My school district had segregated gym classes for boys and girls and I’m finding out that was not normal lol

[u/SheZowRaisedByWolves]

This happened at the middle school and high school I went to in TX within the last 10 years. Boys and girls gym were usually at the same time but we were almost never together in the same area (one of two gyms or the outside fields). The only times we were together was when a gym teacher was out sick or to play dodgeball for some reason. This was not a small town.

[u/MonkeyBro5]

They had those in my middle and high schools too.

[u/FakingItSucessfully]

What made you think that wasn't the norm? I've never heard of co-ed gym classes.

[u/throwawaydragon99999 → u/FakingItSucessfully]

I grew up in New York public schools and I only ever had co-ed gym classes. I’ve never heard of gender separated gym classes. Not even from friends who went to Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, or Muslim or other religious schools

[u/FakingItSucessfully → u/throwawaydragon99999]

That's so interesting to me. So far it sounds like Ohio and Texas had segregated classes, NY and California did not... I wonder if it's how conservative vs progressive the area is?

I don't think my public school would have said it was anything to do with religion but looking back it felt a lot like how they viewed children of different genders in a christian church setting. Basically the underlying concept is that kids will get up to naughty shenanigans if you allow them that much opportunity for physical contact.

[u/LSATMaven → u/FakingItSucessfully]

I grew up in Georgia. Always co-ed.

[u/throwawaydragon99999 → u/FakingItSucessfully]

I don’t think it was politically motivated, but I guess I can’t really know for sure.

I grew up in New York City but my cousin in a deep Red county Upstate also had mixed gender gym classes.

Also my friends in private and religious schools had mixed gender gym classes. Catholic schools, a Greek Orthodox school, a Muslim school, a Jewish school

[u/honorspren000 → u/throwawaydragon99999]

Same. In middle school and high school, classes were co-ed, although changing rooms were segregated. I grew up in Maine. I’ve never heard of segregated gym classes. I live in Maryland now and my kid’s gym classes are still co-ed.

[u/SheZowRaisedByWolves → u/FakingItSucessfully]

A sub I was on had a locked thread with a similar question and most of the comments said they had coed gym

Edit: Questions for Americans

[u/FakingItSucessfully → u/SheZowRaisedByWolves]

Maybe it depends where in the country you are. We even had gym classes taking place at the same time in the same area but still segregated groups and activities, with a giant plastic curtain separating them.

[u/SandstoneCastle → u/SheZowRaisedByWolves]

I only remember co-ed PE from elementary through high school. By Jr High students could choose their PE classes (weights, running, physical fitness, etc.)

[u/Omnitographer → u/FakingItSucessfully]

California here, all gym classes were coed, it's not like a girl can't play basketball and run laps nor a boy can't shoot a bow and arrow or whatever.

[u/muy-feliz → u/Omnitographer]

Also grew up in CA. None of my public school PE classes were co-ed. We use to LOVE the middle school square dancing unit so we could hang out with the boys!

We generally rotated sports: field hockey, basketball, swimming, tennis…

[u/DoIKnowYouHuman]

Last time I had mixed PE (physical education) was when I was 11 which is more than 25 years ago now, then we got separated and the girls got to volleyball and netball and trampolines and fun stuff. The boys got stuck with PT and football (soccer) and rugby and basketball and hockey (the field kind not the frozen kind).

Now that I type I realise the summer terms were a bit mixed with field sports like throwing things and running in a circle. No idea if that was normal for every kid near me at the time, definitely no idea what normal for kids now

[u/KTKittentoes]

We did from junior high on.

[u/CapybaraPRMS]

all my gym classes were mixed from kindergarten - 12th grade. Only time they separated us in gym were the locker rooms

[u/FewRecognition1788]

My schools started separating classes in middle school, when we started changing and showering. This was in the 80s, so it might be different now.

[u/holymacaroley]

All gym classes were mixed for me and have been mixed throughout for my teenager as well.

[u/AppendixN]

We had boys PE and girls PE. Never seemed like an unusual thing, I don't remember anyone ever having co-ed gym glass in any town in our state (Iowa).

[u/oxmix74]

By high school age, boys and girls are physically mismatched. There is some overlap, but I would imagine that by age 16, 80% of the boys are significantly bigger and stronger than 80% of the girls. All sorts of sports would be substantially mismatched. So I am not understanding how you would make coed PE work.

[u/francisdavey → u/oxmix74]

Play lots of korfball.

[u/Why_Sazs → u/francisdavey]

Good point. I've had my ass handed to me by girls in korfball more times than I can count.

[u/CindeeSlickbooty]

Really, that's not normal?

[u/edthesmokebeard]

Why is this funny?

[u/Confident_Junket6761]

I jus found out this is weird to. I finished middle school a few years ago, gym class was segragated by gender. I was talking to my mom, apperently it wasnt like that when she went to the same school. I also live in texas

[u/Alarmed_Base8302]

That WAS NORMAL up until the past 15 to 20 years. Really have no idea why'd you would think it wasn't normal.

[u/Party_Air_3211]

In Missouri in the 90s it was segregated classes.

[u/YoursTastesBetter]

Oklahoma public schools in the 80s & 90s checking in. Middle & high school were separated. In elementary school, we were in the same gym at the same time but split up depending on the activity.

[u/mustang6172]

That's pretty normal.

[u/Siukslinis_acc]

Would have been nice. We had one gym and the girls were on the edges, so that boys could play basketball and the boys were still angry at the girls for "hindering their game" as they had to be aware not to hit them with the ball...

[u/Anxious-Mix-4265]

Never in my life heard of segregated gym class.

[u/tbodillia]

We did too. Boys had 1 teacher, girls another. I don't even know if we had PE the same period except the one year.

[u/mess1ah1]

It was the norm.

[u/tacticalcraptical]

That's how it was for me growing up. I'm kinda old but I still was in high school this century.

[u/SakuOtaku]

New Hampshire here, co-ed K-12 gym classes. Never heard of sex segregated gym classes.

[u/bungojot]

Elementary school (grades K-8, ages 5-14) our gym classes were coed.

I remember thinking it was funny that all the grade 9 gym classes were segregated by gender.

Grade 10 i took a specialized gym class and it was coed, grade 12 i took another gym, also coed.

Not sure why they split up the grade 9s in particular. The teachers didn't seem to know either - and we'd occasionally play games with the opposite gender class anyway.

[u/Elevenyearstoomany]

We only had segregated gym classes during the basketball/health/sex ed rotation in the winter. Illinois, mid-late 90’s.

[u/famousanonamos]

The only time we had segregated gym class was my freshman year in high school. It was weird.

[u/soap---poisoning]

It’s not exactly unusual. We had separate gym classes for boys and girls starting in middle school.

[u/Ok_Vermicelli6391]

It was like that for me until Jr high and high school. I didnt like it when it combined either tbh

[u/Global-Nature2420]

I had coed gym classes and it was some of the worst times I ever had in school. I was the quiet girl with huge coke bottle glasses being pitted against boys on the literal basketball team when I didn’t even know the rules to basketball and they were all so mean and overly competitive. Just screaming at me and cussing me out for not playing as well as them. Just an awful time. Would’ve loved not having boys in my gym class.

[u/NightStar79]

My school always had co-ed gym 🤷‍♀️

[u/Smart-Practice8303]

40 years ago that was normal everywhere. Things change, budgets get cut, schools loose teachers, the gym classes combine.