Title IX and educational equity

Save Title XI!

When the anti-discriminatory legislative amendment known as Title XI was passed in 1972, many Americas laughed at the idea of women participating in competitive sports at all, much less female sports competing for an equal level of spectator attention and funding at institutions of higher learning. Today, powerful and positive images of female sports stars such as Venus Williams adorn the covers of magazines, and women everywhere run in marathons, take their daughters to soccer leagues or participate in such leagues themselves, and simply enjoy the delights of hard, physical competitive effort. This is the legacy of Title XI, which states: "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." ("Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972," U.S. Department of Labor) Even today Title XI remains controversial, but to continue to reap the benefits from this piece of legislation, it must continue to be the law of the land.

Although bemoaning the inefficacy of the federal government is something of a national sport in and of itself, Title IX has had real, measurable, and concrete positive effects upon the participation of women in sports. According to Ruth Conniff: "To a great degree, the rise of women's sports in the United States is the product of a single piece of legislation: Title IX. The 1972 law, which forbids gender discrimination in federally funded educational institutions, has had a revolutionary impact on women's participation in sports, and on the culture at large." (Conniff, 1996, p.1) When the legislation was passed, there were virtually no intercollegiate women's sports teams, while today college women's basketball and volleyball teams are playing to sold-out crowds. One in three high-school girls now participates in athletics. "Title IX offers opportunity: a chance to advance women student athletes and to debate the meaning of equal opportunity; the potential for presidents and boards to provide greater oversight for athletic budgets; the opportunity for higher education to recast athletics as part of its educational responsibilities." (Lazerson, 1996) Although the legislation specifically pertained to the participation of women in educational institutions, by instilling the values of athleticism and equality within these arenas, women gained healthy physical and psychological habits that lasted for the rest of their lives, long after they graduated.

Encouraing women to participate in athletics is not merely an issue of equality in school, or about building champion athletes who can win college championships. It is also an issue of health. As America becomes increasingly concerned about the inactivity of its citizens, encouraging a group of people such as women who have been historically discouraged from being physically active is vital for the well-being of the entire nation. Also, when people compete in athletics, they experience a positive uplift in their sense of self-esteem as well as their physical prowess. Women must see other women, like themselves, participating in sports, rather than simply see images of themselves as spectators on the sidelines to gain this sense of positive esteem.

Critics of Title XI argue that by requiring institutions of higher learning to provide equal funding and equal opportunities for men and women is not valid, because there is less public interest, amongst both men and women, in collegiate sports. But such thinking shows how Title IX "threatens the privileged male culture of athletics by challenging assumptions that activities, money, and fame belong to men. Through Title IX, many women have concluded that they have the right to expect equal treatment in athletics. Assumptions of equality -- when they challenge a privileged world -- inevitably create angst and anger. Universities where discrimination against women athletes is substantially greater...find it exceedingly difficult to state that women athletes are as important as men...To the big athletic schools. Title IX can seem like a challenge to bowl games, March Madness, and alumni enthusiasm." (Lazerson, Marvin & Ursula Wagener, 1996, p.8)

It may indeed be the case that there are some losers because of Title IX, like less popular male varsity sports who have seen their funding cut back, because school funds must be equally distributed, even to less popular female teams. But this is not necessarily the fault of Title IX alone, but also the fault of the university emphasis on a few, large, money 'male' sports like football and basketbal. Moreover, a sports fan base takes more than a generation or two to build, as female athletes of the current generation have only had role models for excellence since the late 20th century. For centuries, women were discouraged from participating in athletics at all, because of the threat physical exertion posed to the supposedly frail female physique. To overcome such long-standing oppression requires strong institutional support, in financial as well as rhetorical terms.