Title IX…”No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Dear Mermaid O,
How did I learn to knit?
On this day, marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, I am reminded of why I like to knit instead of taking long walks.
As a farm girl growing up in the 60s in middle America, the only time I played sports was shooting baskets in the make-shift basketball court/hay mow with my brothers.
Back then, girls were judged, and we judged ourselves, on whether we were pretty, skinny, smart or popular. Being athletic was not on the list. And, those girls who were athletic experienced discrimination and verbal abuse for being jocks and not normal “girls”.
Society just looked at girls differently than boys. A perfect example was right in our community. With school consolidations all over the state, our community went from five middle/high schools to one.
The gym was not yet finished when we moved into our new school. So, for a physical education class, the boys went outside and did calisthenics and ran around the track, and the girls (you will never guess this)… stayed in the cafeteria and learned how to knit and play bridge! That’s how different it was for boys and girls and physical fitness back in the 70s in rural America.
At the time, I loved it because I didn’t like PE. I will be forever grateful to our PE teacher for teaching me how to knit since today, it is one of my passions. Still, I also think that if I had been outside breaking a sweat, I might have had a different attitude about exercise and my body today.
I still don’t get great pleasure from walks in the woods, but I did find snow skiing and snorkeling a passion that I love today.
So as we mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX, I am:
– grateful that Marvella and Birch Bayh had long dinner table talks about the discrimination Marvella experienced when she was told girls couldn’t apply to college at the University of Virginia and how that moment moved the two of them to fight for women’s rights,
– grateful that Senator Birch Bayh decided to take on women’s rights and got Title IX passed,
– that our Benton Central high school star athlete Jan Conner, who was better than all the boys at sports, broke down the barriers for Hoosier female athletes,
– grateful that girls finally saw themselves as more than just “pretty things,”
– grateful that I did learn how to knit even though I still don’t like exercise
– grateful I do love snow skiing and snorkeling
There is still much to be done for women’s equal rights, but we have progressed since I was a young girl knitting in PE.
Make Waves,
Grandma JAS
Learn more about the impact of Title IX:
Title IX – Hoosier’s React (letters from influential Hoosiers against Title IX)
37 Words, how Title IX came to be
Which Women’s Sports Benefited The Most From Title IX?
Marvella Bayh was Title IX’s Secret Weapon
Title IX Gave Women More Chances To Coach In College. But It Gave Even More Opportunities To Men