In class this past week we discussed whether sports teams should be split up and segmented by sex or by skill level. Both of these segmentations have their pros and cons in different sports and situations.
Segmenting participants and teams by sex makes perfect sense to me for team sports such as Basketball and Soccer. Girls play in all girls leagues and guys play in all guys leagues. There are equal opportunities for each sex, and if they believe that men and women have the capability to be athletically equal, then there should be no complaints.
The problem arises when there are sports such as wrestling, softball, baseball, volleyball, and football where the teams are usually sex specific with a few exceptions. Girls are allowed to join wrestling teams and football teams, and every once in a while you hear a success story from a woman on a male team. I know that my high school had a girl kicker this past year and she did very well. But what happens when a male wants to play volleyball or softball? Males are allowed to join cheerleading squads because it is not a directly competitive sport. However, boys and males are not allowed (at least at my high school) to join the volleyball team or softball team. There is a clear double standard in regards to competitive sports.
I wonder what would happen legally if a male challenged his right to join a high school volleyball? He would have a clear argument, especially with women joining mens' sports teams in football and wrestling recently.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteThe points that you make in this blog are valid. It is interesting to sit back and think about the issues when it comes to girls playing sports primarily for boys, compared to boys playing sports primarily for girls. It is more socially acceptable for a girl to play a sport that is primarily for boys. As you stated above, if a boy were to want to play softball, people would not be as accepting compared to a girl wanting to play football. This may seem unfair, but in reality, I feel that not many boys have leaned toward softball over baseball. Some people feel that girls should stick to sports for girls, and boys should stick to sports for boys. No matter what, there will always be those unique individuals that feel capable of stepping out of their comfort zone to try something new. This is what makes society interesting, in my opinion.
Dan Pesato ^
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteIf you have not already seen the notes from the last class, you may want to check out the case of Keeling Pilaro who was able to play field hockey on a girls' team in Long Island, NY. This was a case that went to court and he won the right to play. Thought you might be interested to see this.
Dr. Spencer