http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2006/09/28/tech-finger-length.html

Just that statement in and of itself is an expression of the diminishment of women and the idea that they cease to exist outside of the realm of men. So what if the women’s sports are easier than the men’s? I’d doubt their claims, but to argue the issue only gives power and credence to their efforts to claim that men hold the bar for acheivement and also, that men are superior.

In fact, the claim is made and you assume it true? Everyone assumes the claim true because women are in fact inferior right? Why is this claim given one ounce of credence? Or is it because it is males making this claim and we should all stop and listen and think on it. I’ll puke on it thank you.

(Yes, I hear you about what you say Lucky about when women say something. Try dealing with a bunch of lumox subcontractors, all men, with little ladies at home washing their socks. Now they have to recognize that I run the show here, or go away with empty pockets. They do have a hard time hearing at first, but they learn.)

If they wish to have an ‘easier’ team then their alternative should be to start their own second level, lower level, junior-junior varisty, hell I don’t give a hoot what its called or why, but they still have no right to make claim to women’s territory!

That anyone even puts finger to chin and thinks on it for one minute as if somehow the claim for access deserves credence, only is a Too-Too-Tool of the Patriarchy!!

Oh and thanks Lucky for your agreeing with me.

What does this mean, exactly?

Whenever I, or any other woman for that matter, quotes a statistic, people rush out to prove her wrong…

Who knew you were a woman? If anything, your ‘handle’ reads like “Lucky Uncle.”

As for me, I look to challenge statistics which are foreign or counterintuitive or which contradict more accepted results. I’m guessing that’s the reason Ms Kate dared to disagree.

Also, CafeSiren, in Portland at least most t-ball teams - as well as preschool and kindergarten-era soccer teams - are not boy-girl split, and haven’t been since at least the time I was on them which is (shudder, cough) 26 years ago.

If I remember right, my soccer team wasn’t even segregated in middle school, although the club teams were.

That’s not true in a lot of cases, at least in Portland. And good.

Being women are biologically complete, and men are not…

What does this mean, exactly?

For as long as the patriarchy has existed, we as women have been taught, often subconsciously, that it’s simply a man’s world and that if we enter into that world, we won’t be able to live up to the big, strong men and those men will end up having to carry us. If a girl honestly believes, even subconsciously, that she can’t live up to the boys and excel on their level, things like joining the boy’s hockey team can feel downright irresponsible, which I think is very sad. All-female teams can provide a more comfortable environment, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Some girls aren’t going to gain confidence overnight, and it’s better to let them ease into it than to abandon them.

However, in a case like this, you have to think about the girls’ motives in going out for an all-male team. What would compel a girl to do that? Perhaps she doesn’t feel comfortable or challenged on the girl’s team, or the girl’s team isn’t taken as seriously. Or, perhaps a girl’s team doesn’t exist. Perhaps she feels she’s being segregated because of her gender. I think concerns like this are valid. Unfortunately, despite Title IX and other advances in women’s atheletics, there are still many people, mostly men, who just don’t take women’s sports seriously. Women are still expected to be quiet and non-agressive, and sports usually take some level of agressive behavior. That’s why I think some people (once again, mostly men) find female atheletes intimidating. But girls deserve just as much of an opportunity as guys.

Which leads me to the motives of guys who try out for girl’s teams. What do they stand to gain from it? Most sports are already male-dominated, so they have the upper hand by default. Nobody can claim men, as a gender, have been particularly oppressed over the years, either. And if there’s one area where men have definitely not been oppressed in, I’d say sports qualify. So, the only motive I can think of, aside from spite or perhaps a strive for what they feel would be equality, would be what some of the boys in the article admitted to: they feel the girl’s team is easier. Well, they’re honest, which is good. However, do we really want girl’s sports to be considered easier than male sports?

Now I know the Y chromosome is progressively degenerating, but I don’t think it’s dengenerating quite that fast.

But I did notice an interesting phenomenon. Whenever I, or any other woman for that matter, quotes a statistic, people rush out to prove her wrong. But when men qhote a statistic, people usually just take it as fact. What’s up with that?

That was the case 3 or 4 years ago when I did the research. People rushed out to prove me wrong back then as well. What we found is some sites concurred and some didn’t.

**shrug**

But back to the subject as hand, in particular, Sailorboy, I just wanted to say, hat’s off to you again, KTal. Hammer. Nail. Bang.

Nope. It’s more like 5′4″ for women, 5′9″ for men according to the CDC in 2002: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/departs/2005/105_note.html (scroll down a bit)

Fact is, school sports benefits all participants in that it develops the ability to learn teamwork, individual strengths, how to be aggressive, how to be competitive and yet still be a ’sport’ about it — a skill well developed among males and very useful in the working world, also not to mention the benefits of regular exercise and the opportunity for socialization that has nothing to do with sexualization or satisfying any other arbitrary, discriminatory rules girls must otherwise follow.

Actually, the quest for pro-sports placement embodies another niche carved out by the dominant group for another oppressed group to fall into. When the need for entertainers for the dominant group arises, the choosers just merely reach into the crammed bucket of ‘the chosen’ and pick out a few to dance for them. Some will either climb out, starve or eat eachother, but there is always a line cued up for the chance to get in and grab at the elusive pot o’ gold.

Same rules in as the patriarchy, in fact, functions very well within the patriarchy. Just that women make up 52% of the population last I knew, so their complicity with the system is paramount to its survival.