Point at Issue: Is Coed Sports The Next Step in Closing The Gender Gap
golero
Integrating men and women into sports is one of the areas that require work. Arguments over equality and physical strength have divided many in and around the sports world. Currently, men and women have separate leagues, with a few exceptions to this. Why is it this way? Some say there are significant gaps in physical attributes that many benefit from in sport that favor men. Men have the advantage in height, speed, strength, and weight, to name a few. On the other side, people propose that if women can compete and make it on the team, they should play. Where is the line, and can these differences be resolved?
The most significant debate is the biological differences between the two sexes are what they are; men and women are different. "It's already known that males' upper bodies, on average, have 75% more muscle mass and 90% more strength than females'. But it's not known why," stated a recent study on Science Daily. The study analyzed actively fit men and women, and both sexes were at the same starting point in terms of activity levels.
If we apply Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, we see that it is “suggested that when males and females had different “habits,” and differed in traits other than primary sexual characters, the differences were probably due to natural selection,” cited a study by David J. Hosken and Clarissa M. House. The study went on to say that “whenever a trait is developed for “the general purposes of life” this is also due to natural selection.”
This can explain why even with the same level of "fitness," the men's "average power during a punching motion was 162% greater than females," stated University of Utah professor David Carrier. Also, the least powerful man in the study was deemed stronger than the most powerful woman. To have women on teams with men could cause serious harm to women. Carrier explained that the strength is developed "with time and with purpose."
So what if we take a look at the "time" factor that Carrier refers to. If women could compete with men from the beginning of their sports careers, would it make a difference? Giving men and women the opportunity to practice and play together at a young age would provide women with the ability to compete against players who may be stronger than them and thus present more of a challenge.
Another advantage in sports for men is that they possess higher levels of testosterone. This higher level boosts strength and aerobic capacity among men. It doesn't make it ideal for putting both sexes on the same team because "Testosterone is a powerful anabolic hormone—it helps you build lean muscle mass significantly—so it tends to boost your generalized strength," stated Joanna Harper, a medical physicist at Loughborough University. It is also important to mention that testosterone is not the main point that makes someone a better athlete; there is much more research to determine that this is the cause.
Early on in life, women are at a disadvantage with less funding for equipment and scholarships and fewer opportunities to play sports. According to the Women's Sports Foundation, male athletes get $179 million more in athletic scholarships each year than females do on average. It is hard to argue against those who had to work even harder than men did; going through these challenges, women should receive a fair chance to compete with men and receive the same pay for the same work.
The biggest story regarding this has been the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team which in 2019 launched a conversation around gender equality with equal pay. They pointed out that even though they are arguably more successful than their men counterparts, they are paid less and receive a smaller amount of investments than the men.
Their battle caused officials to listen and respond that "U.S. Soccer is 100 percent committed to equal pay," the governing body said in a statement. "We have offered the USWNT the identical compensation provided to our men's players for all matches controlled by U.S. Soccer."
In addition to this, to achieve equality, the opportunities given must be the same. Some athletes have long argued that it would be better if sports were co-ed. "If more sports were co-ed, it would strengthen camaraderie between male and female athletes and make everyone perform better," wrote former track and field runner Libby Allnatt.
If women had the chance to compete alongside men, the gap in certain sports could eventually close. Some sports clubs are looking toward including women on all-male teams, providing hope for women looking to enroll. Another consideration is on the additional funds needed to address locker and club rooms' separation for men and women.
Late last summer, the Dutch Football Association announced they were initiating allowing a woman to play competitively on a men's team. To foster "the hope of greater womens' participation in the men's game in future," stated ESPN. Ellen Fokkema, age 19, is the first player to participate in this pilot and play for VV Foarut's first team. The Dutch FA said that they were going to monitor Fokkema's progress and, if it is a success would, "look at permanently changing the regulations to allow women to play alongside men."
Fokkema was happy with the chance to continue playing with her teammates. "It would have been a huge shame not to be able to play in this team anymore. My teammates are all delighted that I can stay" said Fokkema in an interview.
In 2020, Sarah Fuller became the very first woman to score in a major college football game. The same year saw Becky Hammon winning the spot as the first woman to serve as the head coach during an NBA game. Kim Ng became Major League Baseball's first woman general manager of the Miami Marlins.
Another historical placement is when "The NFL announced this month that Maia Chaka was added to the roster of game officials for the upcoming season," reported sports writer Analisi Bailey. This would make Chaka the first Black woman in league history named to the NFL's officiating staff. Despite being told they are not strong enough, women are showing that they can get the top spots.
What women may lack in muscle strength, they do makeup with endurance. In long marathons, bicycle, and swimming races that women are better at ultra-endurance events. "In general, women have a greater distribution of slow-twitch muscle fibres," said Dr Nicholas Tiller, a senior lecturer in applied physiology at Sheffield Hallam University. These muscle fibres are known to be more resistant to fatigue and better suited to endurance.
One significant difference is that women manage themselves in a completely different way than men. They control their pace, oxygen level, and mental ability to endure the pain and the race duration. The "longer the distance, the less of a gap between men and women," says Fiona Oakes, an ultra-marathon runner, and holder of four world records.
"Some female participants said events such as childbirth had helped them to deal with the pain and meant they had more belief in themselves so that they could push through the pain," Dr Meijen said. "When you think about ultra-endurance, it is a very painful experience." With women beating men, people have to notice and think about whether keeping men and women separate makes sense in every sport?
Not all sports are contact sports, and thus the separation of sexes is not strictly necessary. Why can't men and women compete against each other in sports such as tennis? Some professional players don't think that women would fare well against men. Former tennis star John McEnroe was controversial in his comment during an interview with NPR. McEnroe said that Williams would "be like 700 in the world" if she competed against men in the sport.
"Maybe at some point a women's tennis player can be better than anybody. I just haven't seen it in any other sport, and I haven't seen it in tennis. I suppose anything's possible at some stage," McEnroe said. Not everyone agrees with McEnroe's sentiments. Tennis greats Roger Federer and Billie Jean King are proponents for merging the Women's Tennis Association and the men's Association of Tennis Professionals.
The current system was "too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories," said Federer. Players and fans alike support the proposal to merge men's and women's tennis. Tennis is not the only sport to propose a change to allow men and women to be equals. Many other sports have experienced a year of firsts.
About a dozen or so women have been playing college football for years now. In 1997, Liz Heaston was the first female to have scored in a college football game. And most recently, after kicking a 55-yard field goal during a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens, Carli Lloyd earned interest from NFL teams to be their placekicker. Due to conflicts with her soccer career, she declined the offer.
"It may have to get pushed a year or two, we'll see. I know the times right now are a little up in the air, so we'll see. I'm not ruling it out. You never know." Lloyd said in a recent interview with CBS.
To put it simply, if women are given the same opportunities in growth and development in sports and can compete with men, they should compete in the same leagues. It is also fair to say that biological differences make this challenging to achieve, but we will not know unless we try.