# Do female athletes wear a cup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051 "2011-11-25T16:14:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/1 "2011-11-25T16:14:22Z")
Serious question. I know they don’t have the dangling bits like guys. But I’d imagine a solid whack to a woman’s labia hurts too. Since women now play contact sports like soccer is there a modified cup for them to wear? Mods please, please let this get answered before banishing it to the game room? I have no interest in discussing sports. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/2 "2011-11-25T16:20:52Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Since women now play contact sports like soccer is there a modified cup for them to wear? I’m quite sure that most male soccer players don’t wear jockstraps (maybe with the exception of goalkeepers), so it’s not likely they’d be of much use for female players. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/3 "2011-11-25T16:38:31Z")
My daughter had to wear a pelvic protector when she played hockey. Hard plastic, and was protection against errant pucks and hockey sticks. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/4 "2011-11-25T16:41:45Z")
Ah, that’s what it’s called. Thanks! > **[Jockstrap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvic_protector)** > > A jockstrap, also a jock (male), jill (female), strap, cup, groin guard, pelvic protector (female), supporter, or athletic supporter, is an undergarment for protecting the testes and penis or vulva during contact sports or other vigorous physical activity. This article deals chiefly with the genital protective sports gear designed for the male body, colloquially known as a "jock". > A jockstrap (males) consists of a waistband (usually elastic) with a support pouch for the genitalia and two elast... ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/5 "2011-11-25T17:09:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Since women now play contact sports like soccer is there a modified cup for them to wear? Soccer is not a contact sport, any more than basketball is. Any contact is forbidden and will be punished with a yellow or red card. Unless the jurors are asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Stinky\_Pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Stinky\_Pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinky_Pete)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/6 "2011-11-25T17:13:52Z")
Between a woman’s legs just isn’t prone to serious pain and injury. Getting hit there is equivalent to getting hit in the calf, thigh, buttocks, etc. Whereas a man getting hit in the privates is equivalent to getting hit in the knee, eye, or throat. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/7 "2011-11-25T17:20:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Serious question. > > I know they don’t have the dangling bits like guys. But I’d imagine a solid whack to a woman’s labia hurts too. Well, yeah, a solid whack anywhere hurts, but to the outer labia it’s _nothing_ like a guy getting a whack in the nuts or dick. Maybe a hit on the clit would be that bad, maybe, but the odds of that occurring by accident, given the size of the “target” and its location are pretty darn small. I mean, she’d have to almost be doing the splits at the time. Now, a bruised crotch regardless of gender hurts, swells, and is probably best avoided, so yay pelvic protectors, but I’ve yet to see a girl or woman take a crotch shot and wind up in fetal position either puking or passed out. I’ve seen that happen more than once with guys, though. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/8 "2011-11-25T17:24:47Z")
Very interesting. I’ve been curled up on the ground a few times after a shot to the nads. Never really knew how tender the area was for girls. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/9 "2011-11-25T17:28:42Z")
> [@Stinky\_Pete](#): > > Between a woman’s legs just isn’t prone to serious pain and injury. Getting hit there is equivalent to getting hit in the calf, thigh, buttocks, etc. Whereas a man getting hit in the privates is equivalent to getting hit in the knee, eye, or throat. AHEM it entirely depends on the accuracy of the aim. There’s a teeny weeny spot that some men struggle to find which is excruciating if receiving a direct hit (I know from bitter experience, crashing onto my bike’s crossbar when I was about ten). I believe women cricket players wear a cup if they’re batting, as the bowler is essentially aiming for their crotch at high speed with a ball about the weight of lump of granite. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/10 "2011-11-25T17:30:27Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Soccer is not a contact sport, any more than basketball is. Any contact is forbidden and will be punished with a yellow or red card. Unless the jurors are asleep. Just not true. If _any_ contact in soccer would be punished with a yellow or red card, every game would be over after maybe 20 minutes because of lack of players. There are hundreds of situations in every game where contact is unavoidable in fair tacklings and normal fighting for the ball which no referee in the world would even punish as a simple foul, let alone with a card. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/11 "2011-11-25T17:32:06Z")
I never heard of such a thing for women until I read this thread today. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/12 "2011-11-25T17:37:22Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > AHEM it entirely depends on the accuracy of the aim. There’s a teeny weeny spot that some men struggle to find which is excruciating if receiving a direct hit (I know from bitter experience, crashing onto my bike’s crossbar when I was about ten). Yeah, that was how I experienced that particular hit too. So it’s not very likely, but whoa, if you do get hit there, it’s quite a new world of pain. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/13 "2011-11-25T17:48:04Z")
Anyone, man, woman or child, who takes an 60+MPH pitch to the groin is going to experience a true 10 on the pain scale. I think I’d choose to wear a cup if I was a female who played base/softball. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/14 "2011-11-25T18:21:53Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Just not true. If _any_ contact in soccer would be punished with a yellow or red card, every game would be over after maybe 20 minutes because of lack of players. There are hundreds of situations in every game where contact is unavoidable in fair tacklings and normal fighting for the ball which no referee in the world would even punish as a simple foul, let alone with a card. That doesn’t make it a contact sport, which are those where contact between the competitors is continuous or almost so. I once had someone kick me in the labia, with all the strength and fury she could muster (apparently the dude on which she had a crush had one on me). I was more surprised than hurt. Receiving a softball to the nose that broke my glasses in half, or a careless shoulder touch to my tender teen breasts while we thumped downstairs (those hugged books are for shielding, not modesty) would be 10s to that kick’s 1. A papercut hurts more. Note that this 1 refers to the labia, not to the tiny point **SanVito** mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/15 "2011-11-25T18:48:46Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That doesn’t make it a contact sport, which are those where contact between the competitors is continuous or almost so. That wasn’t my point, I don’t even know the exact definition of the term “contact sport”. My point was that it’s ridiculous to state that every contact in soccer is punished with a yellow or red card. As I said before, there are many, many contacts in each game that are not even ordinary fouls. If **constanze** ’s assumption was true, soccer would be a very different sport to the one it actually is. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/16 "2011-11-25T18:59:41Z")
It’s a standard piece of equipment for women playing hockey. In general, women wear the same gear as men, just shaped slightly differently for a better fit (the chest protectors are also moulded differently to accommodate breasts). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/17 "2011-11-25T19:15:10Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I’m quite sure that most male soccer players don’t wear jockstraps (maybe with the exception of goalkeepers), so it’s not likely they’d be of much use for female players. You’d be wrong about that. Most male athletes wear jockstraps while playing any sport. A jockstrap and a cup are two very different things–jockstrap being an undergarment made of cloth to support the testicles, a cup being a hard plastic device designed to protect against impact. You can wear a jockstrap without a cup, and most male athletes do. Unless things have changed drastically in recent years, you cannot wear a cup without a jockstrap–though some cups may be built in to a jockstrap. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/18 "2011-11-25T19:24:45Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > AHEM it entirely depends on the accuracy of the aim. There’s a teeny weeny spot that some men struggle to find which is excruciating if receiving a direct hit (I know from bitter experience, crashing onto my bike’s crossbar when I was about ten). Ah, that explains that old joke… “She said ‘give me twelve inches and make it hurt!’ So I \*\*\*\*ed her 4 times and kicked her in the crotch…” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/19 "2011-11-25T19:26:59Z")
Just because soccer players fall down like they were shot every time someone brushes past them does not make it a contact sport. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051/20 "2011-11-25T19:28:15Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > You’d be wrong about that. Most male athletes wear jockstraps while playing any sport. A jockstrap and a cup are two very different things–jockstrap being an undergarment made of cloth to support the testicles, a cup being a hard plastic device designed to protect against impact. You can wear a jockstrap without a cup, and most male athletes do. Unless things have changed drastically in recent years, you cannot wear a cup without a jockstrap–though some cups may be built in to a jockstrap. Well, I’m not competent in the nomenclature of protective gear of that kind, I assumed we are talking about a thing that I know as [“Suspensorium”](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jockstrap) (German Wiki link for, surprise, “Jockstrap” to which I was redirected after searching for “Suspensorium”) in German. I played soccer myself in my youth for 8 years as a goalkeeper, and never wore and have never seen another player wearing a jockstrap. But that was more than 25 years ago, and it was amateur sports. I could imagine that today’s professional players wear them. My ignorance fought once more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-female-athletes-wear-a-cup/604051.md?page=2)