During the 1940s, American men had left to fight in WWII, leaving the women and children at home with nothing to do or watch. To fill this gap in their entertainment, powderpuff football was born.
Powderpuff has had a long, rough history. For starters, it was built upon sexist beliefs that women can’t handle a “real” football game. However, some articles argue that it was created in response to the large gap between the genders and the event encourages girls to play what is normally a sport dominated by men.
Despite what your opinion on its origins may be, the name itself can seem somewhat demeaning to girls looking to play. The term “powderpuff” comes from the name of the makeup applicator. “I didn’t know that,” says senior powderpuff player Marielis Mejias when told about the history of the name, “Now hearing about the background of it yeah. I feel like for school and stuff we don’t think of it much like that, but maybe they should change the name just to be more respectful”.
High schools around America use the sport as a fundraising event despite its controversial background and name. It is a great way to raise money for things like charity and school events! At Wyoming High School, we’re using Powderpuff to raise money for our senior class, specifically the senior all-night party.
The game is also a great way to build community for everyone involved. “Sometimes you might be on a team with girls you don’t really interact with as much during school so it’s kind of fun just to like experience it, especially with the football boys,” states Marielis Mejias, “I feel like we have a fun time.”
Unlike regular football, powderpuff football is a game of flag football. It is made up of the same rules as football, for example, flag football has four downs still. No tackling or swearing is allowed on the field. In order to win, you must use several different plays. “Sometimes you run the ball, sometimes you throw the ball.” says senior, Haidyn Ager. The senior girls are excited to take on the junior girls. They know the juniors will be fast, “But so are we!” says senior, Allison Kinney.
Are you interested in going? The game is on October 1st and the $5 tickets can be purchased at the gate. The game will start at 6:30 PM, come give the teams your support or hang out with friends, all are welcome!
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About the Contributor
Layla Robertson is a member of the Wyoming High School Journalism class and a fellow senior. She is creative, artistic, and quiet, but she still has a bright side of her! Layla is part of the senior Wyoming High School class.“ I'm very quiet but, I don't mean to be mean but im very quiet. I like to listen to people, I'm more of a listener than a talker. “ Layla then mentions that she likes to interview others and that she likes journalism since she is able to interview and listen.
Layla loves art and is very passionate about it. Her hobbies are art and playing video games as it allows her to be creative but have fun. She has decided that after high school she will go into the art field (BFA or MFA). “ I like to draw because I feel like when I draw time flies by and that was one of the only things I was interested in at school so I didn’t really think about it as a job until I got older. “ Layla loves to draw and be creative with her skills but her favorite art style is the old comic book style. “ My favorite art style, I really like would like it to be old comic book style but it's very cartoony because that's what I grew up with. A lot of cartoony graphic novels thats where I kinda got my style from. “ Layla says.
Layla loves cats she hopes to have a cat or cats in the future! She doesn’t know what she would name the cat/cats but the names of seasoning would be an option possibly. “ I had a dog and 2 cats, the dog's name was Crystal and then the two cats were Sugar and Ginger. My dad was allergic but my mom got them when she was younger and she said it was either me or the cats. “ Layla jokes. “ I really like cats, I'm not sure what I would name it. It depends on what the cats look like. “ Layla adds on.
Layla is part of the class 2025 so when asked about how she likes it she said she likes being a senior because she gets to leave soon and theirs not that much work! “ I feel like I'm at the very end and stuff so I don't have that much work to do. “ She enjoys the rest and able to leave school early.
Layla's favorite show is Arcane but she also loves video games! This show inspired her to do art as a career as well! “ My favorite is Arcane, it's based on a video game but the art style and animation. It's like four years old but it got me really inspired to do art as a career but I wanna be able to make stuff people enjoy that much. “ Layla is a nice person to talk and very creative!