Let The Girls Play

My wife grew-up in Northern Ontario in the 80’s and was subjected to a fairly average set of gender roles for the era. Her father worked out of the home as a teacher. Her mother ran the household and held several temporary jobs throughout her life. Her father, skied, played hockey, played baseball and ran. Her mother skied ……a little.

My wife has a brother. He played just about every sport you can name. He is an exceptional athlete who grew up to be a physical education teacher….makes sense.

When my wife talks about her athletic career it usually involves a story that ends with her getting hit in the head by the ball. She claims to have been cursed with poor coordination. When I ask my wife’s family (mother, father, brother) about her athletic abilities it seems to have been decided early that brother was the athlete and sister (now wife) was the academic.

This is likely a fairly common story for women of our generation. Gender roles exist for a reason. Men and women are different. They are generally interested in different things and are driven by different social pressures especially as young people.

However, when you consider the potential benefits of woman playing organized sports versus allowing them at young age to decide they are “not the sporty type” or worse assigning them the “uncoordinated” curse it might be considered negligent.

The following is a list of some of the benefits a woman can expect if she makes sport part of her life. The list is part of a summary document produced by the Woman’s Sports Foundation in East Meadow, NY. The foundation was started by tennis super start Billie Jean King. The statistics come from various sources and are referenced on the Woman’s Sports Foundation website so I won’t bother to reference each point.

When a woman makes sport part of her life she is…..

· significantly reduces her risk of stroke,
· less likely to suffer from osteoporosis,
· less likely to suffer depression,
· more likely to graduate from high school ,
· more likely to go to university and 15% more likely to earn a degree,
· significantly less likely to suffer from an eating disorder,
· more likely to engage in volunteer work,
· more likely to vote,
· 50% less likely to be pregnant as a teen
· less likely to be sexually assaulted
· 50% less likely to develop breast cancer

The list goes on and on and on………….

When the athletic component of a woman’s life is dismissed or when she is allowed to dismiss it herself she not only misses out on all of the fantastic fun of playing but also deprives herself of countless benefits.

My wife didn’t play as a young girl and as a result she doesn’t play as a young woman. She has found it difficult to make sport part of her life and struggles to stay active. She feels guilt associated with taking time away from her family to indulge in sport.

I, as a man, am expected to play! My wife, as a mother, is not expected to play. Combined with the dismissal of her athletic abilities at a young age it is not hard to see why sport is not a big part of her life.

So let the girls play.