boys are more competitive than girls.

[gaggiagirl]

So said a report on girls tennis on BBC look north news last night. I've struggled to find a link because my WiFi is rubbish today. Anyway the report was about girl only tennis classes.
The girls dont feel comfortable playing tennis with boys because boys are so competitive and so much stronger!
I know nothing about tennis but what a shitty message to send to young women who want to compete in sports.
That's all just a rant really.

I don't agree with the statement but why do you think it's a shitty message and what she were the kids?

Age not she

Many girls have competitiveness trained out if them from a very early age. Getting them to express it again probably is easier in a "safe" environment. Just as girls do better in single sex science classes where stereotype threat is off the agenda.

How you say that might be a shitty message, or an empowering one - sounds like the BBC went for shitty.

Well it doesn't matter if the boys are so much stronger as tennis is quite rightfully segregated.

I can understand why girls wouldn't want to play against the boys as it's just discouraging for them.

The point isn't who's the best but about encouraging everyone to enjoy and potentially make a living out of a sport and to play it to the best of their ability.

Both my kids are quite competitive.

I have noticed at parents evenings it's been mentioned as something negative about dd. Not in a bad way but in 'she puts too much pressure on herself'. Even though she is fine in herself and likes to do well.

Same teacher now teach ds and it's seen as positive. 'He is quite competitive and so pushes himself really well'.

I pointed it out at the last parents evening. That the same teacher had said it wasn't good for dd. It's as though people think dd will break under her own pressure but ds will thrive.

Dd is 12 and doing really well and happ, as is ds (5).

This attitude pisses me off.

I agree that the report is shitty.

But it is true that only prepubescent (singles) tennis can be mixed, unless you want to demoralise completely those without the biological advantages of height and muscle mass.

And LTA consistently reports a higher drop out of girl players than boys (or at least it did last time I was looking into this). So interventions to try to change that might be welcome. If the girls in question are old enough to have noted the emergent strength difference, then yes it is time the classes were separated.

Tennis is a bit weird in attitudes to competitiveness anyhow.

Its funny that actually the competitive feelings 'why can't we win, can we rig the game so that we do win' etc are coming from the girls.

The girls dont feel comfortable playing tennis with boys because boys are so competitive and so much stronger!

Is that what it said? Or is it that if you care about /enjoy competive sport I assume it must be demoralising if you always lose because your competitor is a boy and boys are generally physically stronger?

Lanark is sex based segregation of competitive sport "rigging" ?

No it's not 'funny' Lanark. It's perfectly natural when the odds are stacked against you to feel resentment and frustration.

The boys are equally competitive otherwise they'd let the girls win. But it wouldn't do to be beaten by a girl now would it?

It's funny how you overlook boys being competitive.

Huh? I didn't. I am just saying maybe they both are, or that if the girls are being beaten it might not be aggressive competitiveness, just good playing. I know this feeling well, having run with someone for whom a cruising speed was my trying hard speed, I did have that feeling that it was him having to beat me all the time, but that was my feeling of wanting just once to keep up with him. I also think that competitiveness comes in many forms, I played a friend at squash who insisted it was unfair ofme to hit the ball hard. This was a way of getting me not to play to my strengths, whereas her tactical positioning from more years of experience was 'fair'. Luckily I ignored her and we had a fair ish result. She was very foot stampy and said I was too competitive. I was very chilled about the whole thing.. How annoying!

Oh what Bollox, and for nothing else but girls are not competitive.
Not much It may not always come out in sports, but on the other hand
Go to a horse show.

I'm not sure I understand your point, Lanark. A man once ran faster than you, which was fine once you realized he was better than you, but a woman complained that it was unfair that you were better than her? Have I got the gist of that?

No.

I am very competitive as are my daughters one of whom was the best at all sport at her school but I certainly agree some sexist parents and environments treat girls so differently they hold those girls back and ensure they are conditioned to be non competitive home makers rather than competitive adult humans on a par with men.

I have no idea of the point that you are trying to make either Lanark. But you seem to describe competitiveness in men and women very differently and quite derogatorily towards women.

Only if you read the genders, look for a pattern, and then explain that pattern in negative terms. Try reading the same point without genders. The point I'm making is that complaining about other people being 'too competitive' is often in itself a competitive act, and/or a projection of the frustration of losing, non-competitive people aren't bothered about either.

Nope still non the wiser.

You are the one who described a woman in infantile language (foot stamping) whilst describing the man in much more adult terms, not me. You are also the one who highlighted the girls 'competitiveness' (in non too complementary language either) whilst ignoring the boys. You are one making distinctions. I'm just reading what you wrote.