I can’t write about being “badass” without giving a shout out to my friend Josie (@YumYucky), especially when her fitness theme for February is being badasss! Her no-excuses kick-ass workouts inspire me to take my routine to the next level, even if I have to stay a notch below badass while I nurse this mystery ITB/glute/piriformis injury. But the inspiration for this post came from my son’s wrestling meet.
Wrestling is a badass sport. You have to give it your all, or you will be crushed. You have to keep fighting when you are losing, because it’s better to lose by points then to be pinned. You have to stay smart when you are winning, because your opponent can take advantage of a moment of weakness and flip you on your back to win by a pin. You don’t have any shoulder pads to make you look bigger or a helmet to hide behind–your wrestling singlet doesn’t leave much of anything to the imagination.
As proud as I am of my son, this post isn’t about him either. It’s about–or inspired by–the girl on the other team who wrestled one of our lighter wrestlers. If you wonder whether girls should play football, you may be surprised to learn that girls are even allowed to wrestle against boys in high school. There aren’t too many girls in the leagues my son wrestles in, but there are a few. Although I do feel sorry for the boys who are matched up against them, I don’t wish the girls were excluded (and yes, my son did have to wrestle a girl once!).
Maybe it’s my strong belief in women’s rights and the principles behind Title IX, or because I enjoyed playing sports in high school (soccer and rugby), or because I wouldn’t want my daughter excluded from a sport she loved, but I find myself admiring the girls. I know that they have fought biases and prejudices to even try out for the team, and I’m sure that they are hassled and teased–it is high school after all. What could be more badass than going through all that to participate in the sport that you love?
Do you think girls should be allowed to participate in “boys'” sports?
Would you support your daughter if she wanted to wrestle or play football?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I always have mixed feelings about making a sport like wrestling co-ed. Yes, I think girls should be able to do anything boys do and if there isn't a girls team, girls should be able to participate on the boys team. But wrestling is pretty intimate and I don't really want my daughter wrestling against boys. Especially high school boys.
Ugh. this is gonna sound contradictory. I do support girls being able to do ANY sport they wanna do, but I wouldn't necessarily encourage the Greedy Baby to do wrestling. I just think it would be weird since the wrestlers body parts would be so dang close. Ugh. Nevertheless, girl wrestlers are definitely badass (in physicality and the courage to get out there and do it), so for that, I applaud them.
I'm conflicted too …
Id support my child thru ANYTHING.
I'm not sure how I feel about girls in a mostly boys sports team. In a way, I feel bad for them because I'm sure they're getting singled out, or harassed. I appreciate an all girls team full of girl power. But I'm not against the solo, badass girl on the boy's team either.
If my dog (a boy), tried to join an all girl dog club, I think I'd have to say no, because … well.. you know how boy dogs like to test out their dominance…hahahahaha,