In my last post I discussed the
immigration and citizenship issue as it pertains to the identity of students.
The selection of that topic, as I mentioned in the post, was motivated in part
by the issue’s prominence in the current Presidential election. After that post
was made, Mitt Romney delivered his now infamous “binders of women” remark
during a Presidential debate. He made this remark during a discussion about our
nation’s failure to achieve pay parity among men and women which signals gender
equality as another major issue in the election. Because of this, I’ve decided
to use this post to examine what is arguably the most significant law in
American history for achieving gender equality in public schools. I’m talking
of course about Title IX.
Back in the summer of this year
girls and women’s athletic organizations celebrated the 40th
anniversary of Title IX. The famous law was passed in June 1972 as part of the
Education Amendments in the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. In
the decades that followed, one clause in particular proved to be of great
importance in the lives of American girls:
“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...”
Popularly interpreted to mean that boys’ and girls’
school-affiliated athletic programs must receive equal funding, this sentence
changed the narrative for girls about what kinds of achievements are possible.
Millions of girls who once would have been denied the opportunity to
participate in athletics, were now given the same chance as their male peers.
In
the weeks surrounding the anniversary, organizations like the NCAA held events
celebrating 40 years of the law. These events were generally organized in the
style of retrospectives, honoring women athletes who have benefited from Title
IX. Among these women were tennis legend, Billie Jean King, and basketball
coach, Pat Summit. Likewise the media focused on the law’s legacy and outcomes.
Maha Atal wrote in Forbes magazine about the effects the law has had on women’s
lives which have in turn impacted society as a whole. She says, “that
participation in sports at a young age correlates to higher wages, greater
educational attainment and overall professional success in adult life.” Title
IX was also a hot topic of conversation during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in
London, as a generation of female American athletes broke records with their
collection of medals as Ann Killion discussed in Sports Illustrated.
While
the anniversary received a certain modicum of coverage in the press, I would
argue that the amount of attention it generated doesn’t fully reflect the
monumental impact Title IX has had. Perhaps the law has so effectively changed
Americans’ perception of girls in regards to sports that it is now completely
taken for granted. This attitude might make Title IX seem less revolutionary in
the contemporary context than in did in 1972. What is more likely, in my
opinion, is that Title IX’s anniversary didn’t garner more attention because it
remains controversial. Perennially voices of opposition emerge and make the
bogus claim that the law represents legalized discrimination against males. It
is hard for me to understand how this conclusion is formed since the law is
characteristically gender-neutral. It is this way of misguided thinking, no
doubt, that has also resulted in the national pay-inequality which inspired
Romney’s “binder” comment.
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