How Much Longer Will Women Have to Combat Outdated and False Stereotypes? 2005

  By Adam Pollack –  March 4, 2005

1837 – Donald Walker’s book, Exercise for Ladies, warns women against horseback riding, because it deforms the lower part of the body.

1885 – The Association of Collegiate Alumnae publishes a study which concludes that “…it is sufficient to say that female [college] graduates…do not seem to show, ..any marked difference in general health for the average health … of women engaged in other kinds of work, or in fact, of women generally…”, refuting the widely held belief that college study impaired a woman’s physical health and ability to bear children.

1892 – The journal Physical Education (a publication of the YMCA) devote an issue to women, saying that women need physical strength and endurance and dismiss the popular idea that women are too weak to exercise.

1896 – At the first modern Olympics in Athens, a woman, Melpomene, barred from the official race, runs the same course as the men, finishing in 4 hours 30 minutes. After her marathon run, athletics officials couldn’t remember her name so they labeled her ‘Melpomene’, who is the Greek muse of Tragedy. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, says, “It is indecent that the spectators should be exposed to the risk of seeing the body of a woman being smashed before their very eyes. Besides, no matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organizm is not cut out to sustain certain shocks.”

1900-1920 – Physical Education instructors strongly oppose competition among women, fearing it will make them less feminine.

1910 – Dr. Clelia Duel Mosher debunks several popular myths of female health, including one claiming women breathe differently than men, which makes them unfit for strenuous exercise.

1926 – New York City native Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle, 19, becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel in 14 hours, 31 minutes, beating the best time to date by 2 hours on Aug. 6. Just three weeks after Ederlie’s successful Channel crossing, American Mrs. Clemington Corson of New York made the swim in 15.5 hours. Her record time also beat all the men swimmers to date.

1928 – The Summer Olympic Games open gymnastics and five track and field events to women. The 800m was subsequently banned after several of the Amsterdam competitors showed more signs of physical exertion than patriarchal sensitivities could stomach. Women’s races longer than 200m were banned for 32 years until 1960 when the 800m was reintroduced.

1972 – AAU changes the rules of the Boston Marathon, letting women run with official numbers for the first time. Nina Kuscik comes in ahead of 800 men in the field of runners.

1975 – Marion Bermudez, 23, is the first US woman to compete in the formerly all-male Golden Gloves boxing tournament in Mexico City. She won her first match against a man.

1984 – Competing for the U.S., Joan Benoit wins the first Olympic women’s marathon.

March 1993 – Dallas Malloy, at 16 years old, successfully sues USA Boxing in federal court for gender discrimination, challenging its rule preventing women from boxing. Her case generates both national and international publicity.

July 1997 – USA Boxing holds the first ever Women’s National Championships.

2004 – USA Boxing passes gender equity legislation allowing women to box 4 x 2 minute rounds, just as men are allowed. This meant 8 minutes of boxing with 3 minutes of rest (as opposed to the system which existed for boxing’s entire history up until the 90s – 3 x 3 minute rounds = 9 minutes of boxing with only 2 minutes of rest).

Some continue to argue that women are unable or are more likely than men to be harmed by 4 x 2 minute rounds. However, there is no scientific or statistical evidence to support this. We don’t need studies, because the statistics on women’s boxing have been available since 1993. How many RSC-Hs have there been for women v. men. How many serious head injuries or deaths have there been for men v. women since then?

In the 1993 court ruling against USA Boxing, which resisted women even being allowed to box in the first place, the federal judge said, Defendants argue that they have not had an opportunity to adequately evaluate the safety aspects of women’s boxing. As plaintiff points out, USA Boxing has had notice of this issue since at least a year ago when it was ordered by a Massachusetts state court to allow registration of female boxers in that state. Thus, USA Boxing has had sufficient time to consider the question, especially since safety concerns have already been studied and resolved by the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association, which has allowed female boxers to participate in competitions since June of 1990.

Does the “we haven’t had time to study this” argument sound familiar? It’s now being used in opposition to the 4 round women’s bout.

Part of why women’s boxing is actually safer than men’s boxing is that women simply do not hit as hard as men. All one has to do is observe national tournaments for the past seven years – how many men have been stopped via RSC-H v. how many women? How many knockdowns are there in a men’s tournament? I almost never see any knockdowns in women’s bouts. They are quite rare. I think I have seen a grand total of 2, maybe 3 knockdowns in women’s amateur bouts in the past 4 years. I just saw a knockdown in a men’s bout last week at my regional, and this male boxer was momentarily out cold. When was the last time you saw a woman knocked out cold from a single blow, or even a series of blows? I have never seen it. Now try and remember how many times you’ve seen men brutally dropped or stopped. Too many to remember, I would imagine. Women do not have the kind of freaky power that men have. If they do, then they sure take it better than men do.

The actual existing statistics show that women’s boxing is extremely safe, much safer than men’s boxing, and an additional round won’t change that. Why? Because we have doctors, referees, and coaches who can stop it at any time, we have an 8-count rule that can terminate a bout quite quickly, and we also have an outscored rule that will stop it. If a bout is not competitive and a woman is not adequately defending herself, it should and will be stopped long before the 4th round.

Unlike pro boxing, we have weight, age, and experience restrictions, larger gloves, and headgear. Yet, even so, women have been boxing in lengthy professional kickboxing and boxing bouts as safely as or more so than men for decades. We don’t need more time to study this topic because those statistics are available and they will show that not only is women’s boxing safe, it is actually safer than men’s boxing. Since the 90s, pro and amateur, how many serious head injuries or deaths have there been for women v. men? Professional women today routinely safely box not only in 4 round bouts, but 10 round bouts, with no headgear and smaller gloves and without all of the strong amateur safety rules. I have a vast number of those bouts on tape in my collection, and have seen nothing that would make me believe that women’s boxing is inherently less safe than men’s boxing. The proof is in the reality of it. There have not been anywhere near as many serious head injuries to women as men.

Given the history of views about the capabilities of women in all sports, it is not entirely surprising that any change toward gender equity in boxing will be met with resistance. Just because there exists a vocal opposition to the new rule does not mean that progress should be hindered. The 4 x 2 minute rule was democratically enacted and it and women boxers should be given a chance. There were fears about women boxing in the first place, but over time, they proved the doubters wrong. They will prove the doubters wrong again.

I applaud Bill Meartz (whose woman boxer has been competing in 4 round pro bouts – unharmed) for having the courage to put forth this rule, and the USA Boxing delegation for having had the courage to enact it. I hope it and the new board will remain courageous and continue to be trailblazers into the future. History will be kind to you, as women’s sports history has already proven. By combining the men’s and women’s nationals and using the 4 round rule for the nationals, this board is already making a proactive positive statement that the outmoded views about women in boxing are just that.

Coach Adam Pollack