Off the Wall and Off Topic

[MsProudSooner]

I had a conversation with a male friend a few months ago. Both of us graduated from OU in the 1960's. Both from small towns where it wasn't unusual for girls to be involved in any sport the school offered. He told me something I never really knew. He said that he knew guys in college who absolutely wouldn't ask a girl out if he found out she played any kind of sport.

Was anyone else aware of this attitude when they were growing up?

I have read of studies done more recently that say that girls who are active in sports have more confidence, are more likely to stand up for themselves and less likely to put up with abusive behavior. Did those boys in the 1960's sense this and was that why they didn't want to date girls who were in athletics? During the 1960's there didn't seem to be as many opportunities for girls from large towns to participate in sports as the girls from smaller towns had. Is this what caused the boy's attitudes?

 

[SoonerNorm]

I had a conversation with a male friend a few months ago. Both of us graduated from OU in the 1960's. Both from small towns where it wasn't unusual for girls to be involved in any sport the school offered. He told me something I never really knew. He said that he knew guys in college who absolutely wouldn't ask a girl out if he found out she played any kind of sport.

Was anyone else aware of this attitude when they were growing up?

I have read of studies done more recently that say that girls who are active in sports have more confidence, are more likely to stand up for themselves and less likely to put up with abusive behavior. Did those boys in the 1960's sense this and was that why they didn't want to date girls who were in athletics? During the 1960's there didn't seem to be as many opportunities for girls from large towns to participate in sports as the girls from smaller towns had. Is this what caused the boy's attitudes?

I never heard that. I also attended a small school where girls basketball was highly thought of and I never heard any guys say they didn't want to date them. In fact, I would say the players and cheerleaders were probably the first ones asked out.

I also never heard that in college.

 

[garyeb2]

Oh, I don't know. I liked the cheerleader types. Married 3 of them. Now, I have an okra cook. Best one of the bunch.

 

[MsProudSooner]

I never heard that. I also attended a small school where girls basketball was highly thought of and I never heard any guys say they didn't want to date them. In fact, I would say the players and cheerleaders were probably the first ones asked out.

I also never heard that in college.

That definitely wasn't the case in my small high school, either. I was never aware of it in college, but I'm not sure guys would have discussed it with me. Also, I was in a sorority in college and most of the girls were from larger towns where no girls participated in sports. There were two of us from smaller towns and both of us participated in sports. It was fascinating to the girls from OKC and Tulsa that we had high school letter jackets that we had actually earned.

I do remember a conversation at a football game. Some guy said he wished we wouldn't run play action - just throw the ball. I told him we were trying to freeze the linebackers and he looked at me like I had 3 heads.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Oh, I don't know. I liked the cheerleader types. Married 3 of them. Now, I have an okra cook. Best one of the bunch.

This is probably a reflection of my own prejudices. In the 1960's, I didn't consider cheerleaders to be athletes. They definitely are now.

 

[35TangoTango]

Well, I don't think college guys avoided girls who were athletes because they were poorer targets for abuse, which is kind of what the op intimates.
My dated impression is that back in those days girls who were athletes seemed to act kind of "butch". It was almost like Title-IX made it all right for girls to be athletes and still be feminine off the court.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Well, I don't think college guys avoided girls who were athletes because they were poorer targets for abuse, which is kind of what the op intimates.
My dated impression is that back in those days girls who were athletes seemed to act kind of "butch". It was almost like Title-IX made it all right for girls to be athletes and still be feminine off the court.

Some of the girls might have been the girls who were called tomboys in elementary school, but no one would have called the girls at my school 'butch' - and there were some great basketball players in the group. But, being from a small town, their mothers and sometimes even their grandmothers might have played basketball, so it just wasn't unusual.

 

[YCN]

I don't know that I was even aware that there were women's sports at OU when I attended there. (It's been a while.) I never saw any announcement of the women's basketball games in the Oklahoma Daily, and I even worked for them then.

Things change, sometimes dramatically. I doubt that any significant current prejudice exists among college men concerning women in college sports. But I'm not closely involved with the current attitudes at colleges now, even though I'm frequently on "The Hill" here in Boulder, and find time to attend some of the Buffs' home games. (The Hill is the nickname for the commercial area and surrounding neighborhoods adjacent to and west of the University of Colorado. It's the equivalent of Campus Corner.)

 

[SoonerNorm]

I don't know that I was even aware that there were women's sports at OU when I attended there. (It's been a while.) I never saw any announcement of the women's basketball games in the Oklahoma Daily, and I even worked for them then.

Things change, sometimes dramatically. I doubt that any significant current prejudice exists among college men concerning women in college sports. But I'm not closely involved with the current attitudes at colleges now, even though I'm frequently on "The Hill" here in Boulder, and find time to attend some of the Buffs' home games. (The Hill is the nickname for the commercial area and surrounding neighborhoods adjacent to and west of the University of Colorado. It's the equivalent of Campus Corner.)

Linda Lappe has been a great hire for the Buffs.

 

[sybarite]

I was quite aware of the stated opinions of some of the young males of the early sixties. Mostly, the attitude had arisen among young men who had never been around the smaller schools which had girl's basketball. It resulted in a perception that many had of exactly who would play basketball, or any sport. I think someone mentioned a "butch" attitude. I don't know that any of these young men actually knew anyone who had played basketball, the key word being "knew."

There were some young women who were very, very attractive who happened to have played basketball. But, it wasn't known at college. On one occasion, a young man made a comment in the Wilson Center Cafeteria about girls playing basketball. He was somewhat surprised when I told him that the girl he had asked me to introduce him to had been the best highschool basketball player that I had ever seen. I didn't ask if it changed his mind. I assumed that he simply had no experience with girls who had played basketball.

Of course, at the age of 18 or 19, we had a lot of opinions that I think we might be embarrassed by now. We had more opinions than experience on which to base these opinions. Tough guy commentary about how they would treat a wife was rampant. I strongly suspect that their wives taught them differently. At least, it was mostly because we were 18 or 19. When I now hear the same thing from a seventy-year old, I kind of wonder why he hasn't experienced the past fifty years.

 

[gosooner2]

I graduated from OU was from a small town dated a girl who played basketball in a nearby small town. She was younger than I was but I continued to date her when she came to OU. I had girl cousins who were good enough to get scholarships in basketball never though a thing about it except they were much better than I was!

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

I graduated HS in 1978. As far as women's sports go we had two sides. One had the swimmers, tennis players, and golfers. My HS was fed by wealthy areas(Not me) and we excelled at the country club sports - winning State almost every year. These girls were fit, athletic, and usually cute. On the other side we had volleyball, basketball, and softball. They were all coached by the same two ladies(The gym teacher with the mustache) and the same girls played all three. When describing them athletic didn't come to mind. There wasn't any soccer and we were an all white school so track was a no no(There were s few cute girls that ran track but it wasn't that we were any good). Gymnastics didn't have any huge girls but we stunk.

I'm like most of you oldsters and didn't know OU had women's sports. Same when I went to KU. I can remember dating a swimmer and a gymnast(Yes, I sat through some meets) but I never remember no one wanting to date one. We took whatever we could get.

 

[Stringmusic]

MS - You are correct about large cities and small towns. I attended HS in Memphis at a very large school- it had only a girls volleyball team. I dated one of the players, no problem. My mother on the other hand grew up in a very small town in east Tennessee and she played girls basketball throughout. 6 players to a team and 3 players could not cross the midcourt line - so she only played defense. Strange.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

MS - You are correct about large cities and small towns. I attended HS in Memphis at a very large school- it had only a girls volleyball team. I dated one of the players, no problem. My mother on the other hand grew up in a very small town in east Tennessee and she played girls basketball throughout. 6 players to a team and 3 players could not cross the midcourt line - so she only played defense. Strange.

If I remember that's the way they played basketball in Iowa in the 70's - maybe Oklahoma too.

 

[SoonerNorm]

If I remember that's the way they played basketball in Iowa in the 70's - maybe Oklahoma too.

Yep, I saw a lot of 6 on 6 basketball in Oklahoma when I was growing up.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

Sheryl Swoopes talking about boring stuff like dribble stops and ball fakes. Go figger.