Physical education (PE) in the UK remains one of the few subject
areas in which gender distinctions are officially maintained
through a gender-differentiated curriculum from secondary school
onwards. At this point, boys and girls are offered different
sets of activities in their PE lessons and these distinctions
are also reflected in the extracurricular activities on offer to
boys and girls at many schools. Physical education therefore
offers an interesting prism through which to look at the
relationship between gender and schooling. Justifications for
these gender differences in activities are rooted in arguments
around boys’ and girls’ physical capabilities as well as the
perceived appeal of various activities to boys and girls. Three
different approaches to gender in physical education are
outlined below. First, proponents of such distinctions may argue
that boys and girls have different physical capabilities, thus
drawing on biological explanations centred on physical
development, puberty and physical abi