GENDER IN POOL ... Do Men Play Better Than Women? ... Recent Legal Trial

sjm said:
I have discussed shot conceptualization with many of the women who are in the BCA Hall of Fame, Allison Fisher included, and some of the top women players of all time are counted among my closest friends. I have played hours and hours of pool with many of them, Allison Fisher included, and I have socialized with many of them on a regular basis. I am not speculating. I have also attended about 100 WPBA events in my life.

Still, competence is relevant if you mean competence in the ability to determine the percentages and, thereby, design the right shot for the right occasion. Yes, it can be argued that this might be deemed a competence gap.

Cueing competence, however, is not relevant here. If a man and a woman are equally competent in shot execution, the man, with very rare exception, will be the better player because of his edge in decision making and shot design. I am hard pressed to think of even three exceptions I have ever seen at a pro level of play.
Click to expand...
Stu,

As always I have really enjoyed your contributions to this thread. I would like to add something that hasn't been touched on I don't think, but I do think it rests at the heart of this issue.

Maybe someone in the academic field will have an easier time confirming this information (I am looking at you Doctor Dave). I believe adult men have somewhere between 12 and 17 times the amount of testosterone in their body when compared to adult women. As boys age they experience periods of large doses or exposure to large amounts of testosterone. I think there is a period between 3 and 6, and then again when boys are adolescents. If we were talk about the relative difference of any substance at 12 to 17 times, I think most people would accept that this is a significant difference. In addition to this, what is the effect of this difference OVER TIME?

For me, it seems reasonable to think an increased exposure to testosterone over time is different than the supplementing of testosterone or estrogen when a person decides they are trans or whatever the right term is. Sure a trans woman or man begins to receive the biological benefits and costs of their changed hormones, but it starts when they start changing their gender.

A lifetime of alcohol abuse ruins a liver. A night of alcohol abuse cause a headache. I realize hormones are not alcohol, but I find it hard to believe there are no effects of testosterone or estrogen that are a function of time. Additionally, in talking about the differences of men and women players who are not trans, I don't think it's an unreasonable argument to suggest that testosterone does not only influence strength. It helps to regulate emotion, increase aggression, and tolerate risk taking. All of this, it would seem to me, would influence decision making.

I find it frustrating that much of the modern discussion related to men and women does not really (in my view) talk about the relative difference of testosterone. I think some people. like to pretend that this is not significant, when it clearly is. Suppose I suggested to everyone that there was no difference in their coffee or its effect on their body, now or over time, if we increased the sweetener in their coffee by 12 times. Everyone would be aghast at the horror and amused at the ridiculousness of my suggestion.

kollegedave
 
Last edited:
kollegedave said:
I don't think it's an unreasonable argument to suggest that testosterone does not only influence strength. It helps to regulate emotion, increase aggression, and tolerate risk taking. All of this, it would seem to me, would influence decision making.

kollegedave
Click to expand...

I read the this total post a few times I’m not sure if I totally understand your point. Some clarity on these two sentences might help me… I’m not sure if you meant to just say testosterone and exclude estrogen when I think estrogen plays an equal roll in everything you stated in these two statements in regards to strength, emotions, aggression, risk taking, and decision making… at least in the influence they both have.

Dr. NOT 🤣
 
Could it be when you are playing for money, not just gambling but as a income source, the pool player, regardless of gender, decides to compete in venues where they have the greatest chance of winning or finishing in the money?

Since there are so many more male pool players than female competitors, a woman could decide her chances of winning or finishing in the money are simply less likely in a field dominated by the sheer number of male entrants.

As already pointed out, look at the ratio of male vs. female players that have Fargo ratings which clearly indicates the
disparity in the much larger number of men playing pool than women players. The truth is the history of pool is built
around sexism. It started out as a male domain and largely remained that way until after WWII when society changed.

Pool tournaments should be based on skill levels, not gender based. If a woman wants to compete against men, that
is perfectly fine with me. However, it does seem a bit one sided though. A man would likely get criticized if they wanted
to play in a tournament field of women players. For some reason, they’d be criticized for having too big an advantage.

Just change the rules so anyone can enter a tournament if they have a Fargo rating justifying their entry…pretty simple.
 
skiergd011013 said:
The very top women players in the world wouldnt even make the top 100 in the mens field. The only outlier is siming chen, and she would rank about 86th in the mens field, According to fargo. If women didnt have their own events, there is a good chance we would never have even heard about many of the big names, like karen corr, kelly fisher etc. What a farce this insanity is.
Click to expand...

Lol, Siming Chen was actually my 1st thought as you were saying that. She is freaking awesome. She beat a well known top Florida Pro, on a few occasians, I think. In gambling matches. I really love her game. Have not seen her around in a long time though.

And, speaking of Karen Corr, she has done very well in that big annual open 9 ball event, on the Joss North East 9 ball tour. I think she beat Strickland in one of those. She is another really great player.

Allison Fisher was a monster player too, back in her prime.

That girl from the Philippines plays super strong too, and I think she has the style of a man. Very strong player. Can't remember her name. Plays very fast. Love her game.
 
Jimmy_Betmore said:
Side note, I think it's worth the time to think about and ask the question why we haven't seen or heard of anyone having a problem with a transgender male competing in male sports.
Click to expand...
This is a very telling statement. Transgender male would probably go 2 and out.
Jimmy_Betmore said:
Badpenguin said:
I don't believe it is strength that makes the most significant differences.
View attachment 822706
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I agree with c. above. On the strength theory, how would a woman fare playing golf from the men's tees ?

There is something to be said for males to be able, normally, to be exposed to pool at an earlier age., Hence, maybe Karen Corr's advantage
over most female players, as I believe she started playing snooker tagging along with her father at an early age.

But, I will always admire Allison, Karen and Siming Chens' abilities on the pool table. Plus, many more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top