From: ho@cs.arizona.edu (Hilarie Orman)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.disc
Subject: Re: women in league
Date: 25 Jan 93 01:56:22 GMT

It's interesting to hear what men have to say about women in Ultimate.
Not many women are responding, and that may be evidence of the same
deference that women show to men on the field.  It also reminds me
civil rights discussions where the majority states of the minority,
"heck, there are plenty of them where I (work, live, eat, play, etc.)
and I've never heard one them complain."  There's obviously no
ill-will in any of the discussion in this newsgroup, and I wouldn't
discourage anyone from investigating the question of how to make
Ultimate more comfortable for any group.  But I wouldn't minimize the
difficulties that face women when they take up coed Ultimate, either.

The relationship between men and women in competitive situations is
extremely complex, and I hesitate to address it, because there is much
room for misunderstanding, and every person has his or her own
viewpoint.  And I hate generalities because they seem to demean the
individual.  Still, there are some patterns that seem worthy of
mention, and I think that men who seek to understand how to involve
women in this sport should understand that women need a great deal of
assurance that their participation is valued by the group.

Generally, reducing competitiveness and increasing fun is a good way
to encourage beginning players, especially women.  I'd recommend
finding ways to avoid having the score matter, possibly even by not
counting it.  The senior players need to emphasize the joy of the
game.  Players who are critical, who care about every point, or who
stretch the meaning of "non-contact" can ruin it for beginning women.

There's got to be either a great group attitude that encourages
everyone to play, or there's got to be an n-woman rule, or there's got
to be a rule that rotates everyone in for equal playing time.  Women
will not insist on equal playing time on their own.  They will almost
always cooperate without comment if men want to hog the field or the
disc.  They will insist to everyone that this is fine, it's fair, it
doesn't bother them, they only want what is good for the team, that
they really didn't feel like playing much, anyway.  At all levels of
skill, women will seek cooperative behavior rather than
confrontational.  I don't happen to recommend this attitude, but as an
observer I am convinced that women are approximately ten times more
likely than men to act this way, even when they are deeply angry.
Because Ultimate relies so heavily on shared group attitudes, I think
it is especially important for those men who care to be aware that
aggressive, assertive behavior by the men will not be challenged by the
women, but it may well convince them that the group is not one they wish
to continue with.

I also think that women do best at recruiting other women, because
it's the easiest way to convince women that the group really is an
appropriate place for women to compete.  And not just for that
superstar handler who is so nice.  So the men should make sure they
are showing women that Ultimate really is fun, and the women should
take up the task of spreading the gospel.  Have a women's coordinator,
make sure there is a woman to represent the league in planning
decisions, like whether or not there is a 2-woman rule.  Ultimate
easily becomes an obsession, but women need to be given the chance to
discover this without enduring too much aggressive or exclusive field
behavior.
Newsgroups: rec.sport.disc