The Chicago Tribune’s Thursday May 31st front page headline ” Title IX’s Gains Stall In Sports” suggested that the legislative prohibition agaist female athletes had not been successful because only 41 % of the nation’s athletes were female pretty much missed the point. The real story here is that today 6 times as many girls are playing sports than in 1972 when the law was passed. You could argue that this law is among the most successful ever passed. Millions of young women have benefited from playing sports, and learning about discipline, teamwork and dealing with victory and defeat. Ask older women what their athletic opportunities were– cheering for the boys.
To suggest that the law has not been successful because the girls slightly lag the boys is PC nit-picking. There are any number of reasons for the small gap: football distorts the comparison; more girls are drawn to dance, music and theater; and girl’s professional sports models are much diminished in terms of sports coverage and celebrity. Oh, and there is just the possibilty that boys like sports more than girls. Who knows why? Maybe girls are just different than boys.
The Chapter IX glass is not just half full, it is almost topped off.
