# Female Jock Strap?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2000, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974 "2000-12-04T18:19:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/1 "2000-12-04T18:19:18Z")
I was in the sports store last night and saw something I **never** thought I’d see, a Female Jock Strap. What the hell does a women need a cup for in the first place? anyone else seen one of these things and know why a woman might need one? ---
**Author:** ![jeel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71e660/32.png) [@jeel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/2 "2000-12-04T18:23:06Z")
I’ve seen em in hockey equipment catalogs. I think they protect the pelvic region from pucks/sticks. The ones I saw were more like padded bikini panties. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/3 "2000-12-04T18:28:18Z")
Was it a jock strap or a cup? IIRC, a jock strap is for “support” while a cup is for “protection.” ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/4 "2000-12-04T18:29:38Z")
Uhhh, the Girly Parts are as sensitive to sudden blunt trauma as The Jewels. Ask a lady who’s been kicked in the crotch… it ain’t fun. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/5 "2000-12-04T19:22:33Z")
It was a plastic cup, pretty much like the male verson. It didn’t look like it would protect much if anything as it didn’t go under. I tried looking it up on the sports authority page but the search wasn’t working right now. I can’t see how it would do anything really, just protect the hair region, it MIGHT protect the clit area but not by much. maybe it’s for when they bring the stick around! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/6 "2000-12-04T19:35:37Z")
I used to wear one when I was a field hockey goalie. (Trust me, getting nailed in the crotch is not a happy thing regardless of your gender.) What I wore was basically padded underwear with a cup built in. I’m sure that there are different styles, though. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/7 "2000-12-05T01:32:04Z")
They’re also worn for fencing–getting poked with a foil is probably even less fun than getting smacked by a hockey puck. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/8 "2000-12-05T06:51:17Z")
An ice hockey playing friend of mine assures me that there are women’s cups. He says that the unisex hockey pants are not padded in the crotch area, and that a player needs to wear a cup for the protection. I’ll see if I can’t get him to post something more about this. ---
**Author:** ![Random\_Scrub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@Random\_Scrub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random_Scrub)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/9 "2000-12-06T05:20:50Z")
Yes, woman hockey players DO wear cups. Most hockey pants have padding on the hips, thighs, butt, and sometimes up to the ribs. They do not, however, have much/any protection for the groin area. The 3 hockey players of the female persuasion that I’ve played hockey with all wore cups. Although the female cup is more of a…well…plate. Reason being, as was stated, there’s nothing externally to protect, but the feminine bits and pieces are just as sensitive to masculine bits and pieces. That’s what i know. Lynn made me post. She’s Evil. ~Anthony, Just a Random Scrub. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/10 "2000-12-07T20:10:07Z")
physics of a cup For men, the idea is to make a pocket for the dangly parts so they don’t get crushed or severed. The edges of the cup press on the pelvic bones and distribute the blow around the genitals. For women, it is described as more of a plate. This is less to create a protective pocket and more to distribute the blow over a larger area. Get a hard jab in a small area, and it hurts because the energy is concentrated. Spread the same force blow over a larger area, and it dissipates the energy, thus hurts less and causes less damage (bruising). ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/11 "2000-12-07T20:24:04Z")
Laughing so hard my sides hurt! Ow… I have friends who would, given the opportunity, get fencing blades, epee’s whatever you call them and attack each other crotches! LOL! God I can see it now… ow. broccoli! ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-jock-strap/43974/12 "2000-12-08T12:29:16Z")
OoooooKaaaaay. I’ve read as much as I care to about blows to the crotch, thank you.