I kept thinking about Title IX and if I really had something to say about it. First off, let’s remind everyone what it says,
“No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
However, what you mostly hear is that it was for girls and women to participate in sports. There is no segregation of sex in the wording, the law was to be applied equally to either sex. Having said that, sports were at the time dominated by males, and women and girls were sidelined for the most part. As such it’s very prominent in the news as the only example for what Title IX did.
But what about the sport of figure skating? The ratio of was completely opposite, but instead of it being too manly for girls and women, it was too feminine for boys and men.
Before Title IX however, skating was dominated by men until Madge Syers of Great Britain in 1902. The ISU then segregated the sport in 1903.
I can’t find a reference of when females overtook males in the sport, but I’m going with the late 1980’s. Around that time it seems that masculinity was being questioned so most males who didn’t want to be bullied didn’t stray to far from stereotypical behaviors.
Unfortunately Title IX is not much help for boys and men who wish to participate in sports that are considered too girly or feminine. The only restriction those boys and men have are what society has placed on males who choose to do so.
What changes need to happen for boys and men to feel safe when participating?
