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women in sports quick summary
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NCAA vs. AIAW
Women have faced an uphill battle throughout the history of sports whether it is to be able to compete in sports, to attain equal funding for programs, to have access to facilities, or a number of other obstacles that have been thrown in their ways. Women have had to organize and administer their own sports structure rather than compete within the men's structure that existed. The sheer strength and determination of many women sports heroes is what propels women's sport to keep going. One theme that has predominantly surfaced in this fight though is the merging of women's programs with men's, oftentimes only when they are successful enough to stand alone on their own.
When female athletes wanted to participate in tournaments and intercollegiate play they had to form their own league, since the NCAA would not accept women's teams. Many women fought long and hard in order to form the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in 1972, and even harder to make it the successful league it eventually became. The AIAW gained corporate sponsors and television coverage of their national championship and also catapulted women's basketball into the forefront of athletics worldwide. In 1976, just four years after the formation of the AIAW, women's basketball debuted at the Olympics. At the end of its reign the AIAW had created 42 national championships and moved from a 276 charter member institution into an organization consisting of 971 institutional members (Hult).
In 1979 Title IX was passed, giving female athletes a huge step towards achieving their goals but possibly giving the AIAW it's defeating blow. With the passage of Title IX came funding for women's sports that was not present prior to this. Suddenly women's athletics were more than just a game, they were profitable sports and men took note of this. Most educational institutions merged their men's and women's physical education and athletic departments. Since this new athletic department had twice the staff that was needed, women athletic director and administrators were sent down to secondary positions. Men were now controlling women's athletics, one domain where women had ruled for the past decade.
Male coaches weren't the only ones to notice the potential profit included in women's athletics; the NCAA began to make serious offers to AIAW about merging. Because the NCAA had not prior to this considered the AIAW an equal until women's athletics had potential for television contracts and national championships, the AIAW refused these offers.
Over two decades have passed since the enactment of Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education, including athletics. As a result of Title IX, women and girls have benefited from more athletic participation opportunities and more equitable facilities. Because of Title IX, more women have received athletic scholarships and thus opportunities for higher education that some may not have been able to afford otherwise. In addition, because of Title IX the salaries of coaches for women's teams have increased. Despite the obstacles women face in athletics, many women have led and are leading the way to gender equity.
Cooper, Helen. "Deeper into the Reeve’s Tale, 1395-1670." Pp. 168-184. In Chaucer Traditions: Studies in Honour of Derek Brewer. Ruth Morse and Barry Windeatt, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990.
Although Title IX states than, "no person in the United States, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to any discrimination..." it does not guarantee that people will carry this out. After the issuing of Title IX, many women in sports wished to step forward and be recognized. Part of the recognition they wanted was to be included in National Sports Associations like the men's National Basketball Association. Eventually their cries were heard, and sports associations like the NBA agreed to merge and include women. Becoming included was an eye opening experience to many of these women and they have faced (and still do) doubts and discrimination from the public, but along the way they have also reaped benefits they would not have if the merger had never taken place.
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.
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a Man can play, with equal skill, if not better.
Throughout the history of female athletics merging with male sports organizations has not always been a pleasant experience. In 1982 the AIAW merged with the NCAA, despite the NCAA fighting tooth and nail to try and find ways out of Title IX, an act of Congress that required Universities to provide equal funding for women's athletics. The NCAA did everything they could to stop the equal funding but finally gave in during the 1990's. Right now the NCAA embraces its women's sports programs and has had many women represented on the executive committee roster and even has a committee on women's athletics. Also, the NCAA has worked out television contracts with ESPN, FOX sports and CBS. This has lead to not only coverage of women's sports but publicity. Women's games are talked about on Sports Center and College Hoops Tonight everyday during the season.
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.
The enactment of this Title has significantly changed the playing field for athletic departments through out the nation by altering their funding systems to comply with its rules. As a result, women have benefited greatly. There have been additions of female sports as well as an increase of the number of scholarships awarded to female athletes, and also a lot more funding to provide more “equitable” facilities for them. According to the NCAA Gender Equity Studies , “from 1992 to 1997 NCAA institutions have increased the number of female athletes by 5,800. But tragically during that time these colleges also eliminated 20,900 male athletes.” (Kocher p.1) This dramatic landslide has occurred because athletic departments are under pressure to rapidly increase the proportion of female athletes by whatever means necessary. As the path toward complete “equality” gradually brightens for women in college athletics, a dark path is now becoming evident. Male athletes, in a sense, are now being discriminated against because of Title IX.
It has taken many years for women to gain a semblance of equality in sports. Throughout history, women have been both excluded from playing sports and discriminated against in sports. Men’s sports have always dominated the college athletic field, but women were finally given a fighting chance after Title IX was passed. Title IX, among other things, requires scholarships to be equally proportioned between men and women’s sports. Although this was a huge gain for women, gender inequality still exists in sports today. An example of this persisting inequality can be seen when looking at men’s baseball and women’s softball. In college, baseball and softball are both major NCAA sports. It is widely accepted throughout today’s society that baseball is a man’s sport, and softball is a woman’s sport. Very few people question why the two sexes are separated into two different sports, or wonder why women play softball instead of baseball. Fewer people know that women have been essentially excluded from playing baseball for a long time. This paper will focus on why softball has not changed the way women’s basketball has, why women continue to play softball, the possibilities and dynamics of women playing baseball with and without men, and the most discriminating aspect of women being banned from playing professional baseball.
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. Troilus and Cressida. New York: Washington Square, 2007. Print.
...es of Disney characters, such as Snow White, Mickey Mouse, and Betty Boop. Anime has evolved so much since the first film made. Anime came to the United states in a very unique way, during a sci-fi convention. Anime has a big influence on today’s society including cosplay, conventions, and collecting merchandise.
For most of human history, athletic competition has been regarded as an exclusively masculine affair. Women weren't aloud to watch most sporting events let alone participate in them. Not till late 19th century did women really begin participating in sporting events. Although women were permitted to participate in many sports, relatively few showed interest, for a variety of social and psychological reasons that are still poorly understood. Title IX declares: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Therefore sex should not deem females athletic ability as inferior in comparison to men. Women are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of playing any sport just as men are.
7- J.M. Lothian and T.W. Craik, "In troduction," The Arden Shakespeare: Twelfth Night , ed. Lothian and Craik (New York: Routledge, 1991) lvi.
...speare Did to Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde." Shakespeare Quarterly 9.3 (1958): 311-319. Web. 12 November 2013.