INTRODUCTION
The Cavite State University, CvSU, has long been part of collegiate sports in
the Philippines, with its women’s basketball team competing in leagues such
as the Cavite School Cultural Athletic Association and hosting regional
tournaments in its Don Severino de las Alas Campus in Indang, Cavite (The
Gazette, n.d.). Although the team has won title defenses in women’s
divisions and contributes to grassroots athletic development, the fan base
remains far below that of men’s basketball programs in the university, as
measured by attendance in the games, student involvement in support
activities, and community visibility (The Gazette, n.d.). This research paper
seeks to understand such a gap through looking into how biological sex and
culturally specific gender norms shape fan interactions with women’s
basketball in CvSU. It draws on local studies, institutional records, and
regional accounts to ground its analysis.
Biologically, it means physiological differences that may affect patterns of
sports consumption specifically in the variation in the number of participants
in fan clubs or in the preference between live and online viewing among
CvSU students, faculty, and community members. On the other hand,
Philippine gender norms, influenced as they are by legacies of colonialism,
family values, and regional traditions, typically frame basketball as a
masculine domain of strength and competitive domination. According to The
Guidon (2023), phrases such as “para kang lalaki maglaro” remain common
compliments for female athletes, reinforcing stereotypes that equate skill
with masculinity and devalue women’s athleticism. On the other hand, the
notion of gender roles among the Filipino populace, shaped by the influence
of colonization and more so by the value placed on the institution of the
family, views basketball as something to be associated more with men and
male power and prowess on the court and match competition (The Guidon,
2023). At CvSU, these norms are reflected in institutional practices: while the
university’s Gender and Development (GAD) Office advocates for equity in
sports (CvSU-CCAT, n.d.), women’s basketball games have historically
received less promotional support and media coverage than men’s matches.
Although there is a strong following building for women’s basketball in the
country—featured in record-breaking attendance at UAAP matchups such as
those pitting NU and UST, where women’s basketball is intentionally
promoted as a draw in its own right (Garcia, J.M. (2024)– similar in CvSU.
Historically, women’s basketball in Philippine collegiate levels of play has
been covered in older media in a manner reflecting supplementary rather
than meritocritical perspectives, as demonstrated in a study of UAAP
women’s basketball in Filipino media published by Bacud and Chua (2015). In
Cavite specifically, According to study of Aguillon and Donato (2023)
demonstrated that despite a generally openness to gender equity from
university students in particular, cultural conduits such as the ‘basketball is
for boys’ social stamp continue to discourage women’s basketball
attendance, while socialization patterns within families continue to direct
keeping non-university-going youth away from women’s basketball as a sport
in Cavite generally. Nevertheless, as currently stands, very little study has
been completed on how biological differences in the sexes and, in particular,
local gender ideologies influence women’s basketball attendance specifically
in CvSU, preventing strategies to pursue growth in women’s basketball
attendance for the university from materializing.
The Gazette: The Official Student Publication of Cavite State University –
Main Campus. (n.d.). CvSU joins CavSCAA. Retrieved from
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CvSU-CCAT. (n.d.). Gender and Development Office. Retrieved from
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CvSU-CCAT. (n.d.). Socio-Cultural and Sports Development Unit. Retrieved
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The Guidon. (2023, May). Sports Play like a girl. Retrieved from
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Bacud, A.J., & Chua, G. (2015). “(Wo)Men’s Sports: An Analysis of the Role of
Gender in the Coverage of the UAAP Season 77 Basketball and Volleyball in
the Three Leading Metro Manila Newspapers”. Unpublished undergraduate
thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.
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Aguillon, A.I.G., & Donato, L.M. (2023). “Gender Equality Acceptance of the
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