Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

By: Scarlett Huang

As tennis legend and activist Billie Jean King famously said, “Sports are a microcosm of society” ⁽¹⁾. It's high time for society to fully appreciate and support the moral rights of girls to compete in their own gender-specific sports contests. Sports have traditionally been viewed as one of the most important venues for building character, promoting self-esteem, and pursuing happiness. In ancient Greece, sports were a celebration of physical and mental prowess, as well as a means to cultivate moral virtues⁽²⁾. Athletes strived for excellence (areté) and the ideal of a sound mind in a sound body (mens sana in corpore sano) ⁽³⁾. Such tradition reflects and carries on the legacy of fundamental beliefs in humanity, such as Aristotle’s eudaimonia ethics, John Stuart Mill’s ideas about happiness, Maslow’s postulation of the hierarchy of personal needs, etc. In sports, for both its successes and shortcomings, the same ideologies that drive its progress also dictate the moral rights of girls in gender-exclusive contests that can best promote the participants’ well-being and ultimately benefit society.

To understand the moral foundation of sports, we can begin by examining some of its core values. Aristotle's eudaimonia philosophy centers on achieving a flourishing life through the cultivation of personal virtues, such as courage, temperance, and perseverance. These virtues are essential for realizing one's potential and living a meaningful life⁽⁴⁾. Courage allows individuals to face adversity with confidence, as “most philosophers and psychologists agree that courage involves persistence in danger or hardship” ⁽⁵⁾. In sports, athletes frequently meet challenges, take risks, and perform under pressure. Sometimes, courage extends beyond taking physical risks into the realm of moral courage, which is required for navigating difficult situations. In team sports, for example, deliberate considerations regarding putting the team’s interest ahead of one’s own often require moral strength and clarity ⁽⁶⁾. “For the ancient Greeks, courage was a part of virtuous living” ⁽⁷⁾ because of its veritable contribution to the collective interests of society. 

Temperance is another virtue that can be effectively cultivated through sports, particularly for women. According to Aristotle, temperance involves self-control and moderation, which are essential qualities for leading a balanced and fulfilling life. In the world of sports, self-control and moderation are highly regarded for sustainability during stressful training and contests⁽⁸⁾. Disciplines in training regimens, dietary choices, and emotional management testify to the truth that sports are half mental. ⁽⁹⁾ In contrast to men, women face more mental challenges from stereotypical views on their body image and physiological development, which can affect their confidence and self-esteem⁽¹⁰⁾. Developing temperance through sports can thus positively affect different cognitive processes ⁽¹¹⁾ and help women further “promote the development of personal and social responsibility” ⁽¹¹⁾. While sports provide an overall structured learning environment for all, girls-only sports contests have proven to be particularly valuable for being supportive and conducive to temperance development for women⁽¹²⁾.

Perseverance and resilience are thought of as essential moral characters that allow a person to continue in the practice of virtuous action despite difficulties arising from the protracted period, ⁽¹³⁾ and to recover after experiencing adverse events. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Sports are not only a breeding ground, but also a test ground for such characters. Athletes inevitably face setbacks, yet they are committed to improvement and excellence through consistent effort and dedication ⁽¹⁵⁾. For women specifically, perseverance and resilience take on additional dimensions as they confront societal barriers that have historically limited their opportunities in sports. Serena Williams exemplifies such perseverance by advocating for both equal pay and better maternity policies in sports ⁽¹⁶⁾, which has inspired many women to fortify their sense of self-worth. Perseverance and resilience empower women to push boundaries and redefine norms in both sports and the world beyond.

John Stuart Mill et al. have established the modern idea of personal happiness as a moral right, which finds relevance in sports as well. Sports facilitate “human happiness [that] consists in a give and take involving both excitement and tranquility, both pleasure and pain” ⁽¹⁷⁾. In Maslow’s hierarchical need theory, the intrinsic satisfaction derived from striving to be one's best and the profound fulfillment from successes in arduous pursuits, such as in sports, represent a higher form of happiness through esteem and self-actualization ⁽¹⁸⁾. Predating the U.S. Constitution, great thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes ruminated about the ideas of human freedom and happiness to lay down the foundation of constitutional liberalism, as manifested through The Bill of Rights, which warrants personal rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” ⁽¹⁹⁾. In the context of sports, while athletes learn to appreciate the highs and experience the lows⁽²⁰⁾, they often find ultimate joys through continuous self-challenge and self-improvement⁽²¹⁾. For women, it’s utmost important to have available a compassionate cohort for sharing personal ups and downs, and access to a supportive community that intimately understands individual struggles. Girls-only sports provide singular environments to help women navigate those challenges ⁽²²⁾, such as helping them to receive encouragement, feedback, and providing role models to emulate, in order to ultimately empower female athletes⁽²³⁾. 

The unique needs of girls-only sports can also be justified from physiological and psychological perspectives. Firstly, girls and boys have different physical characteristics, particularly during adolescence⁽²⁴⁾. The differences in muscle mass, bone density, and hormonal changes have a greater effect on females than on their male counterparts, which must be factored into the fairness consideration of sports competition⁽²⁵⁾. After puberty, such differences often become even more pronounced as a result of further divergence in male and female body development. It has been observed that at elite athlete level, “when it comes to physical sports, men have advantages in every category” ⁽²⁶⁾. Such issues, when not properly handled, can develop into safety concerns “for a 110-pound girl when a 250-pound boy is charging at her” ⁽²⁶⁾. Girls-only sports contests are not merely to level the physical playgrounds, but also to ensure personal safety to prevent suppressive, overwhelming, and unbalanced physical power in fair sports contests⁽²⁷⁾ so that the players’ rights to liberty and happiness can be guaranteed.

Male and female athletes differ psychologically as well. Studies reveal that “male athletes show more signs of aggression than their female counterparts” ⁽²⁸⁾. The aggressive tendency ingrained in male athletes encourages more participation in contact sports. Female athletes, on the other hand, are at a psychological disadvantage when competing in aggressive contact sports⁽²⁹⁾. For aggressive sports in mixed-gender formats, the imbalance in physical builds and differences in natural psychological responses lead to more injuries to women when faced with aggressive male players⁽³⁰⁾. Regarding psychological impact on players, observers argue that “sports that legitimize aggression have been shown to slow a person’s moral development” ⁽²⁸⁾. Such arguments can influence female athletes who prize moral discretion to direct their focus in sports fairness toward promoting girls-only contests where female players will not fall victim to male aggressions. Psychologically, women are believed to be more emotional than men⁽¹⁰⁾. Their emotional experience in sports is more broadly intertwined with the community. A supportive sports community, rather than an intimidating one, encourages them to keep coming back ⁽³¹⁾. Girls-only sports contests pave the way to prompt female participation in sports and serve as a platform to materialize their moral rights to human happiness in life at large.

Collectively, girls-only sports help further societal progress towards gender equality⁽³²⁾. Having sports contests exclusively tailored for women “can promote positive development in (womens) sport by providing alternative norms, values, attitudes, knowledge, capabilities and experiences.” ⁽³³⁾ Fostered in girls-only sports for its intimate support, and to be fully appreciated for their personal strength, women are more likely to develop leadership mentality and skills through playing larger roles without their freedom and adventurous spirits arrested by gender power imbalance⁽³⁴⁾. Such an imbalance has its historical footprints traceable throughout the development of sports to the detriment of women.

In ancient Greece, women could not compete or even attend ⁽²⁾ the Olympic Games, and there were rarely any female athletes. In early accounts of Native Americans, “women rarely competed in games of skill. Females fished, but did not hunt” ⁽³⁵⁾. Women were never taken seriously for sports in modern American society on an equal level to men, as “such physical activity for a woman was thought to be especially hazardous” ⁽³⁶⁾. The idea that physical exertion was harmful to women persisted well into the twentieth century; women rarely competed in sports on a global or even college level until the late 1800s and early 1900s⁽³⁷⁾. Before Title IX was passed in the U.S. in 1972, women’s opportunities for competitive physical activity were limited in America ⁽³⁶⁾, but with social justice progress such as the women’s suffrage movement, “the right to vote for women renewed emphasis on women’s freedoms”⁽³⁶⁾. Women joined the military during the wars, and the “self-esteem and self-confidence gained by women during these critical times propelled the movement for women’s equal rights,” ⁽³⁶⁾ encompassing their rights in pursuing sports in a way that brings them the most opportunities and benefits. Title IX, as law, precludes “discrimination under any educational program or activity on the basis of sex” ⁽³⁸⁾. In sports, sexual discrimination can hardly be properly gauged without considering women’s uniqueness in their physiques and psychological composition. As competition has long been recognized to motivate individuals to better performance in many activities, including sports ⁽³⁹⁾, claims of women’s rights in non-discriminative competition logically lead to girls-only sports contests that recognize and respect their distinctive physical, psychological, and other characteristics. 

Advocates against gender-specific sports argue that girls-only contests reinforce gender stereotypes, reaffirming that women have inherently different sports capabilities than men⁽⁴⁰⁾. Such reaffirmation perpetuates gender stereotypes at the risk of hindering social progress toward gender equality⁽⁴¹⁾. It must be pointed out that true social progress must be rooted in social reality so as not to be merely a utopian idealization. Accepting reality is not for perpetuation, but rather for leverage in transcending stereotypes and moving forward. The broad-stroke views in treating men and women as undifferentiated in all respects in sports insensibly serve to neglect individuality and individual rights⁽⁴²⁾. Collective equality posits fulfillment of each person’s potential in their unique ways⁽⁴³⁾. In academics, for example, while co-ed programs have taken strides in educational progress for gender equality and inclusiveness ⁽⁴⁴⁾, they never aim to rule out gender-specific programs such as girls-only schools as complementary educational platforms⁽⁴⁵⁾. Respecting individual identity is the first step toward promoting diversity. In sports, successful examples of mixed-gender contests, such as mixed doubles in tennis, ultra-distance running, shooting, and sailing, attest to the importance of recognition, rather than denial, of male and female differences in designing the rules and striking the balance for fairness in competitions⁽⁴⁶⁾. However, for many sports, such balances can be complex and difficult to achieve in reality⁽⁴⁷⁾, such as in lacrosse, swimming, and most track and field disciplines. It’s also worth noting that girls-only sports contests do not intend to downplay the importance of other sports, such as mixed-gender competitions, as long as they honorably and fairly promote the core values of sports, such as the pursuit of personal character building and happiness through active participation.

In conclusion, the moral rights for girls-only sports are not only supported by fundamental beliefs in humanity throughout history, but also have contemporary significance in motivating social progress toward gender equality and justice. This is only possible by recognizing females’ distinctiveness in social contexts, including that of sports. Women have extra miles in the journey toward sports equality due to the historical denial of their fair share of such rights and opportunities⁽⁴⁸⁾. Promoting girls-only sports is not only a matter of asserting their moral rights, but also aiming to realistically boost diversity in sports, which, as a microcosm of society, bears influence on how individuality, diversity, and equality can be recognized and attained in society at large.

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