Title IX

I'm taking a social theory in sport class this semester. Honestly, I was not very excited about. I've never been a fan of classes having to do with theories, but I guess the connection to sport has made it much more enjoyable for me. This class has made me think more than any class I've ever taken. It has made me think about the culture I was raised in and how much of an impact it has had on my way of thinking. For the past couple of weeks, we have been talking about the feminist theory. Before taking this class I would have thought that a feminist theorist would be someone in support of Title IX, would probably have an interest in women's athletics, and generally have the same opinions as me. I thought that I would have been a feminist theorist. I mean I am a girl that has played sports my whole life, has a degree in sports, and enjoys watching most sports. Of course I would be a feminist theorist, right?

In class last week, we watched a Nike commercial from 1995 introducing the "If You Let Me Play" campaign. I thought that commercial was very empowering for girls. It basically showed a bunch of cute little girls giving positive reasons of participating in sports.

My teacher likes to give us a few days to let things sink in and we discuss them further so today we discussed the video a little bit more. In our discussion, my teacher pointed out that a feminist theorist would be very critical of the ad. A feminist theorist would wonder why a girl would have to be let play anything. A better slogan for the campaign would be something along the lines of, "We Are Going to Play Our Game and You Aren't Allowed."

Basically what I brought away from the past couple of weeks are the following...

1. I am not a feminist theorist.

2. I am so thankful that I never had to ask to play anything. My parents always allowed me to play the sports that I wanted.

3. I think that female sports are always going to be different from male sports and that's okay.

4. Title IX's idea of "separate but equal" is great on the surface, but when looking at it further there is so much more in women's sports that it doesn't address

Throwback Duluth Rec Basketball picture of the Burton kids. My team was the Pink Panthers and I was so little that I wouldn't get the ball to the goal until the very end of the season without shooting a "granny shot!"