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.

@julieca

Yes, I used to know a group of teenage girls that met to play football once a week. They got stones thrown at them and verbal abuse shouted at them, by the boys and young men. Its not just a case of not choosing to use facilities.

So, as often is the case, it’s the shit attitudes some males have towards females that needs addressing.

The whole boy/girl debate is never ending in schools.

How do we interest girls more in Sport, STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects?
Answer seems to be: Tell girls they need to to opt for and participate more in subjects typically dominated by boys. Absolutely no change of curriculum required

How do we get boys to be more interested in English, Art, Humanities?
Suggestions include: Change the curriculum so that boys are more interested in the topics, themes and projects taught

Pisses me off.

It's part of the 'men take up more space' phenomenon.

Like man spreading. Bigger cars. Golf courses Vs women packed in cafes.

I say that about my 11 year old twin girls except I usually add "or they'll start chewing the furniture" on the end 😄

I've just overseen the installation of a play area for younger kids in my job as a Project Officer. When selecting items I can honestly say that all of them can be equally used and provide high quality play for both boys and girls. There are no football goals in our play areas. We have football pitches for that. Regarding skate parks I believe the Tokyo Bronze medallist was a girl! Don't disempower girls!

Nobody is disempowering women... the total
Opposite. Read through the links above from
Make space for girls. the information in them is very interesting/thought provoking and would be great for your role.

Try being a female football team... you never get an opportunity on those 'communal' pitches.
And if you did happen to get a kick around on them, if a group of boys came along you'd be expected to leave so they could play instead

@Wimblingwombling I've bern having a read through Make Space for Girls. It seems to be following the gender stereotypes (girls like stages for dancing and performing, boys like pump tracks) that Mumsnetters are usually in uproar about! My son doesn't like pump tracks but loves dancing! Where does that place him?!

I think the constant need to eradicate anything pink, anything ‘girly’ anything whimsical disempowers women.
Discouraging women (and men) from doing the activities they enjoy is wrong.
Don’t play with dolls, don’t dress up, don’t do a hair and beauty course - go and climb & explore and train to be a female engineer instead!
I don’t get it. The fashion, health and beauty industry is worth billions. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have their hair cut or wear clothes.

@Cutesbabasmummy likewise I'd love to know how many girls they've actually spoken to ong with the socio economic demographic split! Teenage girls in 2021 want stages to make up dance routines?!? OK yeah 8 yo maybe, but teenagers.

Also having read through I'm still struggling to understand why girls can't go to a play park, someone really needs to let my eldest know that 😆 !

@NotBeforeCoffee thats not true if your a team and rent the space its yours no one can come and kick you off
If that is happening report to the fa or the chairmen of your club
Pitch space is tight as so many have been built on but if your in a league they allocate the games etc as home / away
If your a new team then pitch space may be difficult wether boy or girl as again lack of them in some areas

@SunShinesBrightly what changes were made for boys ? And what changes would you like to see be made for the the girls?
You have stated something without any facts at all

@makespaceforgirls this isn't australia
Do you know many teenagers ? As not too many are using the park at 14 ? They have all pretty much outgrown
Later evenings you will see mixed groups hanging around the park, not always with best intentions if round here is to go by , there not playing on swings and slides

@worriedatthemoment it is true, I've experienced it many times. I'm not talking about pitches that you rent, I'm talking about the ones in parks where you just turn up and play, females won't get a look in on those ones. The FA has no say over them.

It makes football a very expensive hobby for a female because you have to rent a pitch just to train - £90 an hour or more. On top of league fees etc. And actually it's pretty difficult to find pitches available to rent anyway

@NotBeforeCoffee boys teams have to rent a pitch to train? You can't just rock up as a football team and use any pitch
Hardly any are actually commuql around here

I was once on a 'communal' football pitch practising with other females and a group of boys came along and lit fireworks at us. Pretty scary in a caged area.

@NotBeforeCoffee It must run very different where you are , we have no communal pitches here they are all owned or run by someone and need renting, teams can't just turn up and use and take over
Muga pitches are for all and again no football team would turn up and use as they don't have sole use
If your part of a team then you must hire training and pitches for games , boys teams do as wel , hence why we pay membership/ match fees etc

@worriedatthemoment in parks there are football pitches where you can just turn up and play for free. I'm in London, there are loads of parks and majority i would say have football pitches available

Obviously there are some nicer pitches, astroturf, floodlights etc which you can rent for vast amounts of money. But there are plenty of free ones and they are dominated by males. I'm not making it up for any agenda, I'm just stating facts that I have personally experienced as a female footballer for over 10 years

@NotBeforeCoffee not actual mens teams though ? I lived in London for years and teams always rented pitches
No many leave nets and stuff up

@worriedatthemoment
There are hundreds upon thousands of football pitches with posts at either end in parks in every town. Free for anybody to use.
But only boys/men use them (over about 10yo), or mixed younger children.
That's kind of one of the points of the thread.
Girls/women don't use them because they feel threatened/intimidated/scared/humiliated etc

@NotBeforeCoffee I am thinking of all the parks in london near where i lived and family still do and most have to be rented to be used by an actual team for games and training as organised
Just goals up left and when not in use they can be used by whoever and you can have 100 people on it so wouldn't be wise to turn up and have a training session planned as a team
If your talking rocking up and playing just for fun then thats different and prob depends on area , you prob find only the same few people get to use it

@arethereanyleftatall they are the same pitches that are rented out as wel , aim fully aware of how it works
They will have goals but not often nets , the teams that hire add the nets
Anyone can use them and it will depend on the personality of boys and girls as to who plays, some girls will be mates and join in , some boys won't let girls join or some boys if not
But the PP was talking about organised training etc boys teams have to pay and rent too

@arethereanyleftatall if you see the pitches being used for organised games and training by men/ boys team then its because they are hired as well

You are 100 %correct - when I walk through my small park I think the same - boys and men playing football or cricket,taking up the whole grassed central area, boys in the basketball court, being loud and aggressive, men using the benches to smoke, drink,abd even to smoke dope - women and girls hardly get a look in - and few are on their own, as it just isn't comfortable or even safe - fat horrible old men make comments about female joggers, basically like all "public spaces" males stake their claim and make sure girls /women don't get a look in

@Bertiebiscuit what not a single girl in sight, so no mixed groups of teenagers hang around by you , you all must live in strange places if thats all you see
Also lots of places where the men are really organised at playing sports unorganised
Or again are you talking about organised sports - paid for