Gender Specific Races

[FireDancer]

I don't think they should have gender specific races (Men or Women) and since the clues started I have stated so.

It's really too bad as it would have been another opportunity to go to Disneyland at a different time of year to run and not during Labor Day weekend which is a great weekend.

My next trip to Disneyland will more than likely be a combined trip to do the Rock N Roll Los Angeles and add on some Disney Days.

I think all of my future Disney running will be doing a non RunDisney event close to the parks and then adding on park days.

 

[stampingoddess]

I don't think they should have gender specific races (Men or Women) ....

What about gender specific sports teams (ie softball), general specific hair care products, gender specific clothes, gender specific bathrooms? Just because items are marketed to different segments of the population does this make it bad/wrong?

 

[SAHDad]

After reading the various thoughts on this subject, I decided to write about this subject on my blog tonight.

Women's Focused Races: Discrimination or Good Marketing?

Read it over. Quick note - looking at the State of the Sport report (http://www.runningusa.org/node/57770), of the top 20 US marathons, only 2 have a higher percentage of women than men running. Marathons are still about 60% men, 40% women. (The reverse is true in the half marathon.) It's not just marketing due to demographics though - if it were, you would see marathons aiming themselves at men. Or rather, you might, if it were not due to the fact that aiming a race at men would draw ire from groups that can be incredibly loud, generate a lot of media sympathy, and sometimes have a loose association with the truth.

Yes, women do gather and do girl's night out, or weekend getaways. But our culture has also made male-only institutions, or gatherings, suspect, if not outright "evil tools of patriarchal oppresion (tm)".

Marketers can create women-themed races because they work (at least well-enough), and because no one calls them on it. (I could go off on a tangent, and say that in some ways it is analogous to AAUW calling for more women in STEM fields, but ignoring any disparities in reading & writing test scores.)

 

[CrystalCastle]

My next trip to Disneyland will more than likely be a combined trip to do the Rock N Roll Los Angeles and add on some Disney Days.

I think all of my future Disney running will be doing a non RunDisney event close to the parks and then adding on park days.

If you haven't already, consider the Surf City marathon or 1/2 marathon. It's held on Super Bowl Sunday at Huntington Beach. Beer garden at the end if that is your thing and finished in plenty of time to watch the game and hit up Disneyland. Plus an awesome surfboard medal.

 

[stampingoddess]

Yes, women do gather and do girl's night out, or weekend getaways. But our culture has also made male-only institutions, or gatherings, suspect, if not outright "evil tools of patriarchal oppresion (tm)".

QUOTE]

I don't know that would agree with this statement. I know alot of men that have male-dominated events: fishing weekends, poker parties, golf outings, hunting trips, just to name a few.

Besides according my husband, men love when their wives go away for a girls weekend because they get to have their own guy's weekend: eating what they want, leaving the toilet seat up, socks on the floor, and dishes in the sink.

 

[stampingoddess]

Read it over. Quick note - looking at the State of the Sport report (http://www.runningusa.org/node/57770), of the top 20 US marathons, only 2 have a higher percentage of women than men running. Marathons are still about 60% men, 40% women. (The reverse is true in the half marathon.)

Thanks for this stat, I have updated my post to note that it's 60% and that it's half marathons and omited the referance to full marathons.

 

[SAHDad]

Thanks for this stat, I have updated my post to note that it's 60% and that it's half marathons and omited the referance to full marathons.

Np. But it then forces the question - if half marathons are being marketed toward women, because women account for 60% of the field, then why are marathons not being marketed toward men? (Half marathons have a bigger growth, about 18% from 2008, but marathons still grew about 9% in 2009, certainly a healthy amount.)

 

[goofyinohio]

What about gender specific sports teams (ie softball), general specific hair care products, gender specific clothes, gender specific bathrooms? Just because items are marketed to different segments of the population does this make it bad/wrong?

I'm just giving my opinion. I don't think it's bad or wrong. I just don't think it's needed! The races sell plenty of spots if not more when they are for everyone.

 

[FireDancer]

If you haven't already, consider the Surf City marathon or 1/2 marathon. It's held on Super Bowl Sunday at Huntington Beach. Beer garden at the end if that is your thing and finished in plenty of time to watch the game and hit up Disneyland. Plus an awesome surfboard medal.

I've got that one on my radar too. There are a lot of races I want to do which is why in some ways deciding to avoid RunDisney events is a bit freeing. It is always tempting to go do another Disney race but that temptation is now gone. I've been saying for years that I want to do the Gasparilla but I keep doing another Disney race instead. No more.

I've been looking at the Men's Health Urbanathlon in October. Even though Men's Health's demographic probably skews as much male as Disney races skew female (if not more so) they do the right thing and ignore that. Every male category has a female category and the winners of those categories get the same recognition and awards as the men. They even have an Athena division to compliment the Clydesdale division. That is where the money that might have gone to the Wine & Dine will be going.

Eat excrement and become deceased RunDisney.

 

[jennypenny]

I find this frustrating because running is one of the few sports where men and women CAN and DO complete together almost equally. There is only a slight difference is speed and only for elite runners. There is no difference in height or power or strength that precludes men and women from competing together. Women run the same races from the same start line, use practically the same equipment, and can participate with their entire families if they desire. My DS and I can run in a race together even though we are different genders and much different ages. THAT is a big part of the appeal of running for me.

My kids' favorite sport is track because they are all on the same team together--even though I have a DD and 2 DSs.

What's that old saying? "Running is the great equalizer" or something like that?

 

[stampingoddess]

Np. But it then forces the question - if half marathons are being marketed toward women, because women account for 60% of the field, then why are marathons not being marketed toward men? (Half marathons have a bigger growth, about 18% from 2008, but marathons still grew about 9% in 2009, certainly a healthy amount.)

Ah, but my premise is not that these half marathons are being marketed to women because they comprise over half of the field, it is that these races are being marketed to women because women are asking for races just for them. Spa weekends might be a similar anology. Men and women can go to most spas and use/enjoy the facilities. Women like the idea of going an pampering themselves for the day/weekend; men do not seem to want this experience. Therefore, spas market their packages to women because it is the women who want the packages.

In contrast, it doesn't seem as though men are looking for races just for them. If they were, then some clever marketing person would figure out how to market and "sell" a men's only race.

 

[stampingoddess]

I find this frustrating because running is one of the few sports where men and women CAN and DO complete together almost equally. There is only a slight difference is speed and only for elite runners. There is no difference in height or power or strength that precludes men and women from competing together. Women run the same races from the same start line, use practically the same equipment, and can participate with their entire families if they desire. My DS and I can run in a race together even though we are different genders and much different ages. THAT is a big part of the appeal of running for me.

My kids' favorite sport is track because they are all on the same team together--even though I have a DD and 2 DSs.

What's that old saying? "Running is the great equalizer" or something like that?

I haven't done in depth research, but I would venture a guess and say that the even with the proliferation of the women's only/ women's focused races, these gender specific races account for no more than 3-4% of the total number of half marathons held around the country each year. Therefore, for those who want to run in a co-ed race there are still a ton of options to choose from. These new female races are generally not replacing the co-ed races, instead they are merely increasing the options and also offer an alternative to those women who for whatever reason choose not to run with men or who prefer a race that will have signaficantly less men participating than another.

 

[ChloroFiend]

I do have to say I'm pretty impressed how civil this discussion has stayed. Bravo to y'all.

I've been looking at the Men's Health Urbanathlon in October.

A couple of my buddies did that in a relay last year and had a blast. I'm considering it for this year but its only 2 weeks after W&D. Might be a bit tight.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I voted other since I wouldn't register for a men's race, but I am all for them, if we're going to have women's races.

In a perfect world, everyone would be able to participate in every race.

 

[Kirsty-Leigh]

To be perfectly honest I can't say that I care either way whether I compete in a woman's, man's, coed, transvestite, or whatever other kind of race - I'm just in it for the bling and the glory

But I wonder if it is more about having an equivalent race on the other coast? I know a lot of people who want to do Princess but can't get there because they live too far away, so this wouldn't be like another disney race, but a parallel one. I know this isn't really entirely related, but it has been crossing my mind.

However, I can see how you guys are peeved because they have been teasing it for months and now it is just for women. I am only peeved that it is in DL instead of WDW - and don't we have enough halfs?

 

[mytripsandraces]

If you think about it, most other races are male only, since women are not as fast as men, so men always (almost - has there been an instance where a woman won an open event?) win. The NYC marathon has switched its start so that the female winner gets as much fanfare as the male winner and is not caught up in the back of the front pack of men. I think races that allow only women to win are overcompensating, but a man finished first at the Princess Half, despite being handicapped by starting in the second wave. That win kind of proves Disney's point (if that is, in fact, their reason for female-only winners).

Ideally, all events would have male and female winners, rather than overall winners, with separate finish lines, even, to ensure the appropriate fanfare for the two winners.

 

[mytripsandraces]

I wonder if it is more about having an equivalent race on the other coast? I know a lot of people who want to do Princess but can't get there because they live too far away, so this wouldn't be like another disney race, but a parallel one. I know this isn't really entirely related, but it has been crossing my mind.

Good point! Not everyone can travel coast to coast or to either coast, if they're more centrally located, so having a female-centric (it's not female-only, since men can run, too) race on the other coast is a way of sharing the wealth, so to speak.

However, I can see how you guys are peeved because they have been teasing it for months and now it is just for women. I am only peeved that it is in DL instead of WDW - and don't we have enough halfs?

I'm glad there's another race at Disneyland, but I agree with you that Disney needs to bring back other distances, especially since Anaheim isn't the greatest place to run, outside of the hot spots (and I'm including Angel Stadium and the Santa Ana River Trail as hot spots). Why not have competitive 5ks and 10ks, too? I would have preferred a West Coast version of the Expedition Everest Challenge, frankly.

 

[SAHDad]

If you think about it, most other races are male only, since women are not as fast as men, so men always (almost - has there been an instance where a woman won an open event?) win. The NYC marathon has switched its start so that the female winner gets as much fanfare as the male winner and is not caught up in the back of the front pack of men. I think races that allow only women to win are overcompensating, but a man finished first at the Princess Half, despite being handicapped by starting in the second wave. That win kind of proves Disney's point (if that is, in fact, their reason for female-only winners).

Ideally, all events would have male and female winners, rather than overall winners, with separate finish lines, even, to ensure the appropriate fanfare for the two winners.

Actually, most races list the top male and female runners, not an overall. The press release generally reads along the lines of "Bob won the race in X. Jane won the women's field, with a time of Y." (Yes, coverage of road races is terrible - you're not going to find any arguement from me.) And sure, I have no problem with the elite fields starting at different times, in order to ensure that the elite women get a fair share of recognition. (And, FWIW - women win ultras all the time. It probably happens in smaller marathons as well - when you only have a couple hundred runners, it really matters who shows up. There are more than a few local women who will kick my rear in a couple of weeks, and if the local men who can kick my rear aren't there, it's certainly possible that a woman will win the Kalamazoo marathon.)

 

[buckeyecinderella]

But I wonder if it is more about having an equivalent race on the other coast? I know a lot of people who want to do Princess but can't get there because they live too far away, so this wouldn't be like another disney race, but a parallel one. I know this isn't really entirely related, but it has been crossing my mind.

However, I can see how you guys are peeved because they have been teasing it for months and now it is just for women. I am only peeved that it is in DL instead of WDW - and don't we have enough halfs?

I tend to agree that it is a lot about having a race similar to the Princess 1/2 for those that cannot make it to the east coast. Isn't the Princess 1/2 already growing quite quickly? And the Princess 1/2 isn't women only. But I do think that Disney should do something to make men feel more welcome - maybe gender specific shirts to start with or bibs that say "Prince ____-" like the women's that say "Princess ________"

Ultimately, I really hope that this is just the start of more races to come at Disneyland and races that are also spaced thoughout the year. I'd certainly like to participate in a "Pirates" race, for example! Something with Cars? Tomorrowland? (Help me out, trying to think of more man-like themes where everyone can have fun!)

 

[DISprincessWANNABE]

While I did run the Princess this year, I'm not sure how much of a draw the "women's race" aspect of it was to me. I also do not consider myself to be some kind of uber feminist. That being said, I think a lot of women are drawn to the Princess and other female-centric races because, for some reason, running amongst other women makes them feel less self conscious, less pressure to do better, run faster...

In most races around the world, men dominate. In fact, I was just at the finish line for the Boston Marathon on Monday and, with the exception of the first female runner (who, btw, got an earlier start than the men), the first finishers were men. It practically seemed like it WAS a man's race for quite a bit of time.

I don't think this is an effort on Disney's behalf to discourage men, but to ENCOURAGE women as athletes and to promote women in sports. Let's face it, if I turn on ESPN, I'm mainly watching men's sports (and yes, I enjoy watching them). The most popular women's sports on TV tend to be those that show women in a more "sexualized" manner, and I mean that more in the way that the sport emphasizes their sex. Think about it...women bouncing around as cheerleaders, figure skaters wearing skating dresses, gymnasts in leotards. Heck, women's volleyball has taken a huge jump in ratings recently because of the bikinis. How popular are those sports that portray women in a more androgynous manner? Well, let's see...the WNBA and women's hockey aren't exactly the top watched sports on television. I'm not even going to approach the topic of how female athletes are portrayed in magazines...

I guess, I'm just trying to defend this race in some way. Men dominate sports in culture. Women can't have a couple of races that promote them? I mean, after all, I'm promoting male-specific sports every time I go to an MLB, NHL, NFL, or NBA game.

Anyhow, sorry for the rant. I took a Sports Issues & the Media class back in college and spent an exhaustive amount of time researching the issue of the portrayal of the female athlete in the media. I do love watching men's sports (and was actually an Ice Girl for the Bruins, which probably makes this argument a bit hypocritical), but I do find it frustrating that men are complaining about this race... Again, though some people seem to think it's having the opposite effect, I think this is Disney trying to act as an equalizer, not a discriminator.

For those of you who are interested (if any are), this is a really great article, http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/08/disappearing-women-athletes.