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Kirsten Clark Sports Editor After learning what Title IX actually is and how it works, I thought it would be nice to wrap up to this topic by finding out about some real life stories about women in sports. Since Title IX has been around for 30 years, I had three different generations to work with. The first, being my generation, which has pretty much always had access to sports of any kind. Those in the second group grew up in the era of Title IX. They were in junior high or high school when it came into effect in 1972. They had to deal with the struggles of deciding whether or not to play. Finally, there was the generation that basically had no chance to play sports.
"Well, I think that sports have affected my life in a lot of ways," she said. "One of the biggest things was making friends. You have to be close to the people you play with, especially in volleyball when on the court you are so close to each other. It is just a great bonding experience." So then I asked Jeanette if the sports she played had taught her any lessons in life. "It taught me lessons in leadership and also in letting others lead. Sometimes even when you don't like someone or agree with what they are saying, like my coach, you just have to suck it up and do it for the team. If this is something that your heart is really into you have to just do it despite your differences." My final question was, do you think that your life would have been different if you hadn't had the opportunity to play? Again Jeanette said yes. "Yes, but I don't know how, I think it would have just been...different." For many girls Jeanette's age, and mine, it is probably hard to know what a world would be like without the opportunity to have sports in our lives. It gives us so many opportunities. Next is an SCC alumnus who did not have quite the same experiences as Jeanette. Lorraine, 45, grew up in a time when many sports were not offered to girls. "I was in high school when Title IX went into effect. I remember it clearly - it was a big thing," she said. Lorraine went on to tell me about her experience in junior high when sports were not offered for girls. "I guess at the time I didn't really think too much of it. Sports were a guys' thing. There were some girls who wanted to play, but I wasn't really one of them," she said. So I asked Lorraine if she felt that her life would have been different if she would have had the opportunity to play sports earlier on. "Ya, I'm pretty sure it would have been different," she said. "Both of my daughters have played and I have seen the amount of self-esteem it has instilled in them, it is a very powerful thing to watch when you can see them out on the court or the field. "When I was young the thing for a girl to do was just get married, it just seems now girls have given themselves more choices, and I think that sports was a big part of that. I wish now I had taken those last few years when I was in school and the activities were finally available and taken part in them, who knows what would have happened." The final story I have for you is probably my favorite, and it has nothing to do with the fact that it comes from my grandma. Believe me, I searched high and low for someone at SCC to talk to, but I felt bad asking for people who had graduated college before 1972. My grandmother has a unique story, because even though she never had the opportunity to play sports at all, her daughters grew up when Title IX was going into effect, and her granddaughters have all reaped the benefits of that. "No, I never played any sports, when I was in school no girls really did, mostly we just chased the boys around," she said, laughing.
So how was it for you watching your daughters wrestle with the issue of whether or not to take part in sports when they were finally available to them? "Oh, I let them choose for themselves. Some thought it was not feminine to play, others didn't care, they just wanted to have fun. My kids no matter what were always playing outside anyways." So do you think it would have changed anything for them, seeing what doors sports have opened for your granddaughters? "For some of them yes and others no. I see all of you at your games and I couldn't be prouder, especially Ashley (5 years old) she's rough. It is great for you guys, because it is so accepted now, but back then it was different. Girls were still supposed to be in the kitchen, not making choices and decisions for themselves," she said. She went on to tell me how happy she was now to see women are no longer, as a practice, treated that way. She attributes some of it to sports, but also to time and education. © 2002 Shoreline Community College™ |