SI.com has put together a photo gallery of "The Most Influential People in Title IX History." There are thirteen people, not ranked in any particular order, though Billie Jean King is shown first. A few odd things about the compilation:
1. They refer to Nancy Lieberman as Nancy Lieberman-Cline, which is odd considering she divorced Tom Cline and returned to her maiden name, at least she had when we saw her at Harvard in April.
2. Dominique Dawes is on the list. She served as Women's Sports Foundation president for a couple of years. But she has made public her opinion that female athletes can pose in whatever form they choose in whatever media they choose, a position I find problematic and damaging to the work for gender equity in sports.
3. Bernice Sandler, who started the movement to get a federal law banning sex discrimination in education is not one of the people SI.com includes in their list. Major oversight in my opinion.
But the list does represent a fairly diverse group in terms of relation to the law (academics, activists, lawyers, politicians, and athletes) and racial diversity, with three women of color.
I'm a little late to this topic, but:
ReplyDeleteCynthia Cooper should not be on the list. She was chair of Bush's commission that tried to weaken Title IX.
It was Julie Foudy and Donna DeVarona (both should be on the list) whose minority report from that commission carried the day.
Nancy Lieberman and Dominique Dawes are both athletes who benefited from Title IX, but I don't see either as movers and shakers behind the advancement of women in sports.
Truth,
ReplyDeleteHere here. Good points all.