Re: Reply To: Girls Cut Off Teams

From: Amber V. DeWine (your_honor@justicemail.com)
Date: Fri Oct 22 1999 - 17:06:00 EDT


Greetings Everyone!
Sender: owner-edequity@mail.edc.org
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Reply-To: edequity@mail.edc.org

  I appear to have left open room for misunderstanding and misconception about
my stance on the issue of Title IX relative to sports, as well as my personal
background. I beg your pardon. Please allow me to clarify.

  First of all, I do not believe that women are, as you say, "suppressed." I
cannot find any credible proof of this, nor in analysis of gender issues can I
find any wisdom or logic with which to base a conclusion that women are
"suppressed" or oppressed. To a greater degree, in school, I believe that
rather than being "victims of...suppression," girls are to the contrary very
privileged and favored in comparison to boys in most all areas of academia and
student life. If you would care to present some evidence or supportable
philosophical wisdom that you believe suggest the oppression of girls, I would
be most happy to listen, with the understanding that I will be listening with a
philosophically critical ear and will pose some difficult questions of your
wisdom.

  Secondly, I should explain about my current situation: I am an undergraduate
college student, as well as a female collegiate athlete. Given this, it does
not appear to make a great deal of sense to me that I could "proclaim that
sports fall into the sole sphere of men and boys... ."

   On the contrary, I proclaim that everyone, INCLUDING BOYS, should have equal
opportunities to play sports, as well as to participate in other activities. I
further proclaim that the Office of Civil "Right"s is denying boys equal
opportunities to play sports, through its poor application of Title IX.
Furthermore, I proclaim my complete support for the original Title IX, which
outlawed sex discrimination and which was the law passed by Congress, and
proclaim my unsurpassed disdain and contempt for the current, convoluted Title
IX which takes away boys' opportunities and which was invented by Assistant
Secretary Norma Cantu and Dr. Mary Frances O'Shea. (Everyone is familiar with
the names, I presume?)

  Thirdly, I should clear up what appears to be a misunderstanding. I do not
attempt to deny the fact that "[women and girls] have been prevented from equal
participation in sports for many decades...," nor do I deny that women and girls
have suffered discrimination "...in sports and academia for a few hundred
years." I merely suggest that the period of discrimination that girls and women
have endured is over, and thankfully so. Sadly, now boys and men (for purposes
of my discussion, boys) are enduring discrimination that is fast approaching
what girls and women endured. (Please note the verb tense there, in my usage of
"are enduring" versus "endured" indicating the difference between past and
present.)

  Fourth, you claim that "destruction to boys teams is a total myth..." and
claiming that the very idea is a form of "ignorance." You shouldn't be telling
that to me, though I would be very open to hearing why you believe that way.
Tell that to the twenty thousand-plus boys who have had their wrestling,
swimming, gymnsatics, etc. teams dismantled because their college needed to
fulfill a gender quota that was created under the Secretary's interpretation of
Title IX, and which need not exist. I would have a hard time trying to tell
them that their futures are not being destroyed. You appear to not have such a
hard time with that, is this true? If so, then, if you don't mind my asking,
why not?

  Fifth, and finally, you made a statement that "As long as our daughters
continue to be discriminated against... ." I would suggest to you that your
daughter is no longer being discriminated against. Look now at your son. Is
his suffering and pain not equally as significant and hurtful as that of your
daughter?

Sincerely,

Amber Valeris DeWine
Kill [the new, convoluted] Title IX...Let Our Boys Play Again!
<your_honor@justicemail.com>

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