25. Women's bodies in culture and sports
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Women’s bodies have been policed for all of time and this obliged them to remain out of certain spaces, wear certain things, and look certain ways— how annoying. Despite their absence in positions of power, women have always been visible in pop culture, film, music, art, and culture. Women in sports were often relegated to Page 7, if they got media attention at all. Whichever industry they were in, women were still seen and heard in smaller percentages than men. Their bodies were sexualized and objectified, and they were routinely paid less. All of that continued and shifted gradually over the 20th century as women championed anti-discrimination legislation, led social movements, and gradually gained opportunity. Describing the popular culture of the last century or more is difficult, and subject to change depending on the decade. Throughout, there were efforts to constrain women to traditional ideals of wife and mother, while simultaneously, the realities for women as well as the examples set by many ran in indirect contrast to those ideals.
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Those that resisted traditional expectations for women in the 20th century did so in spite of expectations; not because their path to resistance was somehow easier. The right to vote in the 1920s, the Equal Pay Act in the 1960s, Roe v. Wade, and Title IX in the 1970s all proved to be significant structural turning points in culture and the way women's bodies were viewed. Culture told women how to be by describing the ideal body type of a woman. In media, fashion, dolls, and in sport, culture dictates how women should look, sound, and act and this was apparently distinctly different from men. Women's bodies have long been a battle ground for unrealistic expectations, norms that weakened or sickened them, and judged them for appearing too manly. Male-dominated culture had somehow established a stronghold on natural bodies, so women had to work over the 20th century to establish that their bodies too could be natural, strong, and beautiful.
Suffragists, Wilton Historical Society
Culture of the Early 20th Century:
Twentieth century popular culture in the US was characterized by myriad fads, fashions, innovations, and inventions that affected the lives of women. What women wore, how they danced, how they participated in the consumer economy, cared for their families, and even challenged society’s norms were all critical elements of the culture of everyday life. Their lives were separated by barriers of race, geography, or class, but American women, nevertheless, defined the popular culture of the century as participants, critics, and innovators.
American women faced the dawn of the twentieth century in clothing that artificially emphasized female curves while completely covering their bodies. Modern fashion of the day required full length skirts, a tightly cinched waist line, and hats with plumage. Even working-class women tended their machines or did piecework at home in floor length dresses. The creation of the shirtwaist dress provided some relief from the demands of tight lacing but nevertheless fulfilled the demands of modesty that kept women almost completely covered. A full length dress made riding the popular two-wheeled bicycle difficult. Designers met the challenge with a so-called safety bicycle for women that offered room for stylish but voluminous skirts. Even suffragists who engaged in radical protests and marches for the vote in 1919 were properly covered head to toe in white. And women who sought relief from hot summers with a day at the beach entered the water covered from shoulder to knee in bathing suits that resembled those of their male counterparts.
Twentieth century popular culture in the US was characterized by myriad fads, fashions, innovations, and inventions that affected the lives of women. What women wore, how they danced, how they participated in the consumer economy, cared for their families, and even challenged society’s norms were all critical elements of the culture of everyday life. Their lives were separated by barriers of race, geography, or class, but American women, nevertheless, defined the popular culture of the century as participants, critics, and innovators.
American women faced the dawn of the twentieth century in clothing that artificially emphasized female curves while completely covering their bodies. Modern fashion of the day required full length skirts, a tightly cinched waist line, and hats with plumage. Even working-class women tended their machines or did piecework at home in floor length dresses. The creation of the shirtwaist dress provided some relief from the demands of tight lacing but nevertheless fulfilled the demands of modesty that kept women almost completely covered. A full length dress made riding the popular two-wheeled bicycle difficult. Designers met the challenge with a so-called safety bicycle for women that offered room for stylish but voluminous skirts. Even suffragists who engaged in radical protests and marches for the vote in 1919 were properly covered head to toe in white. And women who sought relief from hot summers with a day at the beach entered the water covered from shoulder to knee in bathing suits that resembled those of their male counterparts.
Elizabeth Arden, Wikimedia Commons
While beauty and fashion industries were largely dominated by men, women carved out space for themselves by filling the demand in markets that male designers and beauticians ignored. Martha Matilda Harper founded the Harper Hair Parlour and is credited with inventing modern retail franchising. Harper trained women to open salons under her brand, following her guidelines, which led to the establishment of over 500 Harper salons worldwide by the 1920s. Additionally, she invented the reclining shampoo chair, now a staple in hairdressing. Florence Nightingale Graham, known as Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian cosmetic entrepreneur who founded Elizabeth Arden, Inc. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, she built a renowned cosmetic brand and helped make makeup socially acceptable for all women. Arden traveled to Paris to study beauty techniques and developed a range of rouge and powders that sold worldwide. Josephine Esther Mentzer, known as Estée Lauder, co-founded the Estée Lauder Companies and became one of the 20th century's most influential businesswomen. Starting with just four products, she built a multinational corporation that now owns 28 beauty companies.
Mainstream culture dictated a largely white definition of beauty, and women of color began claiming spaces in those unmet markets. Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C.J. Walker, was an American businesswoman who became the first female self-made millionaire in the United States. In the early 1900s, she developed and marketed a line of beauty and hair products for Black women, initially selling door-to-door. She trained women to become "beauty culturists," teaching them hair grooming and styling techniques. Walker's business grew to include a factory, hair salon, beauty school, and sales network. Her success provided significant opportunities for women, particularly women of color, at a time of severe discrimination.
Dolls have always been an interesting reflection of the values that society has placed on women, but also a space where women can project the world in the way that they want to see for themselves. During World War I, when porcelain became scarce due to embargos on Germany, Bertha "Beatrice" Alexander Behrman, also known as Madame Alexander crafted her first doll due with her sisters. They sewed various cloth dolls, which saved the family's business. After the war, they continued producing cloth dolls but also made plastic and eventually porcelain dolls. Their dolls were supposed to look accurate to the way people looked. She meticulously researched the history and cultures of different places to make accurate portrayals. Due to her marketing and innovation, Alexander was a leader in the doll making industry, becoming the largest in the country for a time. Which goes to show that real women are better than idealized ones.
Mainstream culture dictated a largely white definition of beauty, and women of color began claiming spaces in those unmet markets. Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C.J. Walker, was an American businesswoman who became the first female self-made millionaire in the United States. In the early 1900s, she developed and marketed a line of beauty and hair products for Black women, initially selling door-to-door. She trained women to become "beauty culturists," teaching them hair grooming and styling techniques. Walker's business grew to include a factory, hair salon, beauty school, and sales network. Her success provided significant opportunities for women, particularly women of color, at a time of severe discrimination.
Dolls have always been an interesting reflection of the values that society has placed on women, but also a space where women can project the world in the way that they want to see for themselves. During World War I, when porcelain became scarce due to embargos on Germany, Bertha "Beatrice" Alexander Behrman, also known as Madame Alexander crafted her first doll due with her sisters. They sewed various cloth dolls, which saved the family's business. After the war, they continued producing cloth dolls but also made plastic and eventually porcelain dolls. Their dolls were supposed to look accurate to the way people looked. She meticulously researched the history and cultures of different places to make accurate portrayals. Due to her marketing and innovation, Alexander was a leader in the doll making industry, becoming the largest in the country for a time. Which goes to show that real women are better than idealized ones.
Margaret Abbot, Public Domain, Wikimedia
Early Women's Sports:
The sports world was another matter. These women’s bodies were preferred to be viewed as “weak.” In the late nineteenth century, the prevailing belief was that feminine women – “true” women – should not exert themselves because exertion was considered manly. Women first needed to dismantle the arguments that sports, even just watching sports, made them manly. Of course, enslaved women and later freed women servants of color were not treated like “ladies” in this way. In the early twentieth century, the only sports women were permitted to participate in were “aesthetic” sports like gymnastics, which was very different from the gymnasts today, and perceived as a sport that didn’t require women to exert themselves too much.
In the late 1880s, the modern bicycle was invented and, as Susan B. Anthony said, “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” Bicycles were new toys to men, but were viewed as a vehicle for autonomy and self-reliance for women. They were liberating! Bicycles allowed women to leave home and to wear clothing that enabled involvement in more physical activity. This social shift was a necessary first step toward women’s full participation in sport.
Still, traditional gender norms persisted and the backlash was strong. Doctors and social commentators went out of their way to justify their belief that women should not exercise. In fact, a medical diagnosis of “Bicycle Face,” or the “the unconscious effort” required to keep one’s balance, which produces a “wearied and exhausted 'bicycle face.’” Beyond this nonsense, they argued that biking was taxing and inappropriate for women because it could lead to a number of health conditions including insomnia, heart problems, and depression. Rules were imposed on women cyclists, not men. In 1895, The New York World insisted on forty-one rules for women riders in order to keep them ladylike including to take assistance from male riders and not to emulate the more aggressive riding posture of male cyclists.
It took female medical doctors pushing back to end the absurdity. In 1897, Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson wrote in a medical journal that bicycling “is not injurious to any part of the anatomy, as it improves the general health. I have been conscientiously recommending bicycling for the last five years… The painfully anxious facial expression is seen only among beginners, and is due to the uncertainty of amateurs. As soon as a rider becomes proficient, can gauge her muscular strength, and acquires perfect confidence in her ability to balance herself and in her power of locomotion, this look passes away.” Still, emphasis for women’s sports remained on aesthetics. The modern Olympics returned in 1896, but women were not allowed to compete. Women competed for the first time at the Paris Games in 1900 representing only 22 of 997 athletes present. Women contestedin tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism, and golf. Golfer Margaret Abbott was the first American woman to win at an Olympic Game. Abbott received a porcelain bowl as a prize.
The sports world was another matter. These women’s bodies were preferred to be viewed as “weak.” In the late nineteenth century, the prevailing belief was that feminine women – “true” women – should not exert themselves because exertion was considered manly. Women first needed to dismantle the arguments that sports, even just watching sports, made them manly. Of course, enslaved women and later freed women servants of color were not treated like “ladies” in this way. In the early twentieth century, the only sports women were permitted to participate in were “aesthetic” sports like gymnastics, which was very different from the gymnasts today, and perceived as a sport that didn’t require women to exert themselves too much.
In the late 1880s, the modern bicycle was invented and, as Susan B. Anthony said, “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” Bicycles were new toys to men, but were viewed as a vehicle for autonomy and self-reliance for women. They were liberating! Bicycles allowed women to leave home and to wear clothing that enabled involvement in more physical activity. This social shift was a necessary first step toward women’s full participation in sport.
Still, traditional gender norms persisted and the backlash was strong. Doctors and social commentators went out of their way to justify their belief that women should not exercise. In fact, a medical diagnosis of “Bicycle Face,” or the “the unconscious effort” required to keep one’s balance, which produces a “wearied and exhausted 'bicycle face.’” Beyond this nonsense, they argued that biking was taxing and inappropriate for women because it could lead to a number of health conditions including insomnia, heart problems, and depression. Rules were imposed on women cyclists, not men. In 1895, The New York World insisted on forty-one rules for women riders in order to keep them ladylike including to take assistance from male riders and not to emulate the more aggressive riding posture of male cyclists.
It took female medical doctors pushing back to end the absurdity. In 1897, Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson wrote in a medical journal that bicycling “is not injurious to any part of the anatomy, as it improves the general health. I have been conscientiously recommending bicycling for the last five years… The painfully anxious facial expression is seen only among beginners, and is due to the uncertainty of amateurs. As soon as a rider becomes proficient, can gauge her muscular strength, and acquires perfect confidence in her ability to balance herself and in her power of locomotion, this look passes away.” Still, emphasis for women’s sports remained on aesthetics. The modern Olympics returned in 1896, but women were not allowed to compete. Women competed for the first time at the Paris Games in 1900 representing only 22 of 997 athletes present. Women contestedin tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism, and golf. Golfer Margaret Abbott was the first American woman to win at an Olympic Game. Abbott received a porcelain bowl as a prize.
Public Domain, “Take me out to the Ball Game,” 1910
The 1904 Games were held in St. Louis, Missouri. Matilda Scott Howell won three gold medals, becoming the first American woman to win one. Archery was the only legitimate event women were permitted to participate in. It is important to note, however, that these achievements for women were limited to white women. During this time, Ku Klux Klan membership was increasing and incidents of lynching persisted. As a result, very few tennis courts or public pools were accessible to black athletes, whether male or female. Afterall—black bodies, like female ones, have a long history of being policed.
Women had to dismantle the social ideology that sport was inherently a male arena and that athleticism was synonymous with and essential to health. This pertained quite literally to bans on women even sitting in stadiums. Women sports fans protested their exclusion from stadiums. Perhaps the most famous American sports song ever is “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” sung at baseball games everywhere. This song’s original 1908 verses and lyrics read as follows:
“Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev’ry sou Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said “No,
I’ll tell you what you can do:
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Just buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win, it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game.
Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
Good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:
Take me out to the ball game…."
Women had to dismantle the social ideology that sport was inherently a male arena and that athleticism was synonymous with and essential to health. This pertained quite literally to bans on women even sitting in stadiums. Women sports fans protested their exclusion from stadiums. Perhaps the most famous American sports song ever is “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” sung at baseball games everywhere. This song’s original 1908 verses and lyrics read as follows:
“Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev’ry sou Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said “No,
I’ll tell you what you can do:
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Just buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win, it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game.
Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
Good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:
Take me out to the ball game…."
Lil Hardin Armstrong, Wikimedia Commons
The song was and is a feminist anthem, imploring listeners to allow women into the sporting arena. Societal objections and false concerns about women’s health also played a role in women’s continued exclusion from sport, especially in track and field. So-called “experts” believed track could negatively affect women’s endocrine systems. Women were advised against participating during menstruation due to fears of uterine damage, and the emotional stress of competition was falsely seen as potentially leading to nervous breakdowns. Nevertheless, women remained eager to compete.
The New Woman:
Like the bicycle, the advent of the autonomous moving vehicle – the automobile, sometimes called a “horseless carriage”-- provided women with new freedom to travel at will, even though most roads were barely paved and dangerous. Inventions such as the telephone that could transmit the human voice, the victrola that could reproduce the sound of both instruments and voices, and silent films that brought women like Clara Bow, the “It” Girl, into the lives of millions who patronized the cinema all broadened women’s horizons by portraying a world beyond the middle-class home. At about the same time, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and electric refrigerators made a woman’s job of tending to household chores a bit easier. Even rural women far from the newest department store could fulfill their basic needs through the Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs that promised the latest styles in fashion and new-fangled inventions for the home.
In the first two decades of the century, American women continued to follow their partners on the dance floor in decorous steps like the waltz. Soon, they discovered more provocative forms of dance expression with names like the Grizzly Bear, Duck Waddle, Bunny Hug, Fox Trot, and the Turkey Trot. Hot jazz had moved indoors from the parades and funerals of New Orleans to the juke joints and rent parties of American cities, and the new music inspired new dance styles like the Charleston and the Black Bottom. The latest women’s fashion eschewed cinched waists and curves for a flat-chested, long-waisted look. In many of the new dance crazes, a woman needed no partner to have a good time on the dance floor.
The new woman of the 1920s wore long strands of beads, short hair, and shorter skirts. She smoked and swore like a man and claimed to be liberated from the conventions of her parents’ generation. She was called a flapper, a free-spirited woman who danced with abandon while flapping her arms. A popular dance called the Charleston symbolized the “Roaring Twenties.” This new form of personal dance expression liberated both women and men from the constraints of traditional moves in which the man led the woman’s every step while holding her at arm’s length. The music of the Charleston was created primarily by men in live bands and on the new recording cylinders that gained huge popularity. As a member of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven, Lil Hardin Armstrong was the exceptional woman who succeeded in the early jazz years. Men may have been the most popular “crooners" of the day, but urban blues belonged to African-American women like Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, and many others who sang of the trials and tribulations of being Black and female.
Recording companies like Capitol soon got the message that Black entertainers would sell so-called “race records” in the Black community. Entertainment promoters such as the famous Theater Owners Booking Association, more colloquially called “tough on Black artists” or “tough on Black asses,” made huge profits from booking Black musicians such as Bessie Smith in town after town on successive days with no break. This was an especially grueling schedule in the Southwhere artists were not permitted to eat a meal or book a room in the establishments where they entertained primarily white audiences. For Black musicians, this was indeed a tough way to make a living.
The New Woman:
Like the bicycle, the advent of the autonomous moving vehicle – the automobile, sometimes called a “horseless carriage”-- provided women with new freedom to travel at will, even though most roads were barely paved and dangerous. Inventions such as the telephone that could transmit the human voice, the victrola that could reproduce the sound of both instruments and voices, and silent films that brought women like Clara Bow, the “It” Girl, into the lives of millions who patronized the cinema all broadened women’s horizons by portraying a world beyond the middle-class home. At about the same time, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and electric refrigerators made a woman’s job of tending to household chores a bit easier. Even rural women far from the newest department store could fulfill their basic needs through the Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs that promised the latest styles in fashion and new-fangled inventions for the home.
In the first two decades of the century, American women continued to follow their partners on the dance floor in decorous steps like the waltz. Soon, they discovered more provocative forms of dance expression with names like the Grizzly Bear, Duck Waddle, Bunny Hug, Fox Trot, and the Turkey Trot. Hot jazz had moved indoors from the parades and funerals of New Orleans to the juke joints and rent parties of American cities, and the new music inspired new dance styles like the Charleston and the Black Bottom. The latest women’s fashion eschewed cinched waists and curves for a flat-chested, long-waisted look. In many of the new dance crazes, a woman needed no partner to have a good time on the dance floor.
The new woman of the 1920s wore long strands of beads, short hair, and shorter skirts. She smoked and swore like a man and claimed to be liberated from the conventions of her parents’ generation. She was called a flapper, a free-spirited woman who danced with abandon while flapping her arms. A popular dance called the Charleston symbolized the “Roaring Twenties.” This new form of personal dance expression liberated both women and men from the constraints of traditional moves in which the man led the woman’s every step while holding her at arm’s length. The music of the Charleston was created primarily by men in live bands and on the new recording cylinders that gained huge popularity. As a member of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven, Lil Hardin Armstrong was the exceptional woman who succeeded in the early jazz years. Men may have been the most popular “crooners" of the day, but urban blues belonged to African-American women like Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, and many others who sang of the trials and tribulations of being Black and female.
Recording companies like Capitol soon got the message that Black entertainers would sell so-called “race records” in the Black community. Entertainment promoters such as the famous Theater Owners Booking Association, more colloquially called “tough on Black artists” or “tough on Black asses,” made huge profits from booking Black musicians such as Bessie Smith in town after town on successive days with no break. This was an especially grueling schedule in the Southwhere artists were not permitted to eat a meal or book a room in the establishments where they entertained primarily white audiences. For Black musicians, this was indeed a tough way to make a living.
American Team at the Women's World Games, Wikimedia Commons
Women's Olympic Rise:
By the 1920s, New Women were also becoming more accepted as athletes. However, despite the fact that this era is celebrated for the Harlem Renaissance, racism in America remained pervasive. While white swimmers and tennis players garnered Olympic gold medals and media attention, Black women known as "race girls" earned pride within their communities by defeating white teams in track and basketball competitions. This dynamic persisted for decades, highlighting a pattern where white celebrity athletes received widespread recognition, while local heroines within minority communities were celebrated primarily within their own circles. Racism made it difficult to measure the broader participation of women and girls in sports.
The first winter Olympics occurred in 1924. Figure skating was the only event women were allowed to participate in. During the summer Olympics that year, white American Helen Wills won gold medals in both the tennis singles and doubles events, the last year the event was played until the 1980s. The Federation of Women’s Sports Societies of France organized the First International Track Meet for Women (Premiers Jeux Olympiques Féminins) in 1922 in Paris, attracting participants from five countries. The US declined to send a team. Undeterred, Dr. Harry Eaton Stewart, a strong advocate of women’s athletics and founder of the New Haven College Physiotherapy, organized tryouts in New York on May 13, 1922 with 102 athletes participating. Athletes competed at their local tracks and submitted results. Ultimately, fifteen women were selected, including Lucile Godbold of South Carolina, whose athletic achievements would leave a lasting impact on women’s sports.
Dr. Stewart imposed rigorous standards, including a ten o’clock curfew and a strict diet excluding "sodas, heavy pastries, [or] fried foods." This regimen proved effective as Godbold set a shot put record, while her teammate Camille Sabie broke the world record in the 100-yard hurdles, won the standing broad jump, and placed third in the running broad jump.
By the 1920s, New Women were also becoming more accepted as athletes. However, despite the fact that this era is celebrated for the Harlem Renaissance, racism in America remained pervasive. While white swimmers and tennis players garnered Olympic gold medals and media attention, Black women known as "race girls" earned pride within their communities by defeating white teams in track and basketball competitions. This dynamic persisted for decades, highlighting a pattern where white celebrity athletes received widespread recognition, while local heroines within minority communities were celebrated primarily within their own circles. Racism made it difficult to measure the broader participation of women and girls in sports.
The first winter Olympics occurred in 1924. Figure skating was the only event women were allowed to participate in. During the summer Olympics that year, white American Helen Wills won gold medals in both the tennis singles and doubles events, the last year the event was played until the 1980s. The Federation of Women’s Sports Societies of France organized the First International Track Meet for Women (Premiers Jeux Olympiques Féminins) in 1922 in Paris, attracting participants from five countries. The US declined to send a team. Undeterred, Dr. Harry Eaton Stewart, a strong advocate of women’s athletics and founder of the New Haven College Physiotherapy, organized tryouts in New York on May 13, 1922 with 102 athletes participating. Athletes competed at their local tracks and submitted results. Ultimately, fifteen women were selected, including Lucile Godbold of South Carolina, whose athletic achievements would leave a lasting impact on women’s sports.
Dr. Stewart imposed rigorous standards, including a ten o’clock curfew and a strict diet excluding "sodas, heavy pastries, [or] fried foods." This regimen proved effective as Godbold set a shot put record, while her teammate Camille Sabie broke the world record in the 100-yard hurdles, won the standing broad jump, and placed third in the running broad jump.
Elizabeth“Betty” Robinson, Wikimedia Commons
At the 1928 Amsterdam Games, White women were finally allowed to participate in Track and Field, a cornerstone of the Olympics. Elizabeth“Betty” Robinson secured her place on the US team by finishing second in the trials. Despite competing against more seasoned runners, she clinched the gold medal in the 100-meter dash, becoming the first American woman to achieve this feat. In a much later interview, she recalled, “I can remember breaking the tape, but I wasn't sure that I'd won. It was so close. But my friends in the stands jumped over the railing and came down and put their arms around me, and then I knew I'd won. Then, when they raised the flag, I cried.” Robinson was elated. William L. Shirer from the Chicago Tribune wrote that “an unheralded, pretty, blue-eyed blond young woman from Chicago became the darling of the spectators when she flew down the cinder path, her golden locks flying, to win.” The emphasis on her physical image and whiteness notwithstanding, Robinson made history with her win. She also earned a silver medal as part of the 4 × 100-meter relay team.
Between 1928 and 1931, Robinson set multiple world records in distances ranging from 60 to 100 yards. She also won national titles in the 50- and 100-meter events at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships in 1929. Notably, she was the first woman at Northwestern University to receive a varsity letter. In 1931, Robinson sustained serious injuries in a plane crash, which kept her out of competition for over three years. Despite permanent leg and hip injuries, she continued to excel in track and field, focusing on relays due to difficulty with crouched starts.
In 1932, other women stepped up to represent the US at the Los Angeles Games, but racism plagued the US team and prevented them from putting forward their best runners. Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes both qualified for the team, but after traveling and staying in segregated accommodations, they were replaced with white runners in the line up due to their race. Ultimately, Stanisława Walasiewicz (Stella Walsh), a Polish citizen living in Ohio, won gold that year. She would continue to be a fierce competitor for US athletes in the 1936 Olympics too, but a new athlete came to the scene: Helen Stephens. Stephens raced against Walasiewicz in 1935 and won. She quickly earned the nickname the "Fulton Flash" after her birthplace, Fulton, Missouri.
Between 1928 and 1931, Robinson set multiple world records in distances ranging from 60 to 100 yards. She also won national titles in the 50- and 100-meter events at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships in 1929. Notably, she was the first woman at Northwestern University to receive a varsity letter. In 1931, Robinson sustained serious injuries in a plane crash, which kept her out of competition for over three years. Despite permanent leg and hip injuries, she continued to excel in track and field, focusing on relays due to difficulty with crouched starts.
In 1932, other women stepped up to represent the US at the Los Angeles Games, but racism plagued the US team and prevented them from putting forward their best runners. Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes both qualified for the team, but after traveling and staying in segregated accommodations, they were replaced with white runners in the line up due to their race. Ultimately, Stanisława Walasiewicz (Stella Walsh), a Polish citizen living in Ohio, won gold that year. She would continue to be a fierce competitor for US athletes in the 1936 Olympics too, but a new athlete came to the scene: Helen Stephens. Stephens raced against Walasiewicz in 1935 and won. She quickly earned the nickname the "Fulton Flash" after her birthplace, Fulton, Missouri.
Helen Stephens, Wikimedia Commons
For women, the 1936 Berlin Games were monumental. Similar to the ways that Black athlete, Jesse Owens’, gold medal win in the men’s 100 meter stood in the face of the Third Reich’s racist claims of supremacy, so did the women’s performances stand in opposition to the Nazi agenda for women’s subordination. Stephens was selected to represent the US in the 100 meter dash and had to again face Walasiewicz. Both athletes were accused of being trans women and, after being subjected to physical exams, both were permitted to compete. Stephens won. Adolf Hitler was said to be so impressed by Stephens that he invited her to his private box. She later recalled, “He comes in and gives me the Nazi salute. I gave him a good, old-fashioned Missouri handshake… Once more Hitler goes for the jugular vein. He gets hold of my fanny and begins to squeeze and pinch, and hug me up. And he said: ‘You're a true Aryan type. You should be running for Germany.’ So after he gave me the once over and a full massage, he asked me if I'd like to spend the weekend in Berchtesgaden.” She refused.
Stephens also represented the US on the 4x100 team with recovered champion, Robinson. They trailed the Germans, who had set a world record in a qualifying round. The Germans dropped the baton and were disqualified, and the US squad edged out Great Britain by less than a second. Decades later, in 1980, Stanisława Walasiewicz was killed as a bystander to an armed robbery. The autopsy revealed her to be intersex. Under current rules, this would have made her ineligible to compete, however, her 1932 gold medal still stands.
The Olympics were canceled due to World War II and didn’t resume until 1948. The London Games made history due to Alice Coachman's gold medal win for the high jump. She became the first woman of color from any country to win an Olympic gold medal. Track has remained a space where Black women have outperformed white women. This dominance is often “biologized,” but many other sports were played in segregated facilities or private clubs. Track and Basketball are two of the notable exceptions here and so a culture developed in Black communities that celebrated these athletes rather than questioning their place in the sport.
Stephens also represented the US on the 4x100 team with recovered champion, Robinson. They trailed the Germans, who had set a world record in a qualifying round. The Germans dropped the baton and were disqualified, and the US squad edged out Great Britain by less than a second. Decades later, in 1980, Stanisława Walasiewicz was killed as a bystander to an armed robbery. The autopsy revealed her to be intersex. Under current rules, this would have made her ineligible to compete, however, her 1932 gold medal still stands.
The Olympics were canceled due to World War II and didn’t resume until 1948. The London Games made history due to Alice Coachman's gold medal win for the high jump. She became the first woman of color from any country to win an Olympic gold medal. Track has remained a space where Black women have outperformed white women. This dominance is often “biologized,” but many other sports were played in segregated facilities or private clubs. Track and Basketball are two of the notable exceptions here and so a culture developed in Black communities that celebrated these athletes rather than questioning their place in the sport.
Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel in “Gone with the Wind,” MGM Studios
Contradictory Mid Century Culture
In the mid century, American culture gave women mixed messages and women began crafting culture for themselves. World War II opened a box for women’s lives outside the domestic sphere that women never really went back in. It’s hard to say what the prevailing social messages for women were. On the one hand, culture and media had many examples of a domesticated, traditional, idealized woman, while on the other, there were also new and emerging archetypes for women that challenged norms. This coincided with the Golden Age of Hollywood (1913-1962) where gender norms and cultural ideals were on full display. In this era, thousands of American films circulated the world from the Hollywood studios, spreading American culture and ideals with it.
The film industry was notoriously sexist. Women were sexualized and, in some cases – far too common cases—women were forced to exchange sexual favors for parts in films. It was a degrading experience that women eventually aged out of. There were always parts for young women in the movies, but few leading roles for maternal and older women characters. While the roles for women were limited and women characters often had lives that revolved around the male characters’ lives, diverse women were portrayed in film.
Box office hits like “Gone with the Wind,” a period piece set in the Civil War, emphasized traditional ideals for women. White actress Vivien Leigh played Scarlett O’Hara, the headlining character who wore extravagant gowns, while Black actress, Hattie McDaniel, played a degrading “mammy” character. A mammy was a stereotype of Black women, typically enslaved or domestic workers, who raised white children with a nurturing, maternal demeanor. While both women won Oscar awards for acting that year, McDaniel made history by becoming the first Black person to win an Academy Award for her role. Still, she was seated in a segregated section at the ceremony, reflecting the racial prejudice of the era. McDaniel’s resilience and pragmatism defined her journey in a racially segregated industry.
In the mid century, American culture gave women mixed messages and women began crafting culture for themselves. World War II opened a box for women’s lives outside the domestic sphere that women never really went back in. It’s hard to say what the prevailing social messages for women were. On the one hand, culture and media had many examples of a domesticated, traditional, idealized woman, while on the other, there were also new and emerging archetypes for women that challenged norms. This coincided with the Golden Age of Hollywood (1913-1962) where gender norms and cultural ideals were on full display. In this era, thousands of American films circulated the world from the Hollywood studios, spreading American culture and ideals with it.
The film industry was notoriously sexist. Women were sexualized and, in some cases – far too common cases—women were forced to exchange sexual favors for parts in films. It was a degrading experience that women eventually aged out of. There were always parts for young women in the movies, but few leading roles for maternal and older women characters. While the roles for women were limited and women characters often had lives that revolved around the male characters’ lives, diverse women were portrayed in film.
Box office hits like “Gone with the Wind,” a period piece set in the Civil War, emphasized traditional ideals for women. White actress Vivien Leigh played Scarlett O’Hara, the headlining character who wore extravagant gowns, while Black actress, Hattie McDaniel, played a degrading “mammy” character. A mammy was a stereotype of Black women, typically enslaved or domestic workers, who raised white children with a nurturing, maternal demeanor. While both women won Oscar awards for acting that year, McDaniel made history by becoming the first Black person to win an Academy Award for her role. Still, she was seated in a segregated section at the ceremony, reflecting the racial prejudice of the era. McDaniel’s resilience and pragmatism defined her journey in a racially segregated industry.
Katharine Hepburn, Wikimedia Commons
That very next year, Katharine Hepburn headlined in the role of a socialite, written specifically for her, in “The Philadelphia Story.” Hepburn was a formidable American stage and film actress renowned for her spirited performances and unique eccentricity. She infused her roles with a strength of character that was previously considered unconventional for Hollywood leading ladies– and she wore pants! Hepburn was known for her crisp upper-class New England accent and her tomboyish beauty. Hepburn won her first Academy Award for her role as an aspiring actress in "Morning Glory" (1933) and revived her career with “The Philadelphia Story.” In addition to playing unconventional characters, Hepburn lived an unconventional life. She was married once, but divorced in 1934. During the filming of "Woman of the Year" in 1942, she began a long-term relationship with her co-star Spencer Tracy. Although Tracy never divorced his wife due to his Roman Catholic beliefs, he and Hepburn remained close until his death in 1967. Hepburn paused her career for nearly five years to care for Tracy during his final illness. In 1990, Hepburn was honored by the Kennedy Center, and in 1999, the American Film Institute named her the top female American screen legend of all time. She won four Academy Awards in her life, more than any other woman.
Like today, the fashion seen in film wasn’t reflected in what average women wore, which was significantly more practical. Wartime rationing and demand for silk to make parachutes led to a shortage of silk stockings, and American women learned to mend their stockings or wear trousers. The 1940s Lauren Bacall look featured broad shoulder pads in dresses and jackets patterned after men’s suits. Most women could not afford the cost of fabric for long, padded clothing so popular taste was more practical and more streamlined. Women became entrenched in the war effort and the cultural forces had to work hard to undo decades, nay centuries, of gendered commentary that insisted a woman’s place was subordinate and domestic. Learn more about this in the chapter on World War II.
For women in the 1950s, a new focus on fashion inspired an American interest in the latest designs from Paris. With few female designers, the highly-sexualized models who walked the runways of Paris fashion shows represented the industry to everyday American women. French designer Christian Dior revolutionized women’s fashion starting in the late 1940s. He rejected the shoulder pads and trousers of 1930s and 40s haute couture, re-designing fashion for modern women. His creations flattered a woman’s figure by cinching the waist, accentuating the bust, and flaring the skirt. Dior’s fashion and accessories became so popular in the 1950s that sales from the company contributed significantly to France’s GDP.
Like today, the fashion seen in film wasn’t reflected in what average women wore, which was significantly more practical. Wartime rationing and demand for silk to make parachutes led to a shortage of silk stockings, and American women learned to mend their stockings or wear trousers. The 1940s Lauren Bacall look featured broad shoulder pads in dresses and jackets patterned after men’s suits. Most women could not afford the cost of fabric for long, padded clothing so popular taste was more practical and more streamlined. Women became entrenched in the war effort and the cultural forces had to work hard to undo decades, nay centuries, of gendered commentary that insisted a woman’s place was subordinate and domestic. Learn more about this in the chapter on World War II.
For women in the 1950s, a new focus on fashion inspired an American interest in the latest designs from Paris. With few female designers, the highly-sexualized models who walked the runways of Paris fashion shows represented the industry to everyday American women. French designer Christian Dior revolutionized women’s fashion starting in the late 1940s. He rejected the shoulder pads and trousers of 1930s and 40s haute couture, re-designing fashion for modern women. His creations flattered a woman’s figure by cinching the waist, accentuating the bust, and flaring the skirt. Dior’s fashion and accessories became so popular in the 1950s that sales from the company contributed significantly to France’s GDP.
These creations that emphasized the natural curves of the female body inspired off-the-rack versions of Dior’s dresses for middle-class women who had a bit of discretionary income that they could devote to style. His image of the ideal woman dominated the fashion industry, was praised effusively in women’s magazines, and was internalized by women themselves, who accepted the idea that women should always look their best in the manner of svelte and sexy fashion models. French fashion designers were at the height of their popularity, and their styles, designed for the figures of almost no real woman, influenced the cultural patterns of those who attempted to achieve that physical ideal.
Popular magazines in the 1950s featured advertisements for fad diets, hair colors, face creams, and other products to make women more beautiful. The search for beauty preoccupied many young women who appeared to be more concerned with how they looked than what they thought or did. Popular culture promoted the idea that the smart young woman with her head in a book, so much so that she strained her eyes, would never find a man. Cultural commentator Dorothy Parker had quipped as early as 1926 that “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.” What began as a casual quip became cultural dogma in the beauty-obsessed decade of the 1950s.
Mid-century magazines included “expert”’ advice on how to run a household, how to feed a family on a limited budget, how to raise children, and how to remain feminine and desirable after the arrival of those children. Sex education and female frigidity were frequent topics in “The Doctor Talks,” a regular column in McCall’s magazine. Because the column was purportedly based on the latest medical advice, it had a significant influence on women who trusted what they read (clinical trials rarely studied women’s bodies, so most “science" was based on male bodies until 2023). Readers learned that the success of a marriage had little to do with her needs and wants.
Parallel to this toxic messaging, women continued designing the lives they wanted in the form of dolls. Annalee Thorndike dedicated herself to her childhood hobby of doll making after the family farm in New Hampshire failed. The repurposed chicken coop became her design studio and her husband, Chip, became the salesman. Thorndike concentrated on creating human figures engaged in everyday activities, with categories for occupations, sports, and hobbies— real people and women. Thorndike was ahead of her time in many ways and found ways to support the people, mostly women, who worked for her. She offered childcare and flexible work hours and the ability to care for their children. As a working mother, Annalee knew how difficult it was to juggle work and home. Although she faced sexism from banks who refused to work with her because she was a woman and women couldn’t open accounts or take out loans without male cosigners, her dolls were the largest manufactured item from New Hampshire and, in 1974, won “Business Person of the Year” by the United States Small Business Administration.
Popular magazines in the 1950s featured advertisements for fad diets, hair colors, face creams, and other products to make women more beautiful. The search for beauty preoccupied many young women who appeared to be more concerned with how they looked than what they thought or did. Popular culture promoted the idea that the smart young woman with her head in a book, so much so that she strained her eyes, would never find a man. Cultural commentator Dorothy Parker had quipped as early as 1926 that “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.” What began as a casual quip became cultural dogma in the beauty-obsessed decade of the 1950s.
Mid-century magazines included “expert”’ advice on how to run a household, how to feed a family on a limited budget, how to raise children, and how to remain feminine and desirable after the arrival of those children. Sex education and female frigidity were frequent topics in “The Doctor Talks,” a regular column in McCall’s magazine. Because the column was purportedly based on the latest medical advice, it had a significant influence on women who trusted what they read (clinical trials rarely studied women’s bodies, so most “science" was based on male bodies until 2023). Readers learned that the success of a marriage had little to do with her needs and wants.
Parallel to this toxic messaging, women continued designing the lives they wanted in the form of dolls. Annalee Thorndike dedicated herself to her childhood hobby of doll making after the family farm in New Hampshire failed. The repurposed chicken coop became her design studio and her husband, Chip, became the salesman. Thorndike concentrated on creating human figures engaged in everyday activities, with categories for occupations, sports, and hobbies— real people and women. Thorndike was ahead of her time in many ways and found ways to support the people, mostly women, who worked for her. She offered childcare and flexible work hours and the ability to care for their children. As a working mother, Annalee knew how difficult it was to juggle work and home. Although she faced sexism from banks who refused to work with her because she was a woman and women couldn’t open accounts or take out loans without male cosigners, her dolls were the largest manufactured item from New Hampshire and, in 1974, won “Business Person of the Year” by the United States Small Business Administration.
Annalee Dolls, Annalee Doll Museum, https://annalee.com/annalees-place-in-womens-history/
Feminist Era Culture:
Annalee, Madame Alexander, and other women-designed dolls were soon joined by a formidable rival: Barbie. Barbie, an 11-inch (29-cm) tall plastic doll resembling an adult woman, was introduced by Mattel, Inc. in 1959. Ruth Handler, co founder of Mattel, alongside her husband Elliot, led the development of the doll. Since Barbie's launch, her body shape has been controversial. In a 1958 Mattel-sponsored market study, mothers criticized Barbie for having "too much of a figure." She was exclusively white, too tall, had impractical feet, large breasts, and an unrealistic waist. To address this, Mattel marketed Barbie directly to children through television commercials, becoming the first toy company to advertise to children when it sponsored Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club in 1955. Despite the criticism, many women credit Barbie with providing an alternative to the restrictive gender roles of the 1950s. Unlike baby dolls that encouraged the act of nurturing, Barbie, with her various career outfits, modeled financial independence. Her résumé includes roles such as airline pilot, astronaut, doctor, Olympic athlete, and US presidential candidate. Barbie has no husband or children, and when consumers requested a Barbie-scale baby in the early 1960s, Mattel released the “Barbie Baby-Sits” playset instead of making Barbie a mother.
In response to consumer demand, Mattel introduced Barbie's boyfriend, Ken, in 1961, named after the Handlers' son. In 1963, Barbie's best friend Midge was introduced, followed by her little sister Skipper in 1964. Other siblings were added and by 1968, Barbie had friends of color. However, an African American and Latina Barbie were not released until 1980. Although the goal was to create Barbies that could do any job (President Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, etc.), Barbie faced criticism for promoting materialism and narrow ideas of womanhood.
While Barbie and feminists of the era gave girls the message that women of the day could do anything, men absorbed an equally strong message about masculinity from publications like Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. The “Playboy Philosophy” offered an escape for men from domestic life, suggesting that fantasies of the ideal woman could be fulfilled by photographs of beautiful Playboy models. Reading Playboy seemed harmless, especially as the magazine contained advertisements for upscale luxury items for men, interesting articles, and sophisticated jokes. In addition to offering domestic advice to housewives and titillating content to their husbands, magazine experts also provided advice to single women, as in a series in Ladies Home Journal in 1954 on “How to be Marriageable.” Women were advised to lose weight, get new glasses, and update their wardrobes in order to find a husband.
Annalee, Madame Alexander, and other women-designed dolls were soon joined by a formidable rival: Barbie. Barbie, an 11-inch (29-cm) tall plastic doll resembling an adult woman, was introduced by Mattel, Inc. in 1959. Ruth Handler, co founder of Mattel, alongside her husband Elliot, led the development of the doll. Since Barbie's launch, her body shape has been controversial. In a 1958 Mattel-sponsored market study, mothers criticized Barbie for having "too much of a figure." She was exclusively white, too tall, had impractical feet, large breasts, and an unrealistic waist. To address this, Mattel marketed Barbie directly to children through television commercials, becoming the first toy company to advertise to children when it sponsored Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club in 1955. Despite the criticism, many women credit Barbie with providing an alternative to the restrictive gender roles of the 1950s. Unlike baby dolls that encouraged the act of nurturing, Barbie, with her various career outfits, modeled financial independence. Her résumé includes roles such as airline pilot, astronaut, doctor, Olympic athlete, and US presidential candidate. Barbie has no husband or children, and when consumers requested a Barbie-scale baby in the early 1960s, Mattel released the “Barbie Baby-Sits” playset instead of making Barbie a mother.
In response to consumer demand, Mattel introduced Barbie's boyfriend, Ken, in 1961, named after the Handlers' son. In 1963, Barbie's best friend Midge was introduced, followed by her little sister Skipper in 1964. Other siblings were added and by 1968, Barbie had friends of color. However, an African American and Latina Barbie were not released until 1980. Although the goal was to create Barbies that could do any job (President Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, etc.), Barbie faced criticism for promoting materialism and narrow ideas of womanhood.
While Barbie and feminists of the era gave girls the message that women of the day could do anything, men absorbed an equally strong message about masculinity from publications like Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. The “Playboy Philosophy” offered an escape for men from domestic life, suggesting that fantasies of the ideal woman could be fulfilled by photographs of beautiful Playboy models. Reading Playboy seemed harmless, especially as the magazine contained advertisements for upscale luxury items for men, interesting articles, and sophisticated jokes. In addition to offering domestic advice to housewives and titillating content to their husbands, magazine experts also provided advice to single women, as in a series in Ladies Home Journal in 1954 on “How to be Marriageable.” Women were advised to lose weight, get new glasses, and update their wardrobes in order to find a husband.
Gloria Steinem, Wikimedia Commons
In early 1963, freelance journalist Gloria Steinem accepted an assignment from SHOW Magazine to take a job as a Playboy bunny and describe life in the New York City Playboy Club. She applied for a job that called for ‘girls’ who were ‘pretty and personable’ between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five. In “A Bunny’s Tale,” published in May and June 1963, Steinem revealed a world of “stuffed bosoms, low pay, and (extremely) high heels.” Bunny Training included instructions on how to wear make-up and squeeze into a bunny costume.
A Bunny’s job was to be beautiful but unavailable. Demerits could result from being rude to a customer, no matter how insistent or offensive the man may have been. Tips were shared with the club, making a Bunny’s income well below that of a Playboy Club customer. Steinem learned how to “stuff’ her costume to create more obvious cleavage.
Steinem was also required to learn the Bunny Stance, “a model’s pose with one hip jutted out” and the Bunny Dip, which she described as a “back leaning way of placing drinks on low tables without falling out of our costumes.” By the end of each shift, she and her fellow bunnies were exhausted and angry at the intimidation they faced from the club and the demeaning treatment they received at the hands of customers. Steinem’s articles shed light on the exploitation of women in the Playboy empire and established her credentials as an investigative journalist.
In the early 1960s, the American model of French fashion sophistication was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The First Lady purchased her wardrobe from French and other famous European designers, and American middle-class women were anxious to emulate her style by purchasing less expensive off-the-rack versions of her elegant ensembles. Mrs. Kennedy may have been one of the few women who actually looked good in a pillbox hat, but she popularized this accessory for millions of American women. By the end of the 1960s, American designers such as Mary Quant and Anne Klein had introduced their designs and achieved popularity with eager American women.
A Bunny’s job was to be beautiful but unavailable. Demerits could result from being rude to a customer, no matter how insistent or offensive the man may have been. Tips were shared with the club, making a Bunny’s income well below that of a Playboy Club customer. Steinem learned how to “stuff’ her costume to create more obvious cleavage.
Steinem was also required to learn the Bunny Stance, “a model’s pose with one hip jutted out” and the Bunny Dip, which she described as a “back leaning way of placing drinks on low tables without falling out of our costumes.” By the end of each shift, she and her fellow bunnies were exhausted and angry at the intimidation they faced from the club and the demeaning treatment they received at the hands of customers. Steinem’s articles shed light on the exploitation of women in the Playboy empire and established her credentials as an investigative journalist.
In the early 1960s, the American model of French fashion sophistication was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The First Lady purchased her wardrobe from French and other famous European designers, and American middle-class women were anxious to emulate her style by purchasing less expensive off-the-rack versions of her elegant ensembles. Mrs. Kennedy may have been one of the few women who actually looked good in a pillbox hat, but she popularized this accessory for millions of American women. By the end of the 1960s, American designers such as Mary Quant and Anne Klein had introduced their designs and achieved popularity with eager American women.
Eunice Walker Johnson, Wikimedia Commons
Life changed for young American women in the 1960s, due in part to the development of oral contraception. Unlike their mothers, these women were now able to choose from a variety of methods for avoiding pregnancy. Contraception meant not only rational family planning; it suggested a large degree of sexual freedom. The turbulence of the 1960s also contributed to a more public role for women as supporters of civil rights for African Americans and critics of America’s war in Vietnam. Over time, women played increasingly important, if still often unseen, roles in the development of both movements.
With control over their reproductive lives and changes in the law that spoke to a greater degree of equality for women, many women in the 1960s and 70s took full advantage of the opportunity to be what they wanted to be. Jane Fonda was a science fiction sex symbol in “Barbarella” on the silver screen in 1968; an Academy Award winner for her role in “Klute” in 1972; and an anti-war activist who visited North Vietnam in the same year and was called a traitor and dubbed “Hanoi Jane.” In the 1980s, she reinvented herself again as the queen of VHS workout videos.
Women were increasingly seen and heard in popular music. Motown stars such as Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin, hard rockers like Janis Joplin, folk singers who spoke to social issues, including Judy Collins, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, and popular songwriters like Carole King, whose reflexive ballads captured the spirit of the early 1970s, all brought the issues of their time to their music, appealing to men and women alike. By the 1960s, young Americans knew that their time was fundamentally different from that of their parents. At the same time, singers like Tina Turner sang in her own dynamic style in songs that revealed the pain of a woman’s life, much as the female blues singer of the 1920s had done.
Eunice Walker Johnson was a fashion entrepreneur who founded Fashion Fair in 1973 with her husband, John H. Johnson. The company catered to the makeup needs of women of color, prompting major brands like Revlon, Avon, and Max Factor to expand their shade ranges. Johnson also created the Ebony Fashion Fair, a nationwide tour showcasing couture and ready-to-wear clothing for a predominantly Black audience, supporting and promoting Black designers and models.
With control over their reproductive lives and changes in the law that spoke to a greater degree of equality for women, many women in the 1960s and 70s took full advantage of the opportunity to be what they wanted to be. Jane Fonda was a science fiction sex symbol in “Barbarella” on the silver screen in 1968; an Academy Award winner for her role in “Klute” in 1972; and an anti-war activist who visited North Vietnam in the same year and was called a traitor and dubbed “Hanoi Jane.” In the 1980s, she reinvented herself again as the queen of VHS workout videos.
Women were increasingly seen and heard in popular music. Motown stars such as Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin, hard rockers like Janis Joplin, folk singers who spoke to social issues, including Judy Collins, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, and popular songwriters like Carole King, whose reflexive ballads captured the spirit of the early 1970s, all brought the issues of their time to their music, appealing to men and women alike. By the 1960s, young Americans knew that their time was fundamentally different from that of their parents. At the same time, singers like Tina Turner sang in her own dynamic style in songs that revealed the pain of a woman’s life, much as the female blues singer of the 1920s had done.
Eunice Walker Johnson was a fashion entrepreneur who founded Fashion Fair in 1973 with her husband, John H. Johnson. The company catered to the makeup needs of women of color, prompting major brands like Revlon, Avon, and Max Factor to expand their shade ranges. Johnson also created the Ebony Fashion Fair, a nationwide tour showcasing couture and ready-to-wear clothing for a predominantly Black audience, supporting and promoting Black designers and models.
Billie Jean King, Public Domain
Women’s Athletic Battle for Equality:
We are in a moment of celebrating a diversity of women athletes, but that wasn’t always the case. Women made history in sports by being barrier breakers, but they were not always well-liked or celebrated in mainstream pop culture. Even some stars that we look back at now, in awe, were painted differently in the press during their careers. Stereotypes around women athletes persist today – the idea that women in sports were likely lesbians (and that that was a bad thing), or that they were too “manly” both in behavior as well as physicality.
Many of these battles have been fought throughout time, but they became public and aggressively challenged by women in the Feminist Era and forward. Perhaps the most iconic champion of women’s sports is Billie Jean King. King is celebrated as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with a career highlighted by numerous accolades. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. King's other honors include the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2010, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and the French Legion of Honour in 2022. The USTA National Tennis Center in New York was renamed in her honor in 2006, and the Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020.
King's most famous match, the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes," saw her defeat former men's champion Bobby Riggs in front of 30,492 spectators and millions of TV viewers worldwide. Riggs, who had previously defeated Margaret Court, boasted that no female player could beat him, but King proved him wrong with a decisive 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 victory. This match was pivotal in changing perceptions about women's tennis and advancing gender equality in sports. King remarked that the victory was not just about beating Riggs but about exposing new audiences to tennis and uplifting women's self-esteem.
Beyond her on-court success, King was a tireless advocate for gender equality in sports. She criticized the United States Lawn Tennis Association's "shamateurism" and campaigned for equal prize money, leading to the US Open becoming the first major tournament to offer equal prizes for men and women in 1973. King also co-founded the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation, promoting women's professional tennis and advocating for Title IX legislation. Her efforts have left an indelible mark on sports and feminism, creating greater opportunities for women everywhere.
We are in a moment of celebrating a diversity of women athletes, but that wasn’t always the case. Women made history in sports by being barrier breakers, but they were not always well-liked or celebrated in mainstream pop culture. Even some stars that we look back at now, in awe, were painted differently in the press during their careers. Stereotypes around women athletes persist today – the idea that women in sports were likely lesbians (and that that was a bad thing), or that they were too “manly” both in behavior as well as physicality.
Many of these battles have been fought throughout time, but they became public and aggressively challenged by women in the Feminist Era and forward. Perhaps the most iconic champion of women’s sports is Billie Jean King. King is celebrated as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with a career highlighted by numerous accolades. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. King's other honors include the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2010, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and the French Legion of Honour in 2022. The USTA National Tennis Center in New York was renamed in her honor in 2006, and the Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020.
King's most famous match, the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes," saw her defeat former men's champion Bobby Riggs in front of 30,492 spectators and millions of TV viewers worldwide. Riggs, who had previously defeated Margaret Court, boasted that no female player could beat him, but King proved him wrong with a decisive 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 victory. This match was pivotal in changing perceptions about women's tennis and advancing gender equality in sports. King remarked that the victory was not just about beating Riggs but about exposing new audiences to tennis and uplifting women's self-esteem.
Beyond her on-court success, King was a tireless advocate for gender equality in sports. She criticized the United States Lawn Tennis Association's "shamateurism" and campaigned for equal prize money, leading to the US Open becoming the first major tournament to offer equal prizes for men and women in 1973. King also co-founded the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation, promoting women's professional tennis and advocating for Title IX legislation. Her efforts have left an indelible mark on sports and feminism, creating greater opportunities for women everywhere.
Williams Sisters, Wikimedia Commons
King’s work benefited many tennis stars to come and she was an inspiration to all women athletes: Today, most notably, Serena Williams, the greatest tennis player to date, and her talented sister Venus. Serena Williams had an illustrious career marked by 23 major singles titles, the most in the Open Era. She achieved significant milestones, including two "Serena Slams" and an Olympic gold in singles, completing a Career Golden Slam. Williams was known for her powerful serve and groundstrokes, becoming the world No. 1 in singles multiple times despite battling injuries. Her return to dominance in the early 2010s, culminating in her 23rd major title at the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, solidified her legacy. Beyond singles, Williams excelled in doubles with her sister Venus, winning 14 major titles and three Olympic gold medals, creating an unbeaten record in major doubles finals.
Williams, alongside Venus, significantly influenced the sport by introducing a new era of power and athleticism in women’s tennis. They have been credited with increasing diversity in the sport and inspiring countless young athletes. Off the court, Serena Williams has been a vocal advocate for gender equality, championing equal prize money and supporting women’s rights through her foundation and public statements. Her relationship with Venus, also an extraordinary athlete, has been a central theme of her career, as the sisters have dominated both singles and doubles tennis while supporting each other’s pursuits and challenges. Williams' impact extends beyond tennis, making her a cultural icon and a trailblazer for future generations.
In 1968, at just age 13, Deborah Meyer was the first female swimmer to win three gold medals in individual events during one Games. Track, however, was the centerpiece Olympic sport. It makes it into mainstream pop culture every four years.
Of course Title IX changed everything. Title IX prevented discrimination on the basis of sex in schools receiving public funding. This legislation was interpreted to protect girls from sexual harassment and discrimination. It gave girls access to what boys had always had: the character and leadership training that inherent in sports through personal struggle, sacrifice, teamwork, and the manufactured wins and losses. Across the board, studies showed that Title IX gave girls self-confidence. This propelled women into leadership rolls.
Williams, alongside Venus, significantly influenced the sport by introducing a new era of power and athleticism in women’s tennis. They have been credited with increasing diversity in the sport and inspiring countless young athletes. Off the court, Serena Williams has been a vocal advocate for gender equality, championing equal prize money and supporting women’s rights through her foundation and public statements. Her relationship with Venus, also an extraordinary athlete, has been a central theme of her career, as the sisters have dominated both singles and doubles tennis while supporting each other’s pursuits and challenges. Williams' impact extends beyond tennis, making her a cultural icon and a trailblazer for future generations.
In 1968, at just age 13, Deborah Meyer was the first female swimmer to win three gold medals in individual events during one Games. Track, however, was the centerpiece Olympic sport. It makes it into mainstream pop culture every four years.
Of course Title IX changed everything. Title IX prevented discrimination on the basis of sex in schools receiving public funding. This legislation was interpreted to protect girls from sexual harassment and discrimination. It gave girls access to what boys had always had: the character and leadership training that inherent in sports through personal struggle, sacrifice, teamwork, and the manufactured wins and losses. Across the board, studies showed that Title IX gave girls self-confidence. This propelled women into leadership rolls.
American Girl Dolls, Wikimedia Commons
Still, girl’s sports were not taken as seriously as boys. Discrimination remained, and in some cases remains. Girls got hand-me-down jerseys from the boys, booster clubs formed to fundraise more money for boys teams. Boys got prefered game time slots, under the lights games, and greater scholarship opportunities. Culture failed to keep up with legislation. Girls would skip their practices to watch boys games, and in many cases boys events pulled larger crowds to watch.
However, the more women athletes that played, the more models there were for the next generation of women. With every decade, the competition got steeper, the crowds got bigger, and women athletes closed the wider performance gaps on men due to social conditioning, not biology.
As women embraced their real potential through sport, they also sought more examples of real women in the culture they consumed. Pleasant Rowland, a former teacher, established the Pleasant Company in Wisconsin in 1986 and introduced the first American Girl dolls that same year. Initially, the dolls were sold exclusively through mail-order catalogs. The company generated over $1 million in its first year. The original American Girl dolls represented historical characters, each paired with a series of books that educated girls about the history of American girlhood, a subject often overlooked in history lessons. The dolls faced period-specific challenges while also experiencing emotions familiar to late 20th-century readers. The first three dolls, Samantha (1904), Kirsten (1854), and Molly (1944), were white, with the first doll of color, Addy (1864), being introduced in 1993.
American Girl dolls were distinct for portraying children aged 8 to 11, a notable contrast to popular dolls like Barbie who was an adult. Unlike Barbie, whose appearance was an unrealistic aspiration for most girls, American Girl dolls were designed to resemble the children who played with them. Although the dolls were expensive at $65 in 1986, many girls engaged with the brand by browsing catalogs, reading the books from libraries, and collecting affordable items like trading cards. In 1998, Mattel acquired the Pleasant Company. The American Girl brand has since grown, continuing to release history-themed dolls and books, along with other doll lines and products.
Conclusion:While significant strides were made in the 20th century for women’s bodies to be accepted as they were, not over-sexualized or degraded, but human, much remained and remains to be improved. In the 1980s and 19990s women’s bodies remained heavily policed, judged, and social double standards for women were ever present. How long would women buy in to these double standards? When would dolls and celebrities start to resemble real women? When would athletic bodies be seen as also feminine and not judged for being too masculine? These changes would take decades more work and remain areas for growth today.
However, the more women athletes that played, the more models there were for the next generation of women. With every decade, the competition got steeper, the crowds got bigger, and women athletes closed the wider performance gaps on men due to social conditioning, not biology.
As women embraced their real potential through sport, they also sought more examples of real women in the culture they consumed. Pleasant Rowland, a former teacher, established the Pleasant Company in Wisconsin in 1986 and introduced the first American Girl dolls that same year. Initially, the dolls were sold exclusively through mail-order catalogs. The company generated over $1 million in its first year. The original American Girl dolls represented historical characters, each paired with a series of books that educated girls about the history of American girlhood, a subject often overlooked in history lessons. The dolls faced period-specific challenges while also experiencing emotions familiar to late 20th-century readers. The first three dolls, Samantha (1904), Kirsten (1854), and Molly (1944), were white, with the first doll of color, Addy (1864), being introduced in 1993.
American Girl dolls were distinct for portraying children aged 8 to 11, a notable contrast to popular dolls like Barbie who was an adult. Unlike Barbie, whose appearance was an unrealistic aspiration for most girls, American Girl dolls were designed to resemble the children who played with them. Although the dolls were expensive at $65 in 1986, many girls engaged with the brand by browsing catalogs, reading the books from libraries, and collecting affordable items like trading cards. In 1998, Mattel acquired the Pleasant Company. The American Girl brand has since grown, continuing to release history-themed dolls and books, along with other doll lines and products.
Conclusion:While significant strides were made in the 20th century for women’s bodies to be accepted as they were, not over-sexualized or degraded, but human, much remained and remains to be improved. In the 1980s and 19990s women’s bodies remained heavily policed, judged, and social double standards for women were ever present. How long would women buy in to these double standards? When would dolls and celebrities start to resemble real women? When would athletic bodies be seen as also feminine and not judged for being too masculine? These changes would take decades more work and remain areas for growth today.
Draw your own conclusions
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Learn how to teach with inquiry.
Many of these lesson plans were sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region Program, coordinated by Waynesburg University, the History and Social Studies Education Faculty at Plymouth State University, and the Patrons of the Remedial Herstory Project. |
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Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- The National Women's History Museum has lesson plans on women's history.
- The Guilder Lehrman Institute for American History has lesson plans on women's history.
- The NY Historical Society has articles and classroom activities for teaching women's history.
- Unladylike 2020, in partnership with PBS, has primary sources to explore with students and outstanding videos on women from the Progressive era.
- The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media has produced recommendations for teaching women's history with primary sources and provided a collection of sources for world history. Check them out!
- The Stanford History Education Group has a number of lesson plans about women in US History.
Period Specific Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- C3 Teachers: This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the LGBTQ+ movement, primarily driven by the history of the movement through various accounts and perspectives. The compelling question—What makes a movement successful?—does not address whether or not the movement was successful, but instead assesses the components of a movement and whether the movement is in a period of growth or has already peaked. Although the focus of this inquiry is on the LGBTQ+ movement, parallels can be drawn to other social movements in history with respect to organization, activism, and overall execution, including the Civil Rights Movement or the women’s suffrage and rights movements. Specifically, this inquiry looks at four different aspects that can potentially shape a movement in its foundation as well as its rise, namely public reaction, government leaders and policies, Supreme Court cases, and personal experiences. Throughout the inquiry, students will examine each individual aspect independently, evaluating the merits, strengths, and significance of each provided source in the “Movement Analysis Organization Chart,” but the summative task will require a compilation and synthesis of the sources in this investigation in order to form an argument to address the compelling question.
- Voices of Democracy: In the speech Clinton positioned the United States as the moral authority in monitoring and enforcing sanctions for global human trafficking, while at the same time reiterating the importance of international cooperation and partnerships.
- Clio: In 1972, feminists in Washington, D.C. founded the nation’s first rape crisis center. Other centers were soon established across the country. In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The act was created in response to the nation-wide, grassroots work of activists concerned with domestic violence, sexual assault, date rape, and stalking. This lesson introduces students to the history of efforts to stop violence against women.
- National Women’s History Museum: How has the Supreme Court shaped the lives of American women between 1908-2005? Students will analyze one of four Supreme Court cases that relate to the constitutional rights of women decided between 1908-2005. Students will become mini-experts on one Supreme Court cases and they will be exposed to the content, themes, and questions from the other three cases via peer to peer instruction of their classmates. The goal of this lesson is to introduce students to a broad range of Supreme Court cases that have impacted American women and to have them develop a working knowledge and expertise of at least one case by using primary sources such as the case ruling and secondary sources that will help students to understand the context.
- National History Day: Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002) was born in Hawaii. She studied in Pennsylvania and Nebraska before moving back to Hawaii to earn her undergraduate degree and eventually received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1951. She moved back to Hawaii with her husband, John Francis Mink, and founded the Oahu Young Democrats in 1954. In the 1950s, Mink served as both a member of the territorial house of representatives and Hawaii Senate. After Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Mink unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. Mink campaigned for the second representative seat in 1964 and won, making her the first woman of color and first Asian American woman to be elected to Congress. Mink is best known for her support of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society legislation, as well as her advocacy for women’s issues and equal rights. Mink worked tirelessly to earn support for the critical Title IX Amendment from her comprehensive education bill called Women’s Education Equity Act. Mink took a break from Congress after an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, but returned to Congress in 1990 and served until her death in September 2002.
- C3 Teachers: This twelfth grade annotated inquiry leads students through an investigation of a hotly debated issue in the United States: the gender wage gap. The compelling question “What should we do about the gender wage gap?” asks students to grapple not only with how to quantify and interpret the gap but also to consider ways of addressing the problem. Throughout the inquiry, students consider the degree to which economic inequality reflects social, political, or economic injustices or whether it simply reflects individual choices and the role the government should play in decreasing income inequality. Although this inquiry is rooted in a question about economics, no social issue is fully understood without examining a range of economic, historical, geographic, and political concepts in order to craft a full-bodied, evidence-based argument. This inquiry looks at the complexity of the gender wage gap issue through all four social studies disciplines. Students examine the structural factors that influence women’s choices as well as historical (e.g., Equal Pay Act of 1963) and pending (e.g., Paycheck Fairness Act) legislative efforts. Ultimately, students must find a way to measure the gender wage gap, determine if it is an issue worth addressing, and, if so, how to best address it, including private and public sector solutions.
M.A.D.D.
Vox: Why the US Drinking Age is 21 Video
Partial Transcript:
Prohibition, the 18th amendment to the US Constitution, banned alcohol in 1920. It was repealed by the 21st amendment — and after that, a lot of states settled on a drinking age of 21 and older… In the 70s, the 26th amendment changed the dynamic again. “That amendment, as you know, provides for the right to vote of all of our young people between 18 and 21, 11 million new voters as a result of this amendment” (Ronald Reagan). 18 year olds could be drafted to Vietnam and vote, so a lot of states decided they could drink.
That map was short lived for one reason… “Nearly 50,000 people were killed on our highways last year. Now out of that statistic comes an even more chilling one. Drunk drivers were involved in 25,000 of those fatalities, in addition to 750,000 injuries a year” (Ronald Reagan). Drinking age reform advocates quickly attributed drunk driving fatalities in the blue states, or 18 and older states, to earlier drinking ages. People argued that teens driving across state lines to drink or purchase alcohol increased drunk driving. This 1983 map was still a hodgepodge, but see how more states turned green — for 19— and yellow — for 20 years old? That was driven partly by an awareness campaign… Michael Jackson? He was being honored for letting his music be used in anti-drunk driving PSAs.
President Reagan is famous for saying: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” That made his strategy kind of surprising. “For even though drunk driving is a problem nation-wide, it can only be solved at the state and local level. Yet the Federal Government also has a role to play.” His thinking was influenced by two main groups. “Much of the credit for focusing public attention goes to the grassroots campaign of organizations like MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and RID, Remove Intoxicated Drivers” (Ronald Reagan).
Candace “Candy” Lightner founded MADD in 1980 after her daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. MADD’s goals at the time included making it easier to obtain DUI convictions... and raising the drinking age. This direction was clear at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey, where President Reagan explained his unpredictable political evolution. The problem: “I appointed a Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving. They told us that alcohol related automobile accidents are the leading cause of teenage deaths in this country.”
The theory: “In states in which the drinking age has been raised, teenage drinking fatalities have gone down significantly. Here in New Jersey, you raised the drinking age to 21 in 1983, and you know what happened: you had a 26% reduction in nighttime single vehicle fatalities among 19 and 20 year olds in the first year alone” (Ronald Reagan).
The dilemma: “I was delighted again because I hoped that the states would, as they should, take this action themselves without federal orders or interference.” “It’s led to a kind of crazy quilt of different state drinking laws, and that’s led to what’s been called blood borders, with teenagers leaving their home to go the nearest state with a lower drinking age.”
And here? This is where the roads come in. The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 created a network of roads largely funded by Federal dollars. Those roads quickly became crucial to state economies. That money also became a way to bend the states to Federal priorities, even if it meant Reagan had to change his typical political positions. “I’ve decided to support legislation to withhold 5% of a state’s highway funds if it does not enact the 21-year-old drinking age. Some may feel that my decision is at odds with my philosophical viewpoint that state problems should involve state solutions, and it isn’t up to a big and overwhelming government in Washington to tell the states what to do. And you’re partly right. Beyond that, there are some special cases in which overwhelming need can be dealt with by prudent and limited federal action” (Ronald Reagan). The law passed.
That’s Candy Lightner, celebrating. “I’d like to make you an honorary mother against drunk drivers.” It wasn’t technically a nationwide drinking age law, but in effect — it was. “We have no misgiving about this judicious use of Federal power.” States quickly adopted the 21-year-old drinking age. Most couldn't afford to lose federal funding for their highways. Louisiana was the only state that held out at age 18 (due to a loophole, which it closed in the mid 90s). South Dakota challenged the law to preserve sale of low alcohol beer for 19 year olds and up, and it reached the Supreme Court. “Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the court, the issue in this case is whether or not Congress may condition the receipt of highway funds upon a state having in effect 21-year-old drinking age.” The court ruled 7-2, stating it was within Congress’s powers to control spending that promoted “general welfare,” argued as the reduction of youth drinking and driving via the 21-year-old drinking age. Did it work?
Most studies of studies declare “case closed” — that the higher drinking age saves lives, and “reduces alcohol consumption.” Skeptics, like people from the libertarian Cato Institute, claim a broader cultural change, not a law, should be credited with saving lives. Reagan himself kind of argued both sides, saying that, “the new minimum drinking age is working,” but that “my friends, there’s so much more to do, and it’s not government that can do it.”
Politically, Ronald Reagan using Federal purse strings to strong arm states is…a strange pairing. But beyond the politics, there’s a bigger message. The Federal government has used other levers to push states, but to change the drinking age there was one big tool. The thing that changed the country wasn’t just the lines on states’ edges. It was the ones that run through them.
Vox.com. “Why the US Drinking Age Is 21.” YouTube. YouTube, August 23, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aWYJugVTs4.
Guiding Questions:
Prohibition, the 18th amendment to the US Constitution, banned alcohol in 1920. It was repealed by the 21st amendment — and after that, a lot of states settled on a drinking age of 21 and older… In the 70s, the 26th amendment changed the dynamic again. “That amendment, as you know, provides for the right to vote of all of our young people between 18 and 21, 11 million new voters as a result of this amendment” (Ronald Reagan). 18 year olds could be drafted to Vietnam and vote, so a lot of states decided they could drink.
That map was short lived for one reason… “Nearly 50,000 people were killed on our highways last year. Now out of that statistic comes an even more chilling one. Drunk drivers were involved in 25,000 of those fatalities, in addition to 750,000 injuries a year” (Ronald Reagan). Drinking age reform advocates quickly attributed drunk driving fatalities in the blue states, or 18 and older states, to earlier drinking ages. People argued that teens driving across state lines to drink or purchase alcohol increased drunk driving. This 1983 map was still a hodgepodge, but see how more states turned green — for 19— and yellow — for 20 years old? That was driven partly by an awareness campaign… Michael Jackson? He was being honored for letting his music be used in anti-drunk driving PSAs.
President Reagan is famous for saying: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” That made his strategy kind of surprising. “For even though drunk driving is a problem nation-wide, it can only be solved at the state and local level. Yet the Federal Government also has a role to play.” His thinking was influenced by two main groups. “Much of the credit for focusing public attention goes to the grassroots campaign of organizations like MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and RID, Remove Intoxicated Drivers” (Ronald Reagan).
Candace “Candy” Lightner founded MADD in 1980 after her daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. MADD’s goals at the time included making it easier to obtain DUI convictions... and raising the drinking age. This direction was clear at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey, where President Reagan explained his unpredictable political evolution. The problem: “I appointed a Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving. They told us that alcohol related automobile accidents are the leading cause of teenage deaths in this country.”
The theory: “In states in which the drinking age has been raised, teenage drinking fatalities have gone down significantly. Here in New Jersey, you raised the drinking age to 21 in 1983, and you know what happened: you had a 26% reduction in nighttime single vehicle fatalities among 19 and 20 year olds in the first year alone” (Ronald Reagan).
The dilemma: “I was delighted again because I hoped that the states would, as they should, take this action themselves without federal orders or interference.” “It’s led to a kind of crazy quilt of different state drinking laws, and that’s led to what’s been called blood borders, with teenagers leaving their home to go the nearest state with a lower drinking age.”
And here? This is where the roads come in. The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 created a network of roads largely funded by Federal dollars. Those roads quickly became crucial to state economies. That money also became a way to bend the states to Federal priorities, even if it meant Reagan had to change his typical political positions. “I’ve decided to support legislation to withhold 5% of a state’s highway funds if it does not enact the 21-year-old drinking age. Some may feel that my decision is at odds with my philosophical viewpoint that state problems should involve state solutions, and it isn’t up to a big and overwhelming government in Washington to tell the states what to do. And you’re partly right. Beyond that, there are some special cases in which overwhelming need can be dealt with by prudent and limited federal action” (Ronald Reagan). The law passed.
That’s Candy Lightner, celebrating. “I’d like to make you an honorary mother against drunk drivers.” It wasn’t technically a nationwide drinking age law, but in effect — it was. “We have no misgiving about this judicious use of Federal power.” States quickly adopted the 21-year-old drinking age. Most couldn't afford to lose federal funding for their highways. Louisiana was the only state that held out at age 18 (due to a loophole, which it closed in the mid 90s). South Dakota challenged the law to preserve sale of low alcohol beer for 19 year olds and up, and it reached the Supreme Court. “Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the court, the issue in this case is whether or not Congress may condition the receipt of highway funds upon a state having in effect 21-year-old drinking age.” The court ruled 7-2, stating it was within Congress’s powers to control spending that promoted “general welfare,” argued as the reduction of youth drinking and driving via the 21-year-old drinking age. Did it work?
Most studies of studies declare “case closed” — that the higher drinking age saves lives, and “reduces alcohol consumption.” Skeptics, like people from the libertarian Cato Institute, claim a broader cultural change, not a law, should be credited with saving lives. Reagan himself kind of argued both sides, saying that, “the new minimum drinking age is working,” but that “my friends, there’s so much more to do, and it’s not government that can do it.”
Politically, Ronald Reagan using Federal purse strings to strong arm states is…a strange pairing. But beyond the politics, there’s a bigger message. The Federal government has used other levers to push states, but to change the drinking age there was one big tool. The thing that changed the country wasn’t just the lines on states’ edges. It was the ones that run through them.
Vox.com. “Why the US Drinking Age Is 21.” YouTube. YouTube, August 23, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aWYJugVTs4.
Guiding Questions:
- Based on this video, did MADD impact federal policy related to drunk driving?
- According to this video, did legislation alone help change drunk driving?
American Addiction Centers: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Every single day in the United States, 28 people die in a car crash that involves a driver who is under the influence of and impaired by alcohol, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes. This equates to just more than one death every hour of every day in America.
After the senseless death of her 13-year-old daughter Cari, who was killed by a drunk driver, Candace Lightner began feverishly working in her home state of California to raise awareness about drunk driving and to attempt to illicit change in drunk driving laws. Together with another mother, Cindi Lamb, whose child was a victim of a crash with an alcohol-impaired driver, the grassroots nonprofit organization Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, or MADD, was founded and incorporated in Sacramento, California on September 5th of 1980…
Since 1980, MADD reports that they have helped to cut drunk driving deaths in half, saved around 350,000 lives, and helped more than 850,000 victims. Today, there are several hundred local MADD chapters spread throughout the US and Canada. The journal World Psychiatry publishes that the MADD campaign has helped to get over 1,000 new laws involving alcohol passed on both a local and national level, including laws regarding server liability, the setting up of sobriety checkpoints, and raising the minimum drinking age. MADD has also influenced public perception of drunk driving, putting faces to the victims to highlight that these are not “accidents” but rather instances of avoidable violence and that the crime is not “victimless.”
… Arguably, MADD has been extremely influential, not only in affecting public policy and legislation, but also in changing public perception and social policy. As a grassroots organization, MADD has brought the crimes and tragedy of drunk driving consequences into the light, offering hope and encouragement for survivors, victims, and their families while also advocating for preventative efforts and positive change.
Editors of American Addiction Centers. “Effectiveness of Mothers Against Drunk Driving: Over the years, MADD has worked tirelessly to influence DUI laws, increase public awareness about underage drinking and impaired driving.” American Addiction Centers. December 13, 2022. https://alcohol.org/teens/mothers-against-drunk-driving/.
Guiding Questions
After the senseless death of her 13-year-old daughter Cari, who was killed by a drunk driver, Candace Lightner began feverishly working in her home state of California to raise awareness about drunk driving and to attempt to illicit change in drunk driving laws. Together with another mother, Cindi Lamb, whose child was a victim of a crash with an alcohol-impaired driver, the grassroots nonprofit organization Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, or MADD, was founded and incorporated in Sacramento, California on September 5th of 1980…
Since 1980, MADD reports that they have helped to cut drunk driving deaths in half, saved around 350,000 lives, and helped more than 850,000 victims. Today, there are several hundred local MADD chapters spread throughout the US and Canada. The journal World Psychiatry publishes that the MADD campaign has helped to get over 1,000 new laws involving alcohol passed on both a local and national level, including laws regarding server liability, the setting up of sobriety checkpoints, and raising the minimum drinking age. MADD has also influenced public perception of drunk driving, putting faces to the victims to highlight that these are not “accidents” but rather instances of avoidable violence and that the crime is not “victimless.”
… Arguably, MADD has been extremely influential, not only in affecting public policy and legislation, but also in changing public perception and social policy. As a grassroots organization, MADD has brought the crimes and tragedy of drunk driving consequences into the light, offering hope and encouragement for survivors, victims, and their families while also advocating for preventative efforts and positive change.
Editors of American Addiction Centers. “Effectiveness of Mothers Against Drunk Driving: Over the years, MADD has worked tirelessly to influence DUI laws, increase public awareness about underage drinking and impaired driving.” American Addiction Centers. December 13, 2022. https://alcohol.org/teens/mothers-against-drunk-driving/.
Guiding Questions
- Why is the name “Mothers” Against Drunk driving a powerful title to the organization?
- Why did Candy Lightner found MADD?
- Based on this article, did MADD impact federal policy related to drunk driving?
- According to this article, did legislation alone help change drunk driving?
Glasses: Video
Guiding Questions:
Maddcanada. “Glasses - Public Television Campaign.” YouTube. YouTube, November 20, 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrhV3QTkNyw.
- What did it feel like watching this clip?
- Why might this public awareness campaign have been effective?
Maddcanada. “Glasses - Public Television Campaign.” YouTube. YouTube, November 20, 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrhV3QTkNyw.
Drunk Driving Video
Guiding Questions:
Casskane007. “Best Madd Anti Dui Commercial Ever.” YouTube. YouTube, November 18, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b69J_bMoYk.
- What did it feel like watching this clip?
- Why might this public awareness campaign have been effective?
- Was the purpose of MADD’s early advertising campaign to support stricter laws relating to drinking and driving or to encourage individuals to make a personal choice to stop drinking and driving?
Casskane007. “Best Madd Anti Dui Commercial Ever.” YouTube. YouTube, November 18, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b69J_bMoYk.
John J Miller: The Case Against 21
Mothers Against Drunk Driving says on its website that setting the legal drinking age at 21, rather than 18, has saved “more than 21,000 lives” from alcohol-related traffic fatalities. It certainly sounds like a success story. But is it really so simple?
The former president of Middlebury College says that the picture is in fact far more complicated. “It’s just not true,” says John M. McCardell Jr. of MADD’s assertion. “I’m not going to claim that legal-age 21 has saved no lives at all, but it’s just one factor among many and it’s not anywhere near the most important factor.”As his report reveals, alcohol-related driving fatalities have fallen sharply since 1982, when a presidential commission on drunk driving urged states to raise their drinking ages to 21. That year, there were 1.64 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel; in 2001, there were 0.63 deaths. That’s a drop of 62 percent.
This is an important achievement. Yet the drinking age probably played only a small role. The dramatic increase in seat-belt use almost certainly accounts for most of the improvement. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says that the proper use of seat belts reduces the odds of death for front-seat passengers involved in a car crashes by 45 percent. In 1984, when President Reagan linked federal highway funds to the 21-year drinking age, about 14 percent of motorists used seat belts. By 2004, this figure had shot up to 80 percent. Also during this period, life-saving airbags became a standard feature on cars.
What’s more, alcohol-related fatalities were beginning to decline before the movement for a raised drinking age got off the ground, thanks to a cultural shift. “As a society, we’ve become a lot more aware of the problem of drunk driving,” says McCardell. “When I was in school, nobody used the term ‘designated driver.’” Demographic forces helped out, too: In the 1980s, following the Baby Boom, the population of young people actually shrank. Fewer young drivers means fewer high-risk drivers, and so even if attitudes about seat belts and drunk driving hadn’t changed, there almost certainly would have been a reduction in traffic deaths anyway.
McCardell suggests that one effect of raising the drinking age was not to prevent deaths but merely to delay them. “The most common age for drinking-related deaths is now 21, followed by 22 and 23,” he says. “It seems that the minimum drinking age is as likely to have postponed fatalities as to have reduced them.”
Miller, John J. “John J. Miller on Drinking Age on National Review Online.” National Review Online, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070829161232/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzU4NTcwMTQ4NTBmYzVlNWMzZjgwYTRjYjgyMzllMjg%3D.
Guiding Questions
The former president of Middlebury College says that the picture is in fact far more complicated. “It’s just not true,” says John M. McCardell Jr. of MADD’s assertion. “I’m not going to claim that legal-age 21 has saved no lives at all, but it’s just one factor among many and it’s not anywhere near the most important factor.”As his report reveals, alcohol-related driving fatalities have fallen sharply since 1982, when a presidential commission on drunk driving urged states to raise their drinking ages to 21. That year, there were 1.64 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel; in 2001, there were 0.63 deaths. That’s a drop of 62 percent.
This is an important achievement. Yet the drinking age probably played only a small role. The dramatic increase in seat-belt use almost certainly accounts for most of the improvement. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says that the proper use of seat belts reduces the odds of death for front-seat passengers involved in a car crashes by 45 percent. In 1984, when President Reagan linked federal highway funds to the 21-year drinking age, about 14 percent of motorists used seat belts. By 2004, this figure had shot up to 80 percent. Also during this period, life-saving airbags became a standard feature on cars.
What’s more, alcohol-related fatalities were beginning to decline before the movement for a raised drinking age got off the ground, thanks to a cultural shift. “As a society, we’ve become a lot more aware of the problem of drunk driving,” says McCardell. “When I was in school, nobody used the term ‘designated driver.’” Demographic forces helped out, too: In the 1980s, following the Baby Boom, the population of young people actually shrank. Fewer young drivers means fewer high-risk drivers, and so even if attitudes about seat belts and drunk driving hadn’t changed, there almost certainly would have been a reduction in traffic deaths anyway.
McCardell suggests that one effect of raising the drinking age was not to prevent deaths but merely to delay them. “The most common age for drinking-related deaths is now 21, followed by 22 and 23,” he says. “It seems that the minimum drinking age is as likely to have postponed fatalities as to have reduced them.”
Miller, John J. “John J. Miller on Drinking Age on National Review Online.” National Review Online, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070829161232/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzU4NTcwMTQ4NTBmYzVlNWMzZjgwYTRjYjgyMzllMjg%3D.
Guiding Questions
- Based on this article, did MADD impact federal policy related to drunk driving?
- According to this article, did legislation alone help change drunk driving?
Rick Sand: DUI Statistics In The United States
An arrest for a DUI can cause your insurance to skyrocket by around 71%. Many drivers find it impossible to get back on the road after their DUI, simply because the costs become too expensive for them to afford. However, drunk driving is on a decline. Between 1991 and 2017, the rate of accidents and fatalities has decreased by 50%. [T]he United States… are the third worst country when it comes to drunk driving—which obviously isn’t great. In 2015, South Africa was ranked number one as the worst country when it comes to drunk driving. With 58% of their fatal accidents involving alcohol in some way, they sit high above the second and third seats. The second seat goes to Canada, at 34% and the third to the United States at 31%. Countries on the lower end of the spectrum include Germany (9%), Russia (9%), India (5%), and China (4%).
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET A DUI IN THE UNITED STATES?
…Some states will allow you to be released when bail is paid, but other states have a one- or two-day minimum sentence for people who are arrested for driving under the influence. Your circumstances may be different depending on the nature of your accident. If anyone else is injured, or even killed, your jail time could be much longer. However, this would normally be determined in court… After this, you’ll lose your license for a period of time. After your license is restored, you may have to deal with a variety of restrictions, like taking a breathalyzer before starting your car.
You may also have to serve probation, even if you don’t serve jail time. This probation will be used to keep someone from repeating an offense. If you were to repeat your offense, you may face greater jail time for breaking your probation.
Before getting your license back, you may have to attend driving school specifically for people convicted of DUIs. You’ll then have to pay your fines in order to get your license back. Your insurance may also go up because of your new DUI.
WHAT ARE DUI PENALTIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES?
Let’s look at South Africa, the country with the highest concentration of alcohol accidents in the world. In South Africa, it’s illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content greater than .05, a little lower than the US’s .08mg/dl. If you’re arrested for drunk driving, you’ll likely be granted bail. However, if you’re convicted a second time, you may be sent to prison for up to six years… In China, the legal limit for alcohol in the blood while driving is .02mg, much lower than both the US and South Africa. They have a zero-tolerance policy for repeat offenders, and may suspend your license for a few months even if you’re a first time offender.
DOES THE UNITED STATES HAVE STRICT-ENOUGH DUI LAWS?
When comparing the United States to other countries, it’s easy to see that many other countries have stricter laws than the US, especially when it comes to longer suspension times and higher fines. Other countries generally make it harder to get back on the road after a DUI… In China, their low tolerance policies seem to be working when it comes to keeping drunk drivers off the roads. The United States could experiment with tighter laws and see what happens. However, our percentages seem to be going down over the years.
Sand, Rick. “Comparing DUI Statistics of the U.S. vs. Other Countries.” Sand Law North Dakota, October 5, 2021. https://www.sandlawnd.com/dui-statistics-of-us-vs-other-countries/.
Guiding Questions
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET A DUI IN THE UNITED STATES?
…Some states will allow you to be released when bail is paid, but other states have a one- or two-day minimum sentence for people who are arrested for driving under the influence. Your circumstances may be different depending on the nature of your accident. If anyone else is injured, or even killed, your jail time could be much longer. However, this would normally be determined in court… After this, you’ll lose your license for a period of time. After your license is restored, you may have to deal with a variety of restrictions, like taking a breathalyzer before starting your car.
You may also have to serve probation, even if you don’t serve jail time. This probation will be used to keep someone from repeating an offense. If you were to repeat your offense, you may face greater jail time for breaking your probation.
Before getting your license back, you may have to attend driving school specifically for people convicted of DUIs. You’ll then have to pay your fines in order to get your license back. Your insurance may also go up because of your new DUI.
WHAT ARE DUI PENALTIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES?
Let’s look at South Africa, the country with the highest concentration of alcohol accidents in the world. In South Africa, it’s illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content greater than .05, a little lower than the US’s .08mg/dl. If you’re arrested for drunk driving, you’ll likely be granted bail. However, if you’re convicted a second time, you may be sent to prison for up to six years… In China, the legal limit for alcohol in the blood while driving is .02mg, much lower than both the US and South Africa. They have a zero-tolerance policy for repeat offenders, and may suspend your license for a few months even if you’re a first time offender.
DOES THE UNITED STATES HAVE STRICT-ENOUGH DUI LAWS?
When comparing the United States to other countries, it’s easy to see that many other countries have stricter laws than the US, especially when it comes to longer suspension times and higher fines. Other countries generally make it harder to get back on the road after a DUI… In China, their low tolerance policies seem to be working when it comes to keeping drunk drivers off the roads. The United States could experiment with tighter laws and see what happens. However, our percentages seem to be going down over the years.
Sand, Rick. “Comparing DUI Statistics of the U.S. vs. Other Countries.” Sand Law North Dakota, October 5, 2021. https://www.sandlawnd.com/dui-statistics-of-us-vs-other-countries/.
Guiding Questions
- Based on this article, do laws impact the behavior of drunk drivers?
- According to this article, did legislation alone help change drunk driving?
Connie Koenenn: The Company She Keeps
When Candy Lightner went to work at a consulting firm that represents restaurants that serve alcohol, she considered the job compatible with her past as the crusading founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. But that hasn’t been the media perception. In a sudden wave of publicity this month, Lightner has found herself portrayed in news stories and on talk shows as having joined the enemy. “MADD Founder Switches Sides” was a typical headline, and “lobbyist for the liquor industry” the typical job description when the media discovered Lightner’s new position.
Lightner, who founded MADD in Fair Oaks, Calif., in 1980 when her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver, says she has not changed sides. “I am a government relations consultant on public policy issues, and it’s something I have wanted to do for a long time,” she says. Lightner accepted the job in November with Rick Berman, whose Washington, D.C.-based Berman and Co.'s clients include the American Beverage Institute, a 4,000-member trade organization representing restaurants and other establishments that serve alcohol.
She will lobby state legislatures to reject laws that lower the legal standard for driving under the influence to .08% blood-alcohol level because she agrees with the restaurant industry’s position that these are not the dangerous drivers and it is counterproductive to waste law enforcement resources on them. Only a few states, including California, have .08% laws. Most use .10%. “Lowering the level accomplishes nothing. I think we should target the repeat offenders--they are the real danger on our roads,” says Lightner, recalling that the man who killed her daughter had a long record of DUI arrests and had just been bailed out on a hit-and-run drunk-driving charge.
Berman says Lightner will lobby state legislatures for laws that distinguish among light, moderate and heavy drinkers, and adjust the penalties accordingly. “We think that as a person’s blood-alcohol level goes up, the penalties should get stiffer,” Berman says. “The restaurant industry has never done this before.” “This escalated penalty plan is a new approach in our country and I’m very excited about it,” Lightner says. The American Beverage Institute maintains that the .08% standard makes criminals of social drinkers and weakens law enforcement by stretching it over a wider pool of drivers than is necessary.
With this position, Lightner breaks ranks with MADD and other organizations in the anti-drunk driving movement. MADD’s national president, Rebecca Brown of Tampa, Fla., says she doesn’t criticize Lightner, who to the public personifies MADD’s success. The group has grown to 3 million members and is credited with toughening laws against drunk driving in every state and with reducing alcohol-related deaths on America’s highways. “Candy made a great difference in America and we can only be grateful,” Brown says. “The issue here is not Candy Lightner. It’s .08 and we are on different sides of that issue. We have a great deal of research and evidence that even experienced drivers are impaired at that blood-alcohol level.”
California MADD worked on the campaign to lower the state’s blood alcohol level to .08%. Michelle Payne at the Sacramento office says the group has received only a few calls about Lightner and that all comments on policy come from the national office.
MADD is lobbying for .08 because its leaders think this is an achievable goal, Brown says. “However, we believe that no one should drive after drinking, period.” Lightner says she is surprised at the negative reaction to her new post, since much of her progress with MADD was made in conjunction with the restaurant industry and she was praised for the results. “We got them, in some cases, to eliminate happy hours, and two-for-one drinks, and to initiate mandatory server training for bartenders and things like designated drivers and free taxi service,” she says.
After Lightner left MADD in 1985, she wrote a book about grieving, “Giving Sorrow Words,” published in 1990. Last year, she turned her attention to Americans Against Crime, a citizens’ group aimed at stemming violent crime. “We couldn’t raise the money to keep it going,” she says. “It was partly the economy.”
Lightner, who has two grown children, lives in Alexandria, Va. She says she joined Berman’s firm because she wants to continue to make a difference. “I’ve only been doing this for 2 1/2 months and I’m not discouraged. I believe strongly in what I’m doing and I have no problem about the world knowing.” Of her relationship with MADD, she says, the disagreement is with the blood-alcohol level and nothing more. “I oppose .08 and I advocate escalated penalties. I haven’t switched to the ‘other side.’ The ‘other side’ is being a defense attorney for drunk drivers.”
Koenenn, Connie. “The Company She Keeps : Drunk driving: Candy Lightner says she still wants reforms. But now that the MADD founder works for restaurants, some wonder whose side she’s really on.” Los Angeles Times. January 29, 1994. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-26-vw-15591-story.html.
Guiding Questions
Lightner, who founded MADD in Fair Oaks, Calif., in 1980 when her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver, says she has not changed sides. “I am a government relations consultant on public policy issues, and it’s something I have wanted to do for a long time,” she says. Lightner accepted the job in November with Rick Berman, whose Washington, D.C.-based Berman and Co.'s clients include the American Beverage Institute, a 4,000-member trade organization representing restaurants and other establishments that serve alcohol.
She will lobby state legislatures to reject laws that lower the legal standard for driving under the influence to .08% blood-alcohol level because she agrees with the restaurant industry’s position that these are not the dangerous drivers and it is counterproductive to waste law enforcement resources on them. Only a few states, including California, have .08% laws. Most use .10%. “Lowering the level accomplishes nothing. I think we should target the repeat offenders--they are the real danger on our roads,” says Lightner, recalling that the man who killed her daughter had a long record of DUI arrests and had just been bailed out on a hit-and-run drunk-driving charge.
Berman says Lightner will lobby state legislatures for laws that distinguish among light, moderate and heavy drinkers, and adjust the penalties accordingly. “We think that as a person’s blood-alcohol level goes up, the penalties should get stiffer,” Berman says. “The restaurant industry has never done this before.” “This escalated penalty plan is a new approach in our country and I’m very excited about it,” Lightner says. The American Beverage Institute maintains that the .08% standard makes criminals of social drinkers and weakens law enforcement by stretching it over a wider pool of drivers than is necessary.
With this position, Lightner breaks ranks with MADD and other organizations in the anti-drunk driving movement. MADD’s national president, Rebecca Brown of Tampa, Fla., says she doesn’t criticize Lightner, who to the public personifies MADD’s success. The group has grown to 3 million members and is credited with toughening laws against drunk driving in every state and with reducing alcohol-related deaths on America’s highways. “Candy made a great difference in America and we can only be grateful,” Brown says. “The issue here is not Candy Lightner. It’s .08 and we are on different sides of that issue. We have a great deal of research and evidence that even experienced drivers are impaired at that blood-alcohol level.”
California MADD worked on the campaign to lower the state’s blood alcohol level to .08%. Michelle Payne at the Sacramento office says the group has received only a few calls about Lightner and that all comments on policy come from the national office.
MADD is lobbying for .08 because its leaders think this is an achievable goal, Brown says. “However, we believe that no one should drive after drinking, period.” Lightner says she is surprised at the negative reaction to her new post, since much of her progress with MADD was made in conjunction with the restaurant industry and she was praised for the results. “We got them, in some cases, to eliminate happy hours, and two-for-one drinks, and to initiate mandatory server training for bartenders and things like designated drivers and free taxi service,” she says.
After Lightner left MADD in 1985, she wrote a book about grieving, “Giving Sorrow Words,” published in 1990. Last year, she turned her attention to Americans Against Crime, a citizens’ group aimed at stemming violent crime. “We couldn’t raise the money to keep it going,” she says. “It was partly the economy.”
Lightner, who has two grown children, lives in Alexandria, Va. She says she joined Berman’s firm because she wants to continue to make a difference. “I’ve only been doing this for 2 1/2 months and I’m not discouraged. I believe strongly in what I’m doing and I have no problem about the world knowing.” Of her relationship with MADD, she says, the disagreement is with the blood-alcohol level and nothing more. “I oppose .08 and I advocate escalated penalties. I haven’t switched to the ‘other side.’ The ‘other side’ is being a defense attorney for drunk drivers.”
Koenenn, Connie. “The Company She Keeps : Drunk driving: Candy Lightner says she still wants reforms. But now that the MADD founder works for restaurants, some wonder whose side she’s really on.” Los Angeles Times. January 29, 1994. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-26-vw-15591-story.html.
Guiding Questions
- Based on this article, what is the disagreement over 0.08?
- According to this article, do laws alone help change drunk driving?
Title IX
Title IX Timeline
Title IX Timeline:
1928: Betty Robinson becomes the first woman to win Gold in the 100 meter dash after women are allowed to compete in non-aesthetic events.
1936: A federal appeals court effectively says doctors can prescribe women birth control.
1947: The first Truman Commission report pushes for more equal access to higher education, including ending race and religious discrimination.
1953: Toni Stone becomes the first woman to regularly play professional baseball (Negro Leagues).
1954: U.S. Supreme Court rules “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” in landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.
1960: Wilma Rudolph becomes the first American woman to win three gold medals in an Olympics. The star Black sprinter becomes a prominent advocate for civil rights.
1963: The Commission on the Status of Women, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, finds widespread discrimination against women in the U.S.. Congress passes the Equal Pay Act.
1964: The Civil Rights Act prevents sex discrimination and establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Patsy Mink becomes the first woman of color in the U.S. House.
1966: Bobbi Gibb becomes the first woman to run the Boston Marathon violating a rule preventing women’s participation.
1967: Katherine Switzer registered for the Boston Marathon as K.V. Switzer and was forcibly attacked by the race director.
1971: The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) is founded to govern collegiate women’s athletics and administer national championships.
1972: Congress passes Title IX co-authored by Mink. Women are allowed to run in the Boston Marathon.
1973: The Supreme Court issues its Roe v. Wade opinion establishing the right to an abortion. Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the “The Battle of the Sexes” tennis exhibition match.
1974: The Women’s Educational Equity Act provides grants and contracts to help with “nonsexist curricula,” as well as to help institutions meet Title IX requirements.
1976: NCAA challenges the legality of Title IX regarding athletics in a lawsuit that is dismissed.
1977: Three female students at Yale, two graduates and a male faculty member become the first to sue over sexual harassment under Title IX (Alexander v. Yale). It would fail on appeal.
1979: U.S. officials put into effect the important three-prong test for Title IX compliance when it comes to athletics.
1984: Democrat Geraldine Ferraro becomes first woman to earn a vice presidential nomination from a major political party. The U.S. wins its first Olympic gold medal in basketball.
1991: Anita Hill testified that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her.
1994: The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act is passed requiring schools with federal financial aid programs to provide annual information regarding gender equity.
1996: Female athletes win a lawsuit and force Brown to restore funding for women’s sports. The NBA clears the way for the WNBA.
1999: Brandi Chastain scores winning goal of World Cup final in a shootout. This image is one of the most iconic images in sports history.
2005: In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that individuals, including coaches and teachers, have a “right of action” under Title IX if they’re retaliated against for protesting sex discrimination.
2015: The United States’ 5-2 win over Japan in the World Cup final becomes the most viewed soccer game in the history of American television.
2016: The Obama administration says transgender students should be allowed to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, rescinded by the Trump administration.
2017: Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam title, second-most of all time.
2020: New Title IX amendments take effect, largely regarding sexual harassment.
2021: Report rips NCAA for failing to uphold its commitment to gender equity.
2022: The U.S. women’s national soccer team reaches a milestone agreement to be paid equally to the men’s national team. U.S. Gymnastics athletes win 1 billion dollar lawsuit against the FBI mishandling of sexual assault by former coach.
Guiding Questions
1928: Betty Robinson becomes the first woman to win Gold in the 100 meter dash after women are allowed to compete in non-aesthetic events.
1936: A federal appeals court effectively says doctors can prescribe women birth control.
1947: The first Truman Commission report pushes for more equal access to higher education, including ending race and religious discrimination.
1953: Toni Stone becomes the first woman to regularly play professional baseball (Negro Leagues).
1954: U.S. Supreme Court rules “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” in landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.
1960: Wilma Rudolph becomes the first American woman to win three gold medals in an Olympics. The star Black sprinter becomes a prominent advocate for civil rights.
1963: The Commission on the Status of Women, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, finds widespread discrimination against women in the U.S.. Congress passes the Equal Pay Act.
1964: The Civil Rights Act prevents sex discrimination and establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Patsy Mink becomes the first woman of color in the U.S. House.
1966: Bobbi Gibb becomes the first woman to run the Boston Marathon violating a rule preventing women’s participation.
1967: Katherine Switzer registered for the Boston Marathon as K.V. Switzer and was forcibly attacked by the race director.
1971: The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) is founded to govern collegiate women’s athletics and administer national championships.
1972: Congress passes Title IX co-authored by Mink. Women are allowed to run in the Boston Marathon.
1973: The Supreme Court issues its Roe v. Wade opinion establishing the right to an abortion. Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the “The Battle of the Sexes” tennis exhibition match.
1974: The Women’s Educational Equity Act provides grants and contracts to help with “nonsexist curricula,” as well as to help institutions meet Title IX requirements.
1976: NCAA challenges the legality of Title IX regarding athletics in a lawsuit that is dismissed.
1977: Three female students at Yale, two graduates and a male faculty member become the first to sue over sexual harassment under Title IX (Alexander v. Yale). It would fail on appeal.
1979: U.S. officials put into effect the important three-prong test for Title IX compliance when it comes to athletics.
1984: Democrat Geraldine Ferraro becomes first woman to earn a vice presidential nomination from a major political party. The U.S. wins its first Olympic gold medal in basketball.
1991: Anita Hill testified that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her.
1994: The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act is passed requiring schools with federal financial aid programs to provide annual information regarding gender equity.
1996: Female athletes win a lawsuit and force Brown to restore funding for women’s sports. The NBA clears the way for the WNBA.
1999: Brandi Chastain scores winning goal of World Cup final in a shootout. This image is one of the most iconic images in sports history.
2005: In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that individuals, including coaches and teachers, have a “right of action” under Title IX if they’re retaliated against for protesting sex discrimination.
2015: The United States’ 5-2 win over Japan in the World Cup final becomes the most viewed soccer game in the history of American television.
2016: The Obama administration says transgender students should be allowed to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, rescinded by the Trump administration.
2017: Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam title, second-most of all time.
2020: New Title IX amendments take effect, largely regarding sexual harassment.
2021: Report rips NCAA for failing to uphold its commitment to gender equity.
2022: The U.S. women’s national soccer team reaches a milestone agreement to be paid equally to the men’s national team. U.S. Gymnastics athletes win 1 billion dollar lawsuit against the FBI mishandling of sexual assault by former coach.
Guiding Questions
- Based the timeline, why might this law have been necessary in 1972?
- Are there any events in this timeline that surprise you? Why or why not?
Ray Levy-Uyeda: Yale Women Crew Protest
In the spring of 1976, four years after the signing of Title IX, the landmark equity-in-education legislation, and eight years after Yale University voted to admit women applicants, 19 college-athletes marched into the office of the director of physical education and peeled away their Yale training uniforms to reveal their bare bodies. Across their chests and backs they had written, “Title IX.” A photo of the day’s protest taken by a Yale Daily News photographer shows Joni Barnett, physical education director, gawping at captain Chris Ernst as she read a prepared statement decrying the conditions of the women’s rowing program. They protested because the women’s rowing team, newly formed and already better than the men’s, could barely qualify as a program: the team had no locker rooms, no bathrooms, no equipment manager, and no one to wash their uniforms. Either because of a supposed lack of money or because they were women, the university didn’t think the team was worth the investment. "I think women were theoretical to them, but not real,” Ernst told me recently, reflecting on the women's treatment as athletes. After practice, the women athletes would wait on the bus that they shared with the men’s team, still soaked with cold river water, while the men athletes showered away any evidence of their training. Their conditions were a violation of Title IX, and the athletes wanted to do something about it.
The protest was successful by a number of measures: the Yale women’s rowing program got the showers, bathrooms, and locker rooms they demanded; the university hired a faculty member to oversee Title IX compliance; nationwide, universities hurried away to engender Title IX equitability within their own athletic programming. “They found, magically, the money,” Ernst told me. “The university finally had to realize they're gonna have to have a program for women; they're gonna have to actually acknowledge and obey Title IX.” Revealing themselves had worked, and the Yale women produced a kind of public-facing vulnerability that’s often needed to create broader social change.
Levy-Uyeda, Ray. “Yale Rowers Broke Barries Thanks to Title IX.” Global Sport Matters, June 21, 2022. https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2020/09/24/women-broke-barriers-bodies-title-ix/.
Questions:
The protest was successful by a number of measures: the Yale women’s rowing program got the showers, bathrooms, and locker rooms they demanded; the university hired a faculty member to oversee Title IX compliance; nationwide, universities hurried away to engender Title IX equitability within their own athletic programming. “They found, magically, the money,” Ernst told me. “The university finally had to realize they're gonna have to have a program for women; they're gonna have to actually acknowledge and obey Title IX.” Revealing themselves had worked, and the Yale women produced a kind of public-facing vulnerability that’s often needed to create broader social change.
Levy-Uyeda, Ray. “Yale Rowers Broke Barries Thanks to Title IX.” Global Sport Matters, June 21, 2022. https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2020/09/24/women-broke-barriers-bodies-title-ix/.
Questions:
- Based on this explanation of events, how was Title IX used?
Julie Johnson: Grove City Bill
[E]ven with popular legislation, benefiting women, minorities, older Americans and people with physical disabilities, many lawmakers, particularly Republicans up for re-election, face a tough choice: A vote to override places them squarely against a still-popular President, and against other interest groups that are also powerful.
The bill passed Congress overwhelmingly… Mr. Reagan, who has introduced an alternative civil rights package, acknowledges that the Supreme Court ruling went too far in limiting Federal antidiscrimination laws, but he contends that the Congressional remedy goes too far in the other direction. The Supreme Court ruled that antidiscrimination provisions on the use of Federal aid apply only to specific programs, not to an entire institution. It held that discrimination in a Grove City College sports program did not justify the denial of Federal aid outside that program.
Although the four-year liberal arts institution did not receive any direct Federal funds, it did enroll students who received federally-backed stipends or grants. The college became entangled in a legal battle with the Government when it separated boys and girls in the school's intramural sports program and refused to file a statement of compliance with Title IX.. The High Court stipulated that it was only the school's financial aid program that was covered by discrimination statutes.
That logic, critics feared, would leave huge loopholes for institutions, and not only schools, to discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race or physical handicaps. The debate has only intensified since 1984…
The conservative Christian groups offer two main objections. For one, they say provisions of the law that bar discrimination against the handicapped are unclear, and some evangelicals assert that the definition could be interpreted to include homosexuals and other groups without physical or mental disabilities. They are also worried about exemptions for religious schools… A widely distributed lobbying letter mailed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell states: “Because of the pressure brought on by the homosexual movement in this country, Congress has caved in to this pressure and passed a law that, combined with present court cases, would qualify drug addicts, alcoholics, active homosexuals, transvestites, among others, for Federal protection as handicapped.”
Johnson, Julie. “Washington Talk: Congress; Foes of Civil Rights Bill Mount 11th-Hour Drive.” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 22, 1988. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/22/us/washington-talk-congress-foes-of-civil-rights-bill-mount-11th-hour-drive.html?searchResultPosition=7.
Questions:
The bill passed Congress overwhelmingly… Mr. Reagan, who has introduced an alternative civil rights package, acknowledges that the Supreme Court ruling went too far in limiting Federal antidiscrimination laws, but he contends that the Congressional remedy goes too far in the other direction. The Supreme Court ruled that antidiscrimination provisions on the use of Federal aid apply only to specific programs, not to an entire institution. It held that discrimination in a Grove City College sports program did not justify the denial of Federal aid outside that program.
Although the four-year liberal arts institution did not receive any direct Federal funds, it did enroll students who received federally-backed stipends or grants. The college became entangled in a legal battle with the Government when it separated boys and girls in the school's intramural sports program and refused to file a statement of compliance with Title IX.. The High Court stipulated that it was only the school's financial aid program that was covered by discrimination statutes.
That logic, critics feared, would leave huge loopholes for institutions, and not only schools, to discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race or physical handicaps. The debate has only intensified since 1984…
The conservative Christian groups offer two main objections. For one, they say provisions of the law that bar discrimination against the handicapped are unclear, and some evangelicals assert that the definition could be interpreted to include homosexuals and other groups without physical or mental disabilities. They are also worried about exemptions for religious schools… A widely distributed lobbying letter mailed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell states: “Because of the pressure brought on by the homosexual movement in this country, Congress has caved in to this pressure and passed a law that, combined with present court cases, would qualify drug addicts, alcoholics, active homosexuals, transvestites, among others, for Federal protection as handicapped.”
Johnson, Julie. “Washington Talk: Congress; Foes of Civil Rights Bill Mount 11th-Hour Drive.” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 22, 1988. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/22/us/washington-talk-congress-foes-of-civil-rights-bill-mount-11th-hour-drive.html?searchResultPosition=7.
Questions:
- Based on this document, how did this event change the way Title IX was handled?
Linda Greenhouse: Court Opens A Path For Students in Sex-Bias cases
The Supreme Court ruled today that the Federal law barring sex discrimination in schools and colleges permits students to sue for damages for sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination. In a surprisingly broad 9-to-0 decision, the Court rejected the Bush Administration's argument that the law, Title IX of a 1972 education law, did not authorize monetary damages as a remedy for illegal discrimination.
In several recent cases, the Supreme Court has taken a narrow view of Federal civil rights laws, so lawyers for women's groups expressed relief about today's decision and praised it. They predicted that it would convert the little-used 20-year-old law into a powerful new weapon against sex discrimination on campus. "Having a real remedy will give an enormous push for equity," Marcia Greenberger, director of the National Women's Law Center, said in an interview. She saw the decision as a victory "that opens up Title IX dramatically" and will promote more fairness in schools and colleges.
Until now, there have been few lawsuits under Title IX. Although it is impossible to predict whether today's ruling will increase the number significantly, there is no doubt that it offers a specific new remedy to students -- men as well as women -- who feel they have been the victims of sex bias. But it was not immediately clear whether the ruling can be applied retroactively.
The new civil rights law that was passed in the last session of Congress made damages for sex discrimination available for the first time. But that law applies only in the context of employment discrimination and so does not apply to students.
The decision today overturned a ruling by a Federal appeals court in Atlanta. That court had dismissed a Title IX suit against a Georgia school district brought by a high school student who charged that school officials had failed to stop a teacher from forcing unwanted sexual attention on her for more than a year.
Greenhouse, Linda. “Court Opens Path for Student Suits in Sex-Bias Cases.” The New York Times. The New York Times, February 27, 1992. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/27/us/court-opens-path-for-student-suits-in-sex-bias-cases.html#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20ruled%20today,other%20forms%20of%20sex%20discrimination.
Questions:
In several recent cases, the Supreme Court has taken a narrow view of Federal civil rights laws, so lawyers for women's groups expressed relief about today's decision and praised it. They predicted that it would convert the little-used 20-year-old law into a powerful new weapon against sex discrimination on campus. "Having a real remedy will give an enormous push for equity," Marcia Greenberger, director of the National Women's Law Center, said in an interview. She saw the decision as a victory "that opens up Title IX dramatically" and will promote more fairness in schools and colleges.
Until now, there have been few lawsuits under Title IX. Although it is impossible to predict whether today's ruling will increase the number significantly, there is no doubt that it offers a specific new remedy to students -- men as well as women -- who feel they have been the victims of sex bias. But it was not immediately clear whether the ruling can be applied retroactively.
The new civil rights law that was passed in the last session of Congress made damages for sex discrimination available for the first time. But that law applies only in the context of employment discrimination and so does not apply to students.
The decision today overturned a ruling by a Federal appeals court in Atlanta. That court had dismissed a Title IX suit against a Georgia school district brought by a high school student who charged that school officials had failed to stop a teacher from forcing unwanted sexual attention on her for more than a year.
Greenhouse, Linda. “Court Opens Path for Student Suits in Sex-Bias Cases.” The New York Times. The New York Times, February 27, 1992. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/27/us/court-opens-path-for-student-suits-in-sex-bias-cases.html#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20ruled%20today,other%20forms%20of%20sex%20discrimination.
Questions:
- Based on this document, how did this event change the way Title IX was handled?
Alan Blinder and Erik Eckholm: Federal Judge Blocks Transgender Bathroom Access
A federal judge has blocked the Obama administration from enforcing new guidelines that were intended to expand restroom access for transgender students across the country.
Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas said in a 38-page ruling, which he said should apply nationwide, that the government had not complied with federal law when it issued “directives which contradict the existing legislative and regulatory text.”
The judge’s order on Sunday, in a case brought by officials from more than a dozen states, was a victory for social conservatives in the continuing legal battles over the restroom guidelines, which the federal government issued this year. The culture war over the rights of transgender people, and especially their right to use public bathrooms consistent with their gender identities, has emerged as an emotional cause among social conservatives.
The Obama administration’s assertion that the rights of transgender people in public schools and workplaces are protected under existing laws against sex discrimination has been condemned by social conservatives, who said the administration was illegally intruding into local affairs and promoting a policy that would jeopardize the privacy and safety of schoolchildren.
Eckholm, Erik, and Alan Blinder. “Federal Transgender Bathroom Access Guidelines Blocked by Judge.” The New York Times. The New York Times, August 22, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/us/transgender-bathroom-access-guidelines-blocked-by-judge.html.
Questions:
Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas said in a 38-page ruling, which he said should apply nationwide, that the government had not complied with federal law when it issued “directives which contradict the existing legislative and regulatory text.”
The judge’s order on Sunday, in a case brought by officials from more than a dozen states, was a victory for social conservatives in the continuing legal battles over the restroom guidelines, which the federal government issued this year. The culture war over the rights of transgender people, and especially their right to use public bathrooms consistent with their gender identities, has emerged as an emotional cause among social conservatives.
The Obama administration’s assertion that the rights of transgender people in public schools and workplaces are protected under existing laws against sex discrimination has been condemned by social conservatives, who said the administration was illegally intruding into local affairs and promoting a policy that would jeopardize the privacy and safety of schoolchildren.
Eckholm, Erik, and Alan Blinder. “Federal Transgender Bathroom Access Guidelines Blocked by Judge.” The New York Times. The New York Times, August 22, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/us/transgender-bathroom-access-guidelines-blocked-by-judge.html.
Questions:
- Based on this document, how did this event change the way Title IX was handled?
Bianca Quilantan: Devos Reveals Rules That Boost Rights For Students Accused Of Sexual-Misconduct
Schools and colleges face a major overhaul in how they handle sexual misconduct allegations after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday rebuffed calls to delay the sweeping regulation until the conclusion of the national coronavirus emergency. The Title IX rule will offer new rights to accused assailants, and require colleges to respond to formal complaints with courtroom-like hearings. The hearings, which will allow representatives for alleged offenders and victims to call witnesses and challenge their credibility, can occur live or virtually. Students and staff would also have a right to appeal a school’s decisions.
President Donald Trump, conservatives and some civil liberties groups praised the changes as a boon to due process. But the new rule prompted hostile rebukes from Democrats, prominent higher education leaders and advocacy groups who promised a fight, including in the courts.
To investigate and make decisions on complaints, schools will have to use trained personnel to evaluate evidence, though they could offer “informal resolution” options to involved individuals. Schools will also have their choice of using two standards of evidence to make decisions: a “clear and convincing” standard or a less-restrictive standard that relies on the “preponderance of evidence.”
DeVos said that the rule came after years of research and input, and will ensure a process for deciding claims that is fair to all students. “We can and must continue to fight sexual misconduct in our nation’s schools, and this rule makes certain that fight continues,” DeVos said.
The Obama administration had laid out guidance pushing schools to resolve an epidemic of complaints of sexual assault and harassment. But DeVos scrapped the Obama-era policies, saying they were unfair to everyone involved, and she now wants to balance the scales of justice with clear, formal rules.
The White House described the policy change as a way to"restore fairness and due process to our campuses,” arguing that colleges and universities “have often stacked the deck against the accused, failing to offer protections such as a presumption of innocence or adequate ability to rebut allegations.” “With today’s action and every action to come, the Trump administration will fight for America’s students,” Trump said in a statement. The regulations are effective Aug. 14, 2020.
Quilantan , Bianca. “Devos Unveils Rule That Boosts Rights for Students Accused of Sexual Misconduct.” POLITICO, May 6, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/06/betsy-devos-sexual-misconduct-rule-schools-240131.
Questions:
President Donald Trump, conservatives and some civil liberties groups praised the changes as a boon to due process. But the new rule prompted hostile rebukes from Democrats, prominent higher education leaders and advocacy groups who promised a fight, including in the courts.
To investigate and make decisions on complaints, schools will have to use trained personnel to evaluate evidence, though they could offer “informal resolution” options to involved individuals. Schools will also have their choice of using two standards of evidence to make decisions: a “clear and convincing” standard or a less-restrictive standard that relies on the “preponderance of evidence.”
DeVos said that the rule came after years of research and input, and will ensure a process for deciding claims that is fair to all students. “We can and must continue to fight sexual misconduct in our nation’s schools, and this rule makes certain that fight continues,” DeVos said.
The Obama administration had laid out guidance pushing schools to resolve an epidemic of complaints of sexual assault and harassment. But DeVos scrapped the Obama-era policies, saying they were unfair to everyone involved, and she now wants to balance the scales of justice with clear, formal rules.
The White House described the policy change as a way to"restore fairness and due process to our campuses,” arguing that colleges and universities “have often stacked the deck against the accused, failing to offer protections such as a presumption of innocence or adequate ability to rebut allegations.” “With today’s action and every action to come, the Trump administration will fight for America’s students,” Trump said in a statement. The regulations are effective Aug. 14, 2020.
Quilantan , Bianca. “Devos Unveils Rule That Boosts Rights for Students Accused of Sexual Misconduct.” POLITICO, May 6, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/06/betsy-devos-sexual-misconduct-rule-schools-240131.
Questions:
- Based on this document, how did this event change the way Title IX was handled?
Dustin Jones: Biden's Title IX Reforms Would Roll Back Trump-Era Rules, Expand Victim Protections
President Biden and the Department of Education announced proposed amendments to the legislation that would reinstate victim protections that were rolled back by President Donald Trump. The Department of Education said the amendments will include clarifying text to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to strengthen the rights of LGBTQI+ students. "They would make clear that preventing someone from participating in school programs and activities consistent with their gender identity would cause harm in violation of Title IX, except in some limited areas set out in the statute or regulations," the department said.
The department also said it plans to issue a separate notice of proposed rulemaking to address whether and how the agency should amend the Title IX regulations to address students' eligibility to participate on a particular male or female athletics team. Amendments will also include language to prevent discrimination base on sex stereotypes and pregnancy, the department said. It would require schools to provide reasonable modifications for pregnant students and reasonable break time for pregnant employees as well as lactation spaces.
And parents, guardians and a student's authorized legal representative would have greater protections to act on a student's behalf. That would allow these parties to seek assistance under Title IX and participate in grievance procedures, the department said…
Under the Trump-era regulations, some forms of sex-based harassment weren't considered to be Title IX violations. But the proposed changes, which will undergo a public comment period before being finalized, will include all "unwelcome sex-based conduct that creates a hostile environment by denying or limiting a person's ability to participate in or benefit from a school's education program or activity."
The Trump administration's version of Title IX, which remains in place until the amendments are approved, only requires educational institutions to investigate formal sexual harassment complaints. The Department of Education said it would keep as much of the current regulation as possible to ensure consistency, but Biden's changes would require schools to investigate all complaints.
Jones, Dustin. “Biden's Title IX Reforms Would Roll Back Trump-Era Rules, Expand Victim Protections.” NPR. NPR, June 23, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107045291/title-ix-9-biden-expand-victim-protections-discrimination.
Questions:
The department also said it plans to issue a separate notice of proposed rulemaking to address whether and how the agency should amend the Title IX regulations to address students' eligibility to participate on a particular male or female athletics team. Amendments will also include language to prevent discrimination base on sex stereotypes and pregnancy, the department said. It would require schools to provide reasonable modifications for pregnant students and reasonable break time for pregnant employees as well as lactation spaces.
And parents, guardians and a student's authorized legal representative would have greater protections to act on a student's behalf. That would allow these parties to seek assistance under Title IX and participate in grievance procedures, the department said…
Under the Trump-era regulations, some forms of sex-based harassment weren't considered to be Title IX violations. But the proposed changes, which will undergo a public comment period before being finalized, will include all "unwelcome sex-based conduct that creates a hostile environment by denying or limiting a person's ability to participate in or benefit from a school's education program or activity."
The Trump administration's version of Title IX, which remains in place until the amendments are approved, only requires educational institutions to investigate formal sexual harassment complaints. The Department of Education said it would keep as much of the current regulation as possible to ensure consistency, but Biden's changes would require schools to investigate all complaints.
Jones, Dustin. “Biden's Title IX Reforms Would Roll Back Trump-Era Rules, Expand Victim Protections.” NPR. NPR, June 23, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107045291/title-ix-9-biden-expand-victim-protections-discrimination.
Questions:
- Based on this document, how did this event change the way Title IX was handled?
Remy Tumin: Title IX Gave Women Greater Access to Education
On June 23, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed an omnibus education bill that would change the paths of millions of women and girls in the United States. At first glance, the sweep conveyed by the words themselves can be hard to recognize. Title IX was part of a long list of education amendments in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, buried amid antibusing policies and outlines of federal financial aid funding. In just 37 words, the statute guaranteed a means to ensure equal access for women to education…
Lawmakers used the Civil Rights Act for framing but intentionally downplayed the policy’s significance to assure its passage through Congress. Fifty years later, Title IX continues to reverberate around the country, ushering in a new era of women’s sports and a framework for handling sexual misconduct complaints on campus.
“Part of the beauty of Title IX is its breadth and comprehensiveness. It’s a ban without creating an exhaustive list,” said Wendy Mink, whose mother, Rep. Patsy Mink, Democrat of Hawaii, was one of the lawmakers to spearhead the policy. The official name of Title IX was changed to the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act after Mink’s death in 2002. “It’s open to interpretation and application,” Wendy Mink said. “She wanted to make sure each of the interpretations would not only be applied but enforced.”
The most visible changes were seen in gymnasiums, fields and courts across the United States — young women were entitled to the same athletic opportunities as their male counterparts at schools. According to a study by the Women’s Sports Foundation, high school participation rose from 294,015 in the 1971-72 school year to 3.4 million in 2018-19 (participation by boys was 3.67 million in 1971-72 and 4.53 million in 2018-19). At the collegiate level, participation at N.C.A.A. schools rose from 29,977 athletes in women’s sports in 1971-72 to 215,486 in 2020-21. Men’s sports had 275,769 athletes in 2020-21.
What’s missing from Title IX?
While Title IX’s intentions to be broad and encompassing have ensured rights for many women and girls, white women have benefited the most. Title IX does not directly address race, gender identity, disabilities or other characteristics besides sex. The Women’s Sports Foundation found that Asian, Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and other girls and women of color participate in sport at lower levels than white women do. The same was true for women with disabilities compared with men who had disabilities. Women of color are also underrepresented in athletic leadership.
A new interpretation of Title IX includes transgender students and new sexual assault guidelines. Title IX falls under the executive branch and therefore is subject to interpretation by each administration. The Biden administration proposed new rules on Thursday that would extend Title IX protections to transgender students by expanding the definition of “sex” to include “stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” The new language, which is still subject to a commentary period, also rolled back a Trump administration policy that narrowed the scope of campus sexual misconduct investigations. The Biden administration maintained that the current rules “weakened protections for survivors of sexual assault and diminished the promise of an education free from discrimination.”
As proposed, the guidance would officially make protecting transgender students a federal legal requirement of Title IX. However, the Education Department said its guidelines for sports would be crafted separately. Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, said Thursday that its goal was to create rules for how schools can determine eligibility for sports teams “while upholding Title IX’s nondiscrimination guarantee.” But he declined to give details about how those rules would be determined.
The proposed changes come amid highly contentious debate throughout the sports world about whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s divisions. Some major sports federations have heavily restricted transgender women from competing in women’s divisions. FINA, the world governing body for swimming, voted to prohibit transgender women from competing unless they began medical treatments to suppress production of testosterone before going through one of the early stages of puberty, or by age 12, whichever occurred later. It established one of the strictest rules against transgender participation in international sports.
Nearly 20 states have enacted laws or issued statewide rules that bar or limit transgender sports participation. Title IX, for now, is unlikely to be used specifically by lawmakers either to push for more inclusion or exclusion of transgender women in women’s divisions. The law, an education policy at its core, enjoys broad support by the public and both Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
Tumin, Remy. “Title IX Gave Women Greater Access to Education. Here’s What It Says and Does. The law has grown participation for women and girls in sports and has had other significant ramifications, too.” New York Times. June 22, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/sports/what-is-title-ix.html.
Questions:
Lawmakers used the Civil Rights Act for framing but intentionally downplayed the policy’s significance to assure its passage through Congress. Fifty years later, Title IX continues to reverberate around the country, ushering in a new era of women’s sports and a framework for handling sexual misconduct complaints on campus.
“Part of the beauty of Title IX is its breadth and comprehensiveness. It’s a ban without creating an exhaustive list,” said Wendy Mink, whose mother, Rep. Patsy Mink, Democrat of Hawaii, was one of the lawmakers to spearhead the policy. The official name of Title IX was changed to the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act after Mink’s death in 2002. “It’s open to interpretation and application,” Wendy Mink said. “She wanted to make sure each of the interpretations would not only be applied but enforced.”
The most visible changes were seen in gymnasiums, fields and courts across the United States — young women were entitled to the same athletic opportunities as their male counterparts at schools. According to a study by the Women’s Sports Foundation, high school participation rose from 294,015 in the 1971-72 school year to 3.4 million in 2018-19 (participation by boys was 3.67 million in 1971-72 and 4.53 million in 2018-19). At the collegiate level, participation at N.C.A.A. schools rose from 29,977 athletes in women’s sports in 1971-72 to 215,486 in 2020-21. Men’s sports had 275,769 athletes in 2020-21.
What’s missing from Title IX?
While Title IX’s intentions to be broad and encompassing have ensured rights for many women and girls, white women have benefited the most. Title IX does not directly address race, gender identity, disabilities or other characteristics besides sex. The Women’s Sports Foundation found that Asian, Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and other girls and women of color participate in sport at lower levels than white women do. The same was true for women with disabilities compared with men who had disabilities. Women of color are also underrepresented in athletic leadership.
A new interpretation of Title IX includes transgender students and new sexual assault guidelines. Title IX falls under the executive branch and therefore is subject to interpretation by each administration. The Biden administration proposed new rules on Thursday that would extend Title IX protections to transgender students by expanding the definition of “sex” to include “stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” The new language, which is still subject to a commentary period, also rolled back a Trump administration policy that narrowed the scope of campus sexual misconduct investigations. The Biden administration maintained that the current rules “weakened protections for survivors of sexual assault and diminished the promise of an education free from discrimination.”
As proposed, the guidance would officially make protecting transgender students a federal legal requirement of Title IX. However, the Education Department said its guidelines for sports would be crafted separately. Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, said Thursday that its goal was to create rules for how schools can determine eligibility for sports teams “while upholding Title IX’s nondiscrimination guarantee.” But he declined to give details about how those rules would be determined.
The proposed changes come amid highly contentious debate throughout the sports world about whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s divisions. Some major sports federations have heavily restricted transgender women from competing in women’s divisions. FINA, the world governing body for swimming, voted to prohibit transgender women from competing unless they began medical treatments to suppress production of testosterone before going through one of the early stages of puberty, or by age 12, whichever occurred later. It established one of the strictest rules against transgender participation in international sports.
Nearly 20 states have enacted laws or issued statewide rules that bar or limit transgender sports participation. Title IX, for now, is unlikely to be used specifically by lawmakers either to push for more inclusion or exclusion of transgender women in women’s divisions. The law, an education policy at its core, enjoys broad support by the public and both Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
Tumin, Remy. “Title IX Gave Women Greater Access to Education. Here’s What It Says and Does. The law has grown participation for women and girls in sports and has had other significant ramifications, too.” New York Times. June 22, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/sports/what-is-title-ix.html.
Questions:
- Based on the primary and secondary material, how has TITLE IX changed overtime?
DOMA
Defense of Marriage Act
H.R. 3396. Defense of Marriage Act. 1996.
Questions:
Questions:
- What is the Defense of Marriage Act?
- How does the Act define marriage?
- What does this act mean for same-gender couples?
Andrea Bernstein: Hilary Clinton’s Gay Marriage Evolution
In the midst of her senate campaign in 2000, Hilary Clinton’s position on DOMA, a law her husband signed into effect, came under fire. In this document, a reporter who interviewed her then and over the course of her career as a Senator, Secretary of State, and presidential candidate described her early position.
I found myself covering Hillary Clinton’s run for U.S. Senate in New York, the birthplace of the gay rights movement. And her views on DOMA were a lingering mystery.
Hillary… held her first extended question-and-answer session with reporters in a cold January day. The first question was about a custody dispute involving a Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez. The second was mine: If she were a senator, would she vote for DOMA?
"The Defense of Marriage Act has already been before the Senate," Clinton pushed back. "What I’m concerned about is what’s going to happen at the state level." She went on to express her support for partnership benefits, not marriage. I pressed. Did you agree with Mr. Clinton on DOMA or not?
"He was against it, yeah, I agree with that. But it's moot. It’s already been through the Senate." Then The New York Times' Adam Nagourney and I shot back. "But he signed it. He signed it."
"He signed it," Clinton agreed. "But he signed it because it was something the Congress said, 'Take it or leave it. You’re going to have to do it.' They would have passed it over his veto."
Listening back to that tape — recorded on a long-gone cassette recorder — it's hard to believe how many questions Clinton took on the issue, until she eventually cried uncle. "I would have voted for it at that time but I think to go back and talk about DOMA now especially...is something that is divisive."
So then, why was she against gay marriage? Here's the part of her answer that later became famous. "Because I believe marriage means something different. Marriage is about a historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been between a man and a woman."
To be fair, at the time, not one major elected official in either party supported gay marriage, including Bernie Sanders.
Bernstein, Andrea. “The Tale of the Tape: Hillary Clinton's Gay Marriage Evolution.” WNYC News. November 3, 2015. https://www.wnyc.org/story/tale-tape-hillary-clintons-gay-evolution/.
I found myself covering Hillary Clinton’s run for U.S. Senate in New York, the birthplace of the gay rights movement. And her views on DOMA were a lingering mystery.
Hillary… held her first extended question-and-answer session with reporters in a cold January day. The first question was about a custody dispute involving a Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez. The second was mine: If she were a senator, would she vote for DOMA?
"The Defense of Marriage Act has already been before the Senate," Clinton pushed back. "What I’m concerned about is what’s going to happen at the state level." She went on to express her support for partnership benefits, not marriage. I pressed. Did you agree with Mr. Clinton on DOMA or not?
"He was against it, yeah, I agree with that. But it's moot. It’s already been through the Senate." Then The New York Times' Adam Nagourney and I shot back. "But he signed it. He signed it."
"He signed it," Clinton agreed. "But he signed it because it was something the Congress said, 'Take it or leave it. You’re going to have to do it.' They would have passed it over his veto."
Listening back to that tape — recorded on a long-gone cassette recorder — it's hard to believe how many questions Clinton took on the issue, until she eventually cried uncle. "I would have voted for it at that time but I think to go back and talk about DOMA now especially...is something that is divisive."
So then, why was she against gay marriage? Here's the part of her answer that later became famous. "Because I believe marriage means something different. Marriage is about a historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been between a man and a woman."
To be fair, at the time, not one major elected official in either party supported gay marriage, including Bernie Sanders.
Bernstein, Andrea. “The Tale of the Tape: Hillary Clinton's Gay Marriage Evolution.” WNYC News. November 3, 2015. https://www.wnyc.org/story/tale-tape-hillary-clintons-gay-evolution/.
Anthony Kennedy: Excerpt From The Majority Opinion in US vs Windsor
In 2013, in a Supreme Court case, United States v. Windsor, the Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages, was a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal. The principal purpose is to impose inequality, not for other reasons like governmental efficiency. Responsibilities, as well as rights, enhance the dignity and integrity of the person. And DOMA contrives to deprive some couples married under the laws of their State, but not other couples, of both rights and responsibilities. By creating two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State, DOMA forces same-sex couples to live as married for the purpose of state law but unmarried for the purpose of federal law, thus diminishing the stability and predictability of basic personal relations the State has found it proper to acknowledge and protect. By this dynamic DOMA undermines both the public and private significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages; for it tells those couples, and all the world, that their otherwise valid marriages are unworthy of federal recognition. This places same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage. The differentiation demeans the couple, whose moral and sexual choices the Constitution protects, see Lawrence, 539 U. S. 558, and whose relationship the State has sought to dignify. And it humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples. The law in question makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives. Under DOMA, same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of government decree, in visible and public ways.
The power the Constitution grants it also restrains. And though Congress has great authority to design laws to fit its own conception of sound national policy, it cannot deny the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. What has been explained to this point should more than suffice to establish that the principal purpose and the necessary effect of this law are to demean those persons who are in a lawful same-sex marriage. This requires the Court to hold, as it now does, that DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
Kennedy , Anthony. “United States vs Windsor .” Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 2013. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf.
Question: What is Kennedy’s main argument?
DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal. The principal purpose is to impose inequality, not for other reasons like governmental efficiency. Responsibilities, as well as rights, enhance the dignity and integrity of the person. And DOMA contrives to deprive some couples married under the laws of their State, but not other couples, of both rights and responsibilities. By creating two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State, DOMA forces same-sex couples to live as married for the purpose of state law but unmarried for the purpose of federal law, thus diminishing the stability and predictability of basic personal relations the State has found it proper to acknowledge and protect. By this dynamic DOMA undermines both the public and private significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages; for it tells those couples, and all the world, that their otherwise valid marriages are unworthy of federal recognition. This places same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage. The differentiation demeans the couple, whose moral and sexual choices the Constitution protects, see Lawrence, 539 U. S. 558, and whose relationship the State has sought to dignify. And it humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples. The law in question makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives. Under DOMA, same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of government decree, in visible and public ways.
The power the Constitution grants it also restrains. And though Congress has great authority to design laws to fit its own conception of sound national policy, it cannot deny the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. What has been explained to this point should more than suffice to establish that the principal purpose and the necessary effect of this law are to demean those persons who are in a lawful same-sex marriage. This requires the Court to hold, as it now does, that DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
Kennedy , Anthony. “United States vs Windsor .” Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 2013. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf.
Question: What is Kennedy’s main argument?
Antonin Scalia: Dissenting Opinion of Justice Scalia US vs Windsor
The Court is eager—hungry—to tell everyone its view of the legal question at the heart of this case. Standing in the way is an obstacle, a technicality of little interest to anyone but the people of We the People, who created it as a barrier against judges’ intrusion into their lives. They gave judges, in Article III, only the “Judicial Power,” a power to decide not abstract questions but real, concrete “Cases” and “Controversies”… What, then, are we doing here? The answer lies at the heart of the jurisdictional portion of today’s opinion, where a single sentence lays bare the majority’s vision of our role. The Court says that we have the power to decide this case because if we did not, then our “primary role in determining the constitutionality of a law” … would “become only secondary to the President’s.” But wait, the reader wonders—Windsor won below, and so cured her injury, and the President was glad to see it. True, says the majority, but the judicial review must march on regardless, lest we “undermine the clear dictate of the separation-of-powers principle that when an Act of Congress is alleged to conflict with the Constitution, it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”
Neither party sought to undo the judgment for Windsor, and so that court should have dismissed the appeal (just as we should dismiss) for lack of jurisdiction. Since both parties agreed with the judgment of the District Court for the Southern District of New York, the suit should have ended there.
Scalia , Antonin. “United States vs Windsor .” Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 2013. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf.
Question:
Neither party sought to undo the judgment for Windsor, and so that court should have dismissed the appeal (just as we should dismiss) for lack of jurisdiction. Since both parties agreed with the judgment of the District Court for the Southern District of New York, the suit should have ended there.
Scalia , Antonin. “United States vs Windsor .” Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 2013. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf.
Question:
- What is Scalia’s main argument?
Edith Windsor: LGBTQ Advocate Who Fought The Defense Of Marriage Act, Dies At 88
Emmanuelle Levine: On Edith Windsor, SCOTUS, and the Joys of Becoming a Person
It was that fairly unromantic, upper-middle class issue that led Edie to sue. In 2013, she won, and DOMA was overturned. In 2015, “Obergefell v. Hodges” cracked open the marriage piñata for the 37 states plus the territories that were left. That was the end of the story as I heard it in high school Gay-Straight Alliance meetings. Edie helped us win marriage, end of discussion. But of course, marriage wasn’t and isn’t the Final Boss of queer civil rights.
Edie wasn’t a perfect icon — she wasn’t especially intersectional in her approach to the movement. You’ll notice I said “gay rights” and not “LGBT rights” or even “queer justice.” A lot of people will argue that the marriage fight wasn’t the best use of our resources as a queer community, that we should have focused on employment and housing discrimination, hate crimes against transgender people of color, Title IX protections, mass incarceration and homelessness. The particular privilege of marriage that Edie sued for benefited a lot of middle-and upper-class people — estate tax exemptions are regressive; that is, they benefit rich people more than everyone else…
It is a great privilege to have marked my childhood by civil rights battles won. A privilege of being born in the right place at the right time, sure, but mostly a privilege in that a lot of people poured a lot of resources into fighting for rights that would affect me… I’m grateful to Edie for Doing the Work on my behalf. She gave me the great joy and privilege of feeling like a person. Her death is a blow, but it also opens a vacancy for me — there’s an open spot to fill in the phalanx of those who defend civil rights. In gratitude to Edie, and in the hope that more of us get to experience the exhilaration of being seen as people, I recommit to trying to fill in the battle line.
Levine , Emmanuelle. “On Edith Windsor, Scotus, and the Joys of Becoming a Person .” Yale Daily News, September 29, 2017. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/29/142220/.
Questions:
Edie wasn’t a perfect icon — she wasn’t especially intersectional in her approach to the movement. You’ll notice I said “gay rights” and not “LGBT rights” or even “queer justice.” A lot of people will argue that the marriage fight wasn’t the best use of our resources as a queer community, that we should have focused on employment and housing discrimination, hate crimes against transgender people of color, Title IX protections, mass incarceration and homelessness. The particular privilege of marriage that Edie sued for benefited a lot of middle-and upper-class people — estate tax exemptions are regressive; that is, they benefit rich people more than everyone else…
It is a great privilege to have marked my childhood by civil rights battles won. A privilege of being born in the right place at the right time, sure, but mostly a privilege in that a lot of people poured a lot of resources into fighting for rights that would affect me… I’m grateful to Edie for Doing the Work on my behalf. She gave me the great joy and privilege of feeling like a person. Her death is a blow, but it also opens a vacancy for me — there’s an open spot to fill in the phalanx of those who defend civil rights. In gratitude to Edie, and in the hope that more of us get to experience the exhilaration of being seen as people, I recommit to trying to fill in the battle line.
Levine , Emmanuelle. “On Edith Windsor, Scotus, and the Joys of Becoming a Person .” Yale Daily News, September 29, 2017. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/29/142220/.
Questions:
- Why did Levine NOT consider Windsor a LGBTQ+ advocate and instead described her as a “gay rights” advocate?
- What other concerns did she have about Windsor’s limited advocacy?
- How long did Windsor live a rather closeted life?
- What impact did Windsor have on Levine’s life?
Remedial Herstory Editors. "28. WOMEN'S BODIES IN CULTURE AND SPORTS." The Remedial Herstory Project. November 16, 2024. www.remedialherstory.com.
Primary AUTHORs: |
Kelsie Brook Eckert,
Dr. Barbara Tischler, Dr. Valerie Moyer |
Primary Reviewer: |
Rachel Perez
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Consulting TeamKelsie Brook Eckert, Project Director
Coordinator of Social Studies Education at Plymouth State University Dr. Barbara Tischler, Consultant Professor of History Hunter College and Columbia University Dr. Alicia Gutierrez-Romine, Consultant Assistant Professor of History at La Sierra University Jacqui Nelson, Consultant Teaching Lecturer of Military History at Plymouth State University Dr. Deanna Beachley Professor of History and Women's Studies at College of Southern Nevada |
EditorsAlice Stanley
ReviewersColonial
Dr. Margaret Huettl Hannah Dutton Dr. John Krueckeberg 19th Century Dr. Rebecca Noel Michelle Stonis, MA Annabelle L. Blevins Pifer, MA Cony Marquez, PhD Candidate 20th Century Dr. Tanya Roth Dr. Jessica Frazier Mary Bezbatchenko, MA Dr. Alicia Gutierrez-Romine Matthew Cerjak |
"No matter how wise a mother's advice is, we listen to our peers." At least that's writer Naomi Wolf's take on the differences between her generation of feminists―the third wave―and the feminists who came before her and developed in the late '60s and '70s―the second wave. In Not My Mother's Sister, Astrid Henry agrees with Wolf that this has been the case with American feminism, but says there are problems inherent in drawing generational lines.
Second Wave feminism collapsed in the early 1980s when a universal definition of women was abandoned. At the same time, as a reaction to the narcissism of white middle class feminism, "intersectionality" led to many different feminisms according to race, sexual preference and class. These ongoing segregations make it impossible for women to unite politically and they have not ended exclusion and discrimination among women, especially in the academy. In Inclusive Feminism, Naomi Zack provides a universal, relational definition of women, critically engages both Anglo and French feminists and shows how women can become a united historical force, with the political goal of ruling in place of men.
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The sexual politics of television culture is the territory covered by this ground-breaking book - the first to demonstrate the ways in which third wave feminist television studies approaches and illuminates mainstream TV. The book offers an exuberant and accessible discussion of what television has to offer today's feminist fan. It also sets a new tone for future debate, turning away from a sober, near-pessimistic trend in much feminist media studies to reconnect with the roots of third wave feminism in riot grrrl culture, sex-radical feminism, and black feminism, tracing too the narratives provided by queer theory in which pleasure has a less contested place.
Why should feminists care about Christianity? Why should Christians care about feminism? In Feminism and Christianity Riswold presents a collection of concise answers to basic questions like these in order to generate discussion about how the two can challenge each other and can even work together in the twenty-first century. Situated firmly in the third wave of feminist activism and scholarship as well as in contemporary Christian theology, Riswold addresses issues such as race, class, gender, and sexuality with an affirmation of tradition alongside a push for change.
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New Blood offers a fresh interdisciplinary look at feminism-in-flux. For over three decades, menstrual activists have questioned the safety and necessity of feminine care products while contesting menstruation as a deeply entrenched taboo. Chris Bobel shows how a little-known yet enduring force in the feminist health, environmental, and consumer rights movements lays bare tensions between second- and third-wave feminisms and reveals a complicated story of continuity and change within the women's movement.
This revised and expanded edition, new in paperback, provides a definitive collection on the current period in feminism known by many as the 'third wave'. Three sections - genealogies and generations, locales and locations, politics and popular culture - interrogate the wave metaphor and, through questioning the generational account of feminism, indicate possible future trajectories for the feminist movement.
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Feminisms in Leisure Studies acknowledges and advances the contribution of feminist theories to leisure knowledge and research. Building upon the strong history of feminist leisure scholarship, the book reviews key feminist theories and offers an overview of a fourth wave of feminism and its relevance to leisure.
Kira Cochrane’s 'All the Rebel Women' is an irrepressible exploration of today’s feminist landscape, asking how far we have come over the past century – and how far there still is to go. Whether engaging with leading feminists, describing the fight against rape culture or bringing immediate, powerful life to vital theories such as intersectionality, 'All the Rebel Women' binds everything together into one unstoppable idea. This is modern feminism. This is the fourth wave.
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This book addresses the current resurgence of interest in feminism–notably within popular culture and media–that has led some to announce the arrival of the fourth wave. Research explores where fourth-wave feminism sits in relation to those that preceded it, and in particular, how fourth-wave feminism intersects with differing understandings of postfeminism(s).
Hip Hop Womanist writer and theologian EbonyJanice’s book of essays center a fourth wave of Womanism, dreaming, the pursuit of softness, ancestral reverence, and radical wholeness as tools of liberation. All The Black Girls Are Activists is a love letter to Black girls and Black women, asking and attempting to offer some answers to “Who would black women get to be if we did not have to create from a place of resistance?” by naming Black women’s wellness, wholeness, and survival as the radical revolution we have been waiting for.
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This book discusses the recent re-emergence of interest in feminism in popular culture and social media which has prompted many to celebrate the events as a new wave of feminism, the fourth wave. The book takes up the debate of postfeminism and /or fourth wave and studies how the new wave intersects with the previous feminist goals. It closely studies the hashtag campaigns to trace how a generation of women are drawn into (sl)activism (slacktivism) thereby surging the resurgence.
Networked Feminism tells the story of how activists have used media to reconfigure what feminist politics and organizing look like in the United States. Drawing on years spent participating in grassroots communities and observing viral campaigns, Rosemary Clark-Parsons argues that feminists engage in a do-it-ourselves feminism characterized by the use of everyday media technologies. Faced with an electoral system and a history of collective organizing that have failed to address complex systems of oppression, do-it-ourselves feminists do not rely on political organizations, institutions, or authorities. Instead, they use digital networks to build movements that reflect their values and meet the challenges of the current moment, all the while juggling the advantages and limitations of their media tools.
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How to teach with Films:
Remember, teachers want the student to be the historian. What do historians do when they watch films?
- Before they watch, ask students to research the director and producers. These are the source of the information. How will their background and experience likely bias this film?
- Also, ask students to consider the context the film was created in. The film may be about history, but it was made recently. What was going on the year the film was made that could bias the film? In particular, how do you think the gains of feminism will impact the portrayal of the female characters?
- As they watch, ask students to research the historical accuracy of the film. What do online sources say about what the film gets right or wrong?
- Afterward, ask students to describe how the female characters were portrayed and what lessons they got from the film.
- Then, ask students to evaluate this film as a learning tool. Was it helpful to better understand this topic? Did the historical inaccuracies make it unhelpful? Make it clear any informed opinion is valid.
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Bombshell shows the intimate harassment by the CEO and headliner. It highlights the challenges women face coming forward in these types of toxic work environments and ways women are pitted against one another by men. No sexual activity is shown in the film, though sexual language and suggestions are shown.
IMDB. |
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I, Tonya shows competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rise among the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the sport is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
IMDB. |
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Kinney-Hanson, Sharon. The life of Helen Stephens: the Fulton Flash. Southern Illinois University Press, 2004.
Laymon, Anna. “The Feminist History of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’: Trixie Friganza, an Actress and Suffragist, Inspired the Popular Song of the Seventh Inning Stretch.” Smithsonian Magazine, July 14, 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/feminist-history-take-me-out-ball-game-180973307/.
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Meares, Hadley Hall. “The Icon and the Outcast: Hattie McDaniel’s Epic Double Life: In Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood, biographer Jill Watts explores the Gone With the Wind trailblazer’s highs and lows.” Vanity Fair, April 26, 2021. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/04/hattie-mcdaniel-gone-with-the-wind-oscars-autobiography.
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Morris, Bonnie. “Women's Sports History: A Heritage of Mixed Messages.” National Women’s History Museum. August 4, 2016. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/womens-sports-history.
Park, Michael Y. “A History of the Cake Mix, the Invention that Revolutionized Baking.” Bon Appetit, September 26, 2013. https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/pop-culture/article/cake-mix-history.
Salinger, Bruce. “What 70s Pop Phenomenon was Most Embarrassing?” Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/178807047680282055/.
Sartore, Melissa. “Was Sex in 1950s America as Straitlaced and Boring as You Think it Was?” Ranker, February 21, 2019. https://www.ranker.com/list/love-and-relationships-in-1950s-us/melissa-sartore/.
Steinem, Gloria. “A Bunny’s Tale.” SHOW Magazine, May 1, 1963.
Stromberg, Joseph. “‘Bicycle Face’: A 19th-Century Health Problem Made Up to Scare Women Away from Biking.” VOX, March 24, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2014/7/8/5880931/the-19th-century-health-scare-that-told-women-to-worry-about-bicycle.
Tamkin, Emily. “A Cultural History of Barbie: Loved and loathed, the toy stirs fresh controversy at age 64.” Smithsonian Magazine. June 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/.
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"Les Annees 50/The 1950s-Fashion in France, 1947-1957." September 9, 2014.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Katharine Hepburn." Encyclopedia Britannica, June 25, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katharine-Hepburn.
Evans, Sara. Personal Politics: The Roots of Women’s Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement & the New Left. New York: Vintage Books, 1980.
Gonnermann, Jennifer. “Highflyer: How a Flight Attendant Became a Rising Star of the Labor Movement.” The New Yorker, May 30, 2022. https://www.newyorker.com.
Howat, Kenna. “Pedaling the Path to Freedom: American Women on Bicycles.” National Women’s History Museum. June 27, 2017. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/pedaling-path-freedom.
Jackson, Ashwnta. “How a Paris Meet Changed Women’s Track and Field: In the early twentieth century, women were discouraged from competing in track and field. The First International Track Meet for Women helped change that.” October 16, 2023. https://daily.jstor.org/how-a-paris-meet-changed-womens-track-and-field/.
Kinney-Hanson, Sharon. The life of Helen Stephens: the Fulton Flash. Southern Illinois University Press, 2004.
Laymon, Anna. “The Feminist History of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’: Trixie Friganza, an Actress and Suffragist, Inspired the Popular Song of the Seventh Inning Stretch.” Smithsonian Magazine, July 14, 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/feminist-history-take-me-out-ball-game-180973307/.
Lord, M.. "Barbie." Encyclopedia Britannica, June 8, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Barbie.
Lundberg, Ferdinand, and Marynia Farnham. Modern Woman: The Lost Sex. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1947. https://sites.middlebury.edu/coldwarculture/files/2013/08/Modern-Woman.pdf.
Meares, Hadley Hall. “The Icon and the Outcast: Hattie McDaniel’s Epic Double Life: In Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood, biographer Jill Watts explores the Gone With the Wind trailblazer’s highs and lows.” Vanity Fair, April 26, 2021. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/04/hattie-mcdaniel-gone-with-the-wind-oscars-autobiography.
Mohsene, Laura. “1950s Advice to Women Compared to Advice in Modern Women’s Magazines.” Medium, September 17, 2020. https://medium.com/fearless-she-wrote/1950s-advice-to-women-compared-to-advice-in-modern-womens-magazines-fa22656c312/.
Morris, Bonnie. “Women's Sports History: A Heritage of Mixed Messages.” National Women’s History Museum. August 4, 2016. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/womens-sports-history.
Park, Michael Y. “A History of the Cake Mix, the Invention that Revolutionized Baking.” Bon Appetit, September 26, 2013. https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/pop-culture/article/cake-mix-history.
Salinger, Bruce. “What 70s Pop Phenomenon was Most Embarrassing?” Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/178807047680282055/.
Sartore, Melissa. “Was Sex in 1950s America as Straitlaced and Boring as You Think it Was?” Ranker, February 21, 2019. https://www.ranker.com/list/love-and-relationships-in-1950s-us/melissa-sartore/.
Steinem, Gloria. “A Bunny’s Tale.” SHOW Magazine, May 1, 1963.
Stromberg, Joseph. “‘Bicycle Face’: A 19th-Century Health Problem Made Up to Scare Women Away from Biking.” VOX, March 24, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2014/7/8/5880931/the-19th-century-health-scare-that-told-women-to-worry-about-bicycle.
Tamkin, Emily. “A Cultural History of Barbie: Loved and loathed, the toy stirs fresh controversy at age 64.” Smithsonian Magazine. June 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/.
Women and the American Story. “American Girl.” New York Historical Society. 2024. https://wams.nyhistory.org/end-of-the-twentieth-century/the-information-age/american-girl/.
"Les Annees 50/The 1950s-Fashion in France, 1947-1957." September 9, 2014.