I would like to look at this subject because I am passionate about gender equality in sports and how women should not be discriminated against just because of their size or strength. Feminist movements in 1970 were just the beginning for breaking down gender stereotypes and women being excluded from sporting events. However, organisations are still discriminating against women in many sports due to a clause in the equal opportunities legislation, which was passed in 1975. This clause is related to sports that rely on size, strength, speed and stamina for dominating and winning. Sporting governing bodies use this clause for justification to gender segregate in multiple sports. With women’s sport receiving increasing worldwide publicity, there is much debate around this area. In this essay I am going to look at both sides of the discussion and hope to propose a fair conclusion based on my findings.
Why shouldn’t men and women compete against each other?
Men and women have many physiological differences, which may suggest that sports that rely on strength, acceleration and speed for performance outcome, it is not possible to compete on an equal basis. Allowing women to compete against men …show more content…
In tennis, lacrosse, hockey and football the importance of the ability to be skilful far outweighs the differences between genders physically. For example Roger Federer is an outstanding tennis player but has not got the same level of physicality as many other tennis players have but nevertheless he is very successful using his skill to out play his opponents. Another example is Katie Hnida, who was the first women to score points in College American Football’s highest division by kicking extra points. You could name many very successful sports athletes that have succeeded purely because of their outstanding skill