Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Women in sports and the military

What sports should be off-limits to a qualified woman?

Glenn Reynolds has been talking about his cousin, the ski jumper and how the International Olympic Committee banned them. And now, small colleges are boosting their enrollment with women's sports like wrestling and it has nothing to do with Title IX and everything to do with money.

I'm trying to think of a sport where a woman shouldn't play. That might not mean inclusion on a men's team, though. Women have significantly less upper body strength (and lower body strength) than men (the average woman) so the fight wouldn't exactly be fair in a sport like wrestling.

What if a woman is so extraordinary she could succeed on the men's team? And then does that mean men should be allowed to play on women's teams? My opinion is still that women shouldn't be in combat, if only because in hand-to-hand combat and things like trudging through the countryside she's at such a disadvantage, not to mention that a woman is victimized in brutal ways should she be captured.

It seems to me that it's possible to recognize the biological differences and go for as much inclusion as possible.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you, there are definite differences in the physical abilities of men and women. Political correctness tries to blur those differences in the name of equality, but you can't blur reality.

    I do disagree with you on one point though. I used to hold the same view as you, when it came to women in combat, due to the physical constraints. But today's military provides opportunities for women to serve in combat roles that don't require the physical demands associated with ground forces. For example, helicopter, fighter, or bomber pilots, or even as tank personnel to name a few.

    I don't think women volunteers should be required to serve in combat roles, however if their love of this country is so great, and they wish to, then they should be allowed.

    I agree, horrible things could happen if a woman fell into enemy hands. But other than rape, the the enemy has inflicted ever possible means of torture and humiliation on the men they have captured, and eventually executed.

    Any woman who chooses a combat role has obviously thought through the possible consequences, and accepts them as a possibility.

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