Male bodies have been the blueprint for sports technology and equipment throughout history, from cleats to sports supplements. Women, on the other hand, often need to use scaled-down versions of the men’s gear instead of equipment designed specifically for their bodies. These inadequate modifications can cause severe injuries when the equipment doesn’t account for the anatomical differences between the male and female body.
According to the National Institute of Health, almost 20% of both collegiate and professional soccer players have experienced at least one anterior cruciate ligament injury. Notably, women soccer players are more likely to suffer from an anterior cruciate ligament tear than men. Doctors and researchers have found that the cleats athletes wear are a main contributor to these injuries due to anatomical differences. To combat this issue, new cleats have been designed with a flexible front stud in the toe area to help reduce a rotational force. Female soccer players, however, preferring the reliability and trustworthiness of well-known brands like Nike, end up not purchasing products with such innovative features.
According to NPR, a British government report released last spring highlighted that the majority of knee injuries in women’s soccer was linked to widespread gender disparities in sports equipment, pointing out the absence of footwear tailored for women. The problem of gender discrimination towards female athletes has large effects on young girls. As more young women suffer from career-ending injuries due to unfit equipment, they are forced to stop playing their sport.
For soccer athlete junior Maya Drews, she suffered major injuries from design flaws in her cleats: a torn medial collateral ligament in both her freshman and sophomore year.
“I fractured a bone in my ankle and tore three ligaments in my ankle because my cleats didn’t let me twist,” Drews said.
The faulty design of the shoe sidelined Drews for a year and a half. Many athletes, like Drews, suffer similar injuries due to the lack of female representation and consideration when designing sports gear. This issue extends beyond just the cleats. Many products aimed at enhancing performance for both men and women are predominantly tested on men.
According to the National Library of Medicine and reported by the Harvard School of Engineering, a study was conducted in 2022 showing that sports supplements were eight times more likely to be tested and studied on male athletes rather than women. This is problematic from a scientific perspective because there is a lack of data collected on women. This gap in data further restricts innovations that could accommodate women’s anatomy.
Girls lacrosse coach Andrea Keinath has noticed the insufficiency of women’s jerseys throughout the years as a player and now a coach. More recently, she has noticed that her daughter is wearing the same uniform that her son wears, made for boys.
“I have a daughter in (a high school) soccer program and a son in that same program,” Keinath said. “They wear the same shorts, and the girls hate them. They are insanely long and have to roll them a ton, but they’re still not comfortable. I also know the sizing is way off because they’re boys’ shorts.”
Uniforms have been a controversial topic throughout history as schools allow boys and girls to wear the same uniform that is specifically tailored toward the male body. When it comes to making uniforms for women, it can be controversial as most are skin-tight, as seen on female athletes during the 2024 Olympics. Many female Olympic athletes have commented on the uniforms, saying they were not made for the best performance and were too revealing.
Previously, the Gunn girls lacrosse team uniforms consisted of skirts that were uncomfortable and not functional. The skirts were revealing and not necessary for optimized performance, especially because the boys’ team wore shorts while playing lacrosse. Recently, the team got new uniforms with shorts, providing players with the option of wearing shorts.
“I noticed the girls pulling at their shorts (under the skirts),” Keinath said. “Hopefully, the new uniforms will be more comfortable considering we got shorts this year.”
