Title IX
Title IX’s Benefits Outweigh its Drawbacks
Throughout history, people generally associated women with domestic and subservient activities. Women were not encouraged to play outdoors or get dirty because such actions did not embody a proper lady’s behavior. Because of society’s deeply ingrained ideas of traditional gender roles, women would not have been able to fully participate in the sports culture without a catalyst such as Title IX. Although some argue that Title IX causes America’s overall competitiveness in sports to decrease and men’s sports to suffer, statistics show that men still have a dominant representation in college athletics. Because sports represents a major aspect of American culture and should fully encourage the participation of both genders and since enough opportunities for male athletes can be provided while still proportionally representing Title IX mandates, the benefits of Title IX providing opportunities for women outweigh the potentially negative effects on men’s sports.
A fundamental factor in American culture and the development of many crucial life skills, sports have historically excluded women, pushing them to watch from the sidelines rather than partake in them. It is not only important for women to experience the sports lifestyle, but also for society as a whole to have its entire population participating in a common activity, thus breaking away from the archaic norm.
It cannot be denied that many men’s sports teams have been cut due to budget pressures caused by Title IX. For example, according to Carrie Lukas, Title IX almost removed the male track team, allowing its reestablishment under the condition that the cheerleading team be reinstated (Source 2). However, the university figured out a way to expand women’s programs without cutting men’s programs by creating new scholarship opportunities and adding new sports (Source 1). They also professionally marketed women’s sports events to increase awareness and attention about
Throughout history, people generally associated women with domestic and subservient activities. Women were not encouraged to play outdoors or get dirty because such actions did not embody a proper lady’s behavior. Because of society’s deeply ingrained ideas of traditional gender roles, women would not have been able to fully participate in the sports culture without a catalyst such as Title IX. Although some argue that Title IX causes America’s overall competitiveness in sports to decrease and men’s sports to suffer, statistics show that men still have a dominant representation in college athletics. Because sports represents a major aspect of American culture and should fully encourage the participation of both genders and since enough opportunities for male athletes can be provided while still proportionally representing Title IX mandates, the benefits of Title IX providing opportunities for women outweigh the potentially negative effects on men’s sports.
A fundamental factor in American culture and the development of many crucial life skills, sports have historically excluded women, pushing them to watch from the sidelines rather than partake in them. It is not only important for women to experience the sports lifestyle, but also for society as a whole to have its entire population participating in a common activity, thus breaking away from the archaic norm.
It cannot be denied that many men’s sports teams have been cut due to budget pressures caused by Title IX. For example, according to Carrie Lukas, Title IX almost removed the male track team, allowing its reestablishment under the condition that the cheerleading team be reinstated (Source 2). However, the university figured out a way to expand women’s programs without cutting men’s programs by creating new scholarship opportunities and adding new sports (Source 1). They also professionally marketed women’s sports events to increase awareness and attention about