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Women in men’s sports, oh my!!

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
So I’m curious. My international friends, how are your women’s “alternatives” (for lack of a better term) faring?

For example in Australiastan apparently the women’s AFL has proved quite popular, perhaps even more popular than the men’s league. Which I find interesting.
I mean during WWII (I think) the men were not home so the England’s soccer league recruited the women and the women’s league were popular even after the war. So clearly there’s always been a want for women’ s sports.
Do you watch women’s sports? I always bonded with my father through sports. So maybe that’s a component?
What would you like to see women compete in on a national level?
 

Meow Mix

Chatte Féministe
So I’m curious. My international friends, how are your women’s “alternatives” (for lack of a better term) faring?

For example in Australiastan apparently the women’s AFL has proved quite popular, perhaps even more popular than the men’s league. Which I find interesting.
I mean during WWII (I think) the men were not home so the England’s soccer league recruited the women and the women’s league were popular even after the war. So clearly there’s always been a want for women’ s sports.
Do you watch women’s sports? I always bonded with my father through sports. So maybe that’s a component?
What would you like to see women compete in on a national level?

My local dive has women’s sports on fairly frequently.

I have never been a huge sports person, but I’ve gotten a little more into football (American) and baseball over the last several years; mainly to bond with friends. If I got into a women’s league of something I’m sure they’d reciprocate to some degree.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
So I’m curious. My international friends, how are your women’s “alternatives” (for lack of a better term) faring?

For example in Australiastan apparently the women’s AFL has proved quite popular, perhaps even more popular than the men’s league. Which I find interesting.
I mean during WWII (I think) the men were not home so the England’s soccer league recruited the women and the women’s league were popular even after the war. So clearly there’s always been a want for women’ s sports.
Do you watch women’s sports? I always bonded with my father through sports. So maybe that’s a component?
What would you like to see women compete in on a national level?
I'll watch sports with both men's and women's divisions (e.g. cycling) and sports where everyone all competes together (e.g. most motorsports).

I'd like to see some women in Formula 1.
 

Regiomontanus

Ματαιοδοξία ματαιοδοξιών! Όλα είναι ματαιοδοξία.
So I’m curious. My international friends, how are your women’s “alternatives” (for lack of a better term) faring?

For example in Australiastan apparently the women’s AFL has proved quite popular, perhaps even more popular than the men’s league. Which I find interesting.
I mean during WWII (I think) the men were not home so the England’s soccer league recruited the women and the women’s league were popular even after the war. So clearly there’s always been a want for women’ s sports.
Do you watch women’s sports? I always bonded with my father through sports. So maybe that’s a component?
What would you like to see women compete in on a national level?

I really enjoy watching tennis (US Open is happening now) but usually just the mens singles. Women's tennis is just not that enjoyable for me. And woman's soccer/football? Yawn.

Does that make me a bad person? :)
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Women have come far in boxing & MMA.
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Father Heathen

Veteran Member
If you want to count "esports", at one time (don't know if they still do his, as I don't follow esports, either) event organizers and corporate sponsors would assemble female teams for the game CS:GO, but chosen by what they deemed to be physically attractive rather than by actual skill, so aside from being sexist, the matches were sloppy and poorly played, which is where the attention is primarily focused rather than on the players themselves as they sit at their computers.
 
So I’m curious. My international friends, how are your women’s “alternatives” (for lack of a better term) faring?

For example in Australiastan apparently the women’s AFL has proved quite popular, perhaps even more popular than the men’s league. Which I find interesting.
I mean during WWII (I think) the men were not home so the England’s soccer league recruited the women and the women’s league were popular even after the war. So clearly there’s always been a want for women’ s sports.
Do you watch women’s sports? I always bonded with my father through sports. So maybe that’s a component?
What would you like to see women compete in on a national level?

Some sports like darts and snooker have started to reserve some places in major tournaments for female players which is good.

Was quite big news a couple of years ago as one woman made it to the 3rd round of the World Championships.

In some T20 cricket tournaments they have started to play women's and men's games one after the other in at the same ground to increase crowds, prize money and exposure for the women's game which has been quite successful.

Boxing and MMA also often have mixed bills too which has also been successful in raising the profile of female fighters.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
I really enjoy watching tennis (US Open is happening now) but usually just the mens singles. Women's tennis is just not that enjoyable for me. And woman's soccer/football? Yawn.

Does that make me a bad person? :)
Of course it does! You evil evil person
(just kidding of course.)
 

Meow Mix

Chatte Féministe
You know, if it didn’t have stigma, pole dancing requires a huge amount of skill and training. To the point that despite still being very active and flexible, I couldn’t do it like I could in my 20’s.

So the problem would be one of legitimization, people would get the wrong idea or focus on the wrong thing.

I don’t see it as being different from the coordination and skill required to do ice skating and things like that in a sporty context as opposed to the sexy context.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
You know, if it didn’t have stigma, pole dancing requires a huge amount of skill and training. To the point that despite still being very active and flexible, I couldn’t do it like I could in my 20’s.

So the problem would be one of legitimization, people would get the wrong idea or focus on the wrong thing.

I don’t see it as being different from the coordination and skill required to do ice skating and things like that in a sporty context as opposed to the sexy context.
Bruh, pole dancing is no joke. I remember it being used as a fitness course some years ago. Still is, to my knowledge
 

Meow Mix

Chatte Féministe
Bruh, pole dancing is no joke. I remember it being used as a fitness course some years ago. Still is, to my knowledge

Yuuup. One of my friends from my dancing days still teaches pole. I’ve thought about taking a refresher. I do barre (just passed 500 classes recently), which uses a horizontal pole but isn’t the same. I haven’t touched a vertical pole in years.

I was never high skill, I’d say my friend is absolutely that though. From my experience I think it should qualify as a serious sport. Or whatever you’d call it, is it a sport without teams?
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
Yuuup. One of my friends from my dancing days still teaches pole. I’ve thought about taking a refresher. I do barre (just passed 500 classes recently), which uses a horizontal pole but isn’t the same. I haven’t touched a vertical pole in years.

I was never high skill, I’d say my friend is absolutely that though. From my experience I think it should qualify as a serious sport. Or whatever you’d call it, is it a sport without teams?
Well I mean gymnastics is a sport and that’s usually team optional
 

Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
So I’m curious. My international friends, how are your women’s “alternatives” (for lack of a better term) faring?
"Systematically underfunded" is probably the best way to describe it, though our men's football has been so atrocious for so long that pre-COVID, women's football actually started to make some inroads to the point of actually being broadcast on national television (and as far as I can tell, the all-men crew doing commentary were only marginally cringeworthy and sexist, compared to what I expected would happen).
 

Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
Yuuup. One of my friends from my dancing days still teaches pole. I’ve thought about taking a refresher. I do barre (just passed 500 classes recently), which uses a horizontal pole but isn’t the same. I haven’t touched a vertical pole in years.

I was never high skill, I’d say my friend is absolutely that though. From my experience I think it should qualify as a serious sport. Or whatever you’d call it, is it a sport without teams?
My skills in gymnastics never surpassed those of a cooked potato, so I have mad respect both for pole dancers as well as the more 'traditional' gymnasts - although I admit that I find the former slightly more entertaining to watch on video. Both artistic and rhythmic gymnastics are recognized disciplines in the Summer Olympics as far as I know, which I would argue is about as 'serious' as it gets when it comes to sports.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
My skills in gymnastics never surpassed those of a cooked potato,
I can relate to that.

Ya know, starting gymnastics when in 10th grade might have beevn a tad late, ya think? ;) I made the team in college but I was just a little bit shy of being the star of the team.:rolleyes:

It's amazing I survived.
 

Stonetree

Model Member
Premium Member
World Class women's soccer(football in Europe) is a favorite of mine. The college level women's softball is enjoyable to watch also. Women have excellent lower body strength; male upper body strength and speed are the major differences when comparing male to female performance..IMHO..
 
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