When Girls Get Hurt, People Get Stupid

Nature intended her for team sports, yo.

So recently lots of people talked to me about the NY Times magazine thang on girls and sports injuries. I wrote about it already, but there's oh so much more to be said, especially when you start to delve into the controversial responses to the article. One of the things I mentioned to a number of people was my distaste for the fact that some people interviewed for the piece said girls need to learn to "run like a boy." 'Kay, couldn't we just say, "girls need to learn to run with different mechanics to protect their bodies"? Because naturally the article was used as fuel by some jerks to say that girls are not as suited for sports as boys.

Now here's where we have to remember a few things. One: Dividing groups up by sex may be helpful for measuring some things, but it's hardly helpful when examining individuals. I'll give you a highly unscientific and anecdotal example. In my personal and un-researched experience, many women, when learning how to perform a squat, have their knees drop in the 'knock-kneed' position I mentioned yesterday. It might also be worth noting at this point that many men have great difficulty establishing the lumbar curve necessary for a proper squat. So I tend to look for those things. However, if I see a woman who doesn't get the lumbar curve, or a man who drops his knees inward, it isn't going to be especially helpful for me to coach them according to what most people of their sex do, is it? You don't have to answer that. It's rhetorical. So right away we should note that sex divisions have limitations.

But let's go a little further. Click here to read more