Naming Practices - Survey Results

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the survey results from the "Naming Practices Of Women's Sports Teams" poll. If you missed the previous introductory blog explaining the survey you can visit it here. The entire concept behind using the prefix "Lady" or suffix "-ettes" in women's athletic teams as trivial or the idea that it evokes a second class status in women's athletics/athletes is an intriguing concept. The original study used schools from nine southern states to collect their data. I was mindful that perhaps "southerners" had a different perspective on the idea. Growing up in the south, I wasn't sure if my opinion about the subject originated as a product of nature vs. nurture.

The sole purpose for creating this survey was to gauge the opinion of persons about the naming practice concept. I hoped to have a good mix of individuals from all over the 50 states. The primary respondents came from the social media sites Facebook and Twitter. The highlights of the survey results are summarized here:

Number of respondents;
31% Male
69% Female

43% Black/African American
52% Caucasian
2% Asian
3% Other

Grew up (state)
87% Southern states*
10% Remaining states
3% Out of country

Current Residence (state)
78% Southern states
19% Remaining states
2% Out of country

* Southern states includes Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky

Respondents High Schools referred to girls teams as "Lady/-ettes";
56% Yes
39% No
5% Did Not Know

Respondents Colleges/University women's team referred to as "Lady/-ettes";
43% Yes
43% No
12% Did Not Know
2% Did Not Have Women's Athletics

Calling women's athletics teams "Lady/-ettes" trivializes women's teams and women's athletics
7% Strongly Agree
30% Agree
51% Disagree
13% Strongly Disagree

Using the prefix/suffix "Lady/-ettes" enforces second class status in women's athletics/athletes
13% Strongly Agree
18% Agree
51% Disagree
18% Strongly Disagree

Of the respondents who answered Agree or Strongly Agree to the last two questions;

65% Female
35% Male

40% Black
55% Caucasian
5% Other

75% Grew up (south)
25% Outside south

65% Currently Live (south)
35% Outside south

40% Born between 1950-1966
10% Born between 1967-1977*
50% Born 1978 or later

* The dates 1967-1977 was chosen as the 5 years before and after Title IX. It is used as a guide. It is unclear if Title IX had any effect on the thought process of the respondents born during that period.

What do the numbers say? What can you deduct from this information? Is it nature vs. nurture? Is it racially based? Does your age play a role in your thinking process? I still find the numbers and answers intriguing and would love to see this concept on a grand scale. I am not a scholar so I'll leave the formation of a theory to you,... the reader. Make your own assumption. I'd love to hear your personal opinion. Feel free to leave comments.