Gender in sports can be a messy topic. There's plenty of evidence that males have an advantage in sports overall. How much of that advantage is natural is a matter of debate. I have heard stories of female athletes that credit their ability to playing with the boys, which tend to indicate that a difference in opportunity can create an unnatural component.
Before I go further, let me bring up my views on equality. Yes, two plus two equals two plus two, but it also equals one plus three. Saying genders aren't perfectly equal in the realm of sports is very different than claiming males are better overall. I believe there are differences between males and females that provide benefits to both of these genders. These differences are insufficient to name either as superior.
Women haven't been able to reach the top tier of any major sports leagues. This has resulted in the development of separate sports leagues. People frequently discuss men's and women's leagues, but the so-called men's leagues are not truly men's leagues. Yes, athletes in these leagues are exclusively male, but there is no requirement for athletes to be male. The issue here is that no female has reached these levels.
When I mentioned that males tend to have an advantage, I should probably clarify something. I don't believe the advantage is as large as some people think, and I certainly don't believe that it's significant enough that you can assume that any male is automatically better at sports than any female. Imagine a percentile system where males are in the 0 to 100 percentile range and females are in the 0 to 99.9 percentile range. This would be a relatively minor difference, but the top 0.1 percent would be exclusively male.
That is the primary obstacle to females reaching the top. Elite sports make up a tiny percentage of the population. If there is any advantage at all for males, even an insignificant advantage, elite sports will be consistently male.
I will not rule out the possibility of the gender barrier eventually being broken. Actually, it will be broken eventually. It's only a matter of time before a team brings in a female as a publicity stunt. When it comes to a female athlete earning a spot, that's not nearly as certain.
Getting rid of the unnatural advantages is a start for female athletes. Deemphasizing gender at lower levels can really help more female athletes develop their games at the same level as males. Additionally, sports leagues are expanding, although I would prefer that we stop the expansion. I won't go into details as to why at this time. Breaking the gender barrier is a distinct possibility, but I can't imagine females ever approaching the number of males in these leagues.
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