Off the beaten path: should women compete against men?

Abstract

Are women capable of competing against men in sporting events? If they aren’t, might there be good reasons to encourage them to make the attempt anyway? If they are, might there be good reasons to prohibit such competition? I suggest four possible answers to the question of whether women are capable of competing against men: (1) No, so there’s no point in talking about it; (2) No, but they should make the attempt anyway; (3) Yes, so mix all the competition and get on with it; and (4) Yes, but there are good reasons not to allow it. I review these positions, each of which is made plausible by supporting evidence, and suggest that the arguments can be strengthened through the inclusion of four distinctions (between individual/team sports, direct/indirect competition, contact/non-contact sports and amateur/professional sports).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.