sevenSteen said:
For males, the locker room is a place to let loose and really, anything goes. If a girl doesn't mind being in that environment, then all the power to her. But that girl would likely be jumping to press charges when a stupid teammate does something that would normally be acceptable in the locker room, had the girl not been there.
I think that's a misconception that a lot of people have about women. We're not these delicate flowers that haven't ever heard a sex joke or something like that. Most of us (or at least all the ones I have known to play hockey) can handle a little sexual harassment now and then and will give it back in abundance.
Frankly, I basically don't understand why girls are allowed to play in men's leagues. Call me a sexist but if good female players are allowed to play on a team with men, then why aren't crappy male players allowed to play on women's teams? I understand that some cities don't have sufficient programs/teams for women to participate in and only then can I realize why girls would want to play on a men's team.
One, lack of options. Two, it's a different game. Three, cost.
Right now I play with men becuase it's more competitive and if I get involved in a mens league it's only around $350 (for a skater) as opposed to minimum $750 (that's a price for a goalie, not a skater) in womens leagues for sub-par special olympics hockey. In a nutshell, if I'm playing, I want it competitive-- even if it's above my level.
But a bigger reason I play with men is that I hate the BS that goes on with womens teams. Womens' hockey SUCKS-- at my age, there are very few non-beginner D-level recreation teams, and when you get a player that thinks she's cool because she just figured out how to lift a puck at 27, the ego is unrealistic. It makes it hard to play also when your captains are dating (my HS girls team had that happen, and in college it happened as well) or when you have a meltdown because girls are catty. Even at 45 years old, they're still going at it. I've never experienced that with any of the boys or mens teams I've been on. You go in the locker room, shoot the ****, go out and play, come back to the locker room, shoot more ****, get a few beers, then go on your way.
If a guy really wants to dumb down his game and play womens' hockey, more power to him. It's not the same game as mens' hockey. Granted the goal is the same, but a lot of people enjoy the physical aspect of the mens rules.
If women are allowed into men's locker rooms, then shouldn't men be allowed to change in women's locker rooms?
There aren't a lot of male/female washrooms for a reason.
Some men do. They're called transvestites.