SWMS Presentation- Violence in Womens' Sports

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/new/local_wpri_providence_high_school_girls_soccer_brawl_20091109_BRT

The story is about a fight that took place on the field during a girls' high school soccer game in Providence, Rhode Island. While there was only a minute left in the game, one girl bumped into another, which in turn led to an all-out brawl breaking out- complete with punching, pushing and hair pulling. The story mentions that a similar incident occurred not long ago, which could have had an impact on this situation.

Women have traditionally been seen as less aggressive than their male counterparts, but sports have afforded women and girls an outlet to release their frustrations and strengths in a positive manner. Only recently have women been able to express themselves in such a physical way and still be accepted by society. Sports have traditionally been the domain of men in which they can express their aggression and masculinity freely- and now women have a place on the field as well. Personally, I believe that womens' participation in sports is a good thing that allows women to released their repressed aggression and frustrations. However, it's very important that this aggression is channeld into fair play and not into violence.

Incidents like the high school soccer fight are of course not unique to girls or to soccer- in such a competitive environment as the sports field, there are bound to be disagreements and fighting between teams. Therefore, both male and female players need to control themselves and transform their frustrations and anger into determination to win. It might be more shocking to see women enaging in such violent acts because of our preconceptions that they should be docile and understanding by nature, but it's also important to note that these girls are still sports players. They're playing very competitive games and their drive to win is the same as men, so we shouldn't be surprised if they occasionally get into fights.

Any increase we're seeing in violence in girls' sports is probably a byproduct of the fact that far fewer women have competed up to this point. They're really only leveling out with men and being human- competitive. In the end, sports can be a great outlet for both men and women, as long as the competition is kept to fair play and the players learn to control themselves.