Racism And Sexism In Sport: The Boston Marathon

Superior Essays
Society and sports are a combination of an everyday basis, so sociological concerns are only a matter that can bring many situations and different aspects of life as one. Sports, as many view it as a way to get away from the daily dose of politics, racism, and everyday struggles humanity puts out there. With that said, sports nowadays has its own share of concerns and aspects that many don’t comprehend, from racism, sexism, and many other legal issues that can drive the vision of the field down. These concerns are always a backdoor, hidden situations that grasp the attention of many seekers wanting to expand the horizon on why situations like these happen so often in this industry, but can never fully commit on a full explanation. Sports and …show more content…
Sexism in sports is an epidemic topic that can be viewed in many different aspects, but should only be viewed to better suit everyone. This view not too long go was a driven decision by men, for example believing that women weren’t capable of running a marathon, Katherine Switzer, changed that mentality of many people. In 1967, Switzer, without knowing opened the doors for many young ladies, and opened the pathway for women to fight sexism in sports. “In 1967, the Boston Marathon was Wednesday, April 19, Patriots’ Day in the state of Massachusetts. I thought it was neat that folks in Massachusetts got a special holiday commemorating the young American patriots who fought the British in the first battles of the American Revolution. The marathon was made part of Patriots’ Day in 1897, the year after the revival of the Olympic Games in Athens, when athletes came back from Greece telling of a romantic new event called the marathon. Part of what made the Boston Marathon special to me was its historical importance. I had no idea I was going to become part of that history. I wasn’t running Boston to prove anything; I was just a kid who wanted to run her first marathon.” In like manner, women’s sports was also going to take a big boost of help as laws and regulations were implemented in college sports that would be a backbone to the action, Katherine Switzer, had placed in history of women’s sports. “Title IX is a short and simple federal law: “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.” This regulation was implemented to support the growth of women’s sports and decrease the bias side of men’s growth in each

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In the article titled “Face-Off on the playing Field,” Judith B. Stamper explorers the issue of female athletes competing on traditional boys’ sports teams. First, stamper explains how opponents argue that girls are not aggressive enough. They say that playing contact sports like football and wrestling put girls at risk of serious physical harm. The author also reports that some male athletes are uncomfortable having physical contact with girls. Some boys feel that it is wrong or ungentlemanly to be aggressive toward girls.…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Thank you for contributing to my post. Andy your comments related to the challenges we deal with in the workplace, stands true that effective and consistent policies are required in order to foster a healthy and productive work environment. As Shemy stated, we still have work to do. Since 1972, Title IX has been a driving force for women in sports and will continue to strive to create equality within the field and serve as a role-model for women in other organizations. Since the early years of Title IX, women’s sports budgets and scholarships have increased, but the need to encourage equality still exists.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Is Title IX Necessary

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Title IX is a federal law that forbids any persons in the United States from being discriminated against or withheld from participating in events because of their gender or sex. Thanks to this beneficial law women all over the nation have the opportunity to strive and be successful just as the three women above have done. Title IX was passed in 1972 and was part of the Education Amendments Act. This law covers not only an athletic basis but also in education.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title IX: How do gender roles affect athletics? Throughout the semester, the course Gender and Communication has made me think in ways I never have. In this course, I was able to see things through a different lens. Since the course was seminar based, we were fortunate enough to hear from students from with many different backgrounds.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title IX: Female Athletes

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the words of Marcus R Fuller, in his work, “In 40 Years, Title IX Revolutionized Women’s Sports, but There’s Still a Ways to Go,” he declares that “in 1972, 7.4 percent (294,015) of high school athletes were female. That number was 41.4 percent (3,173,549) in 2010-2011.” (Fuller para 7) After Title IX the amount of females participating in athletics have increased unbelievably. Watching and playing sports now, most female athletes don’t even acknowledge Title IX. Raising in percentage, from 7 percent to 44 percent, of girls in high school sports.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “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.” This is an important piece of what was formerly known as the Title IX Education Amendments of 1972. This document was sign into United States law on June 23, 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon. This law is meant to protect us (women) from discrimination and to ensure that we have an equal opportunity. This is not only for education but any educational activity such as athletics and tech education that receives federal money.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title IX Persuasive Essay

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Title IX declares that colleges must show proportionality. Proportionality means that if half of the students attending the college are female then athletics must be half too. Some colleges that have more male athletes can either cut their program or add a female team. Many colleges have had to cut their athletic programs for both women and men because they just can't afford both. It is hard for colleges to support certain sports that have mostly men and not women.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Barbara Winslow is a historian who teaches in the School of Education and for the Women's Studies Program at Brooklyn College. She has several publications and a lot to do with women activism. The purpose of this source is to inform readers about a few of the impacts of Title IX. The author talks more about women’s rights in the aspect of sports in Title IX.…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of HEW

    • 1109 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Failure to present opportunities for women to participate in sports was very detrimental to Title IX in a system openly discriminated women from sports and education opportunities. The dropping of the term action eliminated a faster process to assimilate women into the women into the system and instead left open a window for an educational programs and sports team to their own devices; many who were against funding women in the first place. In conclusion, the decision canceling out the idea of “affirmative action” in the final stages was one of it’s major downfalls () and one of it’s worst enemies was the way it was…

    • 1109 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title IX was a well-needed push for the government to get involved in sexual discrimination. A burgeoning women's movement and increasing lawsuits encouraged Congress begin focusing on women’s rights in education. From a heated political climate, Title IX was born. In 1972, Title IX prohibited federally funded educational institutions, such as public secondary school and higher education, from discriminating on the basis of sex and applies to all academic and extracurricular program, and was signed into the Educational Amendments of the Civil Rights Act. This law has been credited as the key cause of the advances made in educational and workplace equality and is best known for its impact on intercollegiate athletics and likewise the most debatable…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Importance Of Title IX

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Title IX, published and promoted by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, determines whether universities have the ability to properly engage in equal opportunity activities that embraces the idea of bringing equality to the underrepresented gender. Through the Title IX regulation, an institution who sponsors an athletic program, must provide equal opportunities and accommodations for both men and women. The three-part test associated with Title IX essentially determines whether a university is compliant with its ideology and establishes the institution with three means of abiding by its participation prerequisites. The three parts include; providing equal participation opportunities for male and female students that correlates…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It isn’t fair to athletes tto compete with other colleges who chose to not follow the rules. Recently, individuals have questioned if Title IX is still effective. Title IX should remain an active law because men and women do not have the same opportunities in college athletics. Female participation and equality for financial funding, and having equal opportunities between sexes are just a few of the areas that Title IX focuses…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Inequality In Sports

    • 1941 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Gender Barriers in Sport." 13 Feb. 2008. Web. Flynn, Scott. “Athletic Women Vs.…

    • 1941 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Gender Equality In Sports Essay

    • 1615 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 9 Works Cited

    Schools even with the passing of Title IX have found ways to sneak around the rules and still have gender inequality. Many females who try to participate in male dominate sports are often bullied and treated badly. Along with men who try to participate in female dominate sports. Women need to be treated as equals to men. Men are also a small focus point for gender inequality.…

    • 1615 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 9 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    It is the most common problem currently in the world of football, and there has been an extended amount of effort to try and minimize it from many different organizations. Nonetheless, there has still yet to be a significant impact on the amount of racism seen in football. Players of certain nationalities, ethnicities, and skin colors have continually been physically and verbally abused by fans, referees, and other players. Due to the subservient portrayal of blacks in media, many people believe themselves to be superior to those of darker skin, resulting in increased violence during mixed race football games. The racism in football has not only spread abroad from Europe, but it has plagued the sport as a whole.…

    • 1896 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays