arthwollipot wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:23 pm
Meadmaker wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:29 pmI think it's because not all students want to be part of athletic competition, and girls are less likely to want to be part of athletics than boys.
Obviously, but why? It's not like girls can't be good at physical activity. What's discouraging them?
Ah....the nature or nurture question. Are the differing choices of boys and girls a result of biological differences, or societal influence?
Obviously, society can influence things, but I think there are also biological differences. I think nature plays a role.
A thought occurred to me as I typed the above. I think the greater participation by boys is obviously a result of discrimination......against boys. Take your basic benchwarmer on the 3rd string of the high school basketball team. Why is he there? Well, motivations vary from individual to individual. However, for some of them, the answer is parental pressure, or in some cases societal pressure. They are told that they have to put up with all of it because that's what's expected of them, even though they don't want to do it. On the other hand, society accepts girls who don't want to play sports.
Is that really it? I think it's a factor. I'm certain that some of the boys who are on various sports teams really would prefer not to be there, and are only doing it because dad thinks they ought to.
Anecdote: Just because I find it funny. My inlaws were very involved in my son's upbringing. More involved than I wish they were. One day, at my house, my in laws were in the next room. Mom in law was really pushing my son, 10 or 11 years old at the time, to get involved in a sport. I liked the idea, but there was only so far I was going to push it. I could hear the conversation in the next room, even though MiL was trying to be quiet. FiL asked why she was so adamant that he had to do sports. MiL answered, very emphatically, "Because if he doesn't go out for a sports team, he might become a homosexual!"
I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, but I didn't say anything. She ended up bribing him with an IPad, though, when they were pretty new and quite epensive. It worked. He joined cross-country. But he didn't like it, and she said it wasn't a team sport. Well, it must have been close enough, because he turned out heterosexual.
Anyway......the point is that society does influence choices, but disparity in result is not proof of discrimination. It might just be that girls aren't as interested as boys in playing sports.
And just for the record, I am a huge advocate of school sports, for both boys and girls. I would strongly encourage all young people to participate in organized athletics, even if it doesn't have any influence on their sexual orientation.
