On Oct. 3, 21-year-old Asia Womack was allegedly fatally shot several times by her “friend,” Cameron Hogg, after playing basketball with him because he became angry she’d beat him in the game.
According to Essence, Womack was found on a sidewalk by the Dallas Police Department, with multiple gunshot wounds.
After Womack won the game, the man reportedly took his kids and brother home and then returned to the park where the game occurred. When he got to the park, he allegedly shot Womack 5 times as she walked home, according to Essence. No one has been charged for murder in the incident, according to Essence.
[Related Link: Indiana Daily Student: Opinion: Toxic masculinity has an effect on gun culture]
Local ABC news channel, WFFA, interviewed Womack’s aunt after the incident.
“He needs to pay for what he did,” she said.
Womack’s sister could also be seen, distraught about losing her sister. Their entire community is grieving Womack’s passing.
This unfortunate event should show the world how the patriarchy and its ability to negatively fuel male egos is harming people, specifically women and non-binary people.
One of the definitions given for the term “patriarchy” defines it as “a system in which men have all or most of the power and importance in a society or group.” The definition said patriarchy is the main cause for much of the oppression women and children face.
Women and non-binary people are under an oppressive regime with men as the oppressors.
I am sure every woman has a story about a time when they beat a man in a typically male-dominant sport like basketball or soccer, usually in a crowd full of men. After winning, the man who lost will try to belittle her accomplishment with phrases like, “I let you win” or “I wasn’t really playing my best” in an attempt to save their egos.
I can vividly remember being in third grade, playing dodgeball. The team I was on was winning, but we had a lot of players that were ruled out. I can admit, I was not that good at the game.
However, I ended up getting one of the most athletic boys in my class “out” and eliminated from the game. It was like I could see the embarrassment and anger in his eyes, from losing to a girl. I can still feel the sting on my cheek from the dodgeball when he threw it as hard as he could back at me.
I do not remember the boy who threw the dodgeball at me ever getting reprimanded. I do remember my male P.E. teacher saying that it was an “accident.” So, I brushed it off. I can still remember the look in his eyes, which told me the hit was anything but an accident. But how could I debate with my teacher about it?
I did not understand then why someone would be so mad at me for something so small. I understand now.
The society we live in instructs boys at an early age they are the ones that women should, in a way, bow down to and have respect for.
This is what men in a patriarchal society do. No matter how important that person was to you, as a man you have been conditioned to disrespect and be outraged when losing to a woman or non-binary person in a sport, although this extends beyond just a basketball game.
It is taboo for a man to talk about losing to a woman in a game that was supposedly meant for them to dominate. This type of behavior is not corrected because it is deemed normal in our society.
As boys grow older, this behavior can escalate. This is what happened in Womack’s case.
As a society, older men must unlearn their misogyny and teach boys to understand how their actions can be oppressive. The men of today must make sure that the next generation of men are not angered by women being “better” than them but empowered.
[Related link: Indiana Daily Student: Opinion: Men need to stand against misogyny too]
If not, we will continue to hear gruesome and sad stories, like Womack’s, where men’s egos are broken because a woman simply bested them in a sport.
