Gender Equality In Sports

Improved Essays
There is no question that throughout society, women have faced overt challenges within sports. This is including women joining various sports that are identified as masculine, sports journalism, and more. However, since the installation of Title IX, there has been an increase of women’s involvement within both institutional and unconventional athletics. Though there has been substantial improvement perpetuated sexism within sports, there is still a strong fight against the patriarchy in present day. To begin, Title IX was instituted in 1972 in efforts to promote gender equality within education, but especially sports within educational institutions. Prior to Title IX, there were very few women represented in sports. If they were in sports, it was in traditionally feminine ones such as softball, gymnastics, and similar ones. …show more content…
Additionally, women were never granted athletic scholarships despite their abilities, skills, and academics. Today, the number of women in sports has grown substantially due to Title IX, specifically at the high school level. There are some misconceptions associated with Title IX. For example, if a school does not receive government funding, they are not legally required to follow the Title IX regulations. Furthermore, the civil rights law is not only applied to sports sex discrimination, but also sexual violence in the school systems. This is applicable to all genders. Title IX is written very broadly, creating legality issues and loopholes for the schools. Despite the broad wording of the federal civil right, there is also covert discrimination since Title IX was enacted. The “Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports” article varied arguments within feminist fields depending on one’s feminist identity. For example, a difference feminist will view the Title IX’s impact differently than a liberal feminist. According to the article, Liberal feminist are the main advocates to Title IX (Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports). During the passage of Title IX, they claim that women should have numerical equal access to every sport that their male counterpart has (Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports). Also, they believe that female sports should have the same funding for the sport, coaches, and facilities as male sports. However, difference feminists address the “Hidden bias” of Title IX and gender inequity within athletics (Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports). Difference feminists argue that Title IX “Simply lets women and girls join in [Sports]” rather than providing the appropriate measures to allow them feel included in athletics despite their biological differences from men and years of societal exclusions (Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports). The article lists three arguments by difference feminists; one being that Title IX only assists white women because white women statistically attend college more, two being that universities have only added feminized sports such as golf and tennis, and finally three being that coaching positions for women sports are still dominated by men (Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports). Most importantly, they argue that Title IX blatantly disregards the “ [...] Athletic culture that polarizes the sexes and perpetuates male dominance” (Cheering on Women and Girls in Sports). Nevertheless, there are solutions to these problems that are provided and should be enacted by everyone. First off, women should be encouraged to not play strictly female teams but also co-ed sports teams, specifically at

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Is TITLE IX helping Women’s Sports Why have women joined more sports? Women have joined more sports since 1972 when TITLE IX first started. Title IX states no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation. So it’s clear that although some believe it’s not helping women’s sports. Title IX advances women’s sports for two main reasons.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title IX was first created in 1972 to help increase the representation of women’s college athletics and stop discriminating and stereotyping them. In stereotyping women, athletic directors and coaches did not believe they had the physical or mental strength to play sports the same way men do. Many people were furious with the way women were treated and fought for years to enforce this law. While this enactment brought upon variation in women’s sports, it took a negative effect on the men’s side. Even when countless numbers of women joined collegiate athletics, there were still not as many as men.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In 1971 there were only 294,015 females participating in school sports. After Title IX was introduced, record…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Is Title IX Necessary

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    While touring many different colleges, Brown had a memorable experience at University of Richmond. Brown requested a meeting with a woman athletic director but was not allowed to do such thing. Cynthia Brown had actually met up with the athletic director the only way they could, the women's bathroom. In the bathroom the athletic director explained that men athletes were still being treated in a higher manner than women athletes. Of course, Title IX might have been passed in law, but most schools do not enforce it.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To what extent did Title IX affect a woman's experience in college? Before June 23, 1972, it was very unlikely to see a women playing sports in college. There was no such thing as an athletic scholarship for a female. Being sexually harassed or raped?…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Title IX Research Paper

    • 1483 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Showing that increased funding was a pro for both genders. Because of Title IX legislation, women are able to receive athletic scholarships and continue pursuing excellence at the collegiate level. While the athletic benefits from Title IX were accidental, they are still vital for the pursuit of gender equality. However, there is still more work to be done, especially on the athletic side of the…

    • 1483 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
  • 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

    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
  • 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 requires, “the institution to show a history and continuing practice of program expansion which is demonstrably responsive to the developing interests and abilities of the members of that sex” (Office of Civil Rights 49). While expansion for a gender specific activity that is under represented could potentially be profitable toward the university, expansion in general for many universities could be partially impossible due to the area in which the institution is located. For example, if the university had an athletics team which had no competition in the area and could not supply the demand to create a specific activity to an underrepresented gender, the university itself would not be able to comply Title IX, putting the university in a noncompliance dispute with the Title IX law. In the case of a universities inability to comply, the three prongs of Title IX become a hindrance to obtaining equality rather than legitimately enforcing equality throughout the institution. By enforcing equality through a step process rather than qualifying in one of three test, an institution’s students, male and female, would benefit in the long run whether the equality is within sports or academics, and would also enable the university to set up a fund or fundraise for the…

    • 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
  • 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

    Women were allowed to first play sports in high school in 1971 when Title IX was first passed. Title IX made it possible for women to become doctors, lawyers and college and high school athletes. These are some rules that have been made by Title IX: If there is no girls’ team, then the girl must be allowed to try out for the boys’ team. The school can say a boy or girl cannot play football as…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved 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

Related Topics