I’m on the fence with this one. My biggest reason against this type of competition has to do with the difference in biology. I could careless about gender but it’s the way your body is built which others might not have the same strength body-wise. Another notable issue is the Lia Thomas issue because she has a broader shoulder span. Her strength is built differently since she trained at a different level of guidelines. I hope that makes sense. It’s the same with putting men and women in a competition against each other. I would say for this type of competition to be made there would need to be a different set of rules to go by since you have to calculate the different body builds. Most athletes have certain goals in a competition that are centered on other athletes of the same build and caliber. If you are to put a man in a women’s sport they would win with flying colors on the strength side because their strength is much stronger. After all, it’s compartmentalized differently. The whole competition would need to be evaluated and changed to adapt for women and men to compete together. It’s going to be trial and error before this could be an official competition though.
What do you think about men and women competing in the same competition in the Olympics?
Well, I’m not, not really. It should be about discipline rather than strength… but I guess it depends on each activity. Like, take NZ Olympians for instance, a large majority of whom who have won medals have been female.
But aside from this, it’s about gender not sex, which has expanded. To be inclusive, we should be fair to all those who are not defined by this previous binary system.
I was meaning the level of power exerted is different between the two genders. I was only using Lia as example due to the different build of her body. I agree with being fair with those who have changed their previous binary system. Though it’s still a matter on how a person body is built. That is biggest draw back to this type of competition. Yes, it’s about gender but it’s also that gender which changes the level of competition because you are putting other athletes who have been held up to a different level together. Men’s and Women’s point system is made differently then each other. The men’s points are higher than the women’s points. This is also why I mentioned they would need to change the rules just for this to be come possible. It doesn’t matter if you are transgendered, male, and female. The competition grading system would have to be changed just to work to include different genders into a competition like this. So, that is why I’m against it happening unless they change the whole setup because it would be unfair for any gender.
Ah see, I was vaguely understanding you until you brought up trans people and how rules would need to be changed etc. I mentioned this on a different thread but trans people have been allowed to compete in the correct categories to their gender in certain places for a long time, can you actually name a trans athlete who has won something? Hormone treatment can do a lot to your body, it’s been proven that it actually puts you at a disadvantage. Of course then there’s the whole “how far into the transition do they need to be” which is where I just say this:
It should be divided purely by weight categories or ability. This may mean in some sports, only men are in one category for their ability. But if you have more than one category this should make it a lot less separated.
Infact there was one year women and men were allowed to compete against each other in shooting. Silver, Gold and Bronze all went to women. So the next time, it got changed. Which is kinda bulls*it when you think about it.
Also yes, rules would need to be changed, I don’t think anyone answering this question would just say “okay that’s a thing now” without acknowledging that, but there’s nothing wrong with change.
I was only bringing that part up since it was an ongoing issue surrounding a similar point connected to the topic. There are other factors that can outweigh if both genders can compete together. Yes, the hormone treatments can change the body in many ways I will give credit there but the way the body is built can also add into the factor. Yeah, I can understand the shooting range competition since most of it has to do with the weapon, wind trajectory, and concentration. The relay part might need to be adjusted since it involves a bit more grading regulations. I’m not fully against men and women competing but the regulations would need to change when it comes to grading. There are advantages that women have in certain sports such as skiing. The event where they are having to make sharp turns down the slope around the flags one. Women have more dexterity when it comes to moving your hips to make sharp turns rather than men. The hips a built differently which can put men at a disadvantage due to the fact their hips don’t move as quickly. Another good point is the gymnastics events that are drastically different between men and women. They have a whole different type of moves to use in both events due to being women and men. It’s a matter of what regulations to go with if men and women were allowed to compete together. They can be allowed to compete together but the event would have to be changed to fit both women and men. At least, that is how I see it when I watch the different types of competitions during the olympics.
Exactly. After all, it has only just been a little over 100 years since women were allowed to compete at all. So why not change it again, to show how society and laws have changed and what equality really means to us.
i’m just gonna casually flex on the fact that i practice an olympic sport (not nearly at olympics level but still)
there’s absolutely no reason for a gender divide in (at least some) sports
i’m gonna talk about foil fencing because that’s where my experience lays:
there are very few fencers in my city. this means that for city-wide competitions, in order to have enough athletes competing against each other during the poules, they don’t divide the categories between genders
from what i’ve seen, both as an athlete myself and as a trainer’s assistant (yeah i’m just flexing at this point lol) there’s no innate advantage any gender has over the other
height is definitely an advantage, since that means you can reach your opponent easier and keep them at a distance, but even then, i’ve seen a kid who’s about 120 cm absolutely destroy a dude who’s almost 180 cm, so it really relies on playing to your advantages, and not just in height
and in foil fencing, at least, strength is not that important
so “biological factors” (bleh) like those don’t matter much
all this to say: no, there’s no need to divide (at least) some sports by gender