To wonder why communal parks are so biased towards boys

[arethereanyleftatall]

Looking around our parks, it occurred to me all the normal type equipment paid for by the council is geared towards a certain type of play.
You tend to see a slide/swing type area (great for everyone) plus football goals, skate parks, and basketball hoops.
Of course either sex could play on the last 3, and do, but in general, these 3 types of equipment are occupied by boys.
Or, let's take sex out of it - these 3 types of equipment are played with by energetic/sporty/rough and tumble type children.
Where's the community stuff for the children who prefer more gentle/imaginative role play/dance games.
Where's the netball courts, the fairy houses?
I'm actually not even sure what you would build to make it more even, but at our local park yesterday.... 8 approximately 10 year old boys playing football; about 10 teenage boys on the skate park;basketball hoop unused; swing area equal girls/boys.

@arethereanyleftatall not in use I meant as not in use by the team paying to rent
Depends on the set up to who marks it often the actual football clubs or if the council because its paid for.
Your twisting to suit your narrative
No I don't see group of girls playing football in free time , mixed groups but rarely girls on their own
I do see them in games though and using the pitches via their clubs
Many if these green spaces wouldn't be there if the clubs didn't pay , prob be sold of for houses
Football, rugby , hockey etc all open to girls , netball for girls but boys can't join a netball team ?

[quote makespaceforgirls]**@BoredZelda* @smoko* Apologies, I got the phrasing of that wrong. More effort has been put into providing disabled facilities is perhaps a better way of saying it. Because although teenage girls can use the facilities, they are very often designed out in ways which do exclude them quite comprehensively.[/quote]
Is that a bad thing that more effort has been put into providing facilities for disabled children? I'm not sure this is the most compelling argument.

@makespaceforgirls disabled children have a lot less available so are you saying they shouldn't have the effort made ? They can only use a small amount of equipment , where as a girl can use all of it

OP I think you're really seeing some things that aren't there & starting to reach.

When the pitch is in use, there are both girls & boys teams
When the pitch isn't in use, then anyone can use it. They can dance the grass off if they want.

I for one wasn't interested in football because don't enjoy contact or team sports. My dad snapped his ankle playing soccer & it was the only time ever saw the man cry.

I preferred solitary activities. I hated PE class. I enjoyed ballet class & got out of Saturday sport because had ballet.

I remember fondly going to the park every weekend in season & watch my dad play soccer. I imagine the times the fields are booked for team sports, that this is a family friendly event.

I go to lots of parks with my dogs. Since Covid our parks are packed with groups of mixed gender kids getting around on their bikes. It feels like the 80s/90s again! Boys & girls getting out & about on wheels, hanging around parks again. Bike riding is back on the scene again, which is a genderless activity.

But Why is this ? Where were they going/what were they doing before? Now they have no other options, the park is the new place to hang again.

Am sure those with tween/teen girls will be able to provide more insight as to why their girls don't want to hang at the park.

As a teen we hung at the park to get drunk, so perhaps they'll be back into the park as they grow older - be careful what you wish for OP!

Some of you are just looking for issues , what would you like to see , girls and boys only parks
Why do you see football as only for boys ?
Or other play equipment?
And fairy houses as for girls ?
Seems the stereotype is being made by you

@smoko I have teen ds they don't hang about a park either , since about 12
The only ones around here that do are like you say drinking / smoking so glad he doesn't really
Occasionally he may go for a kickabout with mates but mostly they have joined gyms, go swimming , beach and various other activities , they grew out of parks a long time ago

More effort has been put into providing disabled facilities is perhaps a better way of saying it.

Except that isn't true either.

Hockey is very popular here. When I was young (long time ago!) it was played on grass. Now it is played on artificial surface (MUGA). There are more girls/women teams then men in our local club. Also mixed teams when young.

Will be interesting to see with women’s sport shown more on TV and not just in niche channels whether this will encourage more girls to carry on sport as they get older (and show boys that girls are good at sport too)

Because although teenage girls can use the facilities, they are very often designed out in ways which do exclude them quite comprehensively.

You're digging a hole that you need to stop digging. No, teenage girls are not doing worse off that disabled children.

@makespaceforgirls

Cross post.

I also don’t think when we receive funding for LEAPS, NEAPS and MUGAs, large seating banks would meet the requirements.

Yes, the whole set up is institutionally designed to produce play equipment which is predominantly used by boys. See my comments about MUGAs above...

I don't write down the ratio of girls to boys every day when I go down to the skatepark and have no interest in doing so.

I don't think there is an institutional problem, the purpose of these areas is to provide active, stimulating play. Seating banks are not providing this, I think actively trying to take funding away from areas that provide free opportunities to the community for exercise would be a real shame. Seating banks encourage people to be sedentary and have no play value.

To be honest, I think the whole idea is letting girls down. The focus should be on encouraging them to participate, not in taking away funding for play equipment to put in seating.

[quote makespaceforgirls]**@BoredZelda* @smoko* Apologies, I got the phrasing of that wrong. More effort has been put into providing disabled facilities is perhaps a better way of saying it. Because although teenage girls can use the facilities, they are very often designed out in ways which do exclude them quite comprehensively.[/quote]
In most areas no effort has been put into disabled facilties in parks. If it has been then in most cases you get one wheelchair accessible swing and maybe a roundabout.

Able bodied teenage girls can access anything in the park they want to. They may be choosing to not but they could access them. Disabled children of all ages are largely unable to access the park.

To try to make out able bodied teens have it harder than disabled children is wrong on so many levels.

@makespaceforgirls "Because although teenage girls can use the facilities, they are very often designed out in ways which do exclude them quite comprehensively"

That's got to be the biggest reach have seen yet.

How has the design of the facilities excluded girls? Are girls weaker & smaller than boys? What kind of design adjustments do you propose which would be more inclusive to girls?

Is it the colour, the material or the architecture of them which is excluding girls?

On a side note, I urge all adults in Aus to try this great new play equipment toy we never had - it's so fun. I use it anytime I find one - it's this pole with a plastic stand at the bottom. The closer you hold your arms to your body, the faster the pole spins.

It makes you wonderfully dizzy & is great for a laugh.

If anything, play equipment at parks is an example of clear age discrimination - they are built only to accomodate kids & exclude adults from using them.

Why should I be prevented from using the slide? Also the monkey bars are too low, preventing me from using them.

Am sure will think of more age related discrimination in parks soon.

Thankfully all ages can use the pole

Ah yes, we should definitely be worrying about putting in more fairy doors and bloody goddamn netball pitches and stop worrying about accessibly playground equipment. That seems fair

This is like going to a vegan restaurant and complaining about there being no meat options on the menu.

If you want to play football, you go to the goalposts at the park. If you want to go for a walk, you take a nice trail route. Play make believe or dance? Play on some grass, or underneath the trees.

That a public park doesn't contain every facility to include every child of every age is not a problem that needs solving.

(I should definitely worry more about proofreading, though. accessible. Grr.)

Totally agree with you on this and I have often thought the same. When I went on holiday in Sweden they had amazing park activities- small bridges. Painted ladybird stepping stones etc etc. I’d like to understand what aspects girls would like to see in parks as the activities in our area tend to be more used by boys- skateboard park, basketball area etc are predominantly used by boys alone here

We are not saying at all that we should not be worrying about accessible equipment - of course we should and we are alway working to make sure that any design ideas which come up are inclusive (although I have to say, teenage girls are very good at this without any input from us).

But very many of the councils we speak to are doing a lot to promote more inclusive provision, it is on their agenda, it is being acted upon. There's still a long way to go, as the equipment manufacturers tell us, but it is on their agenda. However, the parks which have been designed with teenage girls in mind are very, very few.

In terms of how the invisible barriers go, though, let's look at the MUGA (fenced pitch) in my local park. The council spent several thousand pounds on installing equipment which lets disabled people play 'street snooker'. Great. Except that the pitch isn't bookable, so what are the users meant to do, turn up and tell the teenage boys to get off it? it's useless.

Because this is also a fenced pitch with narrow entrances (see my post on safety above) girls are just as unlikely to go in and demand to be able to use it. So it's just for the boys.

Running tracks would be a great unisex addition to all parks. Most of the teenage girls (and mums) I know only have running as their outside exercise. It could also be used for scooters and bikes.

Love the running track idea. Also love tennis courts and often see all sexes and ages using them

Wide paths are brilliant in general - also for roller skating which is done by loads of teenage girls but rarely catered for.

@Wimblingwombling here we have bridges & things, haven't seen ladybird stepping stones, but can't imagine that tween girls are so keen on them. It sounds like it appeals more to small children

Must object on the choice of insect though - ladybugs are clearly sexist though, some of them must be males! We must look to update them to a more gender inclusive, also similarly circular shaped insect - perhaps a tick?

Yes. the tick isn't as iconic as a ladybug, but this is discrimination against earthy coloured animals

An animals colours should not denote it's cultural importance to society. We MUST aim higher people - think of the children!

@Snoozer11

This is like going to a vegan restaurant and complaining about there being no meat options on the menu.

If you want to play football, you go to the goalposts at the park. If you want to go for a walk, you take a nice trail route. Play make believe or dance? Play on some grass, or underneath the trees.

That a public park doesn't contain every facility to include every child of every age is not a problem that needs solving.

No, it's like going to the high street and complaining that not a single restaurant caters for vegans

@smoko yep

Also must be a naive city slicker - I assumed in rural areas the rural environment itself is your park. bush walking trails, horses, fields, beaches

Do be aware that encouraging your children to dance in public like this could turn them into pot smoking hippies in future.

I for one wasn't interested in football because don't enjoy contact or team sports.

Most girls don't. That's why it's not good enough to say "girls can use football pitches, you're being sexist wanting them to have hammocks or Wendy houses!"