Programs - Women in Sports

Throughout history, social and cultural barriers have limited women's involvement in sports. Much has changed thanks to pioneering female athletes from Babe Didrikson to Billie Jean King to Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and the groundbreaking passage of Title IX in 1972. Record number of girls and women participate in all levels of athletics. While struggles persist - women's sports still combat the old-boys network and old stereotypes - equality and stability no longer seem such unattainable goals.

More girls and women play sports than ever before in American history, with millions competing in youth leagues, high school, college, and at the professional level, where tennis, golf, soccer and basketball are surging in popularity. Even as nonparticipants, young women are finding more and more career opportunities in the $212 billion sports industry.

The explosion of girls and women in sports didn't happen overnight, however. It took over a century of struggle, legislation and societal change to provide today's girls and women the opportunities their mothers and grandmothers were denied.

Without question, a catalyst for this remarkable transformation of the playing fields is Title IX, the 1972 law that mandated full equality for women's school athletics. Yet despite the great strides resulting from Title IX, controversial issues and inequities still abound. Why do many colleges remain resentful of Title IX? Why do women lag well behind men in pay, facilities, and media coverage? Why are negative perceptions about women athletes hard to change? Why does society still refer to women playing sports as women's sports?

These questions are worthy of examination and discussion for students. In understanding the history of women's rights in America, one can understand the history of women's athletics. It is a history of athletes who broke barriers, defied odds, and stoked imaginations. The dedication and determination of trailblazers, from Babe Didrikson (track and field and golf) to Althea Gibson (tennis) to Mia Hamm (soccer) to Serena and Venus Williams (tennis) continue to inspire.

As a growing number of girls and women are becoming part of the sports culture and are influenced by it, it's instructive to look at the experience of women athletes, especially how they challenged attitudes and assumptions about competition and expectations.

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL): With wartime manpower shortages threatening Major League Baseball, a women's professional baseball league was formed in 1943 and operated until 1954. The AAGPBL, which at its peak had 10 teams and drew nearly one million fans in 1948, represented one of the only times in history that women baseball players received widespread moral and financial support. The AAGBL was memorialized in the 1992 film, A League of Their Own.

Battle of the Sexes: The mega-hyped 1973 tennis match between women's star Billie Jean King and 55-year-old former male champion Bobby Riggs, which drew the largest audience for any event in tennis history. King's victory brought attention to women's sports, while sparking heightened interest in women's tennis, and tennis in general.

Bloomer Girls: A novel group of women baseball teams (which actually included some men players) that journeyed from town to town in the late 19th and early 20th century, challenging men's amateur and semipro teams.

Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988: Legislation that restored Title IX to its full power after it was temporarily dismantled in 1984 by the Supreme Court in Grove City v. Bell. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had opposed Title IX.

Colorado Silver Bullets: The first and only all-female professional baseball team to be officially recognized by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. Formed in 1994 through the sponsorship of Coors Brewery, the team was managed by Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro and competed against men's teams throughout the U.S. They disbanded in 1997 when Coors did not renew their sponsorship.

Equal Pay Act: Law passed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, though nearly 40 years later America's working women and female athletes and coaches still earn less than their male counterparts.

Frailty Myth: A controversial thesis, with roots in 19th century medicine and misogyny, that says women succumb to pressures to appear weak in order to seem more feminine.

Gertrude Ederle: The first woman to swim the English Channel, which she did in 1926 during the Golden Age of Sports. In challenging - and beating - men in a grueling physical endeavor, she achieved fame around the world. Her success inspired thousands of women to swim and helped pave the way for women's acceptance in the world of sports.

Althea Gibson: Graceful, dignified athlete who broke the color barrier in the segregated professional sports of tennis (1949) and golf (1964). She was the first African-American to win a Grand Slam tennis title, and won 11 major titles between 1956-58.

Homophobia: Fear, hate and discrimination toward a person's sexual orientation. Detractors of women athletes often imply they are lesbians and "mannish" or "masculine."

Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Considered by many to be the greatest woman athlete in the world in the mid-1980s to early '90s. Glamour magazine in 1992 named her Woman of the Year, a sign that taut muscles were "glamorous" for American women.

Billie Jean King: One of the best female tennis players in history, she brought women's tennis - and women's sports in general - into prime time. In the 1970s, during the infancy of the Equal Rights Amendment, she helped establish a player's union and professional women's tour and fought for equal pay.

Ladies Day: A late 19th century promotion designed to attract women fans to baseball, to help increase attendance and hopefully have a calming effect on the sometimes unruly crowds.

Martina Navratilova: Perhaps the greatest women's tennis player of all time who set a new standard for women's achievement in sports. In addition to revolutionizing physical training in her sport, she courageously became one of the first star athletes to publicly disclose her homosexuality.

Old Boy Network: Male-dominated institutions or thought process that seeks to maintain the status quo - e.g. keeping big-budget football programs untouched and exempt from Title IX.

Pink Ghetto: A place of limited advancement where women end up when segregated into lower-paying, undervalued occupations.

Title IX: Legislation passed by Congress in 1972 (as an education amendment to the Civil Rights Act) which forbade sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds. All schools were legally obligated to provide girls and women with athletic opportunities equal to those offered to boys and men.

Women's History Month: A month-long celebration of women's history which began as a local event in California in 1978 (at the time a neglected subject in curriculums) but was expanded by a Congressional resolution in 1987 to become a national celebration.

Women's rights: A guarantee that women will not face discimination on the basis of their gender, and that they are entitled to the same social, economic, and political status as men.

Women's suffrage: Movement originating in 19th century to help women share on equal terms with men the political privileges afforded by government - especially the right to vote in elections and hold public office.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias: One of the greatest athletes, male or female, in history. Nicknamed after Babe Ruth for her prodigious feats, she excelled at numerous sports, including baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, skating, and golf - she was a founder of the LPGA tour - despite limited opportunities for females in the 1930s and '40s. Although her life was cut short in 1956 by cancer at age 42, she inspired a generation of female athletes.

In observance of Women's History Month in March, the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center conducts special programs and symposia to examine cultural and historical issues relating to girls and women in sports. The Museum often invites athletes, journalists and experts in women's sports to participate in these programs, and can customize other programs upon school request.

The following is a sampling of appropriate discussion and research topics:

What is the impact of Title IX on women's achievements in sports and what are its legal consequences on male athletics?
How have the greatest professional women athletes influenced sports in America?
How did women's basketball flourish, albeit obscurely, in schools and industrial leagues in the 1920s, '30s and '40s?
Who are the unsung trailblazers in women's sports? Why are their contributions historically significant?
Despite the revolution of girls and women in sports, why is media representation and coverage proportionally less than that of men's sports? What will change this?
Is media coverage of women's sports fair and honest? Is the sexual imagery of female athletes in magazines damaging or empowering to the cause of women's sports?
What are the prevailing myths and stereotypes about girls and women in sports? Why do they persist?

The importance of fairness, respect and gender equity can and should be incorporated into every child's education. While girls and women have made substantial progress on the athletic field, it is imperative to understand the struggle to change social attitudes, break down barriers, and achieve equal opportunities in sport. The Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center's programs on women and sports examine the myriad issues existing both before and after Title IX, a 1972 federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in athletics.

Through our programs and symposia with journalists, historians, and women's sports professionals, the Museum examines how sports can foster leadership skills, boost self-esteem and promote physical fitness and health.

Core Standards: Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

Standard 2.1 - All Students Will Learn Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Concepts and Health-Enhancing Behaviors.
Standard 2.2 - All Students Will Learn Health-Enhancing Personal, Interpersonal and Life Skills.

Core Standards: Social Studies

Standard 6.1: All Students Will Learn Democratic Citizenship And How To Participate In The Constitutional System Of Government Of The United States.
Standard 6.4. All Students Will Acquire Historical Understanding of Societal Ideas and Forces Throughout The History of New Jersey, The United States, And The World.

Cayleff, Susan. Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias. (University of Illinois Press) 1996.

Clark, Judith Freeman. Almanac of American Women in the 20th Century. (Prentice Hall) 1987.

Gavora, Jessica. Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex and Title IX. (Encounter Books) 2000.

Gottesman, Jane. Game Face: What Does A Female Athlete Look Like. (Random House) 2001.

Hasday, Judy. Extraordinary Women Athletes. (Children's Press) 2000.

Joyner-Kersee, Jackie. A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete. (Warner) 1997.

King, Billie Jean with Frank Deford. Billie Jean. (Viking) 1982.

Layden, Joe. Women in Sports: The Complete Book on the World's Greatest Female Athletes. (General Publishing Group) 1997.

Macy, Sue. Winning Ways: A Photohistory of American Women in Sports. (Henry Holt) 1996.

Navratilova, Martina with George Vecsey. Martina. (Alfred A. Knopf) 1985.

Nelson, Mariah Burton. Are We Winning Yet? How Women Are Changing Sports and Sports Are Changing Women. (Random House) 1991.

www.distinguishedwomen.com

www.feminist.org

www.now.org

www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siwomen

www.wnba.com

www.women.eb.com

www.womenssportsfoundation.org

www.womensportswire.com

www.wslegends.com

www.wtatour.com