Co-Ed Sports and Co-Ed Games Questions and Answers

Should a transgendered person who was born a male but is now a female utilise female public toilets?

Why do we have male and female bathrooms and not gay and lesbian bathrooms?

Can men do an equally good job of representing women as women can?

What do cheerleaders think when they are cheering in a basketball game?

What are some thoughts about trans women competing against cis women in sports?

This is such a complicated issue.

With the exception of equestrian, there is hardly an elite sport were men and woman compete against each other in the same event. Obviously, there are mixed-sex events like the mixed relay in swimming or mixed-sex sports like korfball but these rely on a set number of participants.

In most sports the differences in results are huge. (Please disregard Gabriele Reinsch: she only threw the discus further than Jürgen Schult because a woman uses a different discus weight.)
If we wouldn’t installed separate events for men and women, no women would qualify for the event. (Blame it on the Y-chromosome!)

You could compare it to weight classes in boxing, judo or wrestling. In order to have a fair match, we will not put a super flyweight into the ring against a heavyweight. In other sports, we didn’t make extra categories. There is no ‘short’ and ‘tall’ basketball league because we have decided that there is no real need to install such a division.

But we did install a male/female division and accepting trans women in the woman sex category will result in unfair advantages.

You could try to make it fair again. But unfortunately, you will end up if a lot of discussions about how to do it. One of the options is to reduce the testosterone level into the female range. Most likely a trans woman will have entered a program to reduce her testosterone levels anyhow. But besides the fact that there is a lot of discussions about the limit of testosterone that would be ok. There will always be a debate if only focussing on testosterone levels itself is sufficient enough in order to make it fair again.

May 2011 and June 2012, respectively, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) settled on a maximum level of 10 nmol/L for trans female athletes which is generous, to say the least. (The average for a CIS female is 2.8 nmol/L and the average male is in the range of 23-25 nmol/L)

The same level was applied to women with so-called hyperandrogenism. A rare condition where people have excessive levels of male hormones.

An infamous example is Caster Semenya. At the age of 18, she became world champion in the 800m event. Because she has no typical female characteristics she had to undergo humiliating medical investigations and her condition of hyperandrogenism was revealed. I’m not an expert in this, but I can imagine that as a young adult, it is very hard to deal with and you certainly do not want this information to be shared in the media. But in order to compete again, Caster had to take medicines to lower her testosterone levels. When we would chart her season’s bests in the 800m. (from IAAF: Caster Semenya | Profile) It is clear that the 10 nmol/L limit had an effect on her times.

Mid 2015 the IAAF had to drop the limit. The CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports) ruled that the IAAF failed to give enough evidence that testosterone gave a competitive advantage.
We do not have absolute proof that Semanya stopped taking her meds after this ruling. But most observers have little doubt about it.
In 2014 she was not competitive anymore, and unless Semanya suddenly regained her confidence it is difficult to imagine why she became unbeatable again in the 800m event unless her testosterone levels are taken into account.

Unfortunately, Semenya is not the only controversial female. The full 800m podium in Rio is suspected to have unfair advantages against cis-female athletes.

Caster Semenya winning the 800 meters Olympic gold medal in 2016 before Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui.

The IAAF will introduce new rulings in November 2018 setting the level on 5 nmol/L in ‘Restricted Events’. (IAAF introduces new eligibility regulations for female classification)

Semanya already told she will fight against these new rules.

But if they hold up in court, I’m pretty sure she will not reach her 2018 times again. We will give Niyonsaba and Wambui the benefit of the doubt, but don’t be surprised if they will be ‘injured’ next year.

To conclude: there are no winners in this controversial subject. It is not Semanya’s fault to have her condition. The same holds for trans women.

But we did install a female/male division in elite sports for a reason. If we want to make it fair we need to set extra rules. I’m not claiming the limit as set by the IAAF will solve everything and I’m pretty sure it will cause a lot of discussions in the future. But in my opinion, it is a step in the good direction. Extra research is necessary to set reasonable limits in other events.

How can a woman with muscles look like a man when she is still female and still has all her female parts?

Am I allowed to go to the men’s bathroom if I don’t visibly pass as male but my legal gender is male?

Why isn’t FIFA Women World Cup as publicized as men’s?

t’s less popular.

And unfortunately, the main marketing argument people who love women football is:

It’s not men football.

It’s a bit sad, first because it’s a negative argument. It’s like saying Keanu Reeves is a super actor, because he isn’t Di Caprio. How dumb is it?

Second, because it mutes the good aspects of women football, and resume it to an “under” men football. Who could be right in a way. But it’s not, it’s a different approach of the game. Same rules, different result. We should never compare the 2, it’s like women and men tennis, not the same.

Third, it gives a negative reputation to men football, so some macho men feel forced to trash talk women football in retaliation, and feminazi to defend it by principle. It’s dumb and low class. I let you have a look to this on twitter…

And finally, many women came to football thanks to men football, they were their idols. How dumb is to oppose men versus women? Especially when some girls grew up loving a Ronaldinho, a Baggio, or a Zidane.

Is it correct to say that girls are naturally weaker than boys? Can you give some reasons?

When is a woman considered too muscular?

Why are some parents so vehemently against co-ed sleepovers?

Why do hard hitters dominate in women’s tennis but not men’s?

What does gender equality mean and is there gender equality in the world? Which country has gender equality and which does not have gender equality?

What would happen if the men’s world cup champion soccer team played against the women’s?

Do the cheerleaders hook up with the professional players of the teams they’re cheering for?

What are some sports in which your gender will not give you any advantage?

What is the least healthiest sport?

In regard to gender equality, do you think the dominion of women will ever be equal to those of men, and if so, what do people think should be done?

Will FIFA ever let women and men play on the same team?

What does it feel like for a woman to cut her hair from long to very short?

What looks good on both men and women?

What looks good on both men and women?

Are there any trans men (formerly woman) athletes that are dominating in men’s sports?

Why do parents hate co-ed sleepovers?

Is gender segregation of toilets necessary?

Will there ever be a girls vs boys football competition or mixed gender teams?

Is “Equal Pay for Equal Sports” possible, and do people actually think it should be a thing?

Do average men and women have equal strengths, physically and mentally? Is it a myth that an average men is stronger than an average women?

Do men like seeing women at the gym?

In the subjects that both women and men can compare, is there a woman that outperforms a man? Is there any talent in which a woman is the best one in the world?

Why do we still have separate men and women categories in sports, when we both are equal?

In which sports do women outperform men, if they would compete against each other directly?

Do some men find women that lift weights attractive?

What do you think of gender segregation?E

Do you ever find fitness makes some women less attractive?

What do you think of co-ed bathrooms?

My son wants to be a cheerleader. What should I do?

In your opinion how much muscle is too much for a woman?

Why do guys work out more than women, when women are less visually attracted to guys than the other way around?

Do men or women build muscle faster?

What are the weight lifting exercises that can help in getting lean and strong but not bulky muscles?

How do you get lean muscle? When I weight lift (as a woman) I get bigger.

What do you think about the US women’s soccer team?

Would you be ok with your daughter being a cheerleader with how sexualized cheerleaders are?

Do women seek world records just to be equal to men?

What are some good strength building exercises for women who haven’t exercised in years?

Why do females not increase their muscle size to the same extent as males?

Is 30 minutes of weightlifting, 3 times a week enough for a female for building muscle?

How long will it take to achieve gender equality around the world?

How can a woman develop decent muscle mass without looking too bulky?

Should you raise girls differently from boys?

How are men and women in sports differently portrayed in the media?

What are some examples of sports records where women have shown more strength, endurance, skill than men?

Do you believe girls and boys should be raised differently? If so how?

Society says that women have the capability to be as strong as men, is this true anatomically speaking?

Is it possible for a woman to be stronger than a man in terms of muscles?

How many days of an intense workout would it take for the average woman to become as strong as the average man?

What gender-segregated sports, if made unisex, could still have an equal chance of a woman being regarded as the best?

In what sports does a man have no physical advantage over a woman?

Can women play in the World Cup with men?

How would the US national women’s soccer team fare if they were entered in California’s state high school boy’s championship soccer tournament?

Are team sports good for your health?

To what extent do elite female athletes want to compete with elite male athletes in different sports? Would they rather be kept separate?

Should female and male tennis players be paid equally?

What would happen if a gold medal male athlete changes sex and start competing against other female athletes? Do you think she will have an advantage?

In the era of gender equality who is going to suffer more, men or women?

Do you think that men and women are truly equal?

what are the pros and cons of co-ed games?

Which sport do both male and female compete together?

Currently, male and female Olympians only compete head-to-head in equestrian and sailing. There are also mixed events in badminton, luge and tennis.

Which Olympic sports are mixed gender?Mixed–gender events in athletics, swimming, table tennis and triathlon have been approved for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the IOC has announced. The Games will include a 4x400m mixed relay in athletics and a 4x100m medley mixed relay in swimming.

Why Co-Ed Sports Leagues Are Never Really Co-Ed

Sometimes sexism operates in such subtle ways that the experience leaves me wondering whether sexism even occurred at all. When a stranger grabs my ass, sure, I know what’s wrong with that situation. But my experience on my co-ed soccer team never felt like an obvious assault on my personhood. Instead, I gradually became aware of a slow, systemic wearing-away.

It started as a mystery. Why aren’t women playing adult co-ed sports? And why, once they start, do they so often drop out? The mystery actually started as a question to myself, but it was a different question: Am I crazy?, I texted a friend after a particularly frustrating Friday night soccer game a couple of years ago with my co-ed team. Wondering if I’m crazy is part of the experience of being a woman that I have come to accept, and when it came to playing soccer it was no different. As I stalked off the field in Manhattan’s Chinatown, I couldn’t tell if I was making a big deal out of nothing. Was I looking for something to be mad at? Were the guys really not passing to me, or was I just not as open to receive a pass as I thought I had been? Was it just me, or did they really only want the minimum number of women on the field, even though we had plenty of women subs? And why didn’t any of the other women there seem to be angry?

Figures from one multi-sport league show that its nationwide enrollment breakdown is almost exactly two-thirds male and one-third female, but that tells us nothing about actual participation, and, anecdotally,whywomen are less likely to come to games, and more likely to leave the league altogether.

“There seems to be a trend that women players do not show up for the games as much,” said Laura Lennon, who plays in co-ed soccer in the Philadelphia Sports Leagues. “Our team started out with seven girls and I’ve only seen two of them.”

“Where do these women go?” asked Kelaine Conochan, national marketing director of ZogSports, by far the biggest co-ed league in the country. Her questions were rhetorical, even if I felt like the second was directed at me: “Why do you stop playing?” Read more…

Should sports be co-ed?

To start, choosing a coed team can allow boys and girls to join a group based on ability rather than solely on gender. This promotes a great level of competition, increases skills and it can help prevent less naturally talented children from feeling out of among their peers.