National Girls and Women in Sports Day--and what we still have to fight for

                                         Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

A lot has been coming up roses for girls and women in sports, with such stars as Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles. A real tragedy is the deaths of the young figure skaters in that horrible crash in Washington. Women have been working hard for parity in sports for a very long time-- acceptance, pay, equipment, etc.-- and they are just now starting to get wider television and other media coverage. That all said, it's kind of hard to celebrate this, when the clock is spinning backward. 

But we will. I will. My daughter was an accomplished athlete all throughout school and in college. She worked hard at it, to be sure, and we made damned sure she had a lot of opportunities. Having to advocate for her well-being against male coaches (not all, but a couple) honed my momma skills, and I'm pretty sure that the experience of having to fight for every inch helped her along her paths in the professional sphere as well. I didn't raise a doormat, and I'm not about to allow anyone else to step on the girls and young women I get to work with in the classroom. I love watching Meg work with young women now, teaching them not only about their chosen sport, but also about what it means to hold your head up, to advocate for what is right, and how to claim your space with grace and grit.

Title IX came about in 1973, and it was a hard-fought battle for equal treatment then. Biden re-visioned parts of it to include trans athletes, as well, but that's likely to be shaved back. Equal treatment in all educational spheres is the core of Title IX, not just athletics. There's a lot to be learned on the court, in the field, on the links, etc., and it's unfortunate that one of the lessons girls and women still have to learn is that the fight is ongoing. It's not settled, regardless of the law. It's not settled in the workplace, in communities, or even under the law in the broader sense. 

So while we applaud the athletic accomplishments of the distaff side of society, let's not forget that the struggle is still very real in all avenues of life for almost every woman and girl. We can't stop now.

Take care,

C

https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/get-involved/ngwsd/