Several times in class we have discussed whether or not girls should be able to play, practice, and compete with boys in sport. Previously, I would have said that girls should probably stick to girls’ sports to avoid potential injury. However, I had an eye-opening experience recently that has forced me to reevaluate some of my opinions about girls in men’s sports.
My significant other Brian has practiced some form of martial arts for the past 15 years. When we started dating, I started observing his judo, jiu-jitsu, and muay thai (kickboxing) classes almost every evening at one of Relson Gracie's gyms. After I got used to the stench of the gym, I was astonished by how much athletic ability goes into these martial arts. The guys learn techniques, do drills and then “roll” or spar with each other in a non-stop class that lasts anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours.
That’s not the interesting part. A couple of weeks ago I was able to make it to one of Brian’s jiu-jitsu classes after work, and in addition to the 25 or so guys stretching, there were two girls warming up as well. Now I figured that once everyone paired up for drills and sparing sessions, the girls would naturally pair up with each other. However, due to height and weight differences, the instructor paired each of them with a guy about their size. As the drills started, it was easy to see that the guys were being a little more gentle with the girls than they were with the other guys. However, this came back to bite them when it came time to roll. The girls were more flexible than the guys and they used that to their advantage. While neither girl was able to submit their partner that day, they definitely held their own against the guys.
When I talked to Brian about it after the class, he said almost exactly what some people said in our SM class. He said that he was glad the girls were there, but for the guys it was a no win situation. If a guy won it was no big deal because he was only beating a girl. If a guy lost, however, there would be no end to the teasing and mocking of the guy who got “beat by a girl.” After all, that would be unforgivable, right?
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It's interesting that you shared these observations. I would think that gendered interactions in martial arts might also be complicated by some of the philosophies underlying them. While I am not well-versed in the martial arts, I had a friend who took tai chi (I think), and she said that submission to the master was expected of everyone. So, would it be possible for the master to be a female? If so, wouldn't that mean that gender would not be as salient?
ReplyDeleteI feel as I am on the edge with this. I think its great that women enjoy martial arts and take these classes. However, as any other sport, I feel there should be a male and female class. As you said the guy is in a no win situation and I believe the girl is in a competitive disadvantage as a guy her same size will most likely be naturally stronger. I don't like the idea of women playing a sport with a guy simply because if a guy played a sport with a woman it is completely wrong, just think of the video of the guy that wanted to play field hockey. In my mind, there are sports for women and there are sports for men and it should stay that way, what ever happened to people just saying "no"?
ReplyDeleteI like this example of whether girls should be able to play in male sports. The reason is because it shows that just because men might be stonger, girls have an advantage over male with being more flexible. Everyone uses the reason that men are stonger but it does not just come down to that all the time.
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