# Are there any sports or activities women are better at? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 25, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535 "2015-04-25T22:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/1 "2015-04-25T22:42:18Z")
Most sports are, for obvious reasons, gender segregated with men’s bodies being much more suited to play them. Others are played on a more equal footing. Are there any activities or games though, that like for like women consistently perform at better than men? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/2 "2015-04-25T23:13:39Z")
Here are some threads that asked the same or similar questions: > **[Are there any sports women are equal to, or have an advantage over men?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=716263)** > > “Sport,” for the purposes of this question, being defined as a competitive, athletic, physical activity. Are there any sports where women, in general, have an advantage over men, or can at least compete on an even playing field (no pun intended)? ... > **[Are women forbidden from playing on NFL teams?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=629230)** > > Question is in the title. Also curious about any other professional sports organizations where all current players are male. > **[In which sports do men and women compete equally?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=530914)** > > I was just watching the Badminton Horse Trials and it struck me that the men and women were competing equally. Are there any other such sports? > **[In what professional sports do women and men play in the same league?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=476430)** > > Pretty straight forward. I’ve often thought pool and bowling would be the most likely, but they obviously have separate leagues. Are there any sports(that are not massively obscure) where men and women play competitively together? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/3 "2015-04-25T23:41:28Z")
I believe, based on the other threads, the answer was archery, or shooting, or something that was aim based ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/4 "2015-04-26T10:21:17Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I believe, based on the other threads, the answer was archery, or shooting, or something that was aim based Looking at the ranking round for individual archery at the 2012 olympics there were 52 men that scored over 650 and only 22 women that did. 14 men beat the highest woman’s score. shooting is a little trickier to compare as men and women either don’t do the same event or there are different numbers of scoring rounds so it has to be done on a pro-rata basis. But, for 10m air pistol, taking the first 4 scoring qualifying rounds for men, 8 men scored equal or higher than the best woman’s qualifying score. In the top-ten qualifying men there were 9 incidences of a 99 or 100 score, in the women there was one.The top women would not have qualified for the men’s final round. For 10m air rifle it is more difficult to see a difference and the performances are closer. The top woman _would_ have got through to the final of the mens (if the mens was based on the first four rounds only). But in the top ten placings there were 17 maximum scores of 100 for women, 28 for men. Three men got straight 400’s in the first four rounds, no women did. So just on the evidence of those elite shooting events at the 2012 Olympics it seems as though an individual woman _might_ be competitive and in with a shout of a medal in a mixed shooting event but as a gender they are still being out-performed by the men. It is certainly a closer call than with most events (as it should be if body strength is less of an issue). ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/5 "2015-04-27T15:57:27Z")
In some of the other threads on this topic, it was noted that at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, an American woman shooter named Margaret Murdoch and an American male shooter named Lanny Bassham tied for the top score. They both wanted a playoff round to determine the gold medalist, but the rules already provided for a tie-breaking procedure, and Bassham got the gold medal. In a classy move, he had Murdoch stand on the top level of the podium during the national anthem, and they both held the gold medal together. There aren’t many world class female shooters, but Margaret Murdoch was one, and she was good enough to win gold. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/6 "2015-04-27T16:45:37Z")
Certain types of gymnastics. Equestrian. Pole Dancing. (;)) ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/7 "2015-04-27T16:57:50Z")
Yeah, gymnastics always seems to be dominated by women. Well, actually, it seems to be dominated by 12-year-old girls, but still. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/8 "2015-04-27T19:00:26Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Yeah, gymnastics always seems to be dominated by women. > > Well, actually, it seems to be dominated by 12-year-old girls, but still. “Dominated” in what way? Women’s gymnastics has always been more popular than men’s gymnastics because it’s more artistic, while men’s events are more strength-based. As for why “girls” do better, Bela Karolyi discovered the secret in the mid-1970s; the smaller you are, (a) the more capable you are of doing full swings on the uneven bars, and (b) the less likely you are of falling off the balance beam because your feet hit the wrong spot. What is probably the perfect example of this is Kristie Phillips, who went from national champion (and Sports Illustrated cover girl) in 1987 to barely missing out on the Olympic team (had she not stepped out of bounds on her final tumbling pass in her final floor exercise routine, she would have finished seventh and been allowed to attend as the team’s alternate) - in no small part because of a growth spurt she had. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/9 "2015-04-29T21:57:20Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > … gymnastics always seems to be dominated by women. True in the sense of “gets more TV time”. But the best men are consistently able to exceed what the best women can do. ---
**Author:** ![mrldii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@mrldii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrldii)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/10 "2015-04-29T22:01:41Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > …Are there any activities…that like for like women consistently perform at better than men? Most heterosexual men would probably say women are better at the activity of giving BJs. MOST, I did say. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/11 "2015-04-30T02:50:44Z")
I’m not sure if this falls into the Game forum, but I read somewhere that women are slightly better able to withstand centrifugal force in high-G maneuvers in aircraft flying due to having a more compact spine and body. Maybe that makes a tiny bit of difference in aerobatic flying or combat flying. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/12 "2015-04-30T02:58:09Z")
Sports or activities? I would offer up the activity of organizational skills. In my life experience females are way better at organizing themselves and organizing functions or events. Men just tend to wing it and hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Spaulding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Miss\_Spaulding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Spaulding)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/13 "2015-04-30T03:27:14Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Most sports are, for obvious reasons, gender segregated with men’s bodies being much more suited to play them. Others are played on a more equal footing. Are there any activities or games though, that like for like women consistently perform at better than men? Equestrian. I don’t know about consistently, but it’s pretty 50/50 as I see it. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/14 "2015-04-30T03:33:12Z")
> [@Miss\_Spaulding](#): > > Equestrian. > > I don’t know about consistently, but it’s pretty 50/50 as I see it. The riders or the ridees? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Spaulding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Miss\_Spaulding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Spaulding)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/15 "2015-04-30T03:37:20Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > The riders or the ridees? The riders. You don’t judge the horses. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/16 "2015-04-30T23:14:05Z")
Most important activity of all, survival. Women tend to outlive men by a number of years. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/17 "2015-04-30T23:16:45Z")
> [@Miss\_Spaulding](#): > > The riders. You don’t judge the horses. Yet they do all the work. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/18 "2015-05-01T17:07:05Z")
I haven’t bothered to read the four linked threads, but I do recall reading years ago that women might be superior to men when it comes to super marathon running. Starting with races of 50, or more, miles. Supposedly due to having greater endurance. I do not recall seeing that said recently so perhaps it was just a bit of “common sense” that actually was not correct. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/19 "2015-05-01T20:01:40Z")
> [@Miss\_Spaulding](#): > > Equestrian. Maybe one element of equestrian: Dressage. I looked at winners of equestrian gold medal at the Olympics. I did not want to go too far back in time as I suspect it was less common for women to participate in bygone times. I somewhat arbitrarily chose to start with Mexico, 1968, on the grounds that it is the first Olympics I can remember. Women have won 10 of the 12 Dressage gold medals. Men have won all 12 in both Eventing and Show Jumping. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535/20 "2015-05-02T12:41:08Z")
Perhaps Billiards? Meaning “straight pool” which doesn’t call for a hard break from the cue. Or snooker - similar. In eight-ball and nine-ball, where smashing the cue ball into the rack is called for (to sink at least one ball), women would be at a disadvantage. That said, if man is the breaker and he doesn’t sink a ball, any good woman player can run the table. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-sports-or-activities-women-are-better-at/718535.md?page=2)