Poll on Gender Matters in college quizbowl

Old college threads.
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Rothlover
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Poll on Gender Matters in college quizbowl

Post by Rothlover »

I have thought long and hard on this issue, as I feel it is one that needs to be looked into every so often. As such, I am hoping people will e-mail me with their thoughts on some of the following questions, at which point, some of the more interesting points and comments will be collected and posted. Please understand that all identities will be kept confidential, and that there is no sexism or misogyny intended with this post. The poll is of course open to both men and women, and you can choose to answer or not answer any questions you like, or add your own questions and comments. My e-mail is [email protected] .

1) Do you think the way quizbowl is currently designed is inherently misogynistic? If yes, why?

2) Do you think there should be a diversity quotient in packets?

3) Who are, in your opinion are some of the most attractive, or hottest, males and females in quizbowl today, you can feel free to provide specific reasoning.

4) Is there anything in particular that is pushing women away from quizbowl? If yes, can it be fixed and how would you go about it?

5) Do you feel that female/minority material is, in fact overrepresented in some formats/tournaments? Do you feel that the underrepresented requirement in some packet distributions is ultimately detrimental to quizbowl, or to gender balance in quizbowl in the long run?

6) Do you have any stories of being discriminated against on the basis of sex in quiz bowl?

7) Has quiz bowl led you to your significant other, or to other males or females attempting to make you their significant other?
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ValenciaQBowl
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Post by ValenciaQBowl »

Hmm. I don't think a discussion of why there are so many more male than female QB players at the four-year level is not worthwhile, but Dan's questions regarding what players are hot certainly seem to trivialize his poll.

I'm not going to answer all the questions, but I'll say that in general I'm against any kind of diversity initiative in question writing to serve underrepresented groups. I doubt female players are turned off once they've already joined by not hearing enough questions on females (same goes with other groups not hearing enough questions on other groups). If they've made the effort to come to practice to hear questions, they've already shown interest, and it's unlikely they'd be driven away by not feeling like their identity is being celebrated by toss-ups and bonuses. Besides, I'm not going to do an analysis, but there seem to be plenty of questions on female characters, authors, scientists, myth figures, etc.

Further, it's worth noting, as I think I have in other postings, that at the CC level the male-female ratio is close to 50-50. I've wondered why, and the only answers I can think of are these:

1. CC teams are run by faculty sponsors/coaches, who recruit in their own classrooms and through fellow faculty, so maybe more women hear about it.

2. Many of the CC coaches in Florida (more than half, I think) are female.

3. CC practices may (though this should not be a blanket statement) be more inviting for any new player, as they're not run by veteran players who may be using difficult questions that can dissuade people from thinking they can play, and the practices might be structured more to allow newer players chances to play. I say this last part only b/c I know my own experiences at UF as a player in the dark ages and in 3-4 years ago as a visitor were of a chaotic place, with strong players jumping in for matches without much consideration of who gets to play or why. Nothing against my Gator pals--I figure this is pretty common when there's not a clear "leader" in the practice room.

4. The CC game hasn't already calcified a male majority, so female players see plenty of other veteran and new female players when they attend their first tournaments.

5. The game itself rewards a certain amount of brazenness and aggressiveness, qualities which may not always be found in as strong an amount in some females. I don't want to tread on Lawrence Summers ground here, and I'm not saying women can't be aggressive or even obnoxious, nor that they can't be excellent players (my own Valencia teams have often been led by women who'd fit those descriptions, and my A team this year is led by two women as top scorers). But for whatever reason, some females may not feel as comfortable asserting themselves in a practice room with some entrenched male players who are assertively answering questions and running things.

Then again, none of this may matter--just guessing. In any case, it seems to me that if you want more female players, your recruiting should just get more encompassing on your campus. Do more than just stick up flyers; get a list of faculty e-mails from departmental secretaries and send polite messages (maybe with an information sheet/flyer attached) and ask faculty to take two minutes to mention it in class (especially freshmen/sophomore-specific classes or surveys).
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QuizbowlPostmodernist
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Since you're in Boston

Post by QuizbowlPostmodernist »

Go ask Lawrence Summers.
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No Rules Westbrook
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Post by No Rules Westbrook »

Because I have nothing better to do, I may as well establish my inevitable reputation for being a prick by musing on these quesitons:

1. No, but I wish it were. It would be a lot funnier if it were. Oh well, it is in my head anyway.

2. Not only do I think this is an excruciatingly bad idea - if it happened, I would write a theme packet on the Ku Klux Klan or exploitation porn. It wouldn't include the word exploitation, but it might include the phrase "pooped out another baby".

3. I abstain, on account of the fact that I've just eaten.

4. Yes, ugly white men who are much better and more knowledgeable than them. Remembering useless (I know, I know - it's useful, sure) shit is just not something most women are prone to do. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that women are much more likely to demand reasons for knowing things, while a handful of men are great at not getting bogged down with such nonsense. I do think (based on sheer intuition) that most women in, say, the US would be better at quiz bowl than most men. But, I think that in the top stratum the men who are good are much much better than the women who are.

5. Yes, women and minorities are always overrepresented. Just once, I'd like to take a history class and hear the professor say "we're not going to talk about what women did in this time period...because, they didn't do anything". Sometimes, they're important...usually, they're just an excuse to talk about women and minorities.

6. Yes, there are quite often no special urinals to accommadate my huge penis.

7. Does Benet's count?
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Leo Wolpert
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Post by Leo Wolpert »

Front runner for post of the year.
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AuguryMarch
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Post by AuguryMarch »

no more hate.
only love.
Last edited by AuguryMarch on Thu Mar 31, 2005 12:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ValenciaQBowl
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Post by ValenciaQBowl »

Don Reid? The center from Georgetown who got a cup of coffee in the NBA? Or the guy who owns Ford dealerships in Orlando? WTF? I'm sure I missed something . . .
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