Lecture 12History of Women and SportHistorically not allowed to be physically active outside of chores.Often excluded from participation or ridiculed for participation until mid-1800s.Participation in physical activity, individual sports slowly increased.Prohibited from modern Olympics until 1920.Sport greats include Collett, Wills, Didrikson, Joyner-Kersee, and King.Female Gender Role ExpectationsPassiveGentleDelicateSubmissiveMales took the lead roleSport TraitsAssertivenessCompetitivenessPhysical EnduranceRuggednessDominanceReasons or Myths for Not ParticipatingLack of interestHarmful to healthReproductive systemOnly ladylike sports appropriateEx) figure skating, golf, croquet, badmintonUndeserving; quality inferior to menIf they can’t compete at the same level as men shouldn’t compete at allLesbian stigmaGender verification practicesSocial attitudesCharacteristic of Allowable Sports for FemalesAesthetically pleasing (they look good) (ice skating, diving, gymnastics)Graceful sportsNo bodily contact with opponents (bowling, archery, badminton, volleyball, tennis, golf, swimming, running)Action controlled to protect the athletes from overexertion (running short distances, basketball where offense and defense didn’t cross half-court)Discussion: What is Title IX?How does it affect women and sport? Given them tremendous opportunitiesTitle IX of Education Amendments“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from taking part in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”At first not just about sportFederal financial assistance also means that anyone at the school getting federal grants for research, or federal grants for students; so almost every school falls under Title IXTitle IXPassed in 1972 as part of Education Act.Prohibits discrimination in federally supported education programs.Before Title IX, participation rates and financial support lopsided.In sports, 3.7 million boys versus 295,000 girlsFor every U.S. dollar spent on programs, $0.99 for boys, $0.01 for girlsConfusion until lawsuits, clarifications.Title IX Prongs (How to determine if you’re in compliance with Title IX)1. Proportionality test55% population females, need a close proportion to be student athletes2. History of progress testproof to show that you are getting closer to that proportion ^^3. Accommodation of interest testShow that every female that wants to be participating in sports is and that the school just doesn’t have enough people who want to participateWomen and Sport After Title IXSport participation nearly equal to that of boys (see tables 12.1 and 12.2 on page 228).In 1971 (before Title IX)1 out of every 2 boys participated in sports1 out of every 21 girls participated in sportsMake up significant percentage of sports fans.Buy 81% of all sport or fitness apparel.Increasingly, males watch female sports.Atlanta Olympics named Year of the Woman.Social Issues in Women’s Sport (Physical Activity Benefits)Benefits of physical activity and sport participationIncreased self-esteemDecreased drug useDecreased chance of unwanted pregnancyIncreased graduation ratesFour out of five women executives played sportsNote: Need to be careful with higher incidence of eating disorders (negative effect)Social Issues in Women’s Sport (Media and Images)Gender: conflict over orientation labelsAthletic apparelAdvances with sports bras (Chastain in 1999)Shoes not updatedNot made with the female body in mindLot of injuries because male shoes not meant to support females’ bodiesObjectification of athletesFemale athletic body now seen as sexyFeminine and fit do not have to be opposites nowMay be judged only on looks, not by talentGlobal Status of Women in SportNot all countries progressive (Arab countries still prohibit participation).In 2000, 30% of countries did not send a female athlete to the Olympic Games.In 2008, only 5 countries sent all-male team.White, middle-class athletes are most supported in developed nations.Discussion: Do you think Olympic Games organizers and sponsors judge male and female athletes when making a decision about whether to promote them?Barriers to ParticipationTitle IX challengesFootball dominance: 85 scholarships for 22 positions!This costs so much prevents some females the opportunity to play sportsSchools cutting men’s teams: unintended consequences.Title IX was not intended to cut down opportunities for anyone. Only increase them for everywherePhysical activity participation: Strides have been made. In 25 to 64 age group, women now actually exceed men. However, men are significantly higher in 18 to 24 category.May be the age women decide to start doing Pilates or fitness groupsOften times men have more of their identity wrapped up in their work, but women have it more balanced between work, physical activity, and familyWomen as Leaders in SportIn 1980, 90% of women’s teams coached by women; in 2008 only 42.8%, close to all-time low.Reason only 42.8% is a good thing because there are so many more women’s teams then there once were. Many more opportunities for someone to coach a women’s team. Even though the percentage has dropped, more women coaching than in 1980.In 1980, female coaches were not paid that much so the job was not attractive to females. Now it is attractive, so now both men and women want to coach women’s team.Percentage has dropped but the raw number of female coaches coaching female teams has gone upOnly 21% of college athletic directors are women.Only 27% of USOC are women.See University of Central Florida’s annual Gender Report Card (Lapchick 2008-2009).Discussion: What suggestions do you have for increasing the number of women in leadership positions in sport?Think not only of coaching and athletic director spots, but also league officials, marketing leaders, media leaders, athletic department staff leadership positions. Don’t think of just major college and professional ranks.Equal Pay for Equal PlayOnly recently have all four tennis Grand Slams offered same prize money.LPGA purses still lag far behind PGA purses (and tennis and golf are the success stories!).According to Forbes.com, in 2008 the top 50 paid athletes were all male.Women do same endorsements for less.Spending in College SportIn 2004-2005 at Division I Football Bowl Subdivision schools, men’s athletics accounted for 70% of overall expenses.These