In Face Off, Chelsea Curto argues that female athletes in male-dominated sports face a pervasive and exhausting double standard that forces them to constantly prove their legitimacy. This disproportionate scrutiny manifests in public perception and media coverage as well as within intimate relationships, where a woman’s professional success can be framed as a threat to the male ego. Through Emmy’s journey into the NHL, the novel illustrates how this systemic sexism questions a female athlete’s skill, scrutinizes her personal life, and demands a level of resilience far exceeding that of her male counterparts.

The most public form of this double standard appears in media interactions, where Emmy’s achievements are often diminished by gendered qualifiers. During her first press conference as a D.C. Star, reporter Simon Buttecker dismisses her impressive ECHL statistics by stating they are impressive “for a female athlete” (63). This comment seeks to invalidate her skill by suggesting it exists on a separate, lesser scale from men’s achievements. Maverick’s furious defense of Emmy highlights the injustice, as he points out that no one would ever qualify his own stats as good “for a male athlete” (64). Even before this, Emmy reveals her awareness of this tokenism, worrying that the Stars only offered her a contract as a “‘diverse hire’ thing” (4). This internal anxiety demonstrates how the constant external questioning of her merit leads her to doubt her own hard-won success, a burden her male teammates do not share.

The novel extends this critique of sexism from the public sphere into private relationships, showing how the double standard can fuel emotional abuse. Emmy’s past relationship with fellow hockey player Cole is a stark example. His support soured the moment her career began to eclipse his. After she was promoted to the starting line over him, he began a campaign of psychological torment, claiming her opportunities were due to her looks or that coaches wanted to sleep with her, not because of her talent. He even cruelly joked about letting teammates sexually assault her. This backstory reveals a toxic dynamic where a man’s insecurity, threatened by a woman’s superior ability in a shared profession, twists into a need to belittle and degrade her. Cole’s verbal abuse is a direct consequence of a culture that struggles to accept female excellence in a male-dominated space.

Despite the psychological toll, Emmy transforms this relentless sexism into a source of motivation. She uses hateful, sexist comments as fuel to silence her critics on the ice. While this shows her resilience, it also emphasizes the additional emotional labor required of her. Emmy must not only perform at an elite level but also constantly battle a barrage of public and private attacks on her legitimacy. Thus, her success demonstrates her ability to withstand and repurpose the very sexism designed to hold her back. Through the fictional story of Emmy’s trailblazing career in the NHL, Curto calls for real change in society’s treatment of female athletes.