Title Xi

Title IX

Title IX was passed by the U.S. Congress on June 23, 1972, and signed by

President Richard M. Nixon on July 1, 1972. It is a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal funds. It was the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees in these institutions. (U.S. Department of Education, 1997)

Title IX did much more than what the average mind thinks of when they hear the words: Title IX. I personally was interested in what people thought of when they heard this and did two simple interviews, one of my grandpa's, a 73 year old man, and also interviewed my friend, Samm, who is a 19 year old female who just recently graduated high school. I asked each of them two simple questions: What is Title IX to you? And Has Title IX had an impact on your life? My grandpa responded with "Title IX is just a way women thought they could get some power in this country, when really we live in a country made for a man, always has been, always will be." My friend Samm on the other hand said "Title IX has given this country a chance to get closer to the equality in living we have yearned for over a long period of time. If it wasn't for Title IX I would not have the friends I do today because I got to know all of them through sports, something that Title IX has given me the opportunity to participate in." Now realistically I did not get a straight-forward answer of the two questions I asked them, but I was able to see two totally different viewpoints on one single subject. I know I can not come to any overall conclusions just from interviewing two people, but I believe these two I interviewed did basically answer how people of their generation and gender would. Just as with any other problem we face today, the varying viewpoints make it very hard to come to a compromise that makes the majority of people happy.

After I interviewed both my grandfather and Samm, I was not going to leave them without giving them information on the topic, and both of them thanked me for the information, because they both said they had been misinformed on what exactly Title IX is. That brings me to a point. Do you know what Title IX is? To be honest before I started this research for this paper, I was always told it is how women got the right to play sports. Now given sports are a big interest of mine, so realistically that's all I really cared about regarding Title IX. It is so much more than giving a woman or young girl the chance to go out and play baseball, hit the wrestling mat, or even play football.

There is a connection between the Title IX law and improvements in key areas such as access to higher education, career education, employment, learning environment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing, and treatment of pregnant and parenting teens. (Women's Equity Resource Center, 2003) How in the world does that relate to me you ask? Well, before this law many schools and universities had separate entrances for male and female students. Honestly, did it really matter what door you came in? Apparently, it did. I can see them having a problem with males and females being in the same dormitories, for obvious reasons, but not letting a man and woman walk in the same door to get to a classroom? That's a little ridiculous if you ask me. I know I could have never lived happily in the past generations, because I have had the freedom of being my own self and having the freedoms of every other race, gender, and social status for the most part. The effect Title IX has played in my life comes in some major issues, as well as simple things such as being allowed to walk through the same door as the man in front of me.

What else did Title IX impact you ask? Being a college student, a woman college student, I really appreciate the times now. According to Women's Sports Foundation Online (2002), before Title IX women were not allowed to take certain courses such as auto mechanics or criminal justice. Not only that, before you could get accepted to a college you were required to have higher test scores and better grades than males to get admitted. Now I don't know if that was supposed to be a compliment to women or what, but I'm betting it wasn't. I know women tend to be smarter when it comes to certain things such as: cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, etc. but to require higher test scores? Come on now, how much more UN-equal could it possibly be? That's not all you had to deal with on a college campus though, because you are a woman you were not allowed to stay out past midnight, yet a man could stay out as long as he pleased. I know colleges want the best for you, but I think they were trying a little too hard to fill in the Mommy role with that rule. There is a border between caring, and just plain out trying to be too much, and the colleges might have crossed the line with that rule. I am not a rebel, nor do I try to be, but honestly can you imagine trying to tell a college woman today that she must be in her room by midnight? I can see my mom saying that to me in high school, but I'm older now and trying to find a sense of freedom, and I really think that they were cutting into a person's freedom when they made that rule.

Since Title IX is generally viewed as dealing with sports, I thought I would inform you that it is not just about sports, and now I will use reverse psychology and tell you what it has done for women in sports. I personally have many thanks to give to those who pushed for Title IX because I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for sports. I am who I am because of sports, the people I met through sports, and the lessons I learned through sports. I was involved with sports from the time I was five years old. I started playing basketball at a local YMCA. Some say that competition that young is not good for you, and to an extent I believe that. Many people abuse the gifts we are given by yelling and screaming at their 5-year-old son or daughter who just missed a basket, had a turnover, or just tripped over their own feet and fell down. Since my parents were not the type to do those things to me, sports played a vital role in developing my personality, and I would not take back any of the things I have done, right or wrong, involving sports.

According to Ms. Foundation and their Research on Adolescent Girls, girls and women who participate in sports have higher levels of confidence, stronger self-images, and lower levels of depression. (1995) Does that mean that this holds true for all women and girls? It most definitely does not. I myself have been an athlete all my life, and as hard as it is to admit, I am clinically depressed.