There are many aspects of lacrosse that differ between men and women. The difference in amount of violence, players, and equipment can be used to describe the few similarities and many differences between the two sports. Men’s and women’s lacrosse have many of the same goals, yet are played in completely different ways. The reasoning as to why such differences exist in both genders’ sports is being questioned very much today. Why men are allowed to be so much more physical and violent when playing the sport and women are not may seem unfair and sexist to many lacrosse players, fans, or others.
The amount of violence in men’s lacrosse is much larger than the amount in women’s lacrosse. Men are allowed to be in full contact with the other players and block shooting as they please, and are allowed to physically stand in the way of shots and hit others with their sticks. Men can also place force and hit with their sticks doing an action called checking. This can be done onto other players bodies, and sticks, putting the risk of injury very high for men. On the other hand, women’s lacrosse does not legally allow checking towards the body or sticks of others. Many people in our society today do not agree with the difference in the amount of violence between men’s and women’s lacrosse. Many people are beginning to question why women are made to play this sport with much less physical contact than men are. People are wondering why men were made to play with so much violence and interactions with other people and women were made to play this game with many more restrictions and rules concerning contact and physical interactions with others.
Besides the rules of physical contact differing between men’s and women’s lacrosse, the size of the playing field, equipment amount, and the actual sticks have many differences and some similarities. For example, the playing field for men is thirty yards shorter than the field for women. Also, the way the game starts off is much different for men and women. Men start off with something called a face-off. The ball is placed in between the two pockets on the grass. The men each put force against each others sticks and the ball to end up with one of the players getting possession of the ball. Whereas in women’s lacrosse, the players are not on the ground. They use their force to push the ball up into the air and reach with their sticks to get the ball. This way, one of the girls will get possession to start off the game.
There are also differences in the equipment. The pockets of a man’s stick are much larger than a woman’s. Women’s sticks must have a pocket that is small enough that the ball is still showing and stands above the top of the stick head. The larger pocket is necessary for men’s lacrosse, for there is much more contact between the players and checking against the sticks, so the ball has a much better chance of coming out of the stick, because of the impact the other players put on it. In women’s lacrosse, the amount of checking is not as severe as it is in men’s, so the pocket is able to be smaller and stay secure. Although these differences show large changes in the way the game is played for each gender, there are still some similarities with the basics of the game and the overall goal.
The goal of the game is completely the same for both genders: to control the ball and score as many points as possible. Once this goal is reached by one team, they have won the game. Another similarity is the amount of padding the goalies wear. Both goalies must wear a large amount of padding, for the risk of injury is very large, for them. Since the goal of the game is to make the most amount of goals without the goalie blocking the shot, the shooter must put as much force as possible against the ball to make a shot. Because the players are putting all of their force against the goal and the goalie, the goalie must wear a large amount of padding in both men’s and women’s lacrosse.
In conclusion, the sport of lacrosse for men and women has a large amount of differences, but the same overall goal. The question as to why men have the ability to be much more violent when playing the sport and women do not is still being asked and will most likely be asked for years on. Both sports for each gender are capable of giving people happiness, friends, and is an enjoyable activity for many. Lacrosse can help many people stay in shape and stay healthy while enjoying playing a team sport.
Article by Isabella Grabo of Herbert Hoover Middle School
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons