In 1972, Congress passed the Educational Amendments. One section of this law, Title IX, prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including in athletics programs. Girls were not allowed to participate in sports prior to Title IX; therefore, Title IX was just the beginning of equal opportunities for men and women. However, inequalities between the sexes go back much further than just the 20th century. Throughout history, many things have changed but one thing remains the same: women have always remained on the sidelines. For my service-learning project, I coached a group of middle school girls in a recreational volleyball clinic. I observed inequalities between the sexes not only in sports, but also in “Fiero,” “The Asheville Reader,” and my personal experiences as a woman and an athlete. Women have been suppressed by men for centuries, and the paradigms and stereotypes that developed in the past and originated with the fall of Eve have lingered and are still present today.

In sports, there are different standards for men and women for what kind of behavior is acceptable on the courts and playing fields. On many occasions, fights break out in baseball games and the crowd often cheers the male players on. Aggression appears to be expected in male athletes, but if a female athlete shows aggression, she is viewed as “too intense,” or “masculine.” Another issue within athletics is attire, or lack thereof. At the last Women's Soccer World Cup, U.S.A. player Brandi Chastain scored the winning goal for the United States in a penalty shootout against China. She dropped to her knees and tore off her shirt, a classic celebration in men's soccer. The picture of her in a black sports bra on the Rose Bowl field was perhaps the tournament's signature moment. Following the World Cup in June of 2003, Soccer’s governing body banned male and female players from removing shirts during celebrations after goals. It said the object of the ban was “maintaining discipline and order on the field of play.” On courts and fields across the nation, men are constantly taking of their shirts. Some could reason that they might be hot; others might feel that they want to show off their bodies. Whatever the reason, it is considered acceptable behavior for men in most places. However, if a woman takes of her shirt and plays in a sports bra, it is unacceptable and many places have rules against it. For instance, at UNC-A, one of the rules enforced by the athletic department is that the women’s volleyball team cannot take off their shirts in the gym. I cannot count the number of times I have seen the male basketball players play with their shirts off; there is not a rule against it except in a game during their season.

However, long before Title IX, women were taking a stand against their suppressors and stereotypes. Christine de Pizan was one of the first women to publicly take a stand and fight for gender equality. Late in the fourteenth century, de Pizan “attacked the long anti-female tradition that had demeaned women and denied them the right to a university education” (Fiero vol 3, 12). Fiero goes on to say, “Her feminism is all the more significant because it occurred in a time in which men were making systematic efforts to restrict female inheritance of land and female membership in the guilds” (Fiero vol 3, 12). Christine de Pizan, among others, dodged most barriers to gain recognition today. Some people think just because there are only a few women recognized as being outstanding from the past, that their efforts were rare, but this is not the case. Women all along ha

Some topics in this essay:
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