Sunday, September 09, 2007

Why Girls Don't Play Chess


Sixteen-year-old Emma Pierson has written a surprisingly mature and well-polished three-part reflection titled "Why I Play Chess" (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three) at the Chess Tales blog, which includes the following reflection on why more girls don't stick with the game:

The social stigma surrounding chess hits women particularly hard. Only four percent of chess players are female; when I asked girls who still play chess the reason for this lack of participation, all of them cited the social stigma surrounding chess. Girls are more confined by stereotypes than boys, something I still struggle with....


Hat tip: BCC Weblog.

3 comments:

Blue Devil Knight said...

I wonder if it's true that girls are more confined by stereotypes than boys. The stereotypes are certainly different, but probably just as silly and powerful for boys.

Overall, simply excellent articles.

Roger Coathup said...

Hi Michael,

thanks for picking up on our coverage on Chess Tales.

We've just published a podcasted interview with author Paul Hoffman about his new book (King's Gambit) that also covers the theme of stereotypes in chess (and much, much more).

Keep up the great blogging,
Roger

Anonymous said...

Hi! I read your post from a link on chess tales. I just thought that maybe I can give my opinion on this matter.


You know, I'm a girl and I play chess too. Some of my friends (girls) hates chess basically because they are not confident that they can play well. One of the reasons may be that girls are more likely to be intimidated by their opponents. Boys on the other hand would love to give it a try, for some sort of pride.

What do you think?