Sexism in Sports In 1972 a policy known as Title IX was written and mandated into Federal policy. Title IX states “no person.....shall, on the basis of sex….be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” (Glenn Sacks, “Title IX Lawsuits are Endangering Men’s College Sports,” p. 3). Many high schools and colleges have not been able to comply with the Title IX standards mostly because of money. After more than 30 years since the beginning of Title IX, there is still no gender equality among men and women in sports. Passed in 1972 by United States President Richard Nixon, Title IX was supposed to open the door for women, but feminists have interpretated Title IX in a way to help strengthen women’s athletics (Sacks 1). During the Carter and Clinton administrations Title IX was converted into a weapon to enforce gender quotas, therefore abolishing as many men’s college athletic teams as possible (Phyllis Schlafly, “Supreme Court wrestles with Title IX,” p. 2). Over the years the words of Title IX author, former U.S. Republican Edith Green, must have been forgotten when he stated that the law is “exceedingly explicit so that the establishment of quotas would be prohibited (Schlafly 2)”. It has become obvious that quotas are the standard in 2005. Scholarships, spending and funding must somehow equal the ratio of 57% women - 43% men enrolled in college. Schools have been offered two options to meet Title IX – create new women’s teams or cut men’s teams (Sacks 2). Has the question really been answered yet? Has Title IX changed anything? YES. Between 1972 and 1997, 3.6 male athletes were dropped from their programs. During the same period, female athletes increased by 5,800 while 20,000 male athletes were cut (Sacks 2). Women’s basketball programs are now allotted 15 scholarships, men’s 13.5; women tennis is allotted 8 scholarships, men’s 4.5. By April of 2002, over 350 NCAA men’s programs had been terminated since 1991, over 100 wrestling programs had been eliminated overall, and only 26 colleges still had male gymnastic programs (J.P. Hoornstra, “Title IX sends teams to grave,” p. 2). It seems to me that Title IX was created with all the good intentions, but it seems that nobody really ever thought it through. On the flip side, coaches for an average college women’s team earns, on av... ... middle of paper ... ...ution is time. Society is still grounded in the old ideals of early Americans. Sexism is a problem that can distort a person’s thought process, young and old. This perception denies the skill, sacrifice, and passion of an athlete based on gender. True today, the female athlete is as celebrated as the male athlete is. And true, female athletes are becoming extremely competitive, but still there is a belief of “separate and unequal” in the realm of women’s sport. Reference List Egendorf, Laura K. (1999). Sports and Athletes: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Geadelmann, Patricia L. (1977). Equality in Sport for Women. Washington: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. Jacob, Michael Paul. (1993). College women athletes' knowledge and perceptions of Title IX. Iowa: Iowa State University Press. Messner, Michael A., McKay, Jim & Sabo, D. (2000) Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport. California: Sage Publications. www.movies.yahoo.com www.nba.com Prince-Blythewood, Gina (Director/Writer) & Kitt, S. & Lee, S. (Producers). (2000). Love & Basketball. [Motion Picture]. United States: New Line Cinema. www.wnba.com
Title IX is a law that was made by the NCAA in 1972, that states that there can be no discrimination or exclusion of a gender through athletics or education. (Mankiller). Which means that men's sports cannot be favored over women's sports. Many people are very cognizant of this law. For example, if a school has $100,000, the school must spend the money equally between the athletics of each gender, even if there are more men's sports teams. They must get the same treatment. That may sound great, but Title IX has impacted men's athletics significantly. Although Title IX has been a valuable way to establish gender equality, the NCAA loses money, puts men out of scholarships, abolishes smaller men’s sports teams, and it should be
Title IX was the stepping-stone for mergers and sports, but immediately after the merging took place, women were fully discriminated against. When men and women's sports combined, it opened new administrative positions for women, but what these women found were that they were constantly being pushed down to the bottom of the pile, to the least authoritative positions. Men were the head coaches, and the head of the physical education departments Men organized the teams schedule for the season and organized practice hours. Also, "male sexist attitudes ensured that male rather than female athletic directors and heads of physical education departments were almost automatically appointed to direct merged departments" (Hult p.96) This male over female preference continued right up to today. As of 1992 there are more men in administrative sports positions than women.
While no one can dispute the positive effects of the Title IX, there are those dissenting voices who still to this day feel that is unfair that the major revenue generating sports such as Men’s Football and Basketball pay the way for the non revenue sports such as the Women’s Athletics programs. The same could be said though for such non revenue men’s sports as well. Sports such as men’s golf, lacrosse, soccer, etc.
Since the 1972 conception of Title IX of the Education Amendments, the number of women participating in intercollegiate athletics has increased five-fold, from fewer than 30,000, to more 150,000 in 2001. However, more than 400 men’s athletics teams have been dismantled since Title IX, the law forbidding sex discrimination at institutions receiving federal funds, became law. Some would say this is due, in part, to Title IX enforcement standards like proportionality. Proportionality requires that an institution’s athletic population must be of an equal ratio to its general student body. Among some of the 400-plus teams dismantled by Title IX are several former Colorado State University teams including wrestling, baseball, gymnastics, men’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. CSU student athletes no longer sport the opportunity of participating in these activities at the NCAA Division I level, and the days of the student body rooting for their ram teams are gone, possibly forever. Now the search is on to find a solution to the problems associated with Title IX if, indeed, a solution is ultimately necessary.
From when a baby is born they are either identified or told to be “feminine” or “masculine”. For many decades, females have been associated with raising children, wearing frilly dresses, responsible for all the house work, to keep passive, pure and to maintain themselves physically. Due the traits put on to not only girls but also boys it leads to their definition of what femininity should be or, in other words the “weaker sex”. These expectation put on by society onto the boys and girls of femininity often results in women being discouraged from doing activities such as sweating, being aggressive and, competing in sports and physical activities. It also results in boys thinking that it is okay to suppress women and make comments such as “She throws like a girl” or “This isn’t the kitchen”. The main reason for this is because society puts the expectation on women to be “ladylike,” and not to demonstrate any characteristics defined as being masculine. Even though these social norms are still evident today, there are legislations that I could say “try” to promote gender equity in sports, such as the Title IX which is “a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex ”. Even though the U.S have implemented the Title IX, it still does not create equal opportunities or protections under it for women. For example the Office of Civil Rights had a report saying that “it received more than 1,250 complaints over a four-year period from 2009 to 2012. The number of sexual violence complaints increased from 786 during the three-year period ending in 2011 to 854 in 2013-2014 ”. How can there be equity in sports when the laws implemented aren’t doing enough?
1. It states 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 educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX applies to all educational institutions, both public and private, that receive federal funds. Almost all private colleges and universities must abide by Title IX. Athletics are not the specific target for Title IX; Athletics programs are considered educational programs and activities. There are three basic parts of Title IX as it applies to athletics: 1.) Participation: does not require institutions to offer identical sports but an equal opportunity to play; 2.) Scholarships 3.) Other benefits: Title IX requires the equal treatment of female and male student-athletes such as: equip, games, tutoring.
Twenty-five years have passed, but the celebration is no victory party. For all the progress women have made, they are still far behind the men on the playing field. A vast number of colleges and universities are still not in compliance with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at any educational institution that receives Federal funds. Title IX applies to all educational programs, although it has become the standard-bearer for women's athletics.
Gender inequality affected sporting activities among high school and colleges in America in the 1970s, to an extent that the female gender were marginalized and could not freely participate in games like athletics, basketball and hockey (Houser, 2013). There even existed one sporting body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which over saw the sporting activities at this level. This body was reported to be in opposition of the female gender sporting activities. It was not until the year 1972, when the popular title IX, was passed into law. This title read 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.” The core theme of title IX was to eliminate discrimination in the sporting sector and to promote the status of the female gender in the same field. This title is contained in the Education Amendment Act of the year 1972, and it was meant to fill the gaps present in the title VII, which was included in the Civil Rights applied into law in the year1964 (ibid). It after the emergence of this title that brought the motivation towards the implementation of equality in the sporting sector, an idea that was pushed for by the popular Lonnie Leotus “Lee” Morrison. This essay accounts for the efforts made by Morrison in effort towards achieving gender equality in sports at high school and college level.
Great inequalities in the educational system between the sexes have occurred for many years and still occur today. Efforts have been made to rectify this disparity, but the one that has made the most difference is Title IX. Passed in 1972, Title IX attempted to correct the gender discrimination in educational systems receiving public funding. The greatest correction it made was in the area of athletics, but social justice of Title IX applies to many other areas as well. Title IX has an effect on women who are not athletes in many ways, including quality of education, receptivity to education, empowerment and creation of ideals.
Title IX was a social justice landmark for women in the United States. Women who directly benefited from Title IX were athletes, as it gave them opportunities to participate in sports in schools, receive the same amount of funding as the male sports programs, and for the first time gave women the opportunities to earn scholarships for sports. Indirectly, Title IX had an impact on all women in the United States, because it entitled them equal opportunity to education and created a provision against sexual discrimination. Title IX changed the expectations of women by giving them the opportunity to choose and compete, athletically, scholastically, professionally, politically, economically and socially.
Thirty-one years ago, with the rise in revenue and attendance at collegiate sports, the federal government implemented a Title IX program that would established opportunities for men and women in colleges for their programs and academics. A major emphasis on the program has gone to schools athletic programs, to share the funds and sporting teams equally. There is a debate over whether the teams are really split fairly or are some of the more successful male teams get prominence over women's teams.
Title IX governs the overall equity of treatment and opportunity in athletics while giving schools the flexibility to choose sports based on student body interest, geographic influence, budget restraints, and gender ratio. In other words, it is not a matter of women being able to participate in wrestling or that exactly the same amount of money spent per women's and men's basketball player. Instead, the focus is on the necessity for women to have equal opportunities as men on a whole, not on an individual basis.
Claussen, Cathryn L. "Female sport participation in America: the effectiveness of Title IX after 35 years." The International Sports Law Journal 3-4 (July-Oct 2007)
Title IX was put in place to help women. This act was supposed to stop situations such as unfair media attention, but has it helped? According to the article Media Coverage of Women's Sport: A New Look at an Old Problem, “There is evidence that these injustices are not diminishing over time, as Duncan and Messner (2000), in their longitudinal analysis, found the amount and type of coverage of women's sport in broadcast media has not changed since 1989” (Cunningham 44). The problem of inequality within media has been a problem for years and there haven’t been improvements. It has been said over the years that the amount of media coverage may vary depending on what female sport it is. Cunningham says, “Several authors have found that women participating in "sex appropriate" sports (e.g., gymnastics, figure skating) receive better coverage, in terms of length and number features, than do female athletes in "sex-inappropriate" sports (e.g., body building, wrestling)” (Cunningham 44). This statement isn’t fair, because there shouldn’t be two different categories for women’s sports. All sports are appropriate or they wouldn’t be allowed. Those so called “sex-appropriate” sports still aren’t gaining the amount of coverage that male sports are gaining. Therefore the excuse of inequality within female sports, because of the sport being “sex-inappropriate” isn’t a good argument. There are arguments as to why women don’t get as much coverage. According to the article Visual and Verbal Gender Cues in the Televised Coverage Of the 2010 Winter Olympics, “The production techniques used for men’s sports far outweighs those for women’s sports in several key areas, including editing, camera use and type of shot. Specifically, men’s sports were e...
Over the past decade or so, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of women dominating in their respective sports. As well as, seeing women dominate in their professional sports, we’ve seen women become more prominent in broadcasting, and reporting on sports as well. An occupation that once was male dominated, is not so much anymore. These strong female figures, such as Ronda Rousey, Venus and Serena Williams, Maya Moore and Erin Andrews are making waves and names for themselves in sports history with their notable athleticism, feministic views, and sports knowledge. These great women are making a statement that sports are not just for men, but also for both men and women, and sports previously where only men participated are starting to see women enter that field. Even in a male