Women in sports: In childhood, there is very little difference between boys and girls as regards capacity for physical activity. Development in girls is little more than that in boys up to puberty. From late adolescence onwards boys rapidly outstrip the girls in physical development. Boys are capable of more prolonged and strenuous activity. In the past, female participation in sports and physical recreation was discouraged mainly for aesthetic and cultural reasons. Women, therefore, by virtue of their sex, are at a disadvantage in sports.
