Women and Contact Sports

Resolved: High schools and colleges in the United States should establish and promote women’s teams in contact sports, including football and wrestling. Rules: 1. If a debater forfeits a round, he/she forfeits all 7 points and the debate. 2. It is assumed that males shall also participate in contact sports, the argument that all contact sports should be eliminated is not allowed. 3. No semantics or unreasonable interpretations of the resolution/arguments. 4. No new arguments in the last round. 5. Sources may be posted in the comments section. Introduction: Young men in the United States have been competing in contact sports for centuries. These sports promote physical fitness and foster an attitude of healthy competition and a drive for success. As I will go into later, there are a huge number of benefits to participating in sports, especially for children and young adults. Unfortunately, women have limited opportunities to participate in many of the most popular and physically demanding sports. There are virtually no women’s football teams, and females comprise about 2% of high school wrestlers. [1] Only a few colleges offer women’s wrestling teams and there are virtually no women’s football teams. [2] This restriction on athletic participation is unjustifiably discriminatory. The United States has a dismal record on allowing women to participate in sports. As today, most of the justifications for why women were not allowed to participate were based on false assumptions. As a runner, I have read of the example of the women’s 800 meters multiple times. The event was cut from the Olympics until 1960 because of the exhausted state of the finishers. [3] Of course, it is madness to assume that at the end of a race at the Olympic level the finishers wouldn’t be exhausted. Despite restrictions on women’s distance running, it now regularly takes a time close to 1:55 to win an Olympic medal in the women’s 800. The doubts about the physical ability to women to participate in this competition were completely unfounded. With the following arguments, I think I will be able to prove that the lack of opportunities afforded to women is undesirable, unnecessary, and unacceptable. Argument One: Sports Benefit Women. Studies have consistently shown that sports are beneficial to children. They increase self confidence, teach kids life lessons about winning and losing, and require cooperation and social skills. Many sports, especially football and wrestling, have complex rules and require strategic thinking in order to have success. Sports also increase physical fitness, reduce weight problems, and improve body image, especially force girls. [4] Therefore, it is only reasonable the both boys and girls should be encouraged to participate in sports throughout their time in school, and colleges should allow everyone equal opportunities to continue participation in these sports if they offer them. Argument Two: Sports and Sexism Football is entirely a male sport, and the players are encouraged from the sidelines by cheerleading squads comprised almost entirely of women. The attitude behind this is exactly what it suggests: males are the performers who participate in the real competition; women may cheer them on from the sidelines but they are never real participants. The glorification of male exploits and the delegation of women to the position of observers send a very overt and very real message about what the social expectations are for men and women. These attitudes are irrational and ultimately reduce the subconscious views that women have for themselves; they can only be harmful and should be challenged rather than encouraged. The existence of “powder-puff” sports cements this idea. [5] The female substitution of ‘real’ men’s sports is given a silly name and softened-up rules appropriate for those who cannot handle the rigor of a serious competition. However they are played off, these competitions are little more then a mockery of female athletes and the competence of women in general. Athletics should elevate, not insult, the physical prowess of human beings regardless of sex. Argument Three: Appeal of Women’s Sports All indicators seem to suggest that participation by women traditionally male dominated sports is increasing. The number of girls participating in high school wrestling has risen dramatically. [6] This participation is no doubt serious decreased by the fact that women do not have their own teams. This places them in constant unfair competition, and some people discourage them from participating because they consider it inappropriate for women to compete with men in contact sports. Both of these problems could be remedied by offering women the opportunity to join female-only teams for these sports. There is good reason to believe that these sports would attract a significant number of participants and rapidly increase in popularity. Argument Four: Concerns about the Physical Limitations of Women Are Unjustified If women participate against other women in contact sports, there is no reason to suggest there would be a higher rate of injury than experienced by men in these same sports. Because women are smaller and physically weaker than men, they are less able to cause harm. If anything, women are more physically resilient relative to their size and strength than men. I would suggest that men are more likely to hurt one another in athletic competitions because resistance to injury does not scale linearly with strength. [7] Many of the assumptions about the risks to women posed by these sports assume that they would participate against men. Well, even the fastest woman in the world would not be a serious contender in the men’s 800 meters at the Olympics. That does not mean that women cannot compete against each other in track and field. Conclusion: It would be highly beneficial for high schools and colleges to establish programs in contact sports for women and encourage them to participate in these programs. They are known advantages to participating in sports for people of all ages, and it is especially important for children and youths. Treating women on an equal ground in sports is furthermore an extension of an acceptance of women as equal competitors elsewhere in life. Women may not be able to fairly compete against men due to physical differences between the sexes, but their sports should not be treated as below those even of boys in primary school. Sources in Comments