The Power of Title IX Essay -- gender equity in sports

Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). 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 programs or activity receiving federal financial assistance. – From the preamble to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). The actual Title IX document was based on 10 key areas: (1) access to higher education (2) employment, (3) athletics, (4) career education; (5) education for pregnant and parenting students, (6) employment learning environment, (7) math and science, (8) sexual harassment, (9) standardized testing and (10) technology (titleixinfo.com.2011). Title IX legislation has been subject to over 20 additional reviews and proposed amendment revisions due to the different inte rpretations and lifestyle changes that present themselves in their various court cases. History of Title IX Title IX is historically related to the social changes that were becoming increasingly noticed after the Civil Rights laws were coming to light. These social changes represented a national commitment to end discrimination and establish a mandate to bring the excluded into the mainstream (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). It was the federal government that utilized these laws, created by Title IX, to deliver the promise of all people’s equal opportunities and rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution to develop their talents. As an early example of the barriers set up before Title IX, Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of President J... ...opportunities in athletics and extra- curricular activities. A woman should never be forced to do anything different then a man just because of her sex. This author agrees with the decision that the woman in this case should not have been sent home for a mandatory leave of absence. This is prejudice at its best. Participating in the pre-game activities of Super Bowl XLV, there was a young girl who won a contest that presented her the opportunity to carry the game ball out on the field before the coin toss. This young girl stated in an interview that it is her life long goal to become a kicker in the National Football League (NFL). This is Title IX at its best. A young girl with a dream; a dream to do something that no other girl has ever done before; a dream to step foot in a man’s world and be allowed the equal opportunity to accomplish HER dream.