Have you been to recess lately?

It just so happens that I have. Recently, I volunteered for recess duty at my son’s school. (He’s in first grade.)

There is plenty to say about recess – including that at many schools there is simply not enough of it. Some low-performing schools have eliminated recess to increase time on academics in hopes of raising tests scores, despite much research which demonstrates the value of recess. But this post is not about that.

It’s about the lost opportunity of recess. As a former teacher, as a parent, and as a (former) kid myself, it’s not difficult to see that free play time tends to be very segregated by gender. To anyone who pays attention it seems clear that girls and boys have very different play time interests.

But why is this? How much is socialization and girls being quietly (almost invisibly) discouraged from playing sports in their free time?   (My dissertation on the subject here). As someone who has studied this phenomenon, I love to see girls play soccer or basketball at recess, but research shows that boys control TEN times as much space on the playground or the courts, plus much of the equipment (Thorne, 1997, p.83; see Gender Play for a full investigation of this topic).

You will see the girls shooting baskets off to the side (and with the not quite fully-inflated ball) while boys dominate the play space in a large, organized game. Furthermore, boys are more likely to interrupt all-girl games. With this domination of space and “claimed entitlement…playgrounds are basically male turf” (Thorne, 1997, p.83).

At my son’s school, he often spends recess playing a game that involves chasing the girls or them chasing him. But many days he plays basketball or soccer with a group of boys (yes, I ask him every day who he played with and if it was a sports game, it is never girls). On the day I volunteered, he was in a heated game of basketball with seven other boys. One girl sat on the curb watching. I asked her if she wanted to play. She responded, “no,” but said that she plays with her older brother at home.

Wasn’t this a lost opportunity for her (and for the boys)?

I won’t argue that recess supervisors need to insist the girls jump into the boys’ games (though that would be great!). But I will argue that teachers and school staff need to insure that girls have equal access to equipment and space — and are encouraged to use them. We may need to help girls become confident enough to play with the boys or to command their own games.

When girls and boys play together, they both benefit and learn from one another. We don’t need to have boys versus girls (though that is often the default position when teachers/supervisors lack other ways to identify opposing players). Maybe it’s time to get some pinnies, provide some support, and let boys AND girls take control of the play space at recess.

By Katie Culver

There is not a lot of media coverage of female athletes, but when there is I like my daughter, who is five years old, to see it. I try to records as many women’s sporting events as I can for her to watch.

Recently, we were watching the U.S. vs. Canada women’s soccer game on TV. As a 5-year-old, she’s a tough media consumer — few events hold her attention for long.

But on this day, we were excitedly watching and cheering on Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, and Abby Wambach. We noticed their incredible skills and talked about the positions they play on the field. My daughter was particularly taken with Alex Morgan with her tenacious play and goal-scoring drive (and yes, her pink headband, too).

For me, watching women’s sports is really important. I want female athletes to be household names that my daughter and sons recognize, talk about, and admire.

So I have to tell you, I am incredibly disappointed in Alex Morgan.  Along with two other athletes, Morgan is featured in this year’s SI Swimsuit Issue, much like teammate, Hope Solo, who bared all for ESPN the Magazine last summer. Beyond my disappointment that she would actually pose in SI for the annual sexist, exploitation of women issue (and more 0ften now, exploitation of female athletes), Morgan is NAKED, wearing only a painted-on bikini.

Even more disturbing for me was the accompanying interview in which she justified her choice, stating that because women get paid less than men, “We do need to branch out and look at different avenues to make more for ourselves. There are some things like modeling, but other athletes can do things like coaching or broadcasting.”

Why is getting naked the opportunity successful women too often embrace?

I don’t buy the quasi-feminist argument that they are empowered in displaying their bodies, in the name of making money and more recognition. I expect more from female athletes. They need to be the ones challenging the media’s degradation of women; who are proud enough of their athletic skills as world-class soccer players and courageous enough to say “no” to Sports Illustrated and any other media stronghold that continues to publish only what sells and not what makes this world a better place for women; to work to insist that women be valued for their skills and smarts, rather than STILL, ONLY—or at least over everything else—THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THEIR BODIES!

So as a mother, what do I do now (except hope that my daughter never sees these pictures)?

The superstars — like members of the US women’s national team — are people that little girls like my daughter look up to and emulate. They need to keep the standards high, taking themselves as seriously off the field as they do on. Luckily we have Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, Billie Jean King and many others who are committed to their responsibility as role models for young girls. Alex and Hope, maybe you can learn something from them.

By Laura Pappano

This is a year of Title IX anniversary celebrations – it became law in 1972 – but even as conferences are convened (I was part of a terrific panel at Wellesley College on Monday), let’s not get weepy.

It was not as if a switch flipped and everything changed.

There is plenty of work to do and the law remains subject to enforcement and interpretation. We may have made great progress, but inequity exists – and it’s so embedded in the way we do business as to hardly draw notice.

Recently, I was driving and passed a high school sign trumpeting upcoming sports news and events. The sign announced the boys upcoming games – but mentioned nothing about girls sports, even leaving panels blank rather than, say, mention that the girl’s basketball team had just captured the league championship.

When we talk about equity and Title IX, the argument has been about access. About being allowed to participate. But 40 years later, that’s not enough.

Interestingly, the court is starting to agree. A U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago (7th circuit) recently found that a case should go to trial that claims unfairness in scheduling girls vs. boy’s basketball at an Indiana high school. During the 2009-2010 season 95 percent of the games for the Franklin County High School boys’ team were in “prime time” – Friday and Saturday nights – drawing large crowds, cheerleaders (and making it easier to get homework done).

In Parker vs. Franklin County Community School, the court found that the practice of relegating the girls’ games to non prime-time slots results in “a loss of audience, conflict with homework, and foster[s] feelings of inferiority.”

“A packed gymnasium, cheer- leaders rallying the fans, the crowd on their feet sup- porting their team, and the pep band playing the school song: these are all things you might expect to see at an Indiana high school basketball game on a Friday night. The crowd becomes part of the game; they provide motivation, support, and encouragement to the players. After all, what would a spectator sport be without the specta- tors? Unfortunately, this is a question the Franklin County High School girls’ basketball teams must answer every season because half their games have been relegated to non-primetime nights (generally Monday through Thursday) to give preference to the boys’ Friday and Saturday night games.”

The frustrating reality? The Office for Civil Rights wrote a letter 14 years ago alerting Franklin to the problem. Nothing was done. Maybe…now?

By Ashleigh Sargent

In between soufflé and sauce instruction, there’s time for athletics. Yes, they do more than cook at the Culinary Institute of America. Since 2004, they’ve played intercollegiate sports (though no scholarship athletes here). And, unlike most college basketball teams, the CIA Steels are co-ed, thanks to the addition this season of Mackenzie Anderson, a freshman Culinary Arts major. Mackenzie — #23 — spoke with FGN about her co-ed sports experience and her hope that more women don’t let their sex keep them off the court or field.

FGN: The Culinary Institute of America is a cooking school that, since 2004, has had intramural sports teams, including some that are co-ed. What drew you here and why do women and men play together?

 MA: The Culinary Institute is amazing! It has been a dream of mine to come here since I was little. At the CIA, if you’re bold enough to try out, women can make the teams because they don’t offer many women’s sports yet. (They are plans to add more women’s sports).

FGN: Why did you decide to play on a men’s team?

MA: During high school I went to a local gym and worked out with personal trainers three days a week. In Fall 2009, I participated in a power lifting competition, which then lit a spark in my brain.  I realized that I was strong and decided to tryout for the football team at my high school.  I played offensive-defensive tackle, JV junior year and varsity senior year. Football was the best experience of my life. It was the most fun I have ever had in a sport, and it proved that girls can do anything guys can do.  I played simply to challenge myself, but I liked that I may have been someone to look up to. At CIA I tried out for them men’s basketball team because I love the sport. They didn’t have a owmen’s team so I just went for it. I had to try out like all the guys who came out for the team, and prove that I was just as good. I made the team knowing that I may not get much playing time, but it was worth it to me. I get to stay in shape and play a sport I love.

FGN: What is it like being the only female player?

MA: My teammates treat me like I’m one of the guys. They never go easy on me, and I have never felt excluded.  I feel I have gained respect from the team.  My coach always says, “I don’t know how you can put up with us.”  The guys always say, “Coach, she’s just one of the guys!” I love that!

FGN: Are there any particularly challenges?

MA: One challenge for me is the running. The guys are such good athletes and it’s hard for me to run as fast as them when we run sprints in practice. It’s also hard to box them out (I’m only five feet tall). Another challenge is the size of the ball.  The men’s ball is larger than the women’s ball that I have been playing with all my life, which forces me to work harder than the guys.

FGN: What do you enjoy about the team?

MA: I think the best thing about being on a team full of guys is that they always challenge you and my teammates are really fun to be around.

FGN: What have you learned from the experience?

MA:  I have learned that if you see something you want, go out and get it. Don’t let anyone stop you. I have talked to women who say, “I have always wanted to play football or I wanted to try out for basketball but didn’t want to be the only girl.” I hate hearing that! Women tell themselves they are not good enough, instead of just saying, “I am good.  I’m going to go out and show these guys what I’ve got and earn their respect.” Some days I’m proud to be the only female on the team, but I also wish more women stood up for themselves and believed in themselves.

SOMETIMES YOU LOSE – AND IT’S OK. The Women’s World Cup championship game between the U.S. and Japan honored the rise and intensity of women’s soccer. The back story was compelling: The U.S. Team’s dramatic run-up with Abby Wambach’s YouTube-play-it-again (and again) headers versus the determination of a team whose nation hungered for a win in the wake of the tsunami. The game was memorable for being both gritty and elegant. It reflected best things about sport: A game played hard and well – and fairly.

THERE ARE OTHER COLLEGE SPORTS BESIDES FOOTBALL AND MEN’S BASKETBALL: The sex abuse scandal at Penn State is just the latest and most troubling reminder of the power gap between big-time sports programs and other teams on campus. The power dynamic is further skewed by commercial quests of big-time teams that – as in the cast of conference realignments – change which other colleges a team will play. The Big East, for example, beginning this year will stretch from San Diego to Providence – and it’s not just football and basketball players getting on planes and missing classes. It’s field hockey players, cross-country runners facing six-hour flights to away games. Might college sports need a new structure – one that separates big-time sports-entertainment ventures from the extracurricular activities of student-athletes who fully intend to stay all four years and earn a degree?

GIRLS CAN DO WHAT BOYS CAN DO: We saw Justine Siegal become the first female to throw batting practice at MLB spring training. The Olympic Committee (finally) voted to add women’s ski jumping in the next Winter Olympics in 2014. We saw high school girls, including Monique Howard playing football – on the defensive line — and saw girls and boys in Massachusetts competing for swim titles. In New Jersey, a boy wasn’t allowed to play on a high school field hockey team, but a co-ed field hockey team in Princeton is growing and USA Field Hockey now wants boys to join the sport. Rigid gender divisions may still rule in sports, but common sense (and budget pressures) are changing the landscape and revealing that – gasp – males and females can compete with and against one another (or in the same events). We don’t, in other words, need to start with gender as a hard dividing line (most especially in school and recreational sports).

THE WOMEN’S MARATHON RECORD IS STILL 2:15:25. The IAAF’s decision to change the rules by which women runners can compete for world record times in the marathon – and the decision to revoke and then reinstate Paula Radcliffe’s 2003 London Marathon record – reveals challenges ahead. Women being paced by men can run faster. It reflects the maturation of the sport to require particular courses (only loops) and conditions (women’s race separate) for an official world record. It’s a quest for uniformity in a sport that takes place out in the natural world. But what about other factors? Rain? Temperature? Winds? Crowds? Seeking a standard may make sense for record books (though eliminating mixed-sex races narrows the acceptable pool and, in real time, sends a negative social message by exaggerating the gap in male and female performance). We are far from the days when running the distance was the simple point. But the pacing issue still lacks resolution. Men may still have rabbits, and it’s helped spur records. Women can’t have male rabbits, but they do need female ones.  We now need women who are able and willing.

I work – really hard – at avoiding gender stereotypes with kids so I decided to tick through what we had lined up for Christmas this year: there was the Wii for my son and an American Girl doll for my daughter. Err – I mean, a Wii for the family and an American Girl doll for my daughter.

So I caught myself, and to compensate for who might dominate the Wii, decided we should find a great game for my daughter. Knowing nothing about Nintendo, I suggested my husband order a girl’s sport game—you know, Girls’ Extreme Sports or WNBA or girls’ soccer.

As it turns out, they don’t exist. Check out Nintendo’s “Girls’ Games” section on this website to see their offerings: dance, cooking, fashion, cheerleading and princess, in sum. [I do realize you can make your person a girl athlete on the sports games, but the obvious message in the girl-genre of games is troubling].

I’m not sure why, but when my son was asked to bring in a wrapped book for a Pollyanna gift exchange (aka Secret Santa or Yankee Swap) with his class, we were instructed that books be marked “boy” or “girl.” My first reaction: why do they have to be one or the other? There are books both a boy and a girl would find appealing. What must we “gender-ize” everything?

Yes, I know, girls and boys are different. But as a former teacher and mother of boys and a girl, I see the balance girls and boys can gain from one another. As parents and as educators we should seek ways to bring boys and girls together and not focus on separating them at every opportunity.

So this holiday season, here’s the challenge: Avoid putting kids in a “gender-ized box” (excuse the pun). Think about gifts that you might not ordinarily buy for that girl or boy on your list. By sticking to gender-typical gifts, we reinforce gender stereotypes that are very outdated – and may even discourage the recipient from finding a new activity or toy that she or he would enjoy.

Here are a examples and suggestions for broadening your purchasing scope:

·         My daughter recently received a bracelet-making kit; it was a big hit with her AND her 7 year-old brother

·         Last year I bought my son AND daughter knight’s swords (foam, of course); accompany this gift with stories of King Arthur’s Round Table and/or the books Jane and the Dragon or Not One Damsel in Distress.

·         Buy sports equipment for girls (and don’t insist on pink!); think beyond the soccer ball—buy hockey sets (indoor and outdoor), lacrosse sticks, a skateboard, flag-football sets—even bowling or badminton equipment

·         Shop for kids’ jammies in the boys section, for both genders! Girls also love pirates, dinosaurs, trucks and sports. Don’t limit them to princesses and bunnies.

·         My two-year old son is very into dolls right now. It helps that he has an older sister, but he gravitates towards his favorite doll even when she is not around, making up names, telling me the baby is “silly” while cracking up, and comforting baby after he throws it on the ground (he also breastfeeds his baby!). All of this role-playing is wonderful for his development and will help him make a great dad someday.

·         All kids love dress-up; Any kind of dress up! Buy a super-hero costume for a girl, without limiting it to Wonder Woman (scantily-clad) or Cat Woman (beyond inappropriately-clad; who can work in those clothes?!). Girls as well as boys want to wear an apron in the kitchen and dress up as a fire fighter, doctor, pirate, or spy. (See www.sewplainjane.com for really unique capes and masks).

Monique Howard, right tackle for Pershing High

By Laura Pappano

Thanksgiving football, of course, involves Detroit. And while the NFL will get plenty of attention today, there has been another Detroit football story out there this season.  Word that Monique Howard, 6-foot senior basketball player and track talent, tried out for – and made – the Pershing High School football team, was news this fall.

When Howard decided to try out for the team, her basketball coach and mentor, Shawn Hill, figured it was just Monique being Monique.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” he says, adding that, “I didn’t think she could do it.” Hill admits to being stunned when Howard not only made the team but became starting right tackle.

“It shocked me when she started. I was worried. I didn’t want her to get hurt. But I watched her play the first three games and then I thought, ‘She’s OK. She’s really holding it down.’”

Now that the season has ended, Howard talks about what the experience showed her – both about herself and about the beliefs people have about who can play football.

FGN: What made you decide to try out for the football team?

MH: My lineman coach saw me playing basketball and shot put for track and thought it would be a great idea. He said I was as tough as the boys.

FGN: Do you like playing football?

MH: I like tackling people, taking all the aggression out without getting in trouble for it!

FGN: Very few girls play football; and typically they are kickers. Reality is that you are matched up against guys who are a lot bigger. Was that scary?

MH: Before I started, everyone was saying, “You’ll get hurt!” Most teams’ players, they are bigger, but I was never nervous. My coach taught me different techniques – coming off the ball first, using my speed. As long as I come off the ball fast, it doesn’t matter how big and strong they are, football is all about timing.

FGN: You even pancaked an opposing player and they didn’t know it was by a female until you took off your helmet…

MH: They were jumping around saying, ‘That’s a girl you got pancaked by!!!!!”

FGN: Has playing football affected your hopes/plans to play basketball in college?

MH: Football helped me so much in basketball. My footwork got better. My timing has gotten better. (Shawn Hill agrees: “Now she’s used to being in a crowd. She has the patience to take her time with her layup.” )

FGN: What did you learn by playing?

MH: My whole mindset is that I can do anything I want to do if I put my mind to it. A lot of girls didn’t know that girls could play football. Really, boys and girls are basically equal when they work out and everything. Girls like a challenge. They can do what the boys can do.

When my 6th grade son announced he was “following in the family tradition” and joined the school field hockey team, I was surprised. Turns out, he’s not alone, but is one of four boys on the team in a sport trying to grow it’s male following.

Last spring as part of USA Field Hockey’s developmental outreach, Cristopher Maloney, former player and umpire at high school, collegiate and national levels, started the Tiger Field Hockey Club in Princeton, NJ, to teach the game to girls and boys, aged 7-14. (He’s also the author of How to Umpire Field Hockey and is the editor for rules questions on the USA Field Hockey site.)

Even as Maloney puts girls and boys on the field together, the idea remains controversial — this fall a boy at Hillsborough High School was barred from playing on the school’s team.

Maloney, however, is determined to share the game, and many agree. In fact, parents with children in his once-a-week skill session, don’t understand the fuss. “I don’t see why there should be a problem as long as everyone follows the rules,” says Lori Fontana-South, whose daughters Shelby and Francesca both play. “My daughters aren’t afraid to play against boys.”

I spoke with Maloney about what male players mean to the sport in the U.S.

FGN:You have a coed program. What do you notice about girls and boys playing together?

CM: Firstly, there was no expression of, ‘That’s a girl’ or “That’s a boy.’ It wasn’t even on the radar. By the end of last season the only thing I noticed was that the guys learned a lot from the girls, because many of the girls were actually field hockey players [who played on school teams] and had played for a while. The boys got to copy the girls. The girls on the other hand, were playing against boys, and I think they left with more self-confidence because they had played against the boys.

FGN: Many people object to letting boys play on field hockey teams. Some worry boys will “overpower” the girl’s game. Do you see this?

CM: Are the boys so much better than the girls? Most of my experience with the boys and the girls is that the girls know what they are doing and the boy’s don’t have a clue. They don’t walk on and know how to play field hockey and take away positions. They are not that good. In fact, I know there are a lot of field hockey programs that go away because they don’t have enough players. All the arguments I’ve heard against it [letting boys and girls play together] don’t wash. “Oh the boys are bigger and stronger.” OK, but so is that girl over there – and that girl.

FGN: Others argue that it’s dangerous for males and female to play together…

CM: One of the brilliant things about field hockey is that players of all statures can be successful. The sport has a very unique set of rules that doesn’t allow for contact. If you make contact you are fouling. There is an awful lot that limits the contribution to the game that size and strength and speed might bring. Speed is an important variable, but you can be fast and not a very good dribbler. The overall point is that there are all these gender differences, but in the end, what are you evaluating? What does it matter if you can hit the ball 80 miles per hour but you can’t play?

FGN: You are working to create more opportunities for boys to play the sport. What obstacles do they encounter?

CM: People create all these subversive rules, like you have to wear a kilt. In fact, not everyone wears a kilt and a lot of teams have switched to shorts, but sometimes boys who want to play are made to wear a kilt. This is very prevalent and it’s disgusting. It’s an invention created to try to discriminate against one gender.

FGN: You recently discovered that a tournament you wanted to play in would not allow your players to participate.

CM: This fall, I have about 20 kids and I was hoping to play against other teams. I was starting to plan for us to participate in a tournament, but was told we were not allowed to come because we have boys. So I’m organizing a tournament here Nov. 12.

FGN: Where do you see the game headed?

CM: More and more boys are getting interested. USA Field Hockey is more aggressive about making more programs that are coed. Every sport in America that’s popular is popular with boys and girls – like soccer. I am all about field hockey. I am not about this gender field hockey, or that gender field hockey. But I know if field hockey is more popular with boys, it will be more popular with girls.

Tiger Field Hockey Club practice

Suddenly, the story lines need tweaking.

Admit it: We had resigned ourselves to remembrances of the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Who didn’t watch grainy video highlights and years-later interviews with players and wonder if the Dawn of US women’s soccer and its Golden Age were one and the same?

There may be hundreds of little girls playing soccer in towns across America. We may have seen a professional women’s league born, die, and resurrected. But just because we could provide a living (sort of) and a showcase for the best women’s soccer in the world, could we – Team USA – contend? Really?

Was all the talk about a US underdog team just – well – to whip up interest? Did anyone believe?

The US-Brazil game offered some lessons, reminders — and raises some questions (is refereeing adequate?)

1.     Women’s USA soccer is as good as it’s ever been, despite the retirement of greats like Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain.

2.     Women’s soccer is riveting entertainment. It offers athleticism, talent, and intensity to rival any sporting event. Anywhere.

3.     Abby Wambach still rules. She’s clutch.

4.     Hope Solo IS the real deal.

5.     Refereeing in soccer is problematic. In such a low-scoring sport (unlike basketball or football), critical judgments can be game deciders. Team USA overcame the red card and the troubling call to redo the PK, but it does make you wonder: Are there enough eyes on the field to make calls accurately enough (remember the men’s World Cup?) Flopping is annoying, but it exists for a reason: Refs often can’t REALLY tell. Is it time for TV review in World Cup soccer?

6.     Stoppage time, it turns out, can be a lot more than a game of a keep-away on the way to the inevitable end.

By Laura Pappano

This is my son’s favorite sweatshirt – from when he was 3. My sister made it for his pink-Red Sox-guitar-themed birthday.

Now he’s 12. He doesn’t wear much pink, but neither does he avoid it. He grabbed a pink towel the other day to go swimming.

So why do I avoid filling up one of the pink water bottles as he heads for a soccer game?

It’s not that he will object; it’s that I am aware that guy-world is not – yet – really safe for pink. As a top scorer, kids get in his face, use the F-word and harass him. He recently told one non-stop trash-talker that Moammar Gadhafi wanted his personality back (I said he was 12, right?).

On the cusp of Father’s Day – once depicted on calendars by neckties, pipes, and golf clubs – we are having new conversations about being male in our society. A New York Times story described a more forward-thinking approach to parenting children who want to wear and play with what they want to play with. USA Today captured second-family Dads digging into parenting with less rigid gender roles.

Stereotypes, like my quiet pink avoidance, however, persist.  News that college athletics departments are spending more despite budget cuts elsewhere only amplifies the fact that football and basketball increasingly take center stage in a college’s brand identification. This does nothing to reverse gender inequalities on or off the field (or in our children’s lives).

Over years of writing and talking about this issue, though, I am struck by a recurring experience:  I cannot anymore count how many dads have stepped up to tell me about their daughters. Hockey players, go-cart racers, basketball stars, Little League pitchers. They are proud, even boastful.

Institutions – none more than organized sports — preserve an antiquated hierarchy of male privilege and power (and, of course, gender roles). But more Dads (and maybe boys who don’t get wigged out about pink) offer a fresh perspective.

There is a new way of being male. These men and boys see things differently. They aren’t loud, but neither are they afraid. It’s time we listened — and gave them credit.