Get rid of the gender divide in sports

The majority of sports have always been separated by gender; there is a boys team and a girls team. However, I don’t believe that there is a need for separation. Getting rid of the gender divide would decrease the marginalization of students on the transgender or non-binary spectrum. Additionally, doing so would provide a team with more diverse abilities.

There are certain physical or biological advantages within each biological sex. While this may seem like just a way for misogynists to prove that males are superior, it also proves that a co-ed team would be more advantageous. If sports teams weren’t separated, the team would reap the benefits of both genders.

However, having a different biological sex doesn’t automatically give you a leg up; some people are just naturally made for sports. If we were to integrate the teams, everyone would try out for the same team and be picked based on their own physical abilities. Making it onto a team would be determined by capability. This would make the team better because you have all of the best athletes, rather than some of the best athletes from one gender.

Keeping the teams separated is starting to prove to be difficult when it comes to transgender students. While Castro Valley is a fairly accepting community, the rules for trans students in school sports vary from state to state. A lot of people tend to become angry when transgender students are on the team that doesn’t correspond with their biological sex. For example, some people wouldn’t want a transgender student who identifies as female playing on the girls team. They think that since she is biologically a male, that she is giving the team an unfair advantage. This might result in athletes feeling pressured to play on the team of their biological sex, which would make them extremely uncomfortable. 

Leaving a gender divide can also be harmful to students on the non-binary spectrum. Non-binary students don’t feel as if they fit in to the binary genders of man and woman. When trying out for a sport, they would feel conflicted as to which team to try out for. They might feel like they need to try out for the team that matches their biological sex, or they might be too scared to try out at all. If there was no division between teams, non-binary students could try out for a team without having to do something that makes them uncomfortable.

While the gender binary is still very prominent in our current society, there has been progress in evolving our views. However, it is not something that we should keep in our schools, especially not in sports. Aside from relieving discomfort from students who don’t identify as cisgender, it would just make the teams better.