sports journalism to talk about more important things". Inclusion also means rethinking the kind of journalism we do and not replicating bad practices. The NGO that she co-founded, Somos Versus, focuses precisely on making women visible in sport and on highlighting gender violence in the media, challenging the discourses that exclude women both in sport and in journalism.
To listen to Marion is to listen to an energetic voice that transforms the murky waters of the world of sport into a translucent spring where one can see both the social importance and the social inequalities it reflects. Her work has blazed a trail for women, historically discriminated against in sport, and also for men who believe in a turn in the winds. In the metaphorical match ‘for equality’, Reimers was subbed in with 5 minutes to go. She scored a goal that gave a victory to a team that was physically and mentally exhausted. And she continues to score. Her ongoing triumph is not only a victory for journalism or for women, it is also a victory for our times.
Speaker Bio: Marion Reimers is one of the most prominent figures in sports journalism in Latin America. In 2015, she became the first Mexican woman to be nominated for a Sports Emmy by the Television Academy. For 15 years she was part of FOX Sports Latin America, covering the most important sporting events in the world, including the UEFA Champions League. In 2019, she became the first woman to act as a commentator for the final. She is currently part of TNT Sports as an analyst and commentator for the UEFA Champions League. Marion is a trailblazing women rights activist, and advocate for the elimination of violence against women and girls, a spokesperson for socio-cultural transformation of gender equality in sports and media, and a recently appointed United Nations (UN) Women National Goodwill Ambassador.
Paola Gonzalez-Solis
Paola is an MPhil student at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge. Her research focuses on violence against women as reflected in Mexican literature. Prior to coming to Cambridge, she was a feminist activist with Ya Basta NL, an NGO based in northern Mexico, and hosted a podcast focusing on news coverage from a gender perspective.