Can women fight?

[ps1]

I disagree with those who are saying the article should be titled "should women fight men?" That isn't the point of the comparisons being made. I think the author makes those distinctions in order to relate the subject matter to something more tangible.

I think the point of all his references is for us to determine what, if any, measures should be taken (beyond those in place for males) to ensure the safety of women fighters.

To that I would say none! Women fighters are weaker. Therefore they aren't taking the same stress on the bodies (during a fight/when getting hit) as a male fighter. The abuse their bodies take is in direct proportion to the size, strength, and physiological differences that exist. So the rules in the ring shouldn't change at all.

It's the rules out of the ring that need to be addressed. Certainly, no one who is pregnant should be allowed to train with any contact. Further, the use of testosterone, HGH, steroids and other performance enhancing drugs should be strictly prohibited and enforced. It doesn't seem to be enforced strongly with men (or maybe we just don't hear of it because the rules are already very strict...I don't know).

But should they be allowed to fight...yes.

That said, you'll never see it being as popular among the general public as male fighters.

[lit-arate]

Biological entrenchment of sex/gender difference has its roots in modern science--by which I mean the science of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. A cultural discourse of male superiority in some sense predetermines that science will prove male superiority, meaning that if people think the male body is superior, they will find evidence for male superiority. What if one turned this whole article upside-down, based on the second to last paragraph:

It would be unfair to suggest sexual dimorphism exclusively disadvantages female fighters. Women have greater flexibility and a wider pelvis -- particularly advantageous in MMA. Female skin heals more rapidly and women recover more quickly from exertion and injury. Women have superior immune systems, protecting them from infection. Fascinatingly, women also have a greater density of neurons in many parts of their brain. This may give female fighters a precious advantage in enduring repeated brain injury.

One might get arguments about how men should not fight because they are less flexible, take longer to heal, get infected, and suffer brain trauma more readily. Those sound like rather convincing arguments, to me.

More importantly, however (at least, as I see it), making general statements about a sex's ability to fight is an act of scientific reductionism. One will probably never read an article entitled, "Should skinny people fight?", or, "Should small people fight?"--but it would be more apt. I, myself, am male, 6'6" and 185ish pounds (aka. more stick than muscle), have rather thin skin that takes a relatively long time to heal, and knees that never quite recovered from injury and growth spurts. I would sooner argue that I shouldn't fight, rather than a woman in peak condition.

I would suggest, ultimately, that this reticence to allow women to fight each other, or men, stems from a cultural insecurity signaled in this article by the dismissively short paragraph about pregnancy. The author sees it as self-evident that, because women can have babies, their status as fighters is in a state of perpetual question. Most men and women don't like the idea of women fighting, not because of biological or universal truth, but because we don't like the idea of someone punching our mothers.

[shinka]

Well I think that we all can decide for ourselves...

Most of female mma fighters know what they're doing...

male vs female ...not sure.. Unless special fight and very good female fighter with same weight etc...

Like Gina Carano could take on many guys lol....

Anyway, it's a complicated subject

[barrypardue]

Yes they can my friend!!! Don't let those Bambi eyes fool you they are very worthy of any mans respect when it comes to fighting!

[nookslist]

What meaningless question is this? Of course women can fight. If you visit a MMA or karate training school then there you can see the many fighter womens. The each and every action which a man can perform, women can also perform. Even some womens are good fighter than the men.

[lowereastside]

Yes - women can fight - some better than men.

[JGarner890]

Women can fight. You have Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Gina Carano, and thousands of others who are trained to fight.

Women fighting men in competition MMA? No, never going to happen. Women sparring men in training for MMA? Yes, happens everyday in the MMA world. I did it when I was training and made it happen when I was coaching. It's good training for the women as well as the men.

[bushido_man96]

I believe Kathy Long always sparred with men when she was training. It apparently helped her career.

[sensei8]

I believe Kathy Long always sparred with men when she was training. It apparently helped her career.

I know this to be true because I've been her sparring partner before in Bakersfield, CA, when she was traiing with Eric Nolan. She has no fear, and she's a sweetheart!!

[JusticeZero]

right, cross-gender combat defies the ceteris paribus assumption at the heart of the competitive arena. Better or worse, inequalities are introduced.