Title IX matters in “flyover states”
Title IX controversies historically draw the most attention if they come from elite coastal universities or Washington, D.C.’s halls of power, but sex discrimination matters just as much to schools in the so-called “flyover states.” In the 1970s women faculty and students in Kansas staged a sit-in demanding fairer policies for women in education. The movement against sexual violence activated students from the 1980s in Minnesota and Missouri to the 2010s in Ohio and Michigan and in every decade and state in between. The University of Nebraska recently launched an internal investigation of its compliance with Title IX after data showed persistent disparities that seem to shortchange women’s athletics.
I’m particularly pleased by the attention that readers in U.S. interior states are giving to my history of Title IX, 37 Words. And not just at colleges and universities, where I expected it to resonate. Here’s one example:
My brother in St. Charles, Mo. stopped by a local diner called JJ’s for lunch recently. It’s the kind of place where you’ll almost always find a group of older men talking about the way things were. After he sat down and gave the waitress his lunch order, he noticed an older woman enter on a walker. She sat at a nearby table and chatted with the waitress, who seemed to know her. Probably a regular customer, he figured. The waitress asked her, “What are you reading lately?” The woman reached into her bag and pulled out 37 Words.
Approaching the woman after the waitress took her order, my brother introduced himself as the author’s relative and asked how she was liking the book so far. “Oh, it’s great,” she said. “I remember how things were back then.”
I am delighted by a glowing review of 37 Words by Susan Koch, former Chancellor of the University of Illinois, Springfield that was published in the Des Moines Register. I’m just as pleased that I’ll be speaking in the coming months to students and faculty too young to remember how things were before Title IX — including in-person talks at Northwestern University in Illinois in October, then in Minneapolis in November at the National Women’s Studies Association conference, and in February 2023 at Iowa State University. I’m planning other virtual visits as I write this.
Elsewhere
After the Supreme Court decimated abortion protections under Roe v. Wade, 60 Democratic members of Congress asked the Department of Education to clarify how Title IX protects the rights of students who are pregnant, parenting, or seeking an abortion.
Twelve more women joined a lawsuit against the University of Montana for sex discrimination, for a total of 16 plaintiffs. A former employee of Collin College, McKinney, Tex. sued for alleged race and gender discrimination, the fourth employment lawsuit against the community college in the past year. Seattle (Wash.) Pacific University sued the state attorney general for opening an investigation of complaints about the school’s refusal to hire LGBTQ workers, arguing that the investigation interferes with religious freedom. In a settlement of a lawsuit over the handling of sexual assault complaints, the Huntsville, Ark. School Board agreed to pay $1, admitted liability, and said it would start Title IX training for personnel on August 8.
A request for records by EdSource revealed 54 findings of sexual misconduct or discrimination at 12 California State University campuses between 2017 and 2021. The Los Angeles Times reports that two California State Universities kept quiet about sexual harassment by professors.
A U.S. district court in Maryland ruled that schools with tax-exempt status must comply with Title IX even if they receive no other financial support from the government because the exemption is a form of financial subsidy. A separate U.S. district judge in California ruled that a lawsuit can proceed against a purported Christian school that tried to bar a 15-year-old girl on a rival school’s football team from playing in games between the schools.
The athletic director at East Tennessee State University resigned and the school said it would fire the women’s basketball coach after receiving complaints of violations of Title IX and NCAA rules. The soccer coach at Clark County High School, Berryville, Va., resigned and a Title IX investigation started after allegations that the coach harassed team players.
Reminder: The comment period for the new proposed Title IX regulations is open until September 12. Here’s one article summarizing some of the points of contention from various commenters.
On the up side
A federal judge blocked enforcement of Indiana’s ban against transgender girls participating in K-12 athletics so that a 10-year-old can play on her school’s softball team while a lawsuit against the legislation proceeds.
Where you’ll find me
Friday, October 28, 2022, 9 a.m. — I’ll be speaking at a Title IX conference at Northwestern University, Chicago.
November 12, 2022 — I’m looking forward to two appearances at the National Women’s Studies Association conference in Minneapolis. Join me first at a 9:30 a.m. panel on Women’s Politics: Finding a Way Out of No Way, and then at a Feminist Authors Showcase at 1:15 p.m..
February 2023 — I’ll speak at Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics in Ames, Iowa. Stay tuned for details.
*** 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 Nation magazine published an excerpt from my chapter 5, which introduces Title IX’s application by the movement against sexual violence. 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. 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.
You can watch a panel about Title IX with me, basketball great Allison Hightower, and Prof. Sara Fields hosted by Tel Aviv University on July 10, 2022 at a conference on women and sport. The Post News Group highlighted 37 Words and one of the three main people the book profiles — civil rights attorney Pamela Price. Women’s Running quoted my book in “A look at LGBTQ Athletes’ Fight for Protections Under Title IX.” 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.
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).
And I’m not just a Title IX wonk, you know. My first book was about electric vehicles (EVs). See a recent presentation I gave about EV charging at apartments or condos on July 25, 2022 to the Planning Board of Lebanon, N.H. And I joined Clean Energy New Hampshire recently for a Zoom discussion about EVs in New Hampshire; find it at the 2:29 timepoint of this video.
#titleix #37words
