Should there be More Mixed Gender Sport? - Part One

Should there be more mixed gender sport? Finding a balance between fairness, safety, and inclusion

Introduction

This 2-part article delves into the ongoing debate surrounding the expansion of mixed-gender sports, a discussion hinging on issues of gender and sex discrimination versus the quest for fair competition. The first part looks at the Law and the various arguments and examples of mixed-gender sports and events. The second part looks at transgender and intersex athletes and how different sports and governing bodies deal with this challenging issue.

In recent years, mixed gender sports have become increasingly popular. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) notably hosted 18 mixed-gender events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, spanning a plethora of sports. This was a “turning point” in the quest for gender equality in elite international sports, making Tokyo 2020 the most gender-inclusive Olympics in history. However, reactions to this development have been polarized. Athletes like Andy Murray have lauded these initiatives as a "huge asset," while figures like Nigel Farage have dismissed them as a "complete nonsense idea" to have mixed gendered sport. Yasin Patel and Caitlin Haberlin-Chambers analyse the arguments in relation to these contentious areas of sport.

The Law

In the UK, the rules and regulations on mixed gender sport is governed by Section 195 of the Equality Act 2010:

1. makes it lawful to restrict participation of transsexual people as a competitor in a gender-affected activity if it is necessary to do so to secure (a) fair competition or (b) the safety of competitors.
2. allows separate sporting competitions to continue to be organised for men and women where physical strength, stamina or physique are major factors in determining success or failure, and in which one sex is generally at a disadvantage in comparison with the other.
3. In considering whether a sport, game or other activity is gender-affected in relation to children, it is appropriate to take account of the age and stage of development of children who are likely to be competitors.

Support

Promoting Gender Equality

Proponents of more mixed gender sports contend that they promote equality between genders, tackling barriers to gender discrimination. Competing together disrupts the segregation of sport and binary thinking that normalises gender difference and ignores the overlap in male and female sporting capabilities. Mixed gender sport creates a more inclusive environment where athletes see each other as teammates with common goals thereby eroding preconceived labels.

Phrases like "you throw like a girl" or "you kick like a girl" are often used as derogatory remarks questioning one's sporting ability. Engaging in mixed sports or training alongside individuals of all genders “have the potential to challenge gender binaries and expectations about women’s capabilities”. Recent achievements in women's sports, such as Chloe Kelly's record-breaking penalty in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, contributes to such recognition. The Her shot was faster than the most powerful strike of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign. Whilst “body size, shape, and physical characteristics can influence how an individual is best able to generate the required energy”, individual technique also mattered. This included the motion of the hip and knee joints of the kicking leg, the speed and angle of the kicker’s approach, the motion of the stance leg, and rotation of the upper body. Kelly's accomplishment is not isolated; it exemplifies the fact that women can excel just as much as men in sports and a mixed gender environment would fuel the breaking down of such stereotypes.

Mixed gender training and sports for both young girls and boys also has the potential to break down gender disparities. A study by Musto in 2014 examined a competitive swim team of 10- and 11-year-olds, where swimmers were grouped by ability rather than gender in both training and competitions. In this setting, a girl emerged as the best swimmer, and it became an accepted norm for both boys and girls, as well as coaches and parents, to acknowledge that sometimes girls could outperform boys. Interestingly, during social interactions outside of training, girls and boys still tended to form same-gender groups, highlighting the persistence of some gender differences. Musto argues that nonhegemonic beliefs ‘spill over’ into the relationships between children outside of the pool, evidencing the contextual elements of gender difference as well as the possibilities for change.

This view underpinned the reasoning behind the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) decision in the case of Osmanoglu and Kocabas v Switzerland (2017) which concerned the refusal of Muslim parents to send their daughters, who had not reached the age of puberty, to compulsory mixed swimming lessons as part of their schooling and the authorities’ refusal to grant an exemption. Under Article 9 of the European Commission of Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The ECtHR held that there had been no violation of these rights. They argued that by giving precedence to the children’s obligation to follow the full school curriculum and their successful integration over the applicants’ private interest in obtaining an exemption from mixed swimming lessons for their daughters on religious grounds, the Swiss authorities had not exceeded the considerable margin of appreciation afforded to them in the present case, which concerned compulsory education.

Diverse range of skills

Mixed gender teams can bring unique strengths from both genders, creating a diverse range of skills on display during games or events. In such settings, male and female athletes often push themselves to greater limits than when competing solely within their respective gender categories. In 2022, England Football conducted a study on 261 international youth players, where 84% had played in a mixed-gender environment for at least one season between the ages of 5 – 16 years old. When asked “why they played mixed football?”, the most prominent responses were:

1. it was physically challenging;
2. the speed of the game and decision making was higher (than all girls teams);
3. the boys tended to take it more seriously and wanted to develop their talents more so.

Improving confidence

Mixed sport can be used to improve the confidence of female athletes, thereby raising the standard of the competition itself. Cahlíková et al (where is reference) found that in their laboratory experiment based on Trier Social Stress Test, females subjected to heightened stress perform worse than males with the same level of stress. The PubMed Central (“PMC”) (where is reference) investigated whether and how mixed-gender competitions mitigate gender-specific disadvantages of interim leaders in dynamic tournaments from the perspective of choking under pressure. Using data from international segregated-gender single and mixed-gender pair figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union (ISU), the PMC’s study confirmed the following:

1. Female interim leaders perform poorly when a highly qualified trailing skater, specifically a recent gold medallist, tails them most closely.
2. Female interim leaders also underperform when they compete at their home field, but this home disadvantage does not apply to first rank holders.
3. Male interim leaders are not influenced by highly qualified trailing skaters and perform better in home-field competitions.
4. Male interim leaders underperform when they are tailing competitors with large score gaps.
5. In mixed-gender competitions, all these gender-specific influences disappear.

Based upon all of the above examples, mixed sport can improve individual’s skills for both men and women thereby improving the overall standard of the competition.

Impact on Women’s Sports

Criticism

The Physicality Argument

Critics often emphasize the physicality argument, contending that mixed gender sports can lead to unfair advantages or disadvantages based on inherent physical differences between men and women. The rationale for sex and gender segregation in competitive sports is primarily to minimise the role of insuperable physical disparities in determining outcomes. In sports where physical strength, stamina or physique are major factors in determining success or failure, the advantages of maintaining separate gender and sex categories are undeniable. Without a separate category for females, there would be no female representation in Olympic finals. Even in events with relatively smaller performance gaps, such as the 100m, approximately 10,000 men globally have personal bests faster than the current Olympic female champion, like Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.70 seconds). These disparities underscore the importance of gender and sex segregation in preserving the integrity and fairness of competitive sports.

The physicality argument holds weight regarding contact sports such as field hockey, rugby, and football. The greater physical strength of men rightly warrants health and safety concerns for women playing mixed gender sports. As much as diversity and inclusion is at the heart of governing bodies, so is health and safety. This is not to say that this outright prevents mixed gender teams in contact sports but rather that further requirements will need to be implemented to ensure the safety of all players. For example, in mixed gender field hockey, one specific rule is that a female player must strike the first shot when taking a short corner. As such, in contact sports, mixed gender sport is restricted due to health and safety reasons.

However, sport is not all about physicality. While physical differences between men and women exist, there are no inherent limitations on skill capacity. In professional sports where skill takes precedence, such as archery, the principle of equal competition is paramount, and the physicality argument loses its footing. For example, in snooker the professional tour is open to men and women and in equestrian sports, male and female riders compete against each other in eventing, dressage and show jumping disciplines.

According to Sari van Anders, the research chair in social neuroendocrinology at Queen’s University, Ontario, stated that “Science is increasingly showing how sex is dynamic; it has multiple aspects and also shifts; for example, social experiences can actually change levels of sex-related hormones like testosterone in our bodies in a second-to-second and month-to-month way!”.

Reinforcing Stereotypes

Mixed gender sports can inadvertently reinforce gender stereotypes, particularly if certain gender biases persist. When playing mixed gender sports, men tend to dominate play and feel that they must ‘play down’ to accommodate women and women are often assigned to peripheral or ‘helper’ roles. This is evident in the third “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match in 1992 with 40-year-old jimmy Connors playing against 35-year-old Martina Navratiolva. Connors was only allowed one serve per point and have to play half of each of his doubles lanes.

Gender stereotypes in young athletes still exist. For instance, a study by Fink in 2016 investigated whether male players training with an elite university women's basketball team changed their attitudes towards women's basketball. The male players continued to uphold beliefs about the superiority of men's sports, considering their female training partners as "special" or "honorary men." Women in Sport acknowledges that in mixed sports, girls can still face stereotypes influenced by societal norms. To fully reap the benefits of mixed sports and training, it's essential to manage the game properly and actively work to challenge and change these stereotypes.