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Can an average man outperform a female athlete? It depends on who you ask.
Brandon William is a fitness content creator with over 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube. In between videos of William testing sports products and training like celebrity athletes to see if their program holds weight, the fitness influencer has another series gaining traction across his socials.
Each video features a different sport and is also titled, “Can an average man outperform a female athlete?” The concept is exploding on TikTok as just a single post has over 15 million views.
William brings in a slew of professional female athletes across multiple sports, like basketball players, powerlifters and runners, where men all have the same answer — a confident yes.
In one TikTok, the muscle maven asked four beefcakes if they thought they could beat a professional female sprinter in a race — where the winner had the chance to score $100. One man went so far as to say that despite having never done track — “100%, I could do that drunk.”
Another burly boy thought if he just pushed off quickly enough at the start, it would be a “winnable battle.”
So, Williams set up the race at a track where he gathered four boastful boys who all lost in a humbling fashion, where they were forced to admit defeat.
But how did this start in the first place? Why do some men think they can truly win against a professional athlete — even if it’s a woman?
The Post spoke with Stephanie High, a Ph.D. Candidate in psychology with a Master’s in Performance Psychology — focusing on sports, business and the performing arts. The 40-year-old doctoral student told The Post that many of the men look fit and regularly exercise — assuming it translates.
“Looking strong in the gym and being trained for a specific sport are two completely different things,” High told The Post. “A powerlifter, a sprinter, or a basketball player has spent years building skills, technique, and instincts that you simply can’t see from the outside.”
Another factor — sight. The Washington-based practitioner noted that most people have never seen a professional athlete — let alone witnessed their intense training. Add gender to the mix, and it’s likely to hit their ego.
When those men heard Williams ask, “Do you think you could beat a pro female sprinter in a race?” they may not have heard anything after female.
“Many men have been socialized to believe they’ll naturally outperform women; they’re surrounded by people who believe the same thing, and it never gets tested,” High told The Post.
But it may not be just a problem for men. High sees this trend a lot in psychology — people confidently assuming they can do something when they have no knowledge.
In fact, the less someone knows about a skill, the more likely they are to overestimate their own ability. The Washington psychology expert calls it “confidence without knowledge.”
Dr. Azita Sayan — a licensed therapist for 40 years — sees it a bit differently.
The doctor told The Post that despite real, biological differences between men and women, those physical characteristics do not turn untrained men into professional athletes.
“What we’re witnessing is a collision between male identity and reality. For some men, admitting that a woman is stronger, faster, or more skilled feels like surrendering something about their masculinity,” Dr. Sayan told The Post. “They aren’t simply evaluating their athletic ability. They’re protecting an image of themselves.”
The therapist also said ego and ignorance are important factors as each may give men “the luxury of believing you can do anything.”
Dr. Sayan suggests a test to the overconfident men.
“Here’s my challenge to these gentlemen: Put down the phone, get off the couch, and compete. Reality is an extraordinary teacher. And it doesn’t care about your ego.”
