And the winner is…
My book has a name. I’m grateful to everyone who made suggestions. The publisher’s team and I settled on a title that will be somewhat familiar to readers of this blog. The new title is 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination.
A lot has happened in the three months since I invited you to help me name the book. Big changes. The book now is in production. And I moved from San Francisco to New Hampshire, where I’m already enjoying the summer weather and swimming in ponds and lakes whenever I can.
All of that took a load of time and effort, but now that I’m aaaaaalllmost settled in here in the Granite State, I plan to be blogging more often, writing the occasional op-ed about Title IX controversies, and gradually gearing up for the book’s launch in the spring of 2022 — Title IX’s 50th anniversary year. If there’s a topic you’d like me to address, let me know!
I’ve booked three appearances in panel discussions at upcoming conferences. First up, I’ll be discussing why “History Matters” for good journalism at the virtual national convention of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, Sept. 9-12, online. I’m jazzed to be joined by Linda Villarosa and Helen Zia and Jason Steinhauer to give journalists tips on incorporating historical context and experts into their stories without blowing word or time budgets.
I’ll also be in a session on “50 Years of Title IX: Evolutions in the Struggle Against Sex Discrimination in Education” at the American Historical Association annual meeting in New Orleans January 6-9, 2022. My presentation: “Intersectional Discrimination in the Successes or Failures of Title IX.”
At the Organization of American Historians Conference on American History March 31-April 2, 2022 in Boston, I’ll be part of a session on “Conflict and Collaboration in the Struggle Against Sex Discrimination in Education: Title IX Turns 50.” I’ll be dissecting the tone of triumphalism that permeates most coverage of Title IX anniversaries in my talk on “Unpacking the Celebratory Narrative of Title IX.”
Meanwhile, Title IX hits the headlines so often it’s hard to keep up with all the news. I hope to curate the happenings for you in future blog posts, dear readers. Among the fascinating developments, the Biden Administration has started the process that may undo the changes made to Title IX regulations by the Trump Administration. President Biden took the unusual step of nominating someone to head the Office for Civil Rights who held the job before — Catherine E. Lhamon, who served in that post under President Obama. Republicans in the Senate are sure to throw a hissy fit over that.
Women athletes have gone to court challenging colleges that tried to cut sports teams during the pandemic in ways that violated Title IX. So far, the women have won each of these battles or they’re still ongoing. The mind-boggling part is that they happened in the first place, that college administrators still don’t comply with Title IX. And all the attention is casting shade not just on colleges and universities but on high schools as athletes look around and realize girls still are getting the short end of the stick. In my new neck of the woods, for example, Dartmouth College has been in the hot seat once again.
At the University of Vermont, not too far from here, many students walked out of classes to protest the administration’s handling of sexual violence on campus. That issue is very much alive on campuses across the country.
Whether events are local or national, I’ll be bringing you context and thoughts on sex discrimination in education here at 37 Words. Stay tuned.
