Re: 20/20
Linda Purrington (lpurring@earthlink.net)
Mon, 08 Jun 1998 08:18:04 -0700
In addition to all the other reasons why girls are disadvantaged in the
current athletic scene at school, remember that we are only a generation
into Title IX.
Not ever having had opportunities to play, I came at 50 to my
daughter's soccer team, and it took me nearly 4 years to realize that
after half-time the play reversed and ran the other way on the field.
It took another couple of years to grasp the concept of off-sides. (We
played tin-can soccer down the alleys, and read Pele's
autobiography--that I could do.)
It did not take me as long to realize how this disadvantaged my
daughter, or what political action was necessary to change the
opportunities available for girls, or how elated I was to see my
daughter coming home to flex her biceps proudly and pick up park games
with adults from all over the world, rather than moaning about how she
needed to go on a diet. We will have more coaches eventually, and equal
playing fields, if we can hang on to Title IX, and use its promise for
our kids.
If you have already called ABC and told them what you think of Stossel
and 20/20, then do what Herb Dempsey urges--go down to your local
playing fields with a video camera and capture the evidence of
inequality for the OCR. Let us know if you would like to file a
complaint as an interested member of the educational community.
Linda Purrington
Title IX Advocates
lpurring@earthlink.net