Boys and Girls: Play Separate
By: Cameron Denman
Imagine you're a talented girl who loves to play sports, and you are going to
compete on a boys' team this season. When you go to a game with the boys, they see
that you don't play as well as them and they start to make fun of you. This is upsetting
because girls physically aren't built the same way as boys and can't play as well as boys.
Your self-esteem drops and you don't want to play that sport anymore. The next thing you know, your mom's on the phone with the league's manager taking you off the team. There go your chances of showing your talent, playing a sport you love, and improving your skills. Keeping boys and girls on separate sports teams protects girls and has many benefits for both genders.
Boys Are Physically Superior
As boys grow, "they develop more muscle mass per unit volume of mass than do
girls" (Women's Sports Foundation). Who would want their daughter to compete with
players that are stronger, faster, and who can throw farther? According to the text
"Making An Informed Decision About Girls' Participation on Boys' Teams," "on average,
after puberty, boys are bigger and stronger than girls." If a girl gets hurt by a teammate
because they are significantly more powerful, they might not want to participate in that
sport anymore. Nobody wants girls to miss out on any opportunities just because they
got hurt on a coed team. Girls naturally aren't more massive and powerful than boys
which can cause them to get injured.
Good Opportunities
Organizations have to figure out how they can provide fair opportunities for girls to
participate in sporting activities with other girls (Making An Informed Decision About Girls
Participation on Boys' Teams). There should be no problem for girls to participate on
suitable, all girls teams. "CAAWS believes that playing on a girls' team (that has the same
resources as the boys' team) is the most desirable situation for girls themselves and for
the development of the larger female sporting community" (Making An Informed Decision
About Girls Participation on Boys' Teams). Girls will benefit the most socially, mentally,
and physically by playing on all girls sports teams. There is no reason for girls to compete
with boys when they can excel just with girls. According to the "Women's Sports
Foundation," there are now professional opportunities for females to compete in high
levels of competition without males, such as the National Women's Football League
(NWFL) and the International Football League (IFL).
Beneficial
Playing on a girls team has many benefits and is a great experience for females. As
stated in the text "Making An Informed Decision About Girls Participation on Boys'
Teams," "...a female athlete who is a good player in a first or second division men's
league may not be able to develop play-maker and leadership skills to the same extent as if she played among women." I know from personal experience that when playing sex-separate sports, I feel more comfortable taking a leadership role than while playing coed sports. Playing on an all girls team is the most exciting, challenging, and fulfilling experience that offers multiple opportunities for friendship, success, and positive self-esteem that girls may not be open to on boys' teams. ("Making An Informed Decision About Girls Participation on Boys' Teams"). Females should always be kept on all female teams because it will boost their confidence and help them succeed.
Girls' Sports Team
Boys' Sports Team
The Other Side
Some critics argue that allowing girls to compete gives them positive competition
and more opportunities. Girls can get stressed out when competing on the same team as
boys. Competing with people for motivation is normal, but when they have more physical
abilities than you, it's stressful, and disappointing, when you struggle to have abilities
anywhere near theirs. Also, females can participate in sports with girls as much as they
can with boys.
In Conclusion
Girls are safer and enjoy sports more when they play among only other girls. Girls
like to participate in activities that they love, such as sports, with their friends and other
girls. People and organizations want the number of female athletes to go up, rather than
down, so it is necessary that good opportunities exist for both boys and girls to play on
separate same-sex teams. It is time that we make an effort to give girls good opportunities to compete in a better way with only girls. Having females compete with
males is unnecessary. Organizations and leagues should create different teams and make it possible for female athletes to participate in sports without coed teams.