Deck 27: Against Womens Sports

Question 1

Nancy Leong levels a pretty harsh criticism against women's sports. Do you think that there are any positives or benefits of sex segregation that she may have missed, even if it's only at some levels of competition or in some contexts? Write an essay that serves as an objection to Leong, highlighting potential benefits of sex segregation. Then, consider how Leong might respond.

Answer 1

-Offer a defense of sex segregation in sports that makes a serious attempt to respond to Leong's concerns about it.
-Accurately summarize, and then apply, Leong's ideas to the defense just offered. Specifically, the essay should discuss why Leong thinks that sports segregation is harmful and should be abolished.

Question 2

Nancy Leong mentions some alternatives to sex segregation throughout her essay, but she doesn't spend much time on exploring what these would look like. In your essay, summarize some of Leong's suggestions on how we might replace the sports segregation system. Then, consider what it would look like to apply those suggestions to sports in the real world, using football, skeet shooting, and limbo as examples.

Answer 2

-Include a thesis that's focused and appropriate given the assignment.
-Clearly and succinctly state the main argument for the thesis.
-Correctly apply the author's support for the thesis to the examples of football, skeet shooting, and limbo.

Question 3

Men invented most sports, and they did so at a time when the idea of women engaging in physical activity would have been viewed as a joke. It is unsurprising, therefore, that the sports men invented often showcase physical endeavors for which men's bodies tend to be better suited. As a result, the activities we consider sports emphasize physical abilities such as strength, speed, and power.
In your essay, first explain what this means, maybe including an example of another type of activity that follows a similar pattern (it was made by men for men, and then defined the way that we understand this activity). Next, assume that Leong is right, and talk about where we should go from here. For example, you might think that we should change how we think about, play, pay for, or watch sports; or, you might think that we can do a bit better with the system that we already have.

Answer 3

-Demonstrate an understanding of Leong's point on how men's creation of sports led to the way that we currently think about them.
-Include a thesis that's focused and appropriate given the assignment.
-Clearly and succinctly state the main argument for the thesis.
-Correctly identify and defend the argument's controversial premises using sound reasoning, well-chosen examples, insightful analogies, etc.

Question 4

Leong argues that accepting a default of sex segregation in sports harms ________:

A) Women most of all
B) Women slightly more than men
C) Both women and men
D) Men slightly more than women
E) Men most of all

Question 5

What is the important similarity that sex and gender share when it comes to sports, according to Leong?

A) In both instances the categories are treated as synonymous and highly context dependent
B) In both instances the can be helpful ways to determine which class a certain athlete should compete in
C) In both instances an athletic organization decides to use a fictitious concept to advance its interests
D) In both instances the categories are given more weight than they are in almost every other facet of life
E) In both instances the categories are treated as both mutually exclusive and all-encompassing

Question 6

Leong makes a number of claims about gender testing in sports. Which of the following is NOT one of her claims?

A) Such testing places a disproportionate emphasis on sex as an advantage
B) Such testing is expensive and so adds another barrier to entry for underfunded, women only teams
C) The test's purpose is actually to discern an individual's biological sex
D) The test misses the fact that there are all sorts of genetic variations, unlinked to gender, that give athletes advantages
E) Such tests subject female athletes to undergo an intrusive and evolving battery of tests

Question 7

Leong affirms that the same system that guarantees a space for women to compete simultaneously ________:

A) Highlights women's distinctive athletic prowess
B) Shrinks the world of women's athletics
C) Communicates women's "competitive inferiority"
D) Codifies ideas about "sports essentialism"
E) Reifies the idea that all men are strong, powerful, and fast

Question 8

Leong argues that there aren't any athletic activities where women are less proficient than men.

Question 9

Why does Leong include Gertrude Ederle's story?

A) She's an example of a woman who equals or surpasses men at their chosen sport
B) Her story serves as an interesting counterexample to some of Leong's major points
C) She's an example of a skilled trans athlete who was barred from competition
D) Her brother was allowed to compete in an event that she was better at but barred from
E) She's among those women who is working to break down the system of sex segregation

Question 10

How does Leong respond to the objection that women are more injury-prone than men in contact sports?

A) If this turns out to be true, it would support the idea that women should be barred from playing contact sports with men
B) This misses the actual fact that it is men who are more injury-prone than women when it comes to contact sports
C) Whether or not this is true is irrelevant, considering that even non-contact sports are dangerous for everyone
D) Even if this is true, this doesn't support the idea that women shouldn't play contact sports where the risks are high for both men and women
E) Even if this is true, women and girls should be free to make autonomous decisions about the kind of risks that they subject themselves to

Question 11

What does Leong mean when she says that women's sports are "a self-perpetuating phenomenon?"

A) Once we establish sex-segregated events, women become more excited about playing those than co-ed events
B) Once we allow women to play sports, we should expect that they will want to play in whatever capacity that they can
C) When we put sex-segregated events on television, viewers are going to want to watch sex-segregated events instead of co-ed ones
D) Once we establish sex-segregated events, there's no opportunity for women to prove that they could compete with men
E) When we lower expectations surrounding women's athletic ability, it becomes difficult for them to ever be better at sports than men

Question 12

The fact that women are evaluated on elegance and grace in artistic gymnastics is an example of what?

A) Unjustified segregation
B) Sports essentialism
C) False binaries
D) Integrated competition
E) Gender stereotyping

Question 13

Leong points to the fact that since men invented most sports, ________:

A) Women are going to be less motivated to participate in sports that they didn't have a role in designing
B) The sports they invented often showcase physical endeavors for which men's bodies tend to be better suited
C) We shouldn't be surprised when men are hesitant to take women's sports seriously
D) It makes sense to talk about men as being better at sports, considering that they have a head start
E) Dismantling the patriarchy requires for us to work adamantly until sex-segregation is no longer common practice