The problem of fairness in sport
In a position paper released in December (and no longer available on the website), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) calling for a ban on the use of male practice players in women's sports (ESPN, 12/12/06). ESPN quotes the committee: "The message to female student-athletes seems to be 'you are not good enough to make our starters better, so we need to use men instead.'" However, the starters in question seem to agree with this assessment. Courtney Paris of the Colorado State women's basketball team said to the Denver Post (2/13/07): "The average girl rec player in the gym can't compete with us. The guys are much better. They help us a lot."
Henry and Comeaux (1999) suggest that the "unfulfilled promise" of egalitarianism in coed sports (specifically soccer, where male players tend to dominate in mixed leagues), reflect the failure to reach equality in American society at large. Wachs (2005), on the other hand, suggests that women's performance in coed sports (specifically softball) causes gender stereotypes to be "simultaneously challenged and reinvigorated." Interestingly, French soccer referrees (male) consistently rated female soccer players as more aggressive than male soccer players in a study by Coulomb-Cabagno et al (2005).
My interest level in sports was fickle as a teenager. My nuclear family was fairly vehemently anti-sport (being deeply ensconced in geek culture) but also vehemently feminist (ditto). Being small and lazy was the tie-breaker, and I never participated in a team sport outside of Phys. Ed. class, which I was consistently on the verge of failing (it was graded largely on attendance, and I missed a lot of school). Spectator sports never made much sense to me until my current relationship, where my partner is an avid hockey fan. His enthusiasm(and, I suspect, my testosterone) have really increased my enjoyment of watching sports, but I still haven't gotten motivated to play any. While testosterone has increased my muscle mass, and seems to have reduced my fear of failure, I'm still very nervous about participating in any pick-up game. For one thing, no one ever taught me how to throw. My partner's sister, for what it's worth, throws a mean spiral.
Henry and Comeaux (1999) suggest that the "unfulfilled promise" of egalitarianism in coed sports (specifically soccer, where male players tend to dominate in mixed leagues), reflect the failure to reach equality in American society at large. Wachs (2005), on the other hand, suggests that women's performance in coed sports (specifically softball) causes gender stereotypes to be "simultaneously challenged and reinvigorated." Interestingly, French soccer referrees (male) consistently rated female soccer players as more aggressive than male soccer players in a study by Coulomb-Cabagno et al (2005).
My interest level in sports was fickle as a teenager. My nuclear family was fairly vehemently anti-sport (being deeply ensconced in geek culture) but also vehemently feminist (ditto). Being small and lazy was the tie-breaker, and I never participated in a team sport outside of Phys. Ed. class, which I was consistently on the verge of failing (it was graded largely on attendance, and I missed a lot of school). Spectator sports never made much sense to me until my current relationship, where my partner is an avid hockey fan. His enthusiasm(and, I suspect, my testosterone) have really increased my enjoyment of watching sports, but I still haven't gotten motivated to play any. While testosterone has increased my muscle mass, and seems to have reduced my fear of failure, I'm still very nervous about participating in any pick-up game. For one thing, no one ever taught me how to throw. My partner's sister, for what it's worth, throws a mean spiral.