Double Standard, Much?

Who was involved in some type of organized sport growing up? 

I played softball from 1st grade through 6th grade under Devine Little League, which was governed by "Little League." 

Who else played in Little League Softball?

I'm sure that back in the 80s when I played, they determined which Division our teams were in based on our age. Today, the Little League website states that they currently have age charts that determine which Division your child will play in for baseball and softball, which differ.

If I use the photo of me above, and the current Little League Softball rules (I'm sure the rules were always there, but I cannot guarantee a parent with no experience other than watching baseball at home who is now coaching our team would have even known or enforced the rules at the time). But getting back to the point. In this photo, I was 7 years old and in the 2nd grade. If we go by today's age chart, I would be playing in the Minor League Division, which is girls ages 5-11, and depending on the circumstance can go up to 12 years of age.

This basically means a Little League Softball team of girls in the Minor Division may consist of girls ranging from Kindergarten up to 7th grade. This is interesting because the Major Division is ages 9-12. So not only would my little, tiny, 7-year-old self, who was always underweight and scrawny for my age, play with kids up to 12 years old (me in second grade playing with 7th graders), I WAS ALSO PLAYING AGAINST GIRLS WHO WERE YOUNGER THAN ME AND WAYYYY OLDER AND STRONGER THAN ME!

As I mentioned before, there's an age range of girls who are 9, 10, 11, and some who are 12 playing in Minor League. Still, girls of the same age are Major Leaguers. So what determines why a 12-year-old might play with a 5-year-old in the Minor Division?

Is it because their playing ability is not as advanced? Is it because their body composition is nowhere near what other girls their age in the Major Division are? Is it because small towns don't have enough girls to have Major and Minor Divisions, so they put girls who are older, stronger, and better players on a Minor Division team just so the town and school can have a Minor Division team?

Oh, wait…. How about this? "IMPORTANT: A local league must only have ONE Major Division. For instance, if the local league has all 11-12-year-olds in the Majors, and all 9-10s in another division, then the 9-10s MUST be chartered and play a Minor Division."

And do you know what? Nobody ever cared and still probably don't.

I didn't even get into the Junior and Senior Divisions because it's just more of what I've already been discussing.

When I was in Little League, I loved it! My friends loved it! It was our parent's choice and, at some point, our own choice to play on teams and against teams with girls who were younger or older than us, smaller, bigger, weaker or stronger than us, with girls who didn't even know what softball was or who had been playing since they were 3 in their backyards with their older brothers. Nobody cared! We came together and we played. We had fun. We got hit with line drives from girls who literally weighed twice as much as us that knocked us off our feet and on our butts while not dropping the ball (that was me, by the way, in a game against the Blue Jays!).

And ya know what? Nobody forced a little girl off her softball team because she was too strong or a powerhouse. Coaches and parents saw her as an asset to her team and an advantage over the other teams.

So, if there is already such a huge diversity in age, body composition, and physical strength within our current girl teams based on each girl was born female, then why are we treating transgender athletes any differently?

Because if you are using the argument, "they are "bigger" or "stronger," you have no argument.

Little League Softball (2024, June 25). Little League Softball Divisions. Little League. Retrieved March 15, 2025, from https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/softball/divisions/ 

Can you find me? I was one of the smallest on our team, my hat didn't even fit me! This particular year my team consisted of girls that are in my same grade, a grade below, and 3 grades below me.