Over the past few months, there has been an all-out war being waged online through blog posts and on Twitter. This war, much like armed conflicts that have taken place around the world, goes through quiet periods where each side gathers surveillance on the other and then erupts in fire fights every now and then.
What could cause such unrest? The answer is, of all things, puck bunnies, or rather one alleged puck bunny in particular. It all seems to have started sometime after a girl started tweeting as PsychoPuckLady and linking to her blog on Twitter. On the blog, she mostly talks about her trips to watch hockey in a number of NHL and major junior markets. But what she also does is discuss the so called “puck bunny” phenomenon. A LOT. She even wrote a book about it, which was available to read on her blog site for a time, but has been taken down. I’ve read a lot of her blog. I felt it was important to do the research before making any conclusions about her or about what she has to say.
Symbolism.
As more and more people started following her, some girls took exception to what she had to say. They interpret her blog as a “sex site” and a place for her to describe all the hockey players she has allegedly known in a carnal way. They started calling her names, writing blog posts about her, and one person even started an entire blog (complete with an associated twitter account) denouncing her. A number of people on Twitter even started calling out their followers, telling them they were being “judged” for following the PsychoPuckLady account.
There has been a lot of name calling from both sides, and quite frankly, I’m tired of it. I’m a female hockey fan. I watch hockey games –sometimes I even get to GO to games (I’m a Habs fan living in Montreal. Tickets are VERY hard to come by, but every now and then, I find a way). I can explain most of the rules clearly and succinctly. I appreciate the athleticism required to compete at that level. But I am also still female and so yes, I do notice when a player happens to be good looking. Does that make me a puck bunny? No, it doesn’t.
“Puck bunnies”, in the strictest sense of the derogation it’s meant to imply, do whatever it takes to land themselves a hockey-playing conquest. In fact, having read at least some of PsychoPuckLady’s book while it was available, this is exactly the point she seemed to be making – that a subculture exists where women follow hockey players as opposed to the game of hockey itself. The book was an interesting study of the phenomenon that didn’t necessarily condone it, just described it. And reading through her blog itself, I didn’t find any reference to her having slept with any players. A bit of fancying of certain players? Sure – find me a female hockey fan who doesn’t! In general, her blog is sensationalist and a bit silly, and I certainly don’t buy in to it. But at the end of the day, the site isn’t the real problem.
The real problem lies in the fact that all the fighting has caused a lot of division, which is bad for ALL female hockey fans, whether they can spout off every goalies GAA from memory, or they are more casual fans. A lot of women would describe themselves as a hockey fan, and who are we to try and force a definition of what constitutes a “real” hockey fan? I think anyone who likes and appreciates the game of hockey at any level is a hockey fan.
If we consider the stats that are out there, which are admittedly few and mostly outdated, self-described female hockey fans make up roughly 40% of all hockey fans. In a recent study of social networking, hockey fans were found to be the most gender balanced and the most well-connected online. All of this adds up to female hockey fans representing nearly half of all hockey fans, and also being a very vocal bunch. We have a strong voice in social media, and this means people take notice of things like this ongoing fight between the women of hockey. Is this really the image we want female hockey fans to have? A divided, vindictive, and spiteful group, rather than the interested, intelligent, and informed female hockey fans that I have found to be the rule, rather than the exception?
I’m not saying that we all need to agree or even to endorse what everyone else has to say, but I think we need to take the time to consider each others’ point of view. There are also alternative approaches to deal with things you don’t agree with. Communicate by email. Open a dialogue about what you disagree with. I’ve found that, in general, people respond much better to civil communication than to being publicly called out. In the process, we can improve the image of all female hockey fans and maybe even grow to understand each other a little better.
Amanda Fortier is a lifelong Habs fan who lives in Montréal. She has a PhD in a decidedly non-hockey related field, and works in a hospital by day but can often be found on Twitter at night.
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Wow I never knew girls would be so into hockey.
Oops! That was a premature entry that I now can't edit… oh well.
In any case, the major point I wanted to make was that there is a HUGE difference between addressing issues like adults and acting like children. The name calling and the harsh words have come from both sides (and yes, I admit that it's due to a great deal of provokation that Psycho Puck Lady was induced to retaliate). I think that we all need to inform ourselves better and to make our own choices, not just in this situation, but in every situation.
All that being said, I do appreciate the comments. This is my first post, and I'm open to hearing comments and criticisms from the readers. All I can do is listen, and try to be better in the future. I have an admittedly thin skin and a somewhat hard head, but I do try to take comments and consider them, especially as I go forward writing for this awesome site!
Thank you for your comment Nick.
I tried to indicate in the post that I don't think either side is completely in the right in this situation but I guess that maybe that point got buried under all the background I had to give for the non-Twitter readers of the blog…
I agree with you that Psycho Puck Lady is not the evil that everyone has made her out to be, and if people were just open to actually informing themselves, instead of just going along with the self-appointed “moral” majority, then this might never have become the issue that it did. And the people who are against her have gone about it in completely the wrong way. I'm an adult, and I will choose who I follow/read/etc and I won't allow people to make my decisions for me. I respect everyone's right to do the same as well. Like gimmeapuck said, if you don't like it, don't read it applies in all senses.
It's clearly a thorny issue, and I commend you, Amanda, for writing the blog post. I think you're pretty much on target, especially the part that seems to escape some people: I read Down the Rabbit Hole as well, and it never endorses the puck bunny lifestyle. It presents it in a dispassionate way, and in many ways I didn't find it too forgiving of the whole thing. Read more like a cautionary manual to me….
I think Psycho Lady Hockey is also right that there's a bit of moral equivalency going on with the post, however. I had a lot of people I thought were my friends stop following or associating with me because I didn't go along with the Borg and immediately decide Psycho Puck Lady – whom I consider a good friend – is a danger to humankind. Neither I nor anyone else who got caught in the crossfire (all I did was RT a post that I considered satire…that got the guns trained on me) EVER tried to force friends/followers to stop associating with the individuals in question. Meanwhile, people involved have said some pretty vile things about Psycho Puck Lady, myself, and other people who disagreed with their opinion, and in some cases certain individuals have tried to hurt people's professional reputations. I think that's a profound difference.
On the whole, I agree completely with gimmeapuck's point – not everyone is going to like everything. My blog has haters too, though not on this level…anyone who is offended by or simply doesn't like a site can stop reading it. There's no need for the rest of it.
Thanks for saying this, Amanda, again.
I'm sorry that you feel that way, because that was clearly not what I intended. I find the whole situation ridiculous, and I don't think they have a leg to stand on, which is clearly stated in the article. I don't have any problem with you, or with your blog. I follow you on Twitter, and I read your blog. I feel like you were the CATALYST to the particular situation that I'm discussing, but in no way do I think they were in the right for what they did. I would be happy to discuss it by email or if you prefer to keep it public, then please, by all means, we can do it here. I just sent you a DM on Twitter with my email address. Otherwise, I will check back here.
You know what I enjoy the best about your take on this “fight?” You put the blame solely on me for this situation. Did you once list any of the names of the people responsible for this, or is it just my reputation you are trying to mess with? Also, you haven't the slightest idea about what you're talking about. If you did you'd know this wasn't a fight. This was always one sided. My problem was that I existed and some insecure people couldn't handle it, so they started their ridiculous campaigns and blogs to essential murder my online existence. I put up with it for six months before I had anything to say about it. And even now I have not gone after anyone for following these people or reading these blogs. Your problem is that you believe one side (the only side) and play right into the fantasy that some sort of fight is actually going on. This Kate person is proof positive. It's nice to know that I have a personal conflict with her friend. I wonder what I did this time. I found this blog post quite humourous, but something tells me that's not what you were going for.
Matt – I LOVE that you have man crushes and can admit it.
Ask the Habs fans who follow me on Twitter… they call me Amanda Cammalleri. Hey, he's single. A girl can dream, right?
Of course I'll let you follow me! (I accept all the real, non-bot people… the protected status is mostly because my Dad is always googling me, and seeing as I'm a *hmm-hmm* year old woman, I find it creepy).
And sadly, no, the furry creatures aren't mine. I do have a cat though.
Hockey boyfriends aren't just a female thing. I've had a man-crush on Jarome Iginla for a few years… and I feel horrible that he's been replaced by Ryan Kesler…. LOL
Tremendous post Amanda! Like some other have mentioned, you summed up my thoughts exactly. I hope you'll let me follow you on Twitter, and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.
And AWESOME pix! Are the furry creatures yours?
Thanks for your comment. I agree that we shouldn't waste time getting worked up over being called a puck bunny, but I also think we, as women, need to stop calling other women puck bunnies (or anything else for that matter) as well. When you said “get a life”, that's more or less what I'm getting at too.
I've kind of always been of the mindset: Don't like it? Don't read it!
It's pretty simple. Diverity is part of what makes the world go 'round!
Thank you!! I've never actually been put in a situation where I've felt the need to clarify, but given the content of the article I figured I'd chime in. I don't see any reason to make the distinction, either. All I know is that I soak up as much hockey as I can whenever I can, and I've been fortunate to meet some amazing fans, of both genders, along the way!
Memo to @gimmeapuck – I don't respect you as a female hockey fan. I respect you as a hockey fan – no distinction needed
Totally, totally agree. I wrote about this a while ago as well: http://www.iloveburritos.com/hockey/?p=535 and I'm tempted to say that some people just have too much time on their hands to get into this fight but that's catty as well. Hockey is a sport and it's fun and it need not be a platform for a “feminist agenda” or just plain hatefulness.
This is a great piece. It's extremely unfair how female hockey fans get labeled as puck bunnies. I'll admit that when a player is hot, I'll definitely notice and sometimes call him my hockey boyfriend. But I also know a lot about hockey. For every hot hockey player there is, I also know their goals/assists/points totals or their GAA.
I want respect as a hockey lady.
Well said. I've wanted to write about this for a while, when I noticed the fights between certain women hockey bloggers earlier in the season, and didn't find them especially constructive. I follow PPL's Twitter and blog. I don't care for all of it, and wouldn't want people to represent her as THE female hockey blogger, but I don't have much of a problem with it either–it's more of a travel/personal blog anyway.
The attacks on her ended up pissing me off more–does it help women sports bloggers to make unfounded charges, and in the case of the anti-PPL blog, make personal attacks using the standard sexist, judgmental terms? I don't get it.
Just to add a kudos here. Great post, great topic.
When I started blogging it was, and still is, my goal to make sure that people know first and foremost that I'm a hockey fan. I can't deny that I find players to be good looking as well, but when it comes down to it, I'm more concerned about a decent power play and penalty kill than I am by how good looking the roster is.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't his name Studly Wonderbomb? And a MAN gave him that nickname… LOL
Great piece!! I always want to be respected as a female hockey fan. I feel that I'm pretty well-versed in all things NHL. Having said that, I don't mind looking at Sheldon Souray for more than just his slap shot. At least there's ONE reason to watch the Oilers this season….
Oh, and LOVE the pic!!
Thank you for putting so succinctly what I feel about this whole situation. While I don't like her, due largely to an incident with a close friend that has nothing to do with the puck bunny accusations, I think the term is getting thrown around too often.
I have been called a puck bunny man times. I have had chances to sleep with these phenomenal athletes also. I never have and never will. I can quote you stats anytime you throw a players name at me. Can the lady sitting next to me do that? Chances are, no. Can the man sitting next to her do it? Doubt it. Do I care? No. Is she still considered a fan to me? Absolutley. She is cheering on my team with glory and pride. Does she sleep with these guys? Who really cares. I know I don't. People need to get over themselves. I don't give a shit who sleeps with who. And you should not eiother. Tagging someone a puck bunny just says you need to get a life. Who really cares? If you support a team you are a fan. Period.