4B* S - *- -S
Wednesday, February 9, 2014 // The Statement E3'
she said.
Despite offering a women's gym class and
even introducing a women's basketball team
that played against Eastern Michigan in 1898,
the University didn't offer varsity sports until
they lawfully had to, and didn't comply with
Title IX's mandate on scholarships until 1989.
Equal focus on male and female sports at the
University wasn't given until the ruling of the
1992 Supreme Court case, Franklin v. Gwinnett
County Public Schools, which ruled punitive
damages should be awarded to those who suf-
fered when Title IX is intentionally avoided. It
was then, Hutchins said, that women's sports
finally had the attention of the University Ath-
letic Department.
"Out of those 40 years (of Title IX), the first
20 we weren't playing for championships, we
were playing because we had to have a team
out there," Hutchins said. "We never started
a practice before 8 o'clock in the middle of
the winter because we had to let all the men's
sports go before us. They were fully funded;
we were on shoe strings. Around the mid-90s
we were taken more seriously, and now we're
seeing women's sports looked at based on their
success on the field just like the men are."
Today, the effects of Title IX can be seen
all over the sports world, and Ann Arbor is no
exception. Nearly a million viewers watched
Hutchins' softball team fall to Washington
in last year's Women's College World Series.
Michigan currently boasts 14 varsity women's
sports, one more than men's varsity sports
teams, and the University complies with Title
IX on every documentable level.
Women's participation in sports is at an all-
time high, but according to Sport Management
Prof. Ketra Armstrong, an associate dean of
kinesiology, compliance with the law is only
the first step toward equality.
"Title IX has caused female athletes to have
greater participation and more empowerment
in sports," Armstrong said. "But there were
unintended (bad) consequences. The whole
idea was to provide equality, but what came
with Title IX was a decline in female coaches
and administrators."
Armstrong noted that before Title IX,
women held the majority of administrative
positions in women's sports. Yet after Title IX,
the number of women's coaches for women's
teams dwindled to 43 percent.
Though Armstrong's numbers are based off
national research, the University follows trend
in terms of the declining numbers of female
administrators. Three decades ago, the year
before Hutchins took over as Head Coach, nine
of the 10 women's varsity sports were coached
by women. Today, seven of 14 women's varsity
coaches are male.
Armstrong, who has played, coached and
researched at a Division I level in addition to
working with the NCAA and Olympics to pro-
mote social justice and gender equality, feels
that the administrative loophole has prevented
athletics from reaching true gender equality 42
years after Title IX passed.
"We aren't seeing the same parallel improve-
ments across the board in women's athletics,
even today,' Armstrong said. "The number
of females in managerial roles today is dis-
heartening, because that's where the effective
change stems from."
Women on the field
This concept of societal pressure is what
Armstrong refers to as "cognitive dissonance."
The idea is that to avoid being perceived as too
masculine, female athletes accentuate femi-
ninity. From fashion to speech patterns, even
the most masculine women try to assume the
same identity as everyone else.
After leaving the gymnastics team to join
the Olympic weightlifting club last year, Nagle
found that the shame of h-ing masculine only
increased. She carr'ed the identity normalv
reserved for men e r yday, and only whcn she
accepted it heself did the heavy load lighten.
"When Jt oldpeo-
ple I did ,Ightlift-
ing, I wasn l OK with
it myself.Nagk se
remember thinking 'I don't know who these
people are or what they did, and I'm creeped
out because I'm half-naked in a bank."'
The role of cheerleaders is different than any
other sport - male or female - on campus. The
team must simultaneously train to defend their
National Championship and represent the face
of the University.
"Everyone knows the uniforms and what
ceerleaders are," Niznik said. "So when
the University needs a stand-in or wants to
make their presence known they just send us,
because we have pretty faces and shiny pom
e viewing women's athletics
a lot better than they were
rs ago. It's evolving, just like
till evolving, but we always
ley pointed out in 1993, male athletes don't have
to be role models. The success of male sports
continues to grow, and society will go on if
Barkley or other male athletes fail to live up to
moral or societal standards. But today, women
don't have that luxury.
"They have to be good citizens," Hutchins
said. "They have to be good students and rep-
resent the University as ambassadors. (Soft-
ball player) Sara Driesenga had to walk out of
the locker room door after pitching a loss and
giving up the winning hit and still be on her
A-game for the kids. It's important to recog-
nize that all these little girls look up to you and
want to be you."
Fair play: The future movement
Throughout history, sports have paved the
road for change in society. From uniting social
and economic classes to breaking down racial
barriers, equality on the field has often been
achieved first, with society following suit.
If Title IX were a living woman, she'd be
middle-aged. At 42, the law enforcing gender
equality between federally-funded activities
has begun to do just that.
But the law can only control so much. The
way women's athletics are perceived is far from
equal to men's. From January 2000 to June
201 L Spor tsillustrated featured women onjust
35 of their covers - roughly 4.9 percent of 716
publshed issues.
BY ZACH SHAW
SA Senior Shannon Niznik hasn't
brushed her hair in three days. Her face
is buried in an LSAT book, and she is
studying anonymously in the Business School's
Winter Garden. No one asks to pose for pic-
tures with her; no one asks for her autograph,
no one gawks, points or even gives a second
glance as they walk by.
In today's age, the sighting of a high-profile
male athlete can be compared to seeing a movie
star in person. Even if they aren't recognized
immediately, the University of Michigan ath-
letic apparel and the infamous blue backpack
are enough to garner at least a few hushed loks.
But for Niznik, she only causes a stir on game
days, when - asa senior member of the Michi-
gan cheerleading team -she is asked to pose
for pictures with kids, students and husbands.
"On game days we're always posing for
photos, holding babies and talking to people,"
Niznik said. "Cheerleaders are well known for
the uniform that we're wearing, but people
don't know athing aboutus. Onlyuntil recently
on the website I was just Shannon the cheer-
leader. They don't even realize we exist outside
of the uniform and pom poms, it's an identity-
less entity."
Such is life for many female athletes. Even
in the modern era, female athletes sometimes
lack the recognition and - in many cases,
respect - that male athletes receive.
Across the nation, every Division I school
has roughly the same scholarships for men and
women, facilities are equitable nationwide, and
women are given ample opportunity to com-
pete for their teams,just like men.
But the problem of gender equality in sports
remains unsolved. More than four decades
after Title IX, the push for gender equality in
sports has reached what may be the difficult
final stretch.
A legal history
When Title IX of the Education Amendment
Act was passed in 1972, the future of college
sportswas merely an afterthought. The act was
put into place to ensure that the quality of edu-
cation in America was equal for both males and
females. Doors opened for female faculty and
administrators; standardized tests were moni-
tored and altered to fairly assess to both gen-
ders equally; arts, music and theater programs
were designed to balance male and female par-
ticipation and involvement.
But as the years wore on, it became clear that
athletics would be the biggest but most contro-
versial change under the law. In the late 1970s,
female athletes began to file lawsuits, claiming
athletic departments weren't taking the law
seriously. The 1980s saw progress, but accord-
ing to Michigan Softball Coach Carol Hutchins
- who was hired as an assistant in 1983 before
taking over as head coach two years later - the
movement was far from desired equality.
"We were just a cut above intramural
sports," Hutchins said. "Title IX passed in
'72, but it wasn't being well received when I
arrived. Athletic departments recognized they
had a federal court case on their hands if they
didn't comply, so schools had women's sports,
but they weren't being supported real well."
On the field itself, female athletes still face "I thought it Was Ve
an uphill battle gaining the same respect as manly, and somethi
males. According to Armstrong, the atmo- felt wrong about it
sphere of apathy or hospitality stems from cen- think women have
turies of societal norms. be stronger, find th,
"Sport has always been perceived as a male own strength insi
domain," Armstrong said. "Sport was the way them. We're trainedI
in which men practiced masculinity, it was a society that men a
rite of passage. Due to this, women have always athletic and womena
been perceived as invaders, and that's made it not. It takes a fema
hard for them to really earn the same level of to be ok with it hers
respect." first. It sucks; it'sn
Despite the societal prejudice, science might cool, not fun."
be the biggest obstacle. According to Michael
Messner, author of "Power at Play: Sports, and A changing role
the problem of masculinity," the average adult
male is 5 inches taller than the average female, Shannon Niznik ju
and is comprised of 40 percent muscle and wanted to practi
15 percent fat, while females are have about As a member of t
23 percent muscle and 25 percent fat. This Michigan Cheerlea
equates to greater buoyancy in water, skeletal ing team, she was ta
structure, better balance and superior flexibil- tices, in which the tea
ity. Due to these bodily differences, girls tend the football season
to participate in higher numbers in synchro- National Champions
nized swimming, gymnastics, cheerleading the 12-hour practice
and other "softer" sports. break was set to beg
"Some sports have become gendered as fem- assignment several d
inine," Armstrong said. "They're non-contact "This bank gave A
and allow women to look girly. It's a sex-role they were having a
conflict by virtue of the female identity, and we we all had to stop pr:
see girls being funneled into these sports more Main Street and clap
often." out of a meeting."
Among those funneled into the "female" Without any timeI
sports is Kinesiology senior Kristin Nagle. even background asI
Since the age of two, Nagle has done gymnas- or what they did, theI
tics, eventually earning a spot on Michigan's the impromptu perfo
team. A self-professed tomboy, Nagle struggled ers walked out of thei
fitting in for as long as she can remember. they were greeted by
"I always tried to adapt and form to what pom poms that have
women should be," Nagle said. "Hair, makeup, ningest football team
earrings, looking back it's kind of sad, it wasn't "Of course theym
me. I was just trying to fit society's mold and fit we're half-naked ino
in with my sport, it wasn't who I am." old executives walki
Hy eople a r
ng
to a heck of
eir
de
by 10, 20 year
are
are ..
ale society is S
elf
not
have to vigi
ust
ce.
the
ad-
king part in August prac
am was preparing for bot
and to defend their 201
;hip. As the first halfo
wound down and a lunc
in, the team was given a
ays before its first class.
Michigan a donation, an
party," Niznik said. "S
actice and go to a bank o
for them as they walke
for questions, concerns o
to whom the people wen
team quickly got ready fa
rmance. As the bankstaf
ir early afternoon meetin
'the same maize and blu
greeted the nation's win
for decades.
were all loving it becaus,
ur crop-tops with allthes
ng in," Niznik said. "I ju
lant for equality
Ext
generation, we'll be pr
c- poms and really stick out.",
h While cheerleaders cap.be the face of the
.3 University, other w aen's sports find them-
of selves with the added burden of being an inspi-
h ration as well.
n In the early days of the Title IX era, the role
of women's sports in college was simply to fill
d scholarships. Today, women's sports still fail
o to generate enough revenue to support them-
n selves, but the role female athletes play has
d changed.
"Women's athletics has always been a place
ar to show what women can accomplish in soci-
re ety," Armstrong said. "Sports has been a leader
r in empowering women, and today many girls
f- even in areas other than sports are inspired by
ig athletes, but because the athletes are success-
ie ful in a visible way.
n- "It's not about what they do in sport, but how
they navigate the gendered terrain. By doing
se well in sports, female coaches and athletes can
e show what women can do in other male-dom-
st inated areas, and that can have a tremendous
impact on society," she said.
In her 29 seasons as head coach of
the Michigan softball team, Hutchins
has never had a losing season. Unsur-
prisingly, the Michigan softball team
has more Twitter followers and
receives more media coverage than
the baseball team. Yet of all the accom-
plishments her teams have had over
the years, Hutchins knows the biggest
one is inspiring female leaders of the
future.
As NBA hall-of-famer Charles Bark-
Aecord ing to Armstrong and Hutchins, this
pattern won't last long. The two figures who
have overseen the development of women's
spoi-ts feel the recent focus on women's sports
bas had an impact on the young adults of today,
and believe itwon'tbe longbefore today'syouth
will lead society to a state of complete equality.
"(Women's sports) are still evolving,"
Hutchins said. "My father's generation couldn't
even fathom gender equality, but it's genera-
tional. People are viewing women's athletics a
heck of a lot better than they were 10, 20 years
ago. It's evolving, just like society is still evolv-
ing, but we always have to be vigilant for equali-
ty. By the nextgeneration, we'llbe pretty close."
A look inside Armstrong's "Gender and
Sport" class proves Hutchins' point. As the sun
crept over the horizon at 8:30 a.m., students
slowly filed in. Once the class began, students
engaged in lively discussions, ranging in topic
from the caliber of the NBA All-Star game to
locker room culture to Sheryl Swoope's sexual-
ity conflict and the media's portrayal of lesbian
athletes. But throughout the class, the thread of
hope remained clear.
"This generation gets it," Armstrong said.
"When I teach my classes, my students are
phenomenal. Hope is on the horizon. This gen-
eration embraces the social justice concept and
has the belief that gender equality is something
society needs, that life should be fair and rules
are there to promote fair play."
Laws are put into place to lay the foundation
for change. They can't dictate the reaction, per-
ception or acceptance of those affected by the
law. Title IX has pushed women's sports from
an afterthought to an obligation to an opportu-
nity. Now, the burden is on those involved in the
sports worldto ensure women'sathleticsgarner
equal recognition and respect as men's sports. "W
i i i
' f i",