Women’s boxing for 2012 Olympics
By Jess McCabe | 26 August 2008, 21:26
The Beijing Olympics may be over, but the fight is continuing to get women’s boxing included in the competition in London in 2012, reports Reuters, via Jezebel.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) will press for the introduction of women’s boxing at the 2012 London Olympics, AIBA president Wu Ching-Kuo said on Monday.“We will make a proposal and submit it to the International Olympic Committee,” Wu told reporters after a meeting of the AIBA’s executive committee in Beijing.
“Boxing is the only sport in the Olympic programme without women and we believe we are ready,” he added.
The AIBA was expecting a decision by December, said Joyce Bowen, who chairs the ruling body’s women’s commission.
Interesting side note, via the Reuters blog - women’s boxing featured in the 1904 Olympics.
Also check out this interesting history of women’s boxing. If this account is believed, it would be particularly apt for women’s boxing to make it into the 2012 London Olympics - almost three centuries after the first staged fights took place in this very city.
Photo from Women’s Boxing Archive Network
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tom hulley said:
Of course women are just as entitled to box and engage in all activities as men are. Discrimination has no place in our lives.
My dilemma is that I would like to see boxing disappear as it also has no place in civilised life.
Often the achievement of women is celebrated in terms of reaching the higher ranks of armed forces or business or whatever.
My disappointment is that women could offer something better. For instance, patriarchy is competitive and destructive and women may be more likely to bring values of cooperation and renewal into play.
I do not need to like a particular person's preferences to celebrate her achievement. Margaret Thatcher was a feminist icon despite her own denials and many criticisms from women.
If we can have bad male leaders then we can have bad female ones! I dislike Hilary Clinton's politics as she supported an illegal war. Despite this it would have been a significant step forward had she become president.
I am not expecting women to put the world to rights after men (mostly) have messed it up but it is more exciting to find women challenging and changing the way things are than following in men's footsteps.
Posted on 27 August 2008 at 10:30 AM
George said:
@ tom hulley
A few things.
Firstly, I strongly disagree with your assumption that all women somehow share values that are somehow 'co-operative', as opposed to the destructive nature of male society. Not only is this *not* the case in my experience (ever tried spending 5 years at a girls' school?), but moreover it is used to pigeonhole women as somehow 'soft', 'uncompetitive', unable to achieve in business or science or debate.
Secondly, I cannot see Thatcher as a feminist icon. A woman who has achieved success is not necessarily a feminist. Women are not bestowed with some holy power of female benevolence that can be unleashed to solve the world's problems. However, feminists of many genders, sexes, identities, whatever, can at least try to achieve equality and awareness.
I mean, I agree that feminists (not "women") should not repeat the many mistakes of the patriarchy in their attempt to achieve equality, but this is achieved through the process of feminism itself (I hope) rather than some dodgy idea of the wimmin rising up and changing the whole capitalist shebang into a massive knitting circle.
I am sorry for going off-topic here, but this type of reasoning really winds me up!
To return to boxing - I think the argument over whether it is a ethically (aesthetically, even?) acceptable sport is quite seperate from whether women boxers should receive recognition for achievement in that field - especially when the only argument that links them seems to be "but the women are soft and nice and don't/shouldn't like punching things".
Posted on 28 August 2008 at 1:20 PM
Whitney said:
Boxing is sick, glorified violence. Neither man nor woman should take part in it.
Posted on 29 October 2008 at 3:08 AM
hervi estrada said:
i am a pro.matchmaker for pro. fighters males and females, i get alot of calls from ladies and gentlemen that love to see girls fights, according to them some of the female fights are more exciting and more fun then guys. and i pretty much agreed with them. thanks for the opportunity.
Posted on 02 December 2008 at 5:20 AM