Shelly asked:

What separates mens football from womens football?

Why is football classed as mans game?

and Michelle asked:

Is football unethically masculine?

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What is football? The obvious answer (at least, to me) is Australian Rules, but some misguided
people think that it is Soccer, Rugby Union, Rugby League or even (arghh) Gridiron.

What separates men's football from women's football is who plays it — men, or women, or both. It is
common, for example, for boys and girls to play soccer together before puberty. Football is classified
as a men's game (when it is) for purely historical reasons — historically, only men played it. I have the
caveat because I am told that in the USA, Rugby Union is considered a women's game — an idea
that astounds most Australians because women here are (quite sensibly) far more likely to play
soccer.

For me, only Michelle's question touches on the philosophical. Is it unethical that, historically, women
were excluded from playing certain games — notably football? I'm inclined to give two answers: on
equity grounds, the answer is yes, it is unethical. However, turning to more caring grounds, the
answer is a little less clear. In football, especially the rougher codes, less physically strong people are
likely to get hurt, so there is some justification for excluding women from men's teams. There are two
problems with this, however. Firstly, it does not seem to rule out women only sides, which have been
frowned upon or even banned until recently. More seriously, this argument seems also to rule out less
robust males from playing football — something that has seldom or never been enforced.

Tim Sprod