General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: ‘Men’s rights’ group claims free self-defense classes for women are sexist [View all]Threedifferentones
(1,070 posts)Although there are many exceptions to this rule, in general boys and young men get much more cultural encouragement to spar or "roughhouse" as they grow. This practice serves to magnify the advantage their (on average) greater size and lower body fat gives them when it comes to physical confrontations. Compared to your average woman, your average man is much better trained in boxing and wrestling.
As a result a woman's abilities will not progress very far or fast if she is only practicing them against other women. In the horrific event that she must actually use these self defense techniques, it is almost certainly going to be against an aggressive man, and so if she wants them to be of any use she must practice them against male opponents.
If these classes are more about fitness, self-esteem and socializing then it all makes sense, but then they should be called judo or kick boxing or something other than self defense, since that name implies an entirely practical focus.