The boat race and equality

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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''.

So do you think women should row competitively or not?

No. I just want everyone to get an equal chance to get into the team, man or woman.

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

No, that would be wrong. But would you agree that men and women of the same weight should box against each other?

Just to wade in, as this popped up in Active Threads, but the most equal sports are actually those involving Equestrianism. Men and women compete on a completely level playing field with access to the same funding and opportunities.

Look at jockeys like Katie Walsh (winner of this year's Irish Grand National), Nina Carberry (winner at the Cheltenham Festival and also the Grand National meeting this weekend) and Hayley Turner (most successful female jockey in the UK). As well as leading event riders like Mary King and Zara Phillips, not to mention multiple Olympic Gold Medallist and World Record breaking dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin.

I do worry about ageism though.

At the moment many competitions have a "veterans" type category. Also in schools, children tend to compete against those in the same year group / age bracket.

I think this is grossly unfair and must be stopped.

But if there are two teams there are twice as many opportunities to get in. Surely that is a good thing? You want to halve the opportunity

Oh go on, I'll bite. How tall are you, OP, and how much do you weigh?

About 6'1'' and I don't know prob about 75-80 kg. What's that got to do with anything?

So you're a bloke then?

Either that or I'm in the 0.00001% female height range. Yes, I'm a bloke, guilty as charged. I didn't deny it so not sure why that's an issue.

My favourite matches in Wimbledon are often the veterans matches and the mixed doubles. Best do away with them too - they're clearly ageist and sexist.

Yes, why would gender be any sort of issue, when we're discussing gender?

I am quite tall for my country (Romania) though, the average guy here is about as tall as the average dutch woman, around 5'8''. Feel like a giant sometimes.

The thing about equality in women's sports? There's not enough discussion about men.

So you're a man
Who has come onto a mainly female website
Gone to the feminist board
And started a thread telling women that you don't want to see women or girls competing in the majority of sports.

Well OK.

You're not the first, and you won't be the last.

lol vivacia

It does rather sound like "you women want equality - well, you have to compete equally with the men then!" OP. Which is a rather dubious argument in light of pp's comments.

"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?"

Yops, the primary somebody who purports to think that is the OP, and I verg much doubt this is a true concern of his.

I want to see all the best people compete, I don't care about their age, sex or race.

Also , did someone compare women with paralympics? Do you also believe women should have their own separate olympics then?

Right so bish bash bosh done with the egg and spoon race in school sports days then. I could well easily beat all those 6yo and so could most of the other parents. HA! Suckers!

But OH SHIT the men, younger women and non disabled could beat me.
All my hopes dashed

This is like competitive dad on the fast show

I want to see all the best people compete,

Don't you see that at the moment?

Competitive dad!

If I could wave my feminist wand, not only would I increase funding for all women's and girls' sports bodies, I'd make competitive sport equal all the way down.

No kick about in the playground unless the teams are equal or unless girls are getting equal kick about time to boys. Netball tots as well as soccer tots for preschoolers and both being gender balanced. Etc etc. Thus giving both girls and boys the idea that competitive sport is a possibility before anyone gets into proper training or choosing sports.

I mean what do posters like this expect.

FWR to go en masse Well FUCK ME you're right women are shit, you have proven it with your immaculate argument! I'm going to pack in this what about women malarkey and get right back to those sandwiches.

I've never heard feminists lamenting because a woman's body isn't as big and strong as a man's. What the world needs is ways to regard women's achievements as being as valuable as men's, and for most sports, that doesn't mean putting everyone in together. If the biggest competitor isn't always going to win, though, there's nothing to stop everyone being in the same event, like riding or shooting.

But here's an idea. Rowing is inherently a team sport where there's no opportunity to lurk in the back of the pack. How about mixed rowing, where every boat must have 4 women and 4 men, and the cox can be either (or "any" as some would have it)? Make it a contest where the objective is to get men and women working together. Too artificial maybe? Oh well.

Don't you see that at the moment?

No. I want everyone to compete in the same race and not different races, genders etc. Gender equal trials for all men and women, select the best competitors and have the one race to rule them all.