Gender equality in sports is indefineable

Lilly Montero,

With the advent of the Internet, it often seems as though society is moving just as fast as what is trending on Twitter. In spite of what Internet progressives and activists would like us to believe, there are limitations on progress that have not been properly evaluated. Gender equality in sports is one such challenge. In the way of achieving it, is the difficulty of undoing socially entrenched gender roles, undeniable biological differences between the two sexes, and a pathway which would only subdue or invalidate a person’s gender identity.

Western culture, along with many other cultures, has an obsession with gender roles which dictate the expectations of both males and females and these expectations tend to dictate their experiences. In the argument between nature versus nurture, one has to admit that nurture goes a long way. Participating in what are considered male or female practices helps shape a person’s identity and how they view their own abilities. Additionally, socially implemented standards can act as a barrier to leaving those gender roles.

For example, in “The Decade of Decline: Gender Equity in High School Sports” co authored by Don Sabo, Ph.D. and Philip Veliz, Ph.D., found that “by 2010 girls participated in greater numbers than in the beginning of the decade; however, girls’ share of total athletic opportunities decreased across the decade as compared to boys’ share.”

So long as society clings to its gender roles which deem female participation in sports as unimportant, gender equality in sports cannot be achieved.

Biological differences are also in the way of gender equality in sports. Humankind as a species is sexually dimorphic, or typically demonstrate differences in physicality. For most sports which are predominantly physical, the comparison between male and female performance in sports is notably different and to compare the two would be unfair. However fast the fastest woman is, she will never be faster than the fastest man. This is not to imply women are less talented than men, but rather to say comparing them on would be a disproportionate comparison.

In the same vein, transgender or intersex women could very well be the pathway to gender equality in sports, but this has its own limitations as it simultaneously invalidates their gender identity.

Take Caster Semenya, an olympic athlete, for example. Semenya was born a woman but has an intersex condition which gives her the physical strength of a man many see as an unfair advantage. The International Association for Athletics Federations sought to address “hyperandrogenism” in sports, and stated if a woman tested positive for it then she’d be forced to either give up the competition or undergo hormonal treatment to subdue the condition. Fortunately, the Court of Arbitration for Sports later decided that the rule was too invasive and caused permanent physical damage to athletes.

The alternate route many critics say is available to transgender women and athletes like Semenya, is to compete with the men. However, athletes like Semenya would not place in the olympics with men, because they do not have as much testosterone and for transgender women it would deny them their true gender identity. Even if trans women athletes are blessed with physical capabilities commonly associated with men, they are not men. They are women and so they should compete with the women.

The combination of these factors make achieving gender equality in sports almost impossible. Perhaps in the future a solution will be found and gender equality will be achieved. Until then, the least we can do is  evaluate the difficulties preventing progress.