POWDER PUFF

'Powder Puff' is a reference to the division of an otherwise male dominated sport reserved for females regardless of the age of the participants.
Powder puff football games are an annual tradition at many high schools and universities in the United States and Canada. The game usually pits girls from the junior class against girls in the senior class or cross-town school rivals in a flag football or touch football contest. Boys from the classes will dress in drag and be the cheerleaders. Funds from the ticket and concession sales for the game typically go to charity or to a dance afterwards.
The term originates from the powder puff used in cosmetics for powdering. Typical female behavior at the time the term originated included repeatedly taking out a powder puff and a small mirror to powder themselves in public.
Many schools will create T-Shirts or dresses that will be worn at different times in the school year.
Some female participants of a sport deem the the term "powder puff" as derogatory since the name connoted frivolity of the division, that it is at best an auxiliary and should not be taken seriously. In Bicycle Motocross (BMX) the term powder puff referred to the female class of racers up until approximately 1982 when pressure from the girls class influenced the sport's sanctioning bodies to drop the term. As this quote from one of the sport's leading magazine illustrates:

''"...We don't say "powderpuff" anymore because it has male Chauvinist pig connotations. And we sure don't want to get all them moon babes mad at us."''^[1] ----''Bicycle Motocross Action'' September 1981.

How mad some of them can get is exemplified by the statement of Kathy Schachel, a top 15 year old racer at the time a few months later:

''"The Teaneck girl doesn't think much of the name of her class, "15 and Over ''Powder Puff''. It's sexist! I don't like it!' she said-but she won it both Saturday and Sunday just the same."''''BMX Plus!'' April 1982 Vol.5 No.4 pg.82 ---''BMX Plus''! April 1982

However, this view was not universal with the female class of racers:

''"Jenny Zeuner didn't mind the name Powder Puff--'I like it,' she declared, 'cause it's neat--it's been around a long time.' She took both wins in the 13-14 division of the class as if to back up her point."'' ---''BMX Plus''! April 1982

In women's top amateur and professional sports the term "powder puff" is not used. For example the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)[1], the women's professional basketball sanctioning body, is not referred to as powderpuff, nor is the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) [2] or the International Female Boxers Association (IFBA)[3] or the female division of any Olympic sport. Generally the more serious the women's division of a sport is taken the less frequently-if ever-it is referred to as a "powder puff" auxiliary. In this light, while women's high school flag football is still often referred to as "powder puff", the National Womens Football Association (NFWF)[4], a professional tackle football league and is not referred to by any means as "powder puff". However, there is are serious women's flag football leagues seeking to professionalize the sport like the International Women's Flag Football Association [5] or the Women's American Flag Football Federation [6]. The term "powder puff" doesn't seem to appear on either website for those organizations.

Contents

End Notes

End Notes

1. ''Bicycle Motocross Action'' September 1981 Vol. No.9 pg.85 (photo caption)