Never Meant to Play Sports
Life before Title IX for women in sports was terrible. Why would it be anything else? Sports were never created with the intention of women playing them. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, said in the early 1900s, that “the Olympic Games must be reserved for men.” It must be, in his words, “the solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism” (McDonagh and Pappano, 39):
The final line of this assertion speaks directly to what sports meant for women: watching, following, and cheering on men whenever they played. “Female applause” was their “reward”.
This belief, that women should not play, or rather should not play on a major stage, stems from the idea that women and men are on opposite ends of the physical spectrum. It stems from the idea that women would never be able to play at the same level of physicality, intensity, and athletics as men (Mangan and Park, 289). The understanding that males and females are physically different triggered stereotypes of male and female physical attributes, in addition to developing the notion that males and females were on the opposite end of the physical spectrum.
Men further attempted to displace women from excelling in sports out of fear: as Lorber argues, “Men feared that they might be challenged or even displaced in governance of the basic social order…. Overall, they feared that they would lose control of public, political, social, and economic affairs” (Mangan and Park, 282). Men sought to assert their societal dominance over women through sports. They boasted about their involvement in sport as a proof of masculinity, especially if their gender identity seemed threatened. For instance, as explained in From Fair Sex to Feminism by J.A. Mangan and Roberta Park, composer Charles Ives feared that his musical interests made him seem effeminate. When he was asked what he played in his youth (an open-ended question), he simply replied “shortstop” with no mention of his musical interests (Mangan and Park, 283). This fear of losing identity and purpose drove men to continually promote their athletic dominance, making it harder for women to enter this space.
Prior to 1972, Mangan and Park argue, not only were women discouraged from playing sports by men, but they were also criticized (in regard to their athletic ability). In fact, male performance was often the standard against which female performance was measured (Mangan and Park, 285). If women performed well in male-heavy sports, their femininity was questioned. Women should not perform well in football or basketball was the thought. And so, men made sure women did not expand outside of a small subset of sports like tennis or gymnastics (Mangan and Park, 286).
Men always dreamed of dominating the sports space, dating all the way back to 1892 when the Chicago Graphic declared: “Football is typical of all that is heroic in American Sport… the capacity to take hard knocks which belongs to a successful football player is usually associated with the qualities that would enable a man to lead a charge up San Juan Hill” (Mangan and Park, 290). Being dominant in sports, for men, was associated with being a leader, having perseverance, courage, and determination. These ideals for men in sports have continued into modern day conversations, as sports are believed to teach young men valuable lessons like leadership and hard work. The quotations to left are from women from 1900-1956, expressing their thoughts on their inability to participate in sports. Evidently, females wanted to play sports, they just weren’t able to (Mangan and Park, 290).
Essentially, men believed they were physically better and naturally born to play sports, while women were naturally born to applaud them and clean the dishes (McDonagh and Pappano, 30).
Although men are physically bigger, have more upper-body strength and muscle mass than women, this does not mean they are athletically superior to women. Some physical attributes associated with women as a group – such as lower center of gravity, lower weight, and a greater percentage of body fat – are athletically advantageous. For example, in swimming, a woman’s higher body fat provides more buoyancy and protection from frigid waters. Also, lower weight allows for women to have an edge in super endurance running.
Prior to Title IX, Senator George McGovern exclaimed “prejudice against women [was] the last socially accepted bigotry” in 1971, representing the discrimination women constantly felt during these years (McDonagh and Pappano, 77). As the Second Wave Feminist Movement began to develop in the late 1960s, women soon began to fight for equal rights in sports as well. They were tired of being an afterthought, and Title IX (passed in 1972) was the first step in changing the way women were seen in sports.
Sources:
Mangan, J. A., and Roberta J. Park. From ‘Fair Sex’ to Feminism: Sport and the Socialization of Women in the Industrial and Post-Industrial Eras. Cass, 1987.
McDonagh, Eileen, and Laura Pappano. Playing with the Boys: Why Separate Is Not Equal in Sports. Oxford University Press, 2009.