The sounds of change on Title IX playlist

I asked the people who appear in my book 37 Words to share some of the songs they listened to during their struggles against sex discrimination in education, and put them in a Title IX playlist. These are some of the sounds of change during Title IX’s first fifty years. You’ll find the 37 Words playlist on Apple Music.

If you’ve been a Title IX activist, post a comment telling us some of the background music during your part of history, and maybe we’ll make another playlist!

From a U.S. Senate staffer who worked with Sen. Birch Bayh, the father of Title IX, in the 1970s to one of the co-founders of End Rape on Campus in the 2010s, people named some songs specific to their times and others that evoke a timeless feminism. This is just a sampling.

Elsewhere

You’ve heard me say it before: Title IX can’t fulfill its promise to eliminate sex discrimination in education unless we address intersecting discriminations. An excellent New York Times article gives a deep dive into the gap in racial equity under Title IX. The Indianapolis Star includes this topic in a fine run-down of what needs to happen next to achieve equity in athletics. And a new book — Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering — details how dominant, discriminatory cultural beliefs overpower the notion of meritocracy to benefit cisgender white and Asian men over underrepresented groups in the sciences.

California’s state auditor will investigate how California State University handled sexual harassment complaints, especially at three of its campuses: Fresno State, San Jose State, and Sonoma State. A student accused a University of Minnesota associate dean of retaliating against her after she reported being sexually assaulted. Three students suing Harvard University for ignoring years of complaints of sexual harassment by an Anthropology professor detailed new allegations against him in an 89-page amended complaint. A federal judge ruled that three former track and field athletes can proceed with their lawsuit against Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y. for ignoring complaints of sexual harassment and assault but not against the coach they say assaulted them or against the athletics department.

Seattle Pacific University students ended their month-long sit-in and said they’ll sue the university for discriminating against LGBTQ faculty.

On the up side

Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. will let students designate their preferred pronounces starting this year. Inside Higher Ed published a good overview of Title IX protections for pregnant studies and updates in the proposed regulations from the Biden Administration. They also did a pretty good article addressing concerns about due-process rights in the proposed regulations.

Where you’ll find me

July 10, 8:00 a.m. ET — Tel Aviv University in Israel hosts a day-long Title IX symposium, and I’ll be on a virtual panel about Title IX and athletics. You can watch here.

Friday, October 28 — I’ll be speaking at a Title IX conference at Northwestern University, Chicago.

November 10-12 — I’m looking forward to two appearances at the National Women’s Studies Association conference in Minneapolis. One is a panel session and the other is a Feminist Authors Showcase at which fabulous scholars will discuss 37 Words.

*** Would you like to set up an in-person or Zoom session with me for your organization or book club? Reach me through my Contact page.***

The Post News Group highlighted 37 Words and one of the three main people the book profiles — civil rights attorney Pamela Price. I published an article in the Washington Post’s Made by History section, this one on “The true mother of Title IX. And why it matters now more than ever.” The Christian Science Monitor included 37 Words in two articles — a cover story on “Title IX at 50” and a sidebar examining the racial gap among women athletes in colleges. The Smithsonian Magazine quoted me and my book in its article about Title IX. Women’s Running quoted my book in “A look at LGBTQ Athletes’ Fight for Protections Under Title IX.”

I’m not just a Title IX wonk, you know. My first book was about electric vehicles. So I joined Clean Energy New Hampshire recently for a Zoom discussion about EVs in New Hampshire. You can find my segment starting at the 2:29 time point of this video. 

The Guardian mentioned 37 Words prominently in its story on the history of Title IX. Read about the Supreme Court’s history of curtailing Title IX and other civil rights laws in my article in The Washington Post Made by History section. I am delighted that former Chancellor of the University of Illinois, Springfield Susan Koch wrote a glowing review of 37 Words in the Des Moines Register. The Nation magazine published an excerpt from my chapter 5, which introduces Title IX’s application by the movement against sexual violence. The Washington Monthly gave 37 Words a fine review — check it out. The Wall Street Journal published a review of my book and I wrote a Letter to the Editor correcting some misinformation in that review.

Lastly, here are links to order your copy of my book 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination (The New Press, 2022).

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