"Girlcotting" the 2010 Winter Olympics

Some boys take an athletic girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world . . .
Girls wanna be the ones to jump at the sun
Oh girls, they wanna ski jump
Oh girls just wanna ski jump . . .

- a parody of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," with apologies to Cyndi Lauper

The person with the record for the longest ski jump at the Vancouver Olympic facility will not be competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Women aren't allowed to compete in the ski jump, one event that has been in the Winter Olympics since its inception. And according to the Christian Science Monitor, the person who holds the ski jump record for that facility, Lindsey Van, an American, will not be competing. Because she's a woman.

So, let me get this straight: Women can lead nations, die in combat, compete in Olympic boxing -- but they can't ski jump? The IOC says there aren't enough nations and competitors to justify including women ski jumpers.

But they still include curling not only as an event, but an event for both sexes? Who watches curling, anyway?

I call B.S. And I call for a "girlcott" of the 2010 Winter Olympics by every woman who has ever told her sister, mother, daughter, or granddaughter that they can achieve whatever they want if they put their hearts into it.

So, as much as I love ice skating and men's speed skating (I'm sorry, but for heterosexual females, men's speed skating is acceptable porn -- love those tight catsuits! Thanks for the, uh, memories, Eric Heiden!), I'll be turning the channel and sitting out the 2010 Winter Olympics along with Lindsey Van's ski jumping. Until women can compete in any event they choose alongside men, I'll be girlcotting any international sports event that excludes us.

'Cause girls just wanna to ski jump.

To sign a petition to include women's ski jumping in the Olympics, visit here.