A paper which explores how women’s participation in athletics has increased dramatically in contemporary American sporting history.
The paper explores how, over the past decade, women’s athletics has seen an exceptional increase in popularity. While traditional women’s sports such as tennis, gymnastics and ice-skating have always been popular among the American public, other sports such as soccer, basketball and boxing are gaining new fans. The paper shows, however, that the popularity of women in sports has not been an overnight phenomenon. It explores how women athletes have been slowly knocking down barriers for decades, from Wilma Rudolph (track) to Billie Jean King (tennis) to Nancy Lieberman Kline (basketball), women athletes have done more than just compete, that have campaigned for the inclusion of women in sports and have been outstanding advocates for women in athletics. This paper explores the rise of women’s participation in athletics and how the present day has witnessed the best support for women athletes in American history.
Undeniably, women have made remarkable strides in athletics. Women athletes have much more issues to conquer than their male counterparts. For example, male athletes do not have to deal with sexism and a culture that prevents them from realizing their true potential. A revolutionary law, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity at any educational institution that is a recipient of federal funds. Since the enacting Title IX there has been over an eight hundred percent increase in athletics participation among high school girls. The increase in the number of females participating in sports at all levels from elementary school to professional athletes lies in the paradigm shift in our shared values and beliefs.