For Now 4-H Rodeo May Continue to Label Events for Boys and Girls

In South Dakota, 4-H rodeo is under Title IX scrutiny because of its practice of labeling events for boys and girls. Boys' events include riding bulls and broncs, while girls compete in goat-roping and ribbon-roping.  The USDA, which administers federal funding to 4-H programs*, has apparently taken issue with this practice since the 1970s, so it's unclear why the practice has persisted until now, nor is it clear what prompted the agency to reach out last year with a request to remove the labels "boys" and "girls" from the respective events or risk ineligibility for federal funds.

It's also unclear why 4-H has been resisting the agency's request, given that the "boys" and "girls" labels conflict with the organization's reported actual practice of permitting participants of either sex to compete in all events.  If the labels aren't signalling actual exclusion, what purpose do they even serve?  The only purpose I can see is norm-setting. 4-H is effectively telling girls, "we won't tell you you can't ride a bull, but we can tell you 4-H doesn't think that's appropriate feminine behavior." And the same goes for boys and goat- and ribbon-roping (which Wikipedia explains here).  Sex-stereotyping is a well established aspect of sex discrimination that is prohibited by statutes like Title IX.

For now, however, the Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has temporarily halted the USDA's enforcement efforts. Yesterday it was reported that the agency will embark on a "broader review" of its Title IX regulations, and the Secretary says it would not be "appropriate" to upend decades of tradition in South Dakota while this review is pending. South Dakota is one of two states that has 4-H rodeo; and New Mexico's 4-H rodeo reportedly does not label its events by gender.

*This is the first time we've blogged about 4-H and Title IX. Because it is an educational program that receives federal funds, it is subject to Title IX.  However, it must comply with the USDA's interpretation of the statute rather than the Department of Education's, because the USDA is the agency that administers its funds.