If we were to consider about the young people of, for example, fifty years ago, the statement would be undeniably true. In those days, sports was a predominantly male pursuit. The girl were considered fairer sex and they were more concerned with the looks, in fact, the preference for beautiful clothes.
Nowadays,this statement is no longer true. There are as many games for girls as there are for boys. With the exception of some games like rugby and football, girls participate in almost all that boys play. In athletics we se girls performing just as well as the boys, some even better. They jump,run,throw and generally enjoy the sporting events as much as the boys. In fact, some girls are aggressive and highly competitive. I have seen girls elbowing one another in basketball game, totally unmentionable words when angry and shouting themselves hoarse cheering the participants. So much for the myth of for saying that girls are weaker and not sports-loving. They definitely revel in sport, with some exceptions. Anyway we can say the same for some of the boys too. Not all of them love sports. This is proven because there are more male participate in clothing designs.
This female participation in sport has led to some previously unheard-of phenomena. For example, the female participants in some international sports meets may have to undergo a sex test. Imagine this, a girl has to prove that she is a girl before she can participate. I suppose the controlling sport bodies have no choice but to conduct such test. If we look at some female athletes today we would sympathise with the sport bodies. Some of these "girls" are more like men. It reflects on the extremes some countries go to just to produce medal-winning athletes. It is a kind of madness.
On the subject of clothes and fashion, we find that it is no longer a female domain. Boys love fancy clothes and the latest fashion just as much as girls. Departmental stores have sections devoted specially for the male. We have boys and men who are so label-conscious that they will not touch the "inferior" stuff. They could gladly spend hundreds of dollars for an in-style outfit just to impress their peers. Clothes has become a means to gauge the status and the acceptability of a person. Fade blue jeans are "in" with certain groups while outrageous "new-wave" fashion has gripped others.In the fifties it was the teddy-boys looks. Then the hippies took over. After that, the types of clothes and fashion have proliferated beyond imagination. Now it is impossible for an average person to keep up with every bit of development.
If we ask who the people responsible for such preoccupation with clothes are we can only point our fingers at the fashion designer and trend-setters. And who are these people who can 'sway the rest of the world? They are predominantly male. Designers, pop singers and other trend-setters are mostly male. In fact, the famous Boy George has been voted as one of the best-dressed woman. It goes to show that our values are undergoing drastic changes.
Apart from this increasing female indulgence in sport and male indulgence in clothes, it can be said that there are still some who subscribe to be old belief that boys prefer sport and girls prefer clothes. This belief is slowly being eroded away. The day will come when boys and girls will participate together in all kinds of pursuits without obvious preferences. Unisex saloons, women soccer, male models are modern development all pointing to the changing values of society.
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