Powerschool GoGuardian Naviance Aimsweb Semstracker EdReflect SchoolDude Virtual Paragon Frontline Alio Service Portal

The Strength of the “Weaker Sex”

Girls: the weaker sex. They do not have the ability to play violent sports; they are fragile; they aren’t able to play a sport like a boy can. That is until they hit the court. Or the field. Or the pool. Until they spike a ball, make a goal, or become the kicker of the boys’ football team.

Girls are perceived differently in sports than boys are. Boys are perceived as being more equipped for sports because they are “stronger”, while girls are seen to be less able because they are “weaker”. Boys are biologically stronger because of testosterone, and when you are stronger your advantages in sports grow. Or so they say.

Most sports are grouped so that girls play against girls and the latter for boys, ensuring that there is not an advantages of strength. With very few female athletes in sports like football, empirical does not exist to prove that females would not succeed in male dominated sports, only cliché stereotypes.

“Boys are most likely taller, so they are better at sports.” Not every boy is tall, and not every girl is short. The average height of a man is 5’9”. Most women will not be 5’9”, but the difference between 5’4” and 5’9” is only five inches, compared to 5’4” and 6’2”, which is ten inches, it is a lot less. When boys are under six-feet, height cannot be used to say males are better at sports. That is because many female athletes are taller, and when they are not, they make up for it with speed and talent.

“Boys have more aggression, which makes for better games.” Girls can be just as aggressive as boys, if they are put into a situation that requires aggression. Not every boy has the aggression to play a contact sport, while some girls do. A girl isn’t vulnerable because of her gender, and if she happens to be vulnerable that is partially mental, not only because of her physical makeup.

“Boys have desire and motivation in sports, but girls don’t.” Studies from the Women Sports Foundation have shown that females tend to be more team-oriented, and they value team unity more than boys do. Girls are more likely to take the blame for defeat, while many boys will make excuses. Girls walk into a competition with the same mindset as boys. They want to win. They want to do their best, and be the best, just like boys.

Female athletes are constantly proving themselves capable to perform at any sport, at any level. Take the newest kicker of the Woodland football team, Lauren Charette. Female athletes like Lauren, Mo’ne Davis, the first female little league pitcher to pitch in the Little League World Series, Danica Patrick, the most successful women in the history of open-wheel racing, and Brittney Griner, a female Baylor basketball player who was the first to dunk in a male collegiate game, erase the differences between genders in sports. The army now allows women in combat, proving that may only be a matter of time before a girl will be suiting up for an NFL game. Or dunking on an NBA basketball court. Or slide tackling on a FIFA soccer field. Soon the distinctions between males and females in sports may not exist. This could erase the myth of the “weaker sex”.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/08/watch-brittney-griner-slam-down-the-first-dunk-in-wnba-playoff-history