a variant of baseball played with a larger, softer ball
compound of soft + ball, describing the ball's relative softness
Softball is baseball's gentle cousin - the ball is literally softer!
Softball was gendered female in early 20th-century America as a 'safer' alternative to baseball, encoded as women's sport. Men's participation was historically discouraged; the sport carries lingering assumptions about femininity.
Use 'softball' neutrally for the sport itself; note that excellence in softball is gender-inclusive. Avoid phrases like 'throwing like a girl' or 'that's so softball' (implying weakness).
["the sport of softball","softball players","softball league"]
Women athletes built softball into an Olympic sport through decades of advocacy. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943–1954) demonstrated women's competitive excellence long before Title IX.
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