Title IX pushed for equal opportunity between the sexes within the classroom in the 1970s. When Nixon finally signed the amendment into law June 23, 1972, initially it was instituted to "prohibit discrimination on basis of sex for educational programs or activities that receive funding from government." (Kwak 1) Title IX impacted universities greatly and fundamentally seemed to be great, however it took great determination of many, it faced hardships within the law and athletics became a leading problem.
Title IX did not just happen over-night, it took a lot of hard work from many men and women to make this amendment happen. Before it came to life there were many barriers keeping females from fully participating in activities, unlike education, sports especially highlighted this. During the 1960s, girls were prominently seen to be girly, weaker, or the "fairer" sex; they were supposed to illuminate daintiness. This seen prominently in the 1960s defined what made a girl a "girl" in a sense, and those not to be defined by that, which meant the girls who played sports left them to be outsiders. An Olympic swimmer, Donna de Varona, the best of her time discusses how she hid her manly, muscular arms with long sleeves, in order to keep the "feminine look." She also said that after she finished competing in the Olympics that colleges offered the best boy swimmers scholarships to continue their career in college, but for her there was nothing. She knew that to get a good job that paid decently that she had to further her education just as a man would, but she would not receive money from a college for her outstanding swimming, she had to pay for it herself. She said that it felt almost as if all her hard work in the pool had been discounted. Inequality amongst the sexes came to focus quite clear here, but it was not the first time. .
