Forty Years Of Title IX

By Meghna Chakrabarti
Feb 13, 2012, 3:30 PM
3 Comments

Just one sentence, one game-changing, historic sentence, signed by Richard Nixon, tucked into the education acts of 1972.

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Although the language of Title IX doesn’t use the word “sports” at all, the law has had an enormous impact on athletics. In 1971, the year before Title IX passed, only 7.4 percent of high school athletes were female. In 2001, 40.1 percent were.

Which makes some people wonder, is Title IX even necessary now? Radio Boston takes a closer look.

Guests:

Kristine Lilly, three-time Olympian and international soccer star
Melissa Ludtke, executive editor at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University; participated in Wellesley College’s first intercollegiate crew competitions

More:

Title IX: 40 Years and Counting, an event at Wellesley College on Monday, February 13th at 7pm

Elizabeth from East Boston

How much does the higher number of male players at the college level have to do with large football teams (there is no female sport with so many players).
Ann from Burlington

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I came of age pre-Title9. I have always wondered what kind of athlete I might have been if I’d been born 10 years later. I graduated from high school in 1966. Playing high school basketball was entirely different from today’s game. We had 6 to a team – 2 forwards, 2 guards, and 2 rovers. Only the rovers could travel the entire court. It was felt that it would be too “exhausting” for all of the players to have to go up and down the court. Our uniforms consisted of white blouses and sleeveless tunics that came halfway down to our knees. I attended an all female college, and I was on the ski team. There were no tryouts. If you could get down the hill you were on the team. There was no such thing as uniforms. My other team members and I KNITTED our own team sweaters. Those were the days!
Claire in Millis

It’s possible I missed it, but I didn’t hear any mention of US Rep. Patsy Mink during your segment. She was so influential, Title IX was named the “Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.” This tiny giant from Hawaii battled racism and sexism to contribute to significant changes in opportunities in education and athletics for women and men. She was co-sponsor of and dynamo behind the push for Title IX. Your show made clear we too often take for granted the results of the efforts of this pioneer. We should remember her with aloha…

Hosts Meghna Chakrabarti and Anthony Brooks introduce us to newsmakers, big thinkers and artists and bring us stories of relevance to Bostonians here and around the region. Live every weekday at 3.

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Forty Years Of Title IX