Banning women from running marathons...

jenniferinfl

I think in a few generations the performance gap will start to close a bit more. Let's face it, women have pretty much been selectively bred for traits not conducive to athleticism. Huge strides have been made, but it will be our granddaughters who have a chance at being seriously competitive.

I never played sports, if I had any potential in any kind of athletic field, I missed the opportunity to discover it. My daughter is already in soccer and she'll be in more sports as her attention span improves. So many females never even had a real opportunity to try sports, there has probably been some real talent that was missed and wasted.

jgnatca

@jenniferinfl , try in several hundred generations. That's how long selection takes to make it's mark. And I'm not so sure physical competition floats the most successful in our society to the top. It's a specialty field.

Much more likely is that women are going to change corporate America. Already women college graduates are outnumbering men. Jobs will be more flexible to allow for generous family time for both men and women. Collaboration and teamwork rather than competition is valued.

• I never expected to see women serving in the military alongside men in my generation, but here we are.
• I think women are plenty competitive, simply excelling in different arenas.
• I believe we'll see more mixed teams in recreational and junior sport.

My boss is goalie in a women's hockey league. She tells me the top Canadian women play against triple A men to prepare for the Olympics. They lose regularly to the men, but then they kick butt against the American women's team. I'd say that is a prime example of female strategic thinking, LOL!

jenniferinfl

LOL, sorry, reread what I wrote and it is confusing. I believe that there's a certain portion of the population that has the talent to set records. Until more girls try more sports, we will not find those people. I would venture that most boys have tried at least one sport. I don't believe we have anywhere near as many girls trying out for a sport and much less trying for more than one sport. I don't believe we can see evolution in two generations, but I do believe that with more acceptance comes more girls who try sports and with that comes the increased likelihood that the talented ones could be found.
Obviously, I don't believe that we're going to find female linebackers anytime soon, but I think the gender is capable of more in track sports and that it's a matter of finding the talented.

jgnatca

Great contribution, thoughts.