Description
The purpose of this thesis is to theorize changes to Title IX to address homophobia and racism in addition to sexism in women's sports. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all federally-funded educational programs. This thesis, however, focuses particularly on women's sports programs. Since its enactment, Title IX has undeniably facilitated women's unprecedented access to federally-funded educational programs including sports, but in this thesis I argue that this policy can be strengthened by incorporating additional protections that address homophobia and racism. Both forms of discrimination have been cited by numerous sports scholars as barriers to equitable playing opportunities. Additionally, I provide suggestions for Title IX's general enforcement, as well as concrete plans of action to enforce the suggestions I set forth in this thesis. As a disclaimer, my research focuses primarily on addressing homophobia in women's sports. It was beyond the scope of this thesis to provide a comprehensive analysis on racism and sports, but nevertheless it would be irresponsible of me to not make these connections through dialogue; especially since I suggest a multidimensional framework to address these interlocking social barriers. For this project, I examined the following Title IX documents: Title IX the policy (1972), Title IX Regulations (1975), and the Athletics Investigation Manual (1990). These particular documents detail the policy's goals and enforcement. I used interpretative policy analysis, specifically category analysis, to examine which groups are explicitly protected by Title IX and what additional categories can be created to protect against sexual orientation and race-based discrimination.
