I’m not originally from the US, but I do live there now, and I recently learned that field hockey (which I’d always called hockey haha) is considered a women’s sport. I’m from Europe and I always thought of it as a sport for both genders, if not an outright “men’s sport”, and I know most of the world also thinks this way. Why do (generally) only women participate in field hockey in the US? Is it the same in the rest of the Americas?
It is generally considered a women’s sport in Britain too.
…it isn’t in New Zealand, Australia, India, or most of the other commonwealth nations, and considering how well the England mens team did at the last Commonwealth Games your answer surprises me.
Well, I can’t speak concerning the rest of the commonwealth, but certainly when I was in high school in Britain, (field) hockey was traditionally and widely played in the girls’ schools (along with netball, a game somewhat like basketball); in the boys’ schools we played football (soccer) or rugby (and cricket). I am pretty sure that in mixed sex schools, also, the girls’ equivalent of football or rugby for the boys would also, traditionally, be hockey. The phrase “jolly-hockey-sticks” attests to the game’s strong association with schoolgirls in Britain.
No doubt there are British men who play hockey, just as there are women who play rugby, but it has long been generally seen as a women’s sport.
…sorry, still not seeing it. Will need a bit more than a personal anecdote to be convincing in General Questions. There is nothing here, here, here, or anywhere that Field Hockey is regarded as a womens sport. Compare that to the netballteam and almost every cite would show that netball is regarded as principally a womens sport. There isn’t anything remotely similar in hockey. There are more mens team and more boys teams: " England Hockey reports that as of the 2008–09 season there were 2488 registered men’s teams, 1969 women’s teams, 1042 boys’ teams, 966 girls’ teams." There are an equal amount of male/female competitions running each year and the England Mens Hockey Team is extremely competitive on the world stage. I don’t buy your premise. You might personally consider it a women’s sport but I don’t see any evidence that it is generally considered a women’s sport apart from your limited personal experience and a reference to a catchphrase from a 1950’s comedy show.
I can confirm what njtt said. Hockey was most definitely considered a game for girls in the UK. (Jolly hockey sticks was even a hackneyed expression among the upper class green welly boots women). It was never played at boys’ schools in the UK, certainly up till the 70s/80s. My knowledge would be limited after that so maybe it’s all changed.
So you, in New Zealand and with Google, know more about Britain and British attitudes than me who was born and raised here and lived here for about forty years my life, huh. Are you going to tell me how to pronounce my name next? :rolleyes:
There are plenty of men, including professional teams, who play soccer in America, too, but most Americans regard it as a women’s sport. I know that from 20 years of living in America, listening to how Americans talk about sports, what is said on TV etc. I know about Britain from living here. You, apparently, know squat.
Now why don’t you try using your mad Google skills to actually address the OP’s question, or are you going to find out that Americans regard field hockey as a men’s sport too?I guarantee that you will find lots of men’s teams exist.
And sure it’s personal anecdote but I can assure you that in Portsmouth, Southern England, the two grammar schools for girls played hockey, none of the boys’ grammar schools (or secondary modern) did. Check out old British movies featuring schools in the 50s/60, you’ll see plenty of girls playing hockey and carrying hockey sticks (St Trinians, The Happiest Days of Our Lives) you will never see boys so playing or accoutred. It was a game for girls back then, at least at school level.
When I was a teen in Australia boys played rugby, soccer and Aussie rules in winter. I played all those and would have happily played hockey too if it hadn’t been a game that only had girls competitions. It seemed like a cross between soccer and cricket to me and was thus awesome. My brother’s and I used to play our own game, tin can hockey, in the back yard using wooden stakes and, of course, an empty tin can.
One of my sons however played hockey when he was a teen.
There is a Gaelic version called shinty in Scotland and Hurling in Ireland which is most definitely a men’s game. It has been described as "hockey without the rules). Like all sports is does of course have many rules, but it is a much rougher game than hockey.
…I’m calling it as I see it. My mad google skills certainly trump your personal anecdote. The same wiki cite that shows that more men than women play hockey in England also explains that hockey is considered a womens sport in the United States.
I have no reason to doubt the OP’s assertion, because there is clear evidence that hockey is considered a women’s sport in the United States. There are significantly more mens teams than women’s teams in England, and England has a strong mens team internationally. Maybe 60 years ago it was seen as a “game for girls”, but there is no evidence that this is the situation today.
I think this attitude is changing. At least in some areas (West Coast) soccer is no longer considered a woman’s sport. Here in Portland we have one of the most fanatical fan bases for the men’s professional team, exceeding in fanatitude that of many (most?) British teams’ fan bases. They wouldn’t be like that if the sport was considered a woman’s sport.
I don’t ever recall it being considered a “women’s sport”. It wasn’t one of the big four professional sports, and was never very popular here, except in grade school. But not a “women’s sport”.
I think the question is why field hockey is considered a women’s sport in the US, not whether it is a women’s sport. It doesn’t matter what the relative numbers are, some things have a gendered association: field hockey, soccer, **lacrosse **and softball are associated as ‘girls’ sports. Similarly, it wouldn’t matter how the actual car ownership/registration numbers worked out, a Camaro is still going to be thought of as a chick car–even if it is driving right into the danger zone.
Sports-wise, I’d say it stems from the relative lock that the four major leagues have on sports entertainment.
When I was an American schoolgirl, we were playing field hockey when the boys were doing football in gym class. I’ve always thought of it as “our” sport, along with volleyball and roller derby, and I’m fairly disgruntled whenever I see men playing any of those. Play your own games, dammit!
When I’m benevolent dictator of the world, this is one of the many things that will be mandated by official decree.
Partly it could be related to Title IX, which is the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools and colleges that receive federal funding — including in their athletics programs. You have men’s football which requires a huge amount of resources. So what can you offer as a women’s program to balance this? Field hockey is one of the few possibilities. (you already have women’s softball balancing men’s baseball and women’s basketball balancing men’s basketball).
I think its mostly because there are already so many other sports played by men and boys that men’s field hockey just never caught on. I think Past Tense is right that Title IX also had something to do with it. The situation is similar with volleyball. There are tons of girls volleyball teams in most parts of the country, but outside of California competative vollyball teams for men and boys are few and far between.
Since when are lacrosse and soccer “girls sports?” They may be widely played by women and girls, but not to the exclusion of men and boys to the degree that field hockey is.
American (male) here (and not West Coast). In no way are lacrosse or soccer considered “women’s sports” here.
In Germany (and I assume that the situation is somewhat similar in other European countries), field hockey is a sport that has always been open to women and men alike. That’s different from football (i. e. soccer) which for the longest time was considered a game for men only. The German football federation refused to recognize and officially sanction women’s football until well into the 1970s.
Field hockey has always been regarded as somewhat elitist whereas football is a blue collar, “manly” sport.
For a girl or a young woman, playing soccer would have been seen as a somewhat tomboyish activity. That would definitely not have been the case with field hockey (where the female athletes to this day wear skirts).