Gender segregation in sports has been “a thing” since most of us can remember, even as far back as elementary school. Only in the last 15 years or so have organizations been more intent on having co-ed teams so as to avoid the issue of supposed gender stereotyping and conflicts and complicated feelings that seemingly arise when boys and girls defeat one another in competition.
While not a solid trend across the board yet, it’s becoming more the norm to see co-ed teams in traditional sports. There seems to be a corner of the field this ball hasn’t landed in yet:
International eSports.
South Korea typically splits genders up and allows women to participate in all games, but this year’s tournament only sees two games open for female participation. This is apparently to “avoid possible conflicts, among other things”.
This seems like it’d be a sore subject for Western gamers (what with our laser focus on gender equality and such), yet there doesn’t seem to be much outcry over in South Korea.
