Sexism and the discrimination of women is in constant discussion on college campuses. Intramurals at ASU are no exception. For co-rec intramural sports at ASU, female players are awarded extra points per goal scored or basket made than male players are.
For example, in co-rec soccer, men may push themselves through the game and score three goals but if a woman scores three goals, she effectively scored six. This contributes to a view of women being valued so little in sports that they need to have their "weakness" accounted for.
Not only is this point system relevant for indoor intramural soccer, but also other intramural sports such as flag football. If a woman scores a touchdown, the scorekeepers reward her team nine points. Also, if she throws the football to a receiver in the end-zone, then the team acquires nine instead of six points.
When female students opt to play against male students in co-rec, which mandates having a certain number of girls per team, they understand what they are getting themselves into. Yes, women may not always stack up athletically, but there are absolutely those that do. Making women play by rules that make the game easier for them is insulting, considering they could feasibly be the best player on the field.
Although there is an open option that does not require gender-specific rules, the options are limited by a low number of participants. If only a few teams register for this league, then they are not going to have a great deal of fun or competition. It is also common to see an absence of levels of play within open league.
The difference between the open and co-rec league, using indoor soccer as an example, is a team could be composed of all men and one female without having to forfeit in the open league. In co-rec, the team would be required to forfeit without the adequate amount of female players present. Also for the open league, if a female scores a goal, it only counts as one goal. If the open option allows the game to be played how it was made then co-rec can and should do the same.
The co-rec league's number requirement for gender is a positive aspect that open league does not share. However, if women want to play with an equal number of men and women, they have to accept they will be treated preferentially; that's not fair.
In Elite, Competitive A and Competitive B levels of play, the game is supposed to be more difficult, so females should not be given more points for their score no matter the sport. The extra point seems almost as an insult to female players, as if they could not score another point on their own or in the same manner as a male.
If anything, sports or whatever it may be, is going to be equal then exceptions need to stop being made for either gender. At ASU, intramural sports that are co-rec should allow points to amount the same for both genders. The strategy of the game is the same, no matter what genders make up the team.
Reach the columnist at Ryan.Santistevan@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @ryanerica18
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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