Gender-Segregation in Sports

Sports in America is one main source of entertainment but when some sports try to add women and men in combined play fans may not be so supportive. Those fans are not used to such a modern although it would be interesting to see the results of some traditional sports switch and add both genders. Society, for a variety of real and perception reasons, is apparently not ready to end gender-segregation in professional sports. However, let's embrace mixed-gender sports for a variety and enjoyment.

Sports such as badminton and cricket, were invented by the British while their soldiers were stationed in India during the 18th century. Eventually, the soldiers took badminton back to England, where its rules were standardised for the first time (Telegraph.uk). They have been the start of many sports, of course with other names. The picture of these times show both women and men playing badminton together. The British appear to have accepted all genders to play together instead of separately. They did not care about the gender differences of physicality, strength, speed, weight, height, etc during those colonial days, so why should the fans of today? There are so many people who think men can do everything better than women, especially sports, usually the first thing they think of until they consider it more deeply. What's more, women are already good, yet underrated, at endurance and stamina in events that last longer than two hours, the one area where there is evidence that they actually are able to outperform men (Sanders). People have said men have better endurance and stamina than women, but once they see women defeat even men's records or times, their opinions can be changed by these amazing feats. Women can feel that men always have to have that winning ulta- competitive spirit as a demonstration of power. Just one experience of a WBNA game; women pro soccer match, women's Olympic Judo competition, or even the hard-hitting Gridiron Owls Football will convince many people that women can be just as competitive, if not more.

Although there may be some fans that do not want to see women compete with or against men, in this day and age people should be open to this concept. People are so used to traditional sports and seeing separate genders play, changing this may cause some of them to stop watching sports. At least this outcome might be a concern of the sports leagues and TV networks. It has been claimed that if new weight and length classes are introduced in many sports [and] if the rules are changed, women will be able to compete against men and win in several sports (Piccioto). It may also cause businesses and marketers to lose the value of their brand, and thus make less money and business for themselves. Even team coaches or their players may become disgruntled under such circumstances and may even want to quit or protest against those who support having combined teams. On the positive side, combined gender sports might in fact lead to better relations between men and women. Husbands and wives might be able to relate better to teams and even share favorite players.

Sports are split up into mixed sports and true mixed sports that provide options for athletes. Some wonder when more traditional sports will be tested in any of those categories. There are actually a few sports men and women compete in together such as Table-Tennis, Squash, Tennis, Badminton, Luge, and Ice skating. In these sports competitions when men and women form teams and go against another mixed teams. This way, men and women compete together and against each other in a fair way as both teams feature the same number of male and female players (rulesofsport.com). True mixed sex sports is when men and women compete directly against each other regardless of the sex and this mixture does not seem to matter for the outcomes. Two sports that are true mixed sex sports are Equestrian and Sailing. They bring in the contrasting physicality of athletes in sports, a main reason against doing joint sports. They split the sports up into mixed sports and true mixed sex sports to have options to choose from. Some wonder when more traditional sports will be put into any of those categories.

Combining traditional sports with both genders is inconclusive until the businesses are comfortable with all sides to go forward with this idea. They have to make sure it will be okay for their fans, sponsors, media, and even their teams so that business does not go downhill. If so, sports entertainment will never consider the idea again. With all the embracing movements in society today, we should be so bold and courageous to take this next step and truly welcome mixed gender sports.

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