Women Are Weak

Madison S. - LLI Dayton

Sports are simply not the place for women. Women are delicate, sweet, and are not able to handle the exertion that comes with sports.  

This was the mindset America had 100 years ago. This is the stereotype that was ingrained into generation after generation of young men and young women. This has molded the way we see ourselves and the way we measure our abilities inside and outside of sports.

We have improved. As a young lady in high school I can go to my school, try out for a sport, and have a few options on what I want to play. When I grow up I can go into a workplace, apply for a job, and get paid almost equal pay. Yes, I have opportunities. But, not as many as the young man sitting beside who has grown up in the same environment, has had the same education, and whose capability and responsibility is equal to my own.

In​ ​1972​ ​Title​ ​IX​ ​was​ ​passed.​ ​It​ ​started​ ​to​ ​even​ ​the​ ​playing​ ​field,​ ​but,​ ​we​ ​are​ ​a​ ​long way​ ​from​ ​equal.

Mercer filed suit against Duke in 1997, claiming Duke violated Title IX when the football coaches cut her from the football team because she is a woman and treated her differently from male players” (Glover). Heather Sue Mercer was a female place kicker who faced discrimination while she was on Duke’s football team and later on when she was dropped from that team. Less qualified walk-on kickers were kept on the team when she, a qualified female player, was dropped. After the suit was filed a federal jury ruled in Mercer’s favor. Mercer was a female player on a a male football  team. If women are allowed to play on male teams. Men should be allowed to play on female teams.  

In the article “Gender Participation Issues Related to Sports-Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,” Williams v. School Dist. of Bethlehem is highlighted as a case where a male athlete wanted to try out for a women’s team and was not allowed by the school. After a lawsuit was filed the court ruled that males can compete on women’s team because it was their right protected by Title IX. Title IX was created to protect minority rights because minorities were more repressed and faced discrimination. Equal rights and opportunities means equal rights and opportunities. Females have the right and males have the right to play on teams of the opposite gender. Especially if it gives the athlete more opportunities (Glover).

Minorities do not only want equal rights and opportunities on the playing field. They need them in the work force. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 started to close the gap. But, as I will say again, we are a long way from equal. In this world sometimes the workplace and the playing field are the same thing. Carli Lloyd is a U.S. female professional soccer player. She has been a player for 12 years and has won two Olympic Gold medals and a Women’s World Cup. The top five U.S. male soccer players receive $406,000 each year while the top five female players only received $72,000 (Lloyd).

This is a disgusting gap. But this is the world we live in. We are changing and improving at the same time we create more problems that have to be fixed. We have people that can control our lives through the wages we make and the treatment we receive in the workplace. More minorities in control means more opportunities for minorities because without a voice nothing will ever change.

 

SOURCES CONSIDERED:

  • Glover, William H., Jr. "Gender Participation Issues Related to Sports - Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972." Web Blog Post. Lexis Hub - Practice Legal Commentary. LexisNexis, 3 March 2011.
  • Lloyd, Carli. "Carli Lloyd: Why I'm Fighting for Equal Pay." Web Blog Post. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 10 April 2016. 
  • Das, Andrew. "Long Days, Google Docs and Anonymous Surveys:  How the U.S. Soccer Team Forged a Deal." Web Blog Post. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 5 April 2017.
  • Rios, Edwin. "The US Women's Soccer Team Scored a Much-Needed Pay Bump." Web Blog Post. Mother Jones. 5 April 2017.