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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don’t know , OP, but my son complained that his elementary school has a “girls on the run” club but no running club for boys that he could join. And he wants to join!

He also asked me why the gym has a big “girls rule” sign in it and no boys rule sign. The sign is actually from the the girls
On the run club so it goes hand in hand with his other complaint I guess. I also had a hard time with these questions and actually encouraged him to ask to join the girls on the run club because he was absolutely correct. But, he was nervous to so he didn’t. For reference he is a rising 2nd grader. [/quote]

As a woman, you should be able to have these conversations with your sons openly. Historically girls were not encouraged to participate in sports, and in fact, they weren’t allowed to. Title IV! These clubs are around to encourage girls to do things that historically they were not allowed to do. Easy answer. [/quote]

NP here. I agree. I’ve had this conversation with my elementary age boys. We’ve talked about historically marginalized groups and how sometimes the pendulum has to swing really far the other way before things come back to the middle. I also used this as an opportunity to discuss the concept of slurs and how the groups they’ve been used against are allowed to repurpose the words in a way that white people can’t use them. My kids know the world is complicated and not always fair, but to also recognize it’s sometimes because other groups were treated really unfairly.

It’s a complex topic even for adults, so it will be an ongoing conversation in our house. That said, I would look into how to start a coed running group if my kid really wanted to do that. Our PTA offers after school extracurriculars including a run club for boys and girls. If not through the school then look for another opportunity. I’m sure there is one nearby boys can join.[/quote]

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