By Melissa Geschwind

The NHL has made a strong statement over the past couple years that it welcomes fans of all sexual orientations. There are still slip-ups, but teams are working to eliminate casual homophobia from the rink.

Casual sexism, on the other hand, remains a constant hum that teams not only tolerate, but generate.

Arena organists play “Big Girls Don’t Cry” to taunt opposing players headed to the penalty box. Mike Milbury refers to Daniel and Henrik Sedin as “Thelma and Louise.” Chris Neil calls out Johan Franzen by suggesting Franzen “drop his purse [and] take his lipstick out.” And in about half of NHL arenas, the ice is shoveled by women in various states of undress.

For the most part, these women are more than capable of doing the job. They’re seasoned skaters who clear the ice quickly, efficiently and without interfering with the game. And they show leg, midriff and cleavage for some reason.

Some teams have fully-clothed people (sometimes men and women, sometimes just men) clearing the ice. No teams have half-dressed men shoveling the ice, nor would anyone expect them to. Why should they? There are plenty of places for gay men and straight women to go for that kind of thing, and a hockey game just isn’t one of those places.

But it is a place to go if you want to see scantily-clad women, because EVERYWHERE is a place to go if you want to see scantily-clad women. It’s so pervasive that the people it appeals to can no longer recognize when it’s inappropriate, or even just out of place.

"It's what every college in the country does. It's what every NBA team in the country does. It's what every lacrosse team in the country does," says Steve Johnston, Executive Director/Producer of Game Presentation for the Colorado Avalanche, which introduced ice girls for the first time this season. "It's a tried, tested and true method."

He’s right, of course. Cheerleaders and their skimpy costumes are nothing new and, as Dallas Stars Executive Vice President/Chief Revenue Officer Brad Alberts says, “I think for the most part women are accustomed to seeing it.”

Women didn’t have to get accustomed to seeing scantily-clad women on the ice during in-period timeouts, though, until the New York Islanders introduced the NHL’s first ice girls squad in 2001-02. What was once on the sidelines is now on the playing surface, and not just during intermissions. It’s a step backwards, and it again reinforces the idea that the NHL says it’s for everyone, but it’s not really for women – or at least, it’s not for women who are in it for the hockey. Ice girls look a lot like professional puck bunnies, and their presence undercuts the notion that teams value female fans as highly as male fans.

“I don't like when women are unnecessarily and overtly sexualized, and I don't like being a female fan in an environment where that's the way women are presented. And sitting the crowd while guys howl at the ice girls really makes the experience less fun and more hostile,” says Laura Brown, a 27-year-old Islanders fan. “The Islanders also have their ice girls show up at events and just... pose sometimes, and I hate that too.”

The ice girls’ presence both in and out of the arena also means the teams think their on-ice product – the actual hockey - isn’t enough. It isn’t enough even when you bring in music, giveaways, mites on ice, trivia games, off-day player appearances… none of it is enough without some T&A.

Alberts freely admits that the Stars feel they need cheerleaders and ice girls to help attract and keep fans.

"We have to be more than just the game," he says. "In Texas we live in a major football culture and cheerleading is a part of that culture, and we felt like we needed cheerleaders."

Johnston and Islanders Vice President of Game Operations Tim Beach, though, claim their respective teams don’t need ice girls in order to satisfy their fan bases. Both say that during games, the ice girls’ costumes, hair and make-up are secondary to their practical role: Clearing snow during stoppages in play. They also insist that every aspect of game presentation is designed to be family-friendly and that the ice girls are extremely popular in their communities, where they make hundreds of public appearances a year.

But when the Islanders’ ice girls give presentations at schools, they wear track suits rather than their regular game day regalia. “Schools have enough problems with dress codes,” Beach says, “that the last thing we want is for them to have to worry about our dress code.”

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