Women's Liberation

Opportunities for female athletes expanded enormously in the last decades of the twentieth century, spurred by the women’s liberation movement and by the passage of Title IX, the landmark piece of federal legislation that forbade discrimination by sex in educational programs. The new generation of female athletes faced many obstacles, including the cost of establishing women’s athletic teams, lingering concerns about women’s physical and emotional stamina, ongoing controversy over the association between sports and lesbianism, and reluctance to allow women into what many saw as men’s rightful domain. Overcoming those obstacles required work on many fronts, including federal legislation, grassroots endeavors within individual schools and communities, efforts to shift both popular culture and public opinion, and at times legal action. But women seized eagerly on the new opportunities. Between 1970 and 1997, the number of girls who played high school sports increased nearly tenfold, reaching nearly 2.5 million. Tournaments and championships multiplied, and professional opportunities expanded. Female tennis players established a thriving professional circuit. While full equality still lay out of reach, much progress had been made.