Forty Years of Title IX
Posted: June 23, 2012 Filed under: Women's Rights | Tags: girls and women in sports, title IX 2 Comments
Today marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon signing Title Nine into law.
The goal of the legislation was to ensure the same opportunities for women as men in high school and college.
Title IX is a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, Public Law No. 92-318, 86 Stat. 235 (June 23, 1972), codified at 20 U.S.C. sections 1681 through 1688, U.S. legislation also identified by the name of its principal author as the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. It states (in part) that
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…
And Cheryl Cooky says Posten and all women shouldn’t be satisfied with the current state of equality both on and off the field.
“I don’t want to say that Title IX has failed, but that there is more change that has to take place,” said Cooky.
Cooky is a professor of health and Kinesiology and women’s studies at Purdue.
According to a report by the National Federation of State High School Associations, the ratio of girls playing sports compared to boys 40 years ago was about one to four.
In the 2010-2011 school year, the gap narrowed, but the difference remained sizeable. About 3.1-million girls competed in sports, compared to nearly 4.5-million boys.
Cooky says title nine has been instrumental is bridging the equality gap between men and women, especially in terms of participation. But says barriers still remain.
“Even though there have been a lot of shifts in the culture with the respect to the expectations for girls and women, there is still the persisting stereotypes around what girls and women should be doing or are interested in doing,” she said.
“Often times that gets used as a justification for not providing opportunities for girls. ‘Well girls just aren’t as interested in sports as boys, so let’s devote the minimal resources that we do have to the kids who are really interested which are boys.’ ”
She says media coverage of women also needs to change, pointing out male athletes often are covered for their on-court performances, but attention for female athletes is usually focused first on appearance, then skill.
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
NPR’s ATC had a great story yesterday on Title IX. Here’s an excerpt:
“In 1976, four years after Title IX became law, Ginny Gilder and her rowing teammates at Yale University were getting sick. There were no shower facilities available right after practice, and they’d have to get on a bus, cold and wet.
The men had showers. So Gilder and her teammates staged a naked protest in a school administrator’s office. “We all turned around, took off our clothes and stood there naked, with ‘Title IX’ on our backs,” Gilder remembers.
Team Captain Chris Ernst read a statement, as recounted in the documentary film A Hero for Daisy: “These are the bodies Yale is exploiting. On a day like today, the ice freezes on this skin.”
The words and protest were persuasive. The women got their showers, and schools that ignored Title IX got a reminder: don’t. And Gilder got something personal.”
You can find the full story here: http://www.npr.org/2012/06/22/155529815/40-years-on-title-ix-still-shapes-female-athletes There is both a transcript & the audio, in case anyone missed it.
I remember the dark ages before Title IX — cheer leaders — that’s about it. PE playing half court and stupid rules.
This is another pro women, pro women’s health (athletics and exercise — good for the body and soul) — that the right wing nutjobs are trying to cancel. Reason — claims that the boyz might be somehow injured if women’s sports are supported.