Girls in PE

This video skit by four sixth grade girls was their final project work that
ended a six-week unit on gender. Their prompt was simple: Write, rehearse,
then act a skit that reveals a common problem and common outcome to that
problem for 6th grade girls. We have been studying gender issues in class
during this time, working primarily in same-sex class groupings. Girls have
talked and written openly and freely about what it's like to be a girl in
school with other girls and with boys. Boys have discussed and written about
being boys. Students have also read two books over the past six weeks,
looking closely at the representations of masculinities and femininities in
the books. The students have also looked at portrayals of heterosexual and
homosexual characters‹specifically looking for moments of courage and
heroism. It is our hope that other classes of 6th, 7th, or 8th grade
students will watch this and the three other companion videos, then respond
to them during a class activity in school. We would like to hear the
opinions of other middle school students and open up a dialogue with them
around issues of gender, courage, and heroism. Thank you.

-Mr. Carter Latendresse, 6th Grade Language Arts, Catlin Gabel School,
Portland, Oregon

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I really doubt that

Submitted by James B (not verified) on Tue, 01/13/2009 - 10:20pm.

I really doubt that something like that would happen while we were playing a game. I think that the girls are maybe over exaggerating the fact that they aren't getting passes to.l I realize that girls can be very good athletes but a few in our class just like to hang in the back of the field and do nothing. If they do that then they probably aren't open and don't get passed to. If a girl was open then I would definitely pass to them. Even though I don't agree with what the play was about, good job with the acting and everything. -----James B, 8th grade-----

I agree, I think that girls

Submitted by Claire F (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 2:04pm.

I agree, I think that girls do sometimes over exaggerate about they say they try but, they sometimes they don't because they don't like that sport. Then there are some boys that won't pass to girls because they just think that they are weak and don't give them the chance.---Claire F, 6th grade---

yo, I agree, in my class

Submitted by Zach A. 6th grade (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 12:45pm.

yo, I agree, in my class there are so girls who stand in a corner and talk. By doing that they aren't able to play or participate in the game because they choose to do that. Zach A.

I have to disagree with you.

Submitted by Claire J (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 10:51am.

I have to disagree with you. I have been open so many times in P.E. and almost no boys would pass to me. Not all do this, but most guys I know... do. And it gets really frustrating. I'm not good at sports, but does winning really matter? P.E. is about getting fit, having fun, and not socializing. -Claire J 6th Grade

Ya I agree with you about

Submitted by Arielle S (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 10:04am.

Ya I agree with you about exaggerating the fact that girls aren't getting passed to in class. I think that girls do get passed to in class, but not very often, but when they don't the boys don't directly say that your a girl so I won't pass to you.

I am a boy and I totally

Submitted by Joseph E (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 10:00am.

I am a boy and I totally think what you think. In that skit they really pushed that too far. It really sort of bugged me with all of the acting cool stuff. No one ever says "You can't play because you are a girl." I mean, really, come on, no boy in our school is that mean. Think about it. Cheers.

This definitely happens, but

Submitted by Evan (not verified) on Tue, 01/13/2009 - 3:22pm.

This definitely happens, but really not very often. Guys are mostly passing to their friends, and want to win. It shouldn't happen, but one must understand what's going through their minds when it happens

I think this totally

Submitted by Jacob C (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 2:05pm.

I think this totally happens, but a teacher wouldn't just directly say something like that, it would be a lot more subtle. THe kids would probably just deal with it on their own.

I see a lot of this when we

Submitted by Anne Gilleland (not verified) on Tue, 01/13/2009 - 8:13am.

I see a lot of this when we are playing certain sports. If it's dodge ball, everyone plays equally, but when we are playing soccer or something, this happens. The sad thing is that boys will pass to the girls who have experience in that field, but not the girls who don't play as much.

I totally I agree with what

Submitted by Dana (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 2:02pm.

I totally I agree with what you said. If some guys only pass to certain girls in some sports then, the guys will never see the other girls that can really play very well, because they only know about the couple girls that they know can play. So I think guys should be more open minded and even if a girl doesn't catch the ball (or kick it etc.) the first time that everyone should get a second chance. If this actually happens then everyone will get better and then they will all get passed to. ~Dana, 6th

I agree in some sports it

Submitted by Lauren (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 2:02pm.

I agree in some sports it doesn't happen and everyone passes to each other. In soccer and other stuff like that boys never pass to me, but they only pass to one girl who is really good.

I definitely see this happen

Submitted by Mary G (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 10:51am.

I definitely see this happen when we play sports like basket ball or soccer. Even though boys think that girls are not good at the sport, and they might not be the best at it, but at least they try. Girls deserve a chance, and girls try their hardest to join in. But we need a chance to try, and not get excluded from what we can do.

I agree. i noticed that boys

Submitted by Raina M, 6th (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 10:00am.

I agree. i noticed that boys will pass to girls in soccer if they know that the girl plays soccer, and if they know that you aren't very experienced, they won't pass to you. sometimes, in dodge ball girls will hide behind the mats, and guys will think girls don't like to participate or are wimpy. i don't think it's right, and i think we should somehow fix it, though i don't know how :) Raina (:

First of all, I want to say

Submitted by Owen Chapman (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 11:00pm.

First of all, I want to say that I'm a guy, so I don't know what goes on in a girl's mind during P.E. But it seems to me that during team sports in my class, you pass to someone who is either open, or is really good at whatever we're playing. Gender really doesn't come into it, unless you want to argue that one gender is better at a certain sport. Both boys and girls can be great athletes. -Owen Chapman, 8th grade, Catlin Gabel

I also agree with this. In

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 12:44pm.

I also agree with this. In the sixth grade, sometimes girls don't even do anything about it. I hope that they eventually learn to do this, and then maybe the boys might respond better, and the game might equal out. In dogeball, sometimes girls or even boys don't participate because they hide behind the mats and never come out. May of them even take balls. This bothers me, being a girl, because it puts a damper on the respect that the boys give the girls that play and try. I wish that they would participate more, because it will help the whole team. Sometimes one team will loose the whole game either because a girl or boy hiding never comes out even when the rest of the team gets out, or, they get a stale mate. This is very frustrating to the people that got out because they tried. The rest of the team could help out by asking these people to stop, and it infuriates me to see someone bypass the person. I hope that this situation quickly ceases. This video also talks about boy's reactions to them finally passing to a girl. Mostly, the reaction when this happens is that they will be shocked, but not say anything about it. -Jillian R, 6th Grade-

This happens a lot, but i

Submitted by William Bishop (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 10:16pm.

This happens a lot, but i think that girls never complain about it. They should complain if they don't like how they are being treated. I don't see it being like passing the ball but more like girls have to play in the bad positions and only the good people can be on offense or where ever the good positions are. Nice job guys i think you really captured what is going on in P.E.

Eve Lowenstein 8th Grade- I

Submitted by Eve (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 10:11pm.

Eve Lowenstein 8th Grade- I think that younger boys tend to not pass to girls in P.E. because they still think that boys are generally stronger and better in sports. As people get older they have a tendency to not think about gender but think about skill level which could be just as hurtful if they are ignored during their P.E. class because they are not as good. All in this entire movie does a good job of showing what could happen in a P.E. class.

hi Not all boys do this, and

Submitted by Nicolas (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 12:43pm.

hi Not all boys do this, and girls are calling us a group that everyone of us do it. It's not true though. Some boys do but most don't. It is not only in young boys. -NIcolas

The girls are looked at to

Submitted by Naomi (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:59pm.

The girls are looked at to be weaker then boys. So some of the boys don't like to involve girls in their game. But once you let the girls show what they can do, you may be surprised. -Naomi 8th grade

Even though the skit is

Submitted by Connor burris (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:59pm.

Even though the skit is short, it gets right to the point. I have seen this situation actually happen. you portraied it very well. it was interesting.

Gender bias is a serious

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:49pm.

Gender bias is a serious problem, and a bigger problem for some than others. I like the way the girls in the movie talked about "giving girls a chance," and about how boys should "take a chance on including girls;" those points are very moving and important. Gender discrimination is ugly and nothing anyone wants to face, and when people say that a whole sex can't do something, that's making a HUGE generalization. Boys WILL be better at some things, partially because of their different muscles, and girls WILL be better at other things. However, to tell someone that they can't do something, to exclude them, because they are a boy or a girl is wrong. Margaret Fossand, 8th grade

I agree with you completely,

Submitted by Emma M (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 10:03am.

I agree with you completely, and I think that many girls are great athletes, along with many boys. Of course, even though some kids aren't that good in PE, you should still pass to them if they're really trying, because everyone deserves a chance to play. But I don't think anyone should say that a whole gender is bad or good at something because you can't judge half of the people in the world based on a few people around you. Emma M, 6th grade

Benji, 8th grade : I think

Submitted by Benji Lin (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:38pm.

Benji, 8th grade : I think this happens a bit more than the boys scenario. I don't think it's fully true though. I think that sometimes boys don't pass to girls because they don't think they are as good at the sport as someone else. I don't think that it's because they are a girl.

When your in middle school

Submitted by z (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:36pm.

When your in middle school this almost never happens. Gym is a time to shair the ball not just pass to the better people. Girls are just as capable in sports as boys are.-Zach Peterson 8th grade

Ya. I think this to. I

Submitted by Elayna (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 12:37pm.

Ya. I think this to. I really don't think that boys don't pass to girls. It is true that girls are capable as boys, but sometimes girls don't get into the game as much. - Elayna

some boys think that most of

Submitted by Allison (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:24pm.

some boys think that most of the girls are girly girls that will scream when the ball gets near them. there are a lot of girls like that and there are a lot of girls that are the complete opposite. in my experience when you are playing like soccer with most of the PE class its less likely boys will pass to you but if its one of those days where you choose between volley ball and soccer and you choose soccer you have a better chance of being passed to because there are less people and people no that you chose this so you must want to play. or they know you've played soccer since you were in pre-k of kindergarten so you're pretty good. Allison, 8th grade, Catlin Gabel

You said that girls weren't

Submitted by Lianne Siegel (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:08pm.

You said that girls weren't included because of their gender, which I think is true in many places, and sometimes at Catlin, but I think there is much less of this problem in our class than at most places. There are lots of girls in our class that are absolutely amazing at sports, and the guys for the most part know that, so they trust us enough to at least pass to us. Also, I think that the people in our class don't take P.E. quite so seriously as to the point where they want to win so bad they won't pass to the girls. People generally try hard, but they put including people before winning.

I've seen this happena few

Submitted by Rachel (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:04pm.

I've seen this happena few times in P.E., but not very often. A lot of the girls are sometimes even better than the boys in P.E., so no one is really left out because of gender.

when a guy thinks that girls

Submitted by maggie m (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:03pm.

when a guy thinks that girls can't play he doesn't pass to them or have them involved then it makes it so that the girl can get better. girls have to prove themselves to the boys if they want to get a pass or shot every once and awhile. -maggie m, 8th grade,CGS

we usually play single

Submitted by Ian Jones (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:44pm.

we usually play single gender teams so this wouldnt really happen. when we do play together it deosnt happen either. ian jones 8th grade

Usually when I see people

Submitted by Alan Mayhew (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:28pm.

Usually when I see people who are biased in who they pass to in a game, they pass to someone who is good at the game, or one of their friends, but I'm sure (especially in younger grades) that often people will discriminate against the opposite gender as well. In younger grades, I'm sure some boys will pull the "cooties" joke and refuse to pass to girls, but at our age I don't really understand why someone would do that. -Alan Mayhew, 8th Grade, Catlin Gabel

The last time that I saw

Submitted by Emi Foster-8th Grade (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:24pm.

The last time that I saw something like this happen to me was many years ago. I think it is more likely that people will pass to their friends than people will pass to people of their same gender for only that reason. This might've happened to me in lower school, I can't really remember. I'm sure that if this is happening in your class, boys will mature out of it soon. That's what happened in my experience.

Gender issues in PE can

Submitted by Dan Maunder (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:24pm.

Gender issues in PE can happen often. When i was in sixth grade this seemed to happen often but nobody really took it as a big issue but it did put people down at times. As the years progress though it seems to disappear and become a very little issue that people joke about. In 8th grade people just pass to whoever is open or what not, this may be because as people get older they get more comfortable with the opposite gender.

In my opinion, it's good

Submitted by Nicholas Elliott (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:11pm.

In my opinion, it's good that our class is able to be kind and accepting to everyone. While there are misunderstandings, I believe that our bonds run deep enough for them not to drive us apart. -Nicholas Elliott, 8th grade

This was a very interesting

Submitted by Max (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 7:43pm.

This was a very interesting skit. Personally at Catlin I haven't seen very much discrimination because of gender in the P.E. classes however I think that this is a great topic to talk about state wide if not nationwide. There are many school that still today discriminate against race or gender and probably don't allow athletics to be in anyway co-ed. Personally I believe that girls with sports is still continuing to grow in the United States and even though at Catlin there seems to be hardly any discrimination because of gender I think that Sex discrimination is still a huge topic over the entire world and that people should continue striving to make everyone equal, no matter what gender, race or disabilities someone might posses, everyone should still be given equal rights. Max Meyerhoff 8th Grade

I agree with you there is

Submitted by Larissa (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 12:46pm.

I agree with you there is barely any discrimination at Catlin it is more of an issue in other places, but where it is at all it is definitely a problem that needs to be addressed. --Larissa, 6th grade

I think that sometimes this

Submitted by Hannah (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 7:40pm.

I think that sometimes this happens because guys don't think girls are "good enough" to play so they just sort of ignore them. I think they need to give the girls a chance and treat them the same.

I have never seen gender

Submitted by Curtis Stahl (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 7:14pm.

I have never seen gender discrimination in PE at Catlin. -Curtis, 8

I believe that this happens

Submitted by Valerie (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 6:24pm.

I believe that this happens in Catlin to a certain degree. Some people really like to do all their team's work, and don't pass that often, and I see how this could be misinterpreted as discriminating against the opposite gender. However, I don't know of anyone who would sit out because of this misinterpretation. -Valerie Balog, 8th grade.

These gender discrimination

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 5:51pm.

These gender discrimination things mainly happen because one gender is embarressed in front of their friends. Spencer 8th Grade

I have seen that guys won't

Submitted by Elizabeth (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 5:49pm.

I have seen that guys won't pass to girls in P.E. most of the time but if a girl is open then you will get passed to. like in two ball soccer you have a much greater chance of playing because there are of course two balls. Elizabeth M. 8th grade

Griffin i agree i think

Submitted by griffin (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 2:03pm.

Griffin i agree i think girls can get passed to if they are open and i always try to give other people the ball(of a different sex.)

Our class is very kind to

Submitted by latendressec on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 4:31pm.

Our class is very kind to the other gender. There are a lot of boys who are friends with girls. --Zac , 6th Grade, Catlin Gabel

I think alot of adults

Submitted by latendressec on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 4:30pm.

I think alot of adults think that these gender stereotypes are still going around, but really they are not. --Aaron , 6th Grade, Catlin Gabel

I do not think that boys

Submitted by latendressec on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 4:29pm.

I do not think that boys will treat some girls as players in PE until the girls try hard to get better and help out their team. --Ford , 6th Grade, Catlin Gabel

The boys think of girls as

Submitted by latendressec on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 4:28pm.

The boys think of girls as girly girls, but none of us really are. -- Elli , 6th Grade, Catlin Gabel

I wish that more teachers

Submitted by latendressec on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 4:26pm.

I wish that more teachers would see that girls get excluded a lot more than they think. Often this happens when girls do not get played hard enough (the boys play "easy" with them.). We hate this because it makes us feel like we're not very good. --Jillian , 6th Grade, Catlin Gabel

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