Would you challenge this? What to say?

[dudleymcdudley]

I can't decide if I'm overreacting to this or not.

DS is in y6, his main catchment high school states in its uniform list football boots and rugby shirts as being only for boys.

At the open evening the other night in the list of after school clubs they list "football" and "girls football".

It really really bothers me. I know it's "just" football but it's the casual way they are happy to define something as in essence male, thus any girls who play football are from the outset doing something explicitly male.

If they don't care about this, then what other messages are they sending out to the kids about what IS male and what IS female.

The other high schools we are looking at don't make these distinctions.

I feel I should comment - what do others think?

I think it might be worth mentioning. I'd do it anonymously though by email! I don't know if it's enough to worry that the whole school ethos is somehow tainted. Although the PE uniform could be evidence that it is. I don't see how that can be right. That the girls don't need that stuff.

At my dd's secondary school there is girls rugby, boys rugby, girl's football and boy's football listed in the extra curricular timetable. Then there is basketball which I am assuming is mixed.

Do they offer other sports in same ways e.g. Girls tennis, girls basketball, boys hockey, girls hockey,
It would drive me a but insane but on the other hand at least they offer girls football, which many don't.

At an open evening?

I'd have probably asked the nearest staff member "excuse me, what is girls football? How is it different to regular football?".

In my ds's secondary they do all pe segregated, not sure if this is the same in all secondary schools though?

Some after school sports are mixed, some are single sex as well. But I think they are listed as boys rugby and girls rugby, boys hockey and girls hockey.

Why would the girls not need a rugby to though? I would question this. I do know this term while Ds did rugby in pe the girls did athletics...

DD's school specified they needed football boots then they NEVER used them. I complained as I'd bought them and she grew out of them without ever using

The FA allows mixed football up to age 11.

Thereafter it's different teams and leagues for boys and girls - so there's a County Boys team and a County Girls team.

Ask the PE Department - do they play mixed teams against other schools?

I agree wth you and would make a comment "I don't understand why ...... can you explain please "

Bluebonnie - tha FA allows mixed later than that. DS plays for an U13s (yr8) side that is mixed.

His PE at school however is totally separate to girls.

Zombie thread from October last year. It's an interesting one (and one which as an ex Sunday league player myself is about a sport I care a lot about), but I'm not sure the OP will be back.

My issue with this is not the idea that there is segregation of boys/girls teams, but that one is "football" and one "girls football"

As opposed to "boys football" and "girls football".

Just another "men as default" sort of thing.

The reality is that when people talk about football they are almost always referring to games played by men. People specifically say womens football when they mean those games so I'd say it's just been taken from that.