Atalantan Distractions

I am honored to write a response to the inaugural Helen Pond Lecture, given by Professor Catharine Stimpson. In her talk, "The Atalanta Syndrome: Women, Sports and Cultural Values," Professor Stimpson names a cultural illness in which women are devalued and, though they are capable of becoming strong if nurtured, are often distracted like the young Atalanta such that they conform to cultural norms. Much of Professor Stimpson's remarks about her life as a feminist, scholar, and fan resonated with me in my work as a scholar of sport, former athletic director, coach, and lifelong athlete. In this essay, I will address the historical and significant impact of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (AIAW) and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 - and their roles in the healing of the Atalanta Syndrome. I will also elaborate on the gendered images of women in sport and on how "heterosexy" constructions may be thought of as Atalantan distractions.

The passion for sport that I share with Professor Stimpson began for me in grade school. I was an excellent athlete and loved competition, but like so many other girls, I was relegated to the sidelines as a cheerleader or band member. Though many of us had skills comparable to our adolescent brothers, the liberal healing of the Atalanta syndrome (manifest in women's entry into organized sport) had not yet begun. Most of the school gymnasiums across the country were reserved for boys. In college the horizon seemed a little brighter, as intercollegiate sport opportunities became available under the guidance of visionary and competent female coaches. Additional support and encouragement came in the form of a feminist consciousness and in my mother and her friends, who were vocal in their dismay at gender-biased coverage in the local newspapers. Now, thirty years later, I continue to voice that dismay.

As an athlete, coach, and athletic administrator, I found sportswomen and their coaches treated as the "Others," the outsiders who were treading on highly privileged and protected male terrain. Though Title IX had been passed in 1972, there were many schools that were reluctant and many that refused to provide equal opportunities in sport. Boys' and men's teams remained the priority: women's teams had to fit in practice and game times around the men's schedules, their budgets and coaches' salaries were paltry compared to their male counterparts, and their game scores and athletic accomplishments seldom made the sports page. We were told that equity would take time and that we needed to exercise patience. I was impatient with these responses as I thought about the millions of girls and women who never had the opportunity to play organized sports that boys and men have enjoyed for 100-plus years. My mother, for one, would almost certainly have had her jersey number retired had she been given the chance to play.

As disparities continued, many of us forged ahead with the newly formed Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) leading the way. The AIAW was both a liberal feminist organization and a radical one. The liberal feminist response was evident in its efforts to foster the growth and development of women's athletic programs, providing opportunities similar to men's intercollegiate athletics. The AIAW also chose a radical approach by doing sport differently than men. Constitutional by-laws and an athletes' bill of rights reflected those differences by emphasizing the female student-athlete and valuing her athletic and academic accomplishments equally. The goal was athletic excellence, but not at the cost of the personal welfare of the student-athlete. These philosophical tenets fit perfectly with the educational mission of the university. Additionally, and of no small import, the AIAW was organized, developed, and administered by women. Its nurturing helped hundreds of thousands of women to become strong athletes and leaders. The AIAW grew to over 980 members, gained corporate sponsorships, and secured a $1 million television contract, making women's sports a profitable attraction. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the major governing body of men's collegiate sport, became interested as the AIAW strengthened its leadership of women's intercollegiate sport.