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It´s 2016.
Is that still an issue ?????????
Most men seem to do better in arm wrestling. Most women are better at dissuading them from using all their strength because it is not fair.
... Yeah.
Intelligence, strong motor skills, and natural talent vary on an individual basis, regardless of gender. Men tend to be larger, physically, than women, but strength is not just about physical capability in this world; it's about cunning and knowing how to use your weapons.
Talking about these things does matter, though. Women are still a minority group, in sociological and economical orders.
The answers to these questions are irrelevant.
There are two senses in which men are "better" than women (or vice versa) on almost any characteristic which can be measured:
1) If you measure a characteristic in a population of men and a population of women, the AVERAGE measured characteristic of each population will be someone what different. However, the DISTRIBUTION of men and women with varying amounts of that characteristic will mostly overlap.
2) While the DISTRIBUTION of men and women who have a particular characteristic will mostly overlap, at the far ends of the distribution, the number of men/women who have a particularly unusual level of a characteristic will hit zero for one group first. For example, there are about 500 men in the world who have NBA-level athletic ability/basketball skill. There are zero women who have NBA-level ability.
But, either of these situations tells us NOTHING about the ability of an individual of either gender. And aren't we supposed to be evaluated on our individual merits, not the average of our population group?
Note: the above principles also apply to comparisons based upon ethnicty, religion, country of origin, and so forth.
Ability and talent are not defined by gender.
How sad.
I don't know. That's why I asked the question. If you are told "you run like a girl" or "you throw like a girl" is that a compliment or a dig? All men think they are better drivers than women. Are they? Because of t
he way the body is constructed there are some things women are physically less able to do well then men. Can that physical difference be overcome? Thank you for your reply Uc and Happy Wednesday to thee.
Thank you for your reply Sharonna and Happy Wdnesday! :)
Because of our physical configuration there are some things that are more difficult for women to do than for men. Can that be overcome? Are there compensating factors that can ever even the playing field? Thank you for your 
thoughtful reply lwl and Happy Wednesday! :)
In tennis at the top tournaments....The Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, men play 5 sets and have to win 3 of them. If they win 3 in a row that's that. But they can play 5 and that is physically grueling. Women only play 3 sets and have to win 2 of them. The pay is the same for the winner. Is that fair? If someone tells you that you "run like a girl" or "throw a ball like a girl" that is not a compliment. It is a dig. The physical configuration of men and women is different. Men are generally stronger. Can that disparot
y ever be overcome to make the playing field even? Mahalo for your reply OS and Happy Wednesday.
They are defined by physical ability which is in fact defined by gender. Men are generally stronger AndyB. In the major tennis tournaments
men can play up to 5 sets and have to win 3 of them. If they win 3 straight sets that's that. But often each person wins 2 and they play a 5th set to determine the winner. Women only have to play 3 sets. There is no tennis tournament in which women have played 5 sets. The winner only has to win 2 sets. The pay for men and women is the same. How is that fair? Can the physical differences ever be overcome to level the playing field? Someone tells you that "you run like a girl" or that you "throw the ball like a girl" that is not a compliment. It's a dig. When will that stop being used to put people down? Thank you for your reply and Happy Wednesday to thee.
I have no idea to what you refer Step. Apologies. Thank you for your reply and Happy Wednesday!
Cam women bench press the same weight as men? Why are there no female Sumo Wrestlers? One wonders about such things Step. Thank you for your reply.
@RosieG -- There is no reason women couldn't play 5-set tournaments. Both men and women run the same distance in a marathon. Women don't do it quite as quickly as men (about 10% slower at the world-class level), but they do it.
As for the fairness of the pay, it depends what people are paying for. Jim and I could play tennis for 4 hours and no one (except you and maybe some of Jim's family/friends) would pay to watch it. If Serena Williams took on Roger Federer for a 1/2-hour, you could fill a stadium. Sports are ultimately about entertainment and people should be paid based upon how much people want to see them. This issue was recently highlighted in US national team soccer, where the women's team is SUBSTANTIALLY more popular than th men's team, but the women get paid substantially less.
And yes, men ON AVERAGE have more upper-body strength, a greater muscle-to-fat ratio, and more fast-twitch explosive athleticism than women. But I am nowhere near the athlete Serena Williams is, nor Diana Taurasi, nor Alex Morgan, nor etc.
Outside of realms where we're selecting who are the very very best of the very very best, it simply doesn't matter. Diana Taurai is better than 99.99% of all women at basketball and 99% of all men. At any level below elite world-class tournaments, she would be the best basketball player in any room she walks into.
With the realm of elite world-class tournaments, I doubt we will see men and women in open non-gendered competitions. Those who participate in such tournaments are a combination of 1-in-a-million genetic freak AND highly unusual opportunity to hone their skill. Under those conditions, even small differences become magnified. As an example, the history of pro basketball is littered with players who dominated at the college level, but who lacked a small amount of something (lateral quickness, injury resistance, particular skills, etc.) who washed out of the NBA. For a woman to crack that exclusive club, she would have to be a one-in-umpteen-billion genetic freak, and overcome substantial structural barriers. It COULD happen, but it's very very unlikely. Similar logic applies to other sports.
Mahalo for your thoughtful and information-filled additional comments OS. I especially like the specific e xamples. :)
