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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

The boat race and equality

141 replies

businesshoursareover · 12/04/2015 11:58

What's your opinion on this?

www.bbc.com/sport/0/rowing/32130222

How is it equality if women are still not allowed to race together with the men or, even better, take part in the men's team trials and get rid of gender segregation all together by having a single race for everyone?

Keeping them separated and having the women's race first as some sort of ''appetizer'' before the men take part in the ''main event'' only helps encourage the stereotype that women are inferior at sports and how they're just ''for the boys''. Hmm

OP posts:
Original poster
businesshoursareover · 12/04/2015 14:57

Why are men's sports more highly regarded than women's?

OP posts:
JeanneDeMontbaston · 12/04/2015 15:07

Why do you think?!

ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:14

This reads like one of those threads where the OP is here to Shine The Light Of Righteousness On Double-Standards On Mumsnet or similar.

YonicScrewdriver · 12/04/2015 15:16

AS is your friend, Chopper...

Yops · 12/04/2015 15:16

the discrepancies between the prestige of women's and men's sports was obvious at the Olympics, too.

I'd say it's one of the few times I can remember when women's sport got fair coverage alongside the men. Certainly from a Team GB perspective. In what respect do you think there was a discrepancy? Less airtime, less focus, less celebration?

ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:19

Ah, so it is Yonic

JeanneDeMontbaston · 12/04/2015 15:21

yops, did you honestly not notice the women from Saudi Arabia?!

That was the most obvious.

The point - which I think is yonic's too if I'm reading rightly - is that you cannot expect the situation to right itself in a day.

The boat race including women on the main course is great. It doesn't wipe out the century before.

ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:25

What more do you want, women? We let you do your little races and events, and now you want equal recognition, facilities and funding?! Madness! Don't you know there's little point training women or putting money into sports for women because they can never be as "good" as the men!

YonicScrewdriver · 12/04/2015 15:32

Yy Jeanne. And the attitude to sports starts much younger than the boat race too. I'd be curious to know how many of the men vs women had rowed much before university, or reached a high standard in other sports of strength or endurance, or had selected Oxbridge with the opportunities to row as a primary factor.

It's been a while since I cheered one of "those bumping races" and perhaps things have changed a lot in the intervening years.

ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:34

I have a number of friends who rowed when younger, and a couple got frustrated that once the boys had had their growth spurts the opportunities for the girls diminished in their area

WhirlpoolGalaxyM51 · 12/04/2015 15:34

So OP opens with

"How is it equality if women are still not allowed to race together with the men or, even better, take part in the men's team trials and get rid of gender segregation all together by having a single race for everyone? "

And then goes on to say that due to biological differences they don't believe that any women would ever make it to competition, under those circumstances.

ie, the OP's preference is for there to be no women's competition in this event / no women competing at all.

Right then. So far so bog-standard. So what's the point of this thread again?

ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:34

This is 10-15 years ago now

Original poster
businesshoursareover · 12/04/2015 15:35

Jeanne,

For the same reason Barcelona-Real Madrid is a lot more interesting that Scunthorpe - Stevenage. Also, like Yops said, GB got plenty of coverage whenever they had a strong competitor, male or female.

Yonic,

How about you debate the issue and forget about ''AS''? How do you make a 5'9''/11st woman equal to 6'3''/14st man who also has a higher muscle mass %, stronger bones, ligaments, tendons, upper body strength, testosterone, endurance, is less likely to get injured etc etc? Maybe all that investment money can be used to buy whatever' s left of Captain America's magic serum?

OP posts:
ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:37

So do you think women should row competitively or not?

WhirlpoolGalaxyM51 · 12/04/2015 15:40

No I assume OP doesn't.

OP is also presumably against weight categories in sports like Boxing.

Yops · 12/04/2015 15:41

Ah, sorry, I had my Team GB patriotic hat on. Saudi Arabia is a bit of an outlier though.

Re the boat race, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Put them on first and somebody thinks this reduces them to a warm-up act! Really?

There was a discussion on here about Rugby international fixtures at Twickenham a while back. England women played a fixture directly after England men last winter. The women's team is at least as successful as the men's, probably moreso since 2003. And yet one of the women on here who had attended said that as soon as the final whistle blew for the men's game, thousands of spectators piled out of the stadium. So, a captive audience, who had already paid, and were about to be entertained by a good side, would rather go home, or to the pub. Raising the profile of women's sport in the short term is a tricky problem.

WhirlpoolGalaxyM51 · 12/04/2015 15:42

Women's participation in sport should be limited to the tasks that their biology and evolution naturally equip them for:

  • Washing kit
  • Making sandwiches / tea for situations like local cricket
  • If they are pretty, getting to fellate the winners

I think that's it? I may have missed something.

Original poster
businesshoursareover · 12/04/2015 15:43

ChopperGordino and WhirlpoolGalaxyM51,

All I'm asking for is equality. Everyone takes part in the same trials, same races, same boats, same training, same everything. The men or women who are good enough are selected to compete in one big genderless race. That's it.

OP posts:
ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:43

Indeed Whirlpool. Thinking on it, there was a previous poster who started loads of threads saying that feminists should be campaigning for women to fight in men's boxing or somesuch

Anniegetyourgun · 12/04/2015 15:45

It may be true about the height and muscle (on average), but it's bullshit about the endurance. That's why just as many women as men are able to run marathons.

I am also unsure where they claim that a large strong man is less likely to get injured than a shorter woman with a lower muscle ration. It would be interesting to see (verified) comparative figures.

Koalafications · 12/04/2015 15:46

This is a really bizarre thread.

ChopperGordino · 12/04/2015 15:46

Is this what you're waiting for OP?

The boat race and equality
WhirlpoolGalaxyM51 · 12/04/2015 15:48

Right so you want to see an end to women competing in the vast majority of sports.

This presumably will run right through from school, amateur competitions, county level and so on and so forth right up to the highest level.

Well fair enough that's your view and you are of course entitled to it Smile

Vivacia · 12/04/2015 15:49

What more do you want, women? We let you do your little races and events, and now you want equal recognition, facilities and funding?! Madness! Don't you know there's little point training women or putting money into sports for women because they can never be as "good" as the men!

Yes, this is pretty much it.

Anniegetyourgun · 12/04/2015 15:50

We should also campaign against the Paralympics, obviously. Athletes with one leg should be expected to run on an equal basis as athletes with two, and if they can't they're just not good enough, right? Right? No?