You want to start an argument. Mention that guys are generally going to do better at sports than girls. They're bigger, faster, stronger...
Some people will say, "Well sure, there are more men competing in sports, attending sports camps and obviously men and women are built differently...so it just makes sense"
some will say, "You jerk! You couldn't be more of a sexist!"
There are high school boys who would win the Olympics if they competed as women (although they'd look kind of silly in those bikini-suits they wear). It's because men and women are built differently. I saw the boys from Middletown H.S. run the 4 X 100 and they were about a second faster than the women's world record...because there are some differences between boys and women...and that's ok.
Now what's weird to me is when men and women compete in different categories in games (as opposed to sports) - like when you see a women's division in shooting pool on ESPN 7. I would guess that maybe they're on equal footing in billiards. I'd say they're on equal footing in race car driving. I'd say they're on equal footing in Monopoly.
Don't get mad....we're different. It's ok. Pretending that we're not to keep the peace isn't a good idea.
I could argue and cite some stats and some studies but, why bother, your mind is made up.
ReplyDeleteIn most peoples' minds, including many women (mostly evangelical Christian women, unfortunately), women are just inferior in most ways that are valuable and in most ways that matter in our society.
So, instead of trying to start a fight by saying something inflamatory, Sean, why don't you honestly tell me some important things that women, in general, are better at than men. Or can't you think of any...
Also, since money is power in our society, let's hear some financially rewarding ways that women exceed men.
I'd rather hear your stats and studies. I'm kind of wondering if you just know these things like you know "the minds of evangelical Christian women". It must be nice to have that sort of power.
ReplyDeletesome studies suggest that women have better hearing than men. They have better emotional memory than men. They live longer than men...so I guess they're better at living longer.
is this what you were looking for?
It's just sad that stating the facts would get people mad or defensive. You're sort of proving my point here...
No. You were looking for someone to get mad and thought you had found a fish for your sloppily baited hook. I was not mad in the least.
ReplyDeleteI just challenged you to offer a positive comment about women to add to your negative ones. Misogynists are irritating but I would never give you the power to actually make me mad.
I was stating some facts and you were proving my point that people get mad when you point out the differences. You inferred that I was saying women are inferior when I didn't do that at all. You said you had some stats...but are going to keep those to yourself...but they sure are out there...um...somewhere?
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying that people get so crazy weird about saying there are differences and you're offering yourself up as a case in point. Saying that I hate women maybe a term of affection for you...but I'm guessing it's more of a defense mechanism to deflect from the actual point. It's easier to steer away from what people are saying by just calling them (fill in blank here)-haters.
so...thank you?
I'm acting "crazy weird" and defensive. um...OK. I'd rather do that than make sarcastic, sweeping negative comments about an entire gender.
ReplyDeleteI'm not wasting time defending my gender's sport prowess with you. As I said before, your mind is already made up and it's a waste of my time.
I just want to point this out:
ReplyDeleteI talk about the differences in people bringing out the defensiveness in others - even though that's just how we're made. Not better - just different....and that's exactly what's just happened.
Then I'm met with someone not wanting to waste their time giving their stats and studies -even though they have time to recheck the blog and type out comments - but not to point to the facts.
to an outside observer - it just feels like maybe you want to believe that we're all the same and there are no differences...and....and.....um if you show me facts that fly in the face of my opinion....well you're just being negative...or a misogynist....or um....you make sweeping comments (like, "I have facts...")
it just feels a little like you don't want to say, "maybe I don't really have studies and stats - and I sure don't like the facts as they stand...and I just got a little defensive - so I did the deflect thing and started labeling you...and I'm sorry"
something like that?
I just don't understand why you are so upset 'anonymous'. Sean is pointing out differences in sports, or games as I like to call them. That's all they are. Games. Men are better at some... games. Granted, some men get paid millions to play them but at the end of the day, they are games. Just relax. Take a deep breath.
ReplyDeleteWomen make excellent moms. They make awesome teachers. They make great kissers.
Certainly there are exceptions, just like Sean sucks at the 4x100 (he could never get the baton handoff down).
Sometimes it just seems like you want a battle to fight. Your time might be better spent outside of the cyber-world fighting something other than the fact that men are faster than women, in general.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteMy mind is actually not made up. I'm a big research guy, so I'd love to hear those stats and studies.
Also, women smell nice.
ReplyDeleteSean, I'm not positive, here, but I think that "anonymous" might just be someone who agrees with you but is baiting you just for the heck of it. I'm pretty sure that real people aren't actually that silly.
"I'm pretty sure that real people aren't actually that silly."
ReplyDeleteMike, have you ever met a woman? :)
Classic, Bragg. Classic.
ReplyDeleteAnd the more misogynistic side of me wanted to expand my earlier comment to:
"Women are silly, but they're soft and they smell nice."
...but that would just be sexist, so I won't say that, here.
I'm not sexist; I'm misogynistic.
ReplyDeleteMen and women aren't different. Come on, they are equal in every single way Murphy.
Anonymous is absolutely correct. I mean why don't you write about how women are superior to men in one post and then write another post about how men...
Hold on. I know what that's called...
and men can be soft, smell nice, and shop for shoes on a daily basis. Fuller gets away with it all the time. See what I did there?
So, um,... how many of you guys have girlfriends?
ReplyDelete...see what I did there...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI do and I'm faster than her.
ReplyDeleteMyth: Women are naturally inferior to men in terms of strength and speed. Therefore, women just can't be as good at sports as men
ReplyDeleteFact: All men are not stronger or faster than all women. There is great overlap in the strength and speed of men and women. Because women, on average, have greater flexibility, a greater percentage of body fat (useful for long distance races) and smaller size, we tend to be better than men in some sports: marathon swimming, very long distance running, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and horse racing, to name a few. And, in recreationsl sports like tennis and golf, frisbee, softball, volleyball, and countless others, women and men regularly play against and with each other at similar skill levels. Nevertheless, many men take great comfort in the fact that most women are not big, strong, or fast enough to play football. Of course, MOST MEN ARE NOT EITHER. "Because women 'could never play football' (men imply) men are physically, naturally, biologically superior," says Mariah Burton Nelson, author of The Stronger Women Get, the More Men Love Football. "When women demonstrate excellence in sports like running, tennis, and golf, men take great pains to describe that excellence as less important, less worthy, less of an achievement than male excellence. "These same people would never think of comparing Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammed Ali. One weighed sixty pounds more than the other. Clearly, they deserve to box in different classes. Yet the top female tennis player is often compared to the top male player...who usually outweighs her by sixty pounds.
remember when I said that all men were faster than all women?
ReplyDeleteno?
if you look at the second line I wrote - generally was the word I used. I'll stand by that. I'll also stand by the fact that some peopel get so insecure that they wouldn't think of admitting that a man might possibly be different, or in some ways better, than a woman. The same is true of women in other arenas. I'm just pointing out that in these insignificant games they generally are going to do better.
I knew a guy who was pretty darn fast. He didn't qualify for state in High School - but he made it to regionals. He didn't make it to State, but he would have made it to the Olympic finals that year if he was a she.
In sports that don't require a weigh in...because that's not a factor (we'll eliminate boxing and wrestling) - like say, tennis (remember Michael Chang winning all those tournaments...he weighs about a buck forty) women and men compete separately.
I'd like to give you ultra marathons (but the men's world record is about an hour faster than the women's world record in the 100 mile distance - and about 50,000 meters longer in the 24 hour race...but let's not get bogged down with statistics and facts - you've got an article you cut and pasted there. I'm just glad you finally dug up your facts...I mean cited the facts that you already clearly had.)
I go to softball games that are co-ed. I know men and women compete on the same fields in some rec leagues or leisure leagues. In fact, in the softball games if you walk a guy - the girl automatically gets a walk...to keep teams from just walking the guys to get to the girls.
I'm not sure why they have that rule???
So because I don't have a girlfriend/wife I'm automatically disqualified from this comment thread?
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't have a girlfriend because I misogynist? Are you sure it has nothing to do with the decision I've made to focus on starting the process of entering the next phase of my life? You sure it's not because I made the decision to wait on a relationship because I recognize the part where it's completely unfair to divide the amount of time, energy, effort between going back to school AND building a meaningful connection with another woman?
I'm not much on showing my ego, but I have a pretty good feeling that the women who know me, including those I dated in the past, would stand up and be among the first to let you know who I am among other guys.
So try another tactic anonymous. Men and women are different from the basis of muscle structure to thought processes. How those cause similarities or differences in sport/competition is what makes life interesting.
And yes, my high school wrestling team had girls competing. Care to take a guess as to how many combined wins all four of those girls had in the 3 years they were part of the team?
Until then, try not to judge things you know nothing about-namely who I am and the decisions I've made to not engage in commitment to a girlfriend/wife. I don't know how many guys burned you in the past, but I assure you I don't deserve to be lumped in with them.